New Releases - 9/27/19

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 Live & in Concert Compilations Books

New Releases

Sturgill Simpson - Sound & Fury CD/LP (Elektra)

Country singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson follows-up his Grammy award-winning 2016 album A Sailor's Guide To Earth and 2019 theme song for Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy, The Dead Don't Die with Sound & Fury which accompanies the new anime film of the same name based on a story by Simpson himself and made with writer/director Jumpei Mizusaki and character designer Takashi Okazaki. The 10-track effort was produced by Simpson alongside John Hill and bandmates Bobby Emmett, Chuck Bartels and Miles Miller. "We went in without any preconceived notions and came out with a really sleazy, steamy rock 'n' roll record," Simpson says. "It's definitely my most psychedelic. And also my heaviest. I had this idea that it'd be really cool to animate some of these songs, and we ended up with a futuristic, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, samurai film." The first taste of Sound & Fury comes in the form of the distorted and driving lead single "Sing Along". As for his inspirations for the album Simpson told Zane Lowe he ""...was listening to a lot of hip-hop, and Black Sabbath, and the Cars, and old funk records and things" [Limited indie store exclusive vinyl pressing.]

Billy Strings - Home CD/2xLP (Rounder)

Billy Strings has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting. Home, Strings' remarkable second studio album, is undoubtedly the Michigan-born, Nashville-based artist's bravest excursion thus far, reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form, completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own.

New Pornographers - In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights CD/LP (Collected Work/Concord)

"Since their inception, the New Pornographers have often been labeled a "supergroup". Since A.C. Newman's voice and guitar has rarely hogged the spotlight, it's been easy to overlook the fact that he's very much the mastermind behind the Canadian indie rock band's coherent, but transcendently harmonious, pop sound. As a co-producer, he's always displayed a nearly Brian Wilson-level gift for melding the group's dizzying arsenal of talents, from Neko Case's clarion alto to Dan Bejar's quirky change-of-pace songs. In The Morse Code Of The Brake Lights is the band's second album without Bejar and original drummer Kurt Dahle. But whereas 2017's Whiteout Conditions buzzed along in familiar New Pornos fashion, with a bright, fizzy krautrock vibe and an equitable mix of vocalists, Brake Lights is, at least by the group's typical power-pop standards, a heavier, murkier affair, with Newman's voice sitting front and center for much of its duration. It doesn't sound like one of Newman's more intimate, acoustic-focused solo albums, exactly-too many orchestral flourishes, hyperactive keyboards, and Case showcases for that-but at least half of it feels more like A.C. Newman & Friends than any of the band's previous efforts." - Slant

Temples - Hot Motion CD (ATO)

With their third brilliantly crafted and ingeniously intricate album, Hot Motion, beloved British band Temples has found new ground and a deeper, darker creative well. A glorious technicolor infuses much of the record but there is a David Lynch-ian undertone that adds a gravity to Hot Motion's soaring moments. "It felt like there was a darker edge to what we were coming up with and we wanted to make sure that carried through the whole record," said bassist Thomas Walmsley. "It's not a ten track, relentless rock record from start to finish, it's got a lot of light and shade and more tender moments, but that heavier, darker sound is something we wanted to explore further." Fizzing with ideas, bursting with kinetic energy and balancing an immediate impact with an enduring, timeless intensity, Hot Motion is a cohesive album in a time of stand-alone singles. Temples hasve created an aural tapestry for dark days, an inviting and warm sanctuary away from the daily churn of information overload. It's an album of complexity, crafted for repeat listening. [Limited colored vinyl edition due October 11.]

Telefon Tel Aviv - Dreams Are Not Enough CD/LP (Ghostly Int'l)

The return of storied Southern Gothic electronic entity Telefon Tel Aviv is as unexpected as it is impressive. Their three influential albums of the 2000's-Farenheit Fair Enough, Map Of What Is Effortless, and Immolate Yourself-charted an increasingly turbulent and textured vision of post-IDM synthetic songcraft, until the sudden passing of founding member Charlie Cooper in 2009 ceased the project, presumably forever. During the decade since, co-founder Josh Eustis has performed with, produced, mixed, and mastered countless artists, from high-profile institutions (Nine Inch Nails, Puscifer, Apparat) to underground fixtures (Belong, Vatican Shadow, Drab Majesty, Tropic Of Cancer), in addition to his own solo and collaborative work in Sons Of Magdalene and Second Woman. But years of reflection and processing gradually seeded in him a desire to revive TTA and venture a fourth full-length, in the spirit of what they started: Dreams Are Not Enough.

Moon Duo - Stars Are The Light CD/LP+MP3 (Sacred Bones)

Stars Are the Light, the luminous seventh album by the American psych explorers Moon Duo, marks a progression into significantly new territory. From a preoccupation with the transcendental and occult that informed Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada's guitar-driven psych rock, and reached its apotheosis in the acclaimed Occult Architecture diptych, Stars Are The Light sees the band synthesize the abstract and metaphysical with the embodied and terrestrial. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Tegan and Sara - Hey, I'm Just Like You CD/LP (WB)

"Last year while writing our new memoir, we came across two cassette tapes with dozens of songs we wrote in high school. Defiant and melodramatic, the songs captured the exultation and grief of first loves, first losses, ecstatic kiss-offs, and psychedelic tributes to the friendships we had as teenagers. It had been over 20 years since we had heard the songs and quite honestly, we both expected to listen once, cringe, and bury them for another couple decades. But they were good. Like, really good. They were raw, and in some cases the lyrics were hard to decipher. But the melodies, the honesty in the words, and the joy listening to them after all these years was undeniable. We decided immediately that those songs were the demos we'd use to build the new Tegan and Sara record. Hey, I'm Just Like You has 12 songs, but in making those 12 songs we pulled sections from nearly 20 of those lost high school demos. We kept the original lyrics where we could, and we only wrote four new sections. For the first time ever, we share vocal duties on a handful of songs making them the first truly Tegan and Sara songs. It is also the first Tegan and Sara album produced, performed, engineered, mixed, and mastered by a team of all women." - Tegan Quin [Limited indie store exclusive vinyl pressing also.]

Michaela Anne - Desert Dove CD/LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)

Michaela has been lauded for her timeless voice and narrative depth and Desert Dove takes that to the next level. The songwriting is confessional and unforgettable without being saccharin or self-indulgent; the tracks call to mind Michaela's diverse influences - everything from Stevie Nicks' powerful voice and Fleetwood Mac's vibey arrangements to the Dixie Chick's incredible balance of conviction and catchiness - all showcasing her stellar voice and distinct vision. Produced by Sam Outlaw and Delta Spirit's Kelly Winrich, Desert Dove is still very much rooted in the classic country she's come to be known for, but the record represents something of a sonic shift, incorporating more modern production elements in pursuit of a sound that owes as much influence to indie rock as honky tonk. Despite the bolder, more adventurous arrangements, Michaela's crystalline voice remains front and center, as do her subjects: complex, three-dimensional characters who, through Michaela's empathetic portraits, revel in exploring the gray areas between good and bad, joy and pain, love and regret. [Limited pink colored vinyl pressing.] Catch Michaela Anne when she plays a free live set at Grimey's on Saturday, October 5th, at 5PM.

Metronomy - Metronomy Forever CD/2xLP (Because Music)

The follow-up to 2016's Summer 08, Metronomy Forever features 17 tracks. Its length is born from a desire for breathing room, from not wanting to stuff the hits together like a bouquet of petrol station roses - a modern way of listening to music. Metronomy's innate skill for blending off-kilter funk, energizing club vibes and esoteric pop is interspersed with some mood-setting, glistening and melodic electronic tracks. The band's leader Joseph Mount called upon a variety of inspirations for this album. Most notably, he wanted to replicate the feeling of listening to the radio, with an infinite quality, sumptuous songs of different styles, ever rolling, helping to lighten your mood. Moving away from the bustle of his former Parisian home to take up residence atop a hill in the garden of England had an impact, infusing the album with a sense of tranquility and a calm joy that reflects the relative happiness of his existence. Also influential was time spent working on Robyn's critically adored Honey album, with a similar feeling of emotional, intense, carnal mania informing songs such as "Sex Emoji" and "Salted Caramel Ice Cream".

Girl Band - The Talkies CD/LP (Rough Trade)

The Talkies deals with the phenomenon of sound, as artistic communication becomes sensory rather than cognitive. Lyrically, the language is de- contextualized, allowing it to rock seamlessly between the absurd and the every day. "This one is a return to their all-consuming form, and it's gnarly, acetic underbelly makes most other indie rock feel like child's play." - Stereogum

Laurie Anderson/Tenzin Choegyal/Jesse Paris Smith - Songs From The Bardeo CD/LP (Smithsonian Folkways)

The collaborative composition by avant-garde icon Laurie Anderson, Tibetan multi-instrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal, and composer and activist Jesse Paris Smith is a guided journey through the visionary text of the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, unfolding in an 80-minute ebb and flow of sound and words. Songs From The Bardo is a transporting experience, meant to draw the listener into the present moment and provide a framework for inner exploration.

Efterklang - Altid Sammen CD/LP (4AD)

Seven years after their last album release, Efterklang make a welcome return with a fifth studio record Altid Sammen (meaning always together). It's deep and sonorous, steeped in the sonic experimentation that has long been their trademark since Tripper, the Danes' 2004 debut. As bold and ambitious in scope as their last collection of songs, Piramida, Efterklang has taken another creative U-turn, this time fusing baroque instrumentation with their signature expansive sound. For perhaps the first time in the band's history, they took a less-is-more approach, engaging on a more primal and emotional level.

Trentemøller - Obverse CD/2xLP (In My Room)

Trentemøller returns with his fifth studio album. Anders Trentemøller is a well-known multi-instrumentalist, but perhaps the one he's most adept at is the studio itself. Obverse is the result of him expanding that skill even further. It's a work method that yielded great results for the legendary German kosmiche/motorik experimentalists of the 1970s.

Will Johnson - Wire Mountain CD/LP (Keeled Scales)

Wire Mountain is Johnson's second album recorded with Britton Beisenherz at his Austin studio Ramble Creek Recording and together they further develop new palettes and textures for Johnson's songs, this time enlisting fellow Austinites Thor Harris (of Swans and Thor & Friends) and minimalist folk-duo Little Mazarn to help shape and define them.

Kenny Roby & 6 String Drag - Tired Of Feelin' Guilty: 25 Years Of Kenny Roby CD (Schoolkids)

Roby is a songwriter's songwriter. He has been championed worldwide in the press, radio and by other songwriters such as Steve Earle, Neal Casal, Citizen Cope, Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers) and even had his songs covered by roots music legend Michael Hurley who was an integral part of the Holy Model Rounders and was signed to Moses Asch to Folkways Records in the 1960s.

Jack Klatt - It Ain't The Same CD/LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)

Part balladeer and part bluesman, Jack is a dedicated songwriter and finger-style guitarist based in Minneapolis, MN. His sound pulls from a wide range of American music. From Rhythm and Blues and early Rock N Roll, to country and folk music, Jack brings his own voice to all of his songs. In the words of Americana Roots UK, Jack doesn't rely on other writers for his diversity, he can write in pretty much any musical style of his choosing.

Jon Pardi - Heartache Medication CD/2xLP (Capitol Nashville)

Recognized for his "state-of-the-art blend of traditional instrumentation and progressive grooves that points to country's future" (Rolling Stone) and as "a leader among a growing number of artists bringing back fiddle, steel and twang while still finding ways to freshen the sound" (People), Jon Pardi follows-up his breakthrough album California Sunrise with the new collection, Heartache Medication. Once again serving as co-producer, the lead single and title track showcases a taste of what is to come on the record. "The single 'Heartache Medication' has an '80s George Strait 'Fool Hearted Memory' feel to it, and is something people can dance to," said Pardi. "That's something I really wanted for this album. There really are no sad songs on this record - it covers a range of subjects, but is ultimately about moving on, and having a good time."

Whiskey Myers - Whiskey Myers CD/LP (Wiggy Thump)

Genre-bending band Whiskey Myers has played nearly 2,000 live shows since their emergence in 2008 and has sold out more than 115 headlining shows in the last year alone. As Esquire proclaims, "Whiskey Myers is the real damn deal." USA Today describes the band led by frontman Cody Cannon as "a riff-heavy blend of Southern rock and gritty country that has earned comparisons to the Allman Brothers Band and Led Zeppelin," with Rolling Stone noting "it's the seminal combination of twang and crunchy rock & roll guitars that hits a perfect sweet spot." Regarding their eponymous new record, lead guitarist said, "this was the first album we've produced on our own and it's 100% authentically us, which is why we decided to self-title it Whisky Myers." We've been fortunate in our careers to work with some incredible producers, but self-producing gave us the freedom to try out every crazy idea in the studio, which got us to this place where we are completely satisfied with the end result."

Josh Rennie-Hynes - Patterns CD/LP (Soundly Music, LLC)

With the influx of change in Nashville, TN, the story of an artist's move to Music City with the hopes of chasing a dream is not unheard of. Josh Rennie-Hynes, however, is not your typical Nashville transplant. Music is, and always has been number one. When the opportunity presented itself for him to make the move and focus solely on creating his next album, the distance from Australia to Nashville seemed like nothing. With that, the transition and growth that came from the move became an embedded inspiration on his stunning new album, Patterns.

Red River Dialect - Abundance Welcoming Ghosts CD/LP (Paradise Of Bachelors)

Red River Dialect peer back at Red River Dialect's British folk and folk-rock forebears, from Fairport Convention and Jackie Leven to Talk Talk. [Limited white colored vinyl pressing.]

Jordan Moser - Long Night CD/LP (Keeled Scales)

Jordan Moser's label debut Long Night is witty, literary folk-country in the vein of the Texas outlaw greats, with nods to folks like John Prine and Guy Clark.

Beth Hart - War In My Mind CD/2xLP (Mascot Label Group)

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Beth Hart is as real as it gets on her new Rob Cavallo-produced album War In My Mind. In a music industry full of glossy production and airbrushed photoshoots, this is one artist who throws down her cards, shares her darkest secrets and invites you to join her for the ride. The sleeve shot of Beth pounding a piano below her own personal storm cloud is a fitting representation of new material that hits like a force of nature. It opens with the anti-love song "Bad Woman Blues". A stately piano ballad that swells to an epic anthem, the title track explores the addiction-troubled years when Beth felt she couldn't go on while the emotionally raw "Let It Grow" is "about having so much hope in the face of being hopeless." The hedonistic groove of "Try A Little Harder" evokes the tumbling dice of the Vegas Strip and is Hart "jumping into my father's body back in the '70s when he was a high-roller." [Deluxe CD box set adds two bonus live tracks, coasters, postcards and stickers. Limited blue colored vinyl pressing.]

Charlie Parr - Charlie Parr CD/LP (Red House)

"Taking acoustic blues and folk to the darkest edges of town via driving arrangements which emphasize steam-driven tempos and a doom-slinging attitude over spit and Polish studio shine, Parr nonetheless manages to sound both breathtakingly immediate and authentically antiquated at the same time." - No Depression

Binker Golding - Abstractions Of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers CD/LP (Gearbox)

Binker Golding truly is the saxophonist of the moment. A highly skilled musician, accomplished composer, and occasional conductor, Golding has performed with everyone from Moses Boyd and Yussef Dayes to Evan Parker and Denys Baptise. Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers is his first quartet album, and typically, it goes against the grain. It constitutes a departure from Binker's more rhythm and riff-heavy collaboration with Moses Boyd as well as his avant-garde project with Elliott Galvin. With all compositions and arrangements by the band leader, there is a greater emphasis on harmonic and melodic development, harking back to the more through-composed jazz fusion of the '80s and '90s. Expect a contemporary twist in the form of London jazz scene heavyweights; Joe Armon-Jones on piano, Daniel Casimir on double bass, and Sam Jones on drums.

Perspective, a Lovely Hand to Hold - Lousy CD (Lauren Records)
A 4-piece emo rock band from New Hampshire, Perspective have never been ones to hop on a bandwagon. Even on their first release, the band was clearly trying to cultivate their own power pop version of emo. Catalogued somewhere between Grown Ups and Motion City Soundtrack, the Nashua natives are back with that sound but even more ambitious on Lousy, their first release on Lauren Records. For fans of Motion City Soundtrack, Algernon Cadwallader, Mom Jeans, etc.

Steel Panther - Heavy Metal Rules CD/LP (Steel Panther Inc.)

California's greatest export and renowned feminist supporters Steel Panther recently took a break from working with NASA scientists on a multiple orgasm inducing guitar pedal to record their fifth studio album.

Weeping Icon - Weeping Icon CD/LP (Fire Talk)

Listening to Weeping Icon's debut album is to enter a dim catacomb of psychical catharsis. Urgent yet calculated riffs rip through a thunderous pummel of percussion, an anomalous blend of punk and psychedelic drumming carries the songs with an atmosphere of organized chaos Lyrically they are both serious and sarcastic, trading off vocalists to confront issues central to a generation, dosing listeners with a controlled sense of horror and humor like flavors in a dish. The band's self-titled debut record is a collection of seven songs that archive the metamorphosis into heavier and more provocative territories. In keeping with their live performance, a sequence of dystopian sound interludes completes the album, serving as guided meditations between the candid subversive fury of the main tracks.

Cynic - Traced In Air Remixed CD/LP (Season Of Mist)

In 2008, after a 15-year hiatus, the legendary Cynic reemerged with Traced In Air. An album of sublime beauty, it blended their renowned musical prowess with splendor and grace. Now, a decade later, the trio usher forth a renewed edition featuring new tracking by virtuoso bassist Sean Malone and a vibrant new remix/remaster by Periphery's Adam Nolly Getgood (Animal As Leaders, Devin Townsend, Haken).

Creeping Death - Wretched Illusions CD/LP (E1)

Creeping Death quickly ascended to the top of the modern death metal pile with sheer determination, single-minded focus, bludgeoning heaviness, and breakneck intensity.

DragonForce - Extreme Power Metal CD/2xLP (Metal Blade)

DragonForce's eighth full-length was produced in Los Angeles, California by Damien Rainaud at Mix Unlimited and also recorded, in part, on guitarist Herman Li's livestream channel on Twitch with participation from the fans. Following the departure of Vadim Pruzhanov from the band in 2018, keyboards were performed by Coen Janssen of symphonic metal titan Epica, bringing a new dimension to DragonForce's sound. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]

High Command - Beyond The Wall Of Desolation CD/LP (Southern Lord)

Worcester, MA-based crossover outfit High Command set out on a warpath to create the heaviest work they have produced yet on their first full-length.

SeeYouSpaceCowboy - The Correlation Between Entrance And Exit Wounds CD/LP (Pure Noise)

Combining the MySpace-era grind sound they loved as teenagers with more modern takes on the heavy music genre, SoCal five-piece SeeYouSpaceCowboy has risen to become one of the most exciting bands in the underground scene's new wave. They've done so not only through a devastatingly heavy and dexterous hardcore sound, but also razor-sharp lyricism at the hands of frontwoman Connie Sgarbossa.

Mortem - Ravnsvart CD/LP (Peaceville)

Before Arcturus there was Mortem. Bringing together members of Arcturus, Mayhem, Thorns, & 1349 for a masterwork of eerie black metal, Peaceville proudly presents the brand-new debut studio album of the newly reformed Norwegian legends.

Opeth - In Cauda Venenum CD (Nuclear Blast)

Swedish prog rock juggernaut Opeth return with their 13th album, In Cauda Venenum. "Opeth make good on their reputation of being one of the best progressive bands in the business by turning out a surgical, calculated album that's dripping with their signature sound - only it's better than ever. To get right to it, yes, Opeth are still prog as hell here. No, Mikael Åkerfeldt doesn't growl on this album. What In Cauda Venenum shows is Opeth finally honing their prog rock side, providing us with a laser-etched piece of art that will likely go down as the band's best album this decade" (Everything Is Noise). "While it might be something of a misconception or shortsightedness to assume they can do no wrong, Opeth have defied these odds time and time again. Playfully poetic, musically visceral, if the worst truly is yet to come, you won't find it on In Cauda Venenum (Metal Wani). [Vinyl edition due October 25.]

Live & in Concert

Grateful Dead - Saint Of Circumstance: Giants Stadium, E. Rutherford NJ 6/17/91 3xCD/5xLP (Grateful Dead)

Widely considered one of the most exciting, inspired, and greatest shows of the Dead's final decade of performing, the magnificent 6/17/91 show features relentlessly excellent performances, and is filled with surprises. Bruce Hornsby and Vince Welnick join Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart & Bill Kreutzmann to round out the stellar line-up.

The Ramones - It's Alive 4xCD+2xLP (WB)

Super Deluxe 40th anniversary reissue of The Ramone's first live album. Remastered and expanded with three unreleased concerts from the same tour. This title has not yet arrived. We expect it on Friday.

New on Vinyl

John Prine - In Spite Of Ourselves [Reissue/1999] LP (Oh Boy)

Limited pink colored vinyl pressing. Star-studded 1999 duets album featuring Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless & others.

Colter Wall - Colter Wall [Reissue/2017] LP (Young Mary's)

Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb, Colter Wall's eponymous 2017 album was recorded at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A. Wall's sound is comprised of resonate and raw baritone vocals, folk and bluegrass style guitar and banjo picking, steady kick-drum stomping, and visually provoking, storytelling lyrics.

Amanda Palmer - There Will Be No Intermission 2xLP (Cooking Vinyl)

Limited pink colored vinyl pressing. There Will Be No Intermission, Amanda Palmer's third solo effort and first in more than six years, is the multi-faceted artist's most powerful and personal collection to date, with songs that tackle the big questions: life, death, grief and how we make sense with it all. While the themes may be dark, the album's overall sonic and lyrical mood is one of triumph in the face of life's most ineffably shitty circumstances.

Mudhoney - Morning In America 12"+MP3 (Sub Pop)

Morning in America consists of seven songs that were recorded during the sessions for Mudhoney's 2018 album, Digital Garbage ("... an astute, politically relevant and commendably fired-up garage punk belter of an LP," - The Quietus).

Interpol - Antics [Reissue/2004] LP (Matador)

Limited white colored vinyl pressing of Interpol's second album. With Antics, Interpol has delivered a disc even more engaging than its celebrated predecessor, Turn On The Bright Lights, without sacrificing any of the depth that has made them such an important band for so many.

Pinback - Summer In Abaddon [Reissue/2004] LP (Touch & Go)

Hailing from San Diego, Pinback is a band comprised of two principal players: Armistead Burwell Smith IV (Zach) and Rob Crow. Pinback started as a part-time endeavor back in 1998, when Zach's band 3 Mile Pilot went on an extended hiatus and Rob found time away from his other musical interests (mainly Thingy and Heavy Vegetable). After recording their self-titled debut in 1999, Pinback became a fully realized project.

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas [Reissue/2006] 2xLP (Dangerbird)

Silversun Pickups - Pikul [Reissue/2009] 12" (Dangerbird)

Silversun Pickups - Swoon [Reissue/2009] 2xLP (Dangerbird)

Silversun Pickups - Neck Of The Woods [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Dangerbird)

From the moment they burst onto the vibrant Silver Lake scene in 2002, Silversun Pickups has been a force to be reckoned with. 20 years into a career that has racked up 10 Top 20 hits on Billboard's Alternative Songs and a 2010 Grammy Nomination for Best New Artist, Dangerbird Records is proud to celebrate the band's enduring legacy and equally exciting present with gorgeous colored vinyl pressings of Silversun Pickups' four label-era releases.

Various Artists - Visible & Invisible Persons Distributed In Space LP (Numero)

Ten incredible albums culled from the deepest, weirdest co-op of record enthusiasts ever gathered under one banner. This unwieldily titled collection documents ten successful experiments in privately-issued sci- fi soul music, lonely transmissions from a planet in a state of cultural fugue. Packaged in a one-way portal to the further limits of expression.

Beak - Life Goes On 12" (Temporary Residence)

Less than a year after the release of their breakthrough third album, the renowned UK out-rock trio Beak returns with the a new EP. Life Goes On features the recently released single, "We Can Go", which the band says is the most normal song we have ever written.

XLNT - High Tide 12" (DFA)

Christened High Tide after the sudden rising of the L.A. River basin during a particularly epic and rare rainfall, this cosmic slop funk jam was born from the minds of Devin Flynn (Pixeltan) and Eddie Ruscha (Secret Circuit), two individuals with a deep connection to Los Angeles tap water sources.

Kaleta & Super Yamba Band - Mèdaho LP (Ubiquity)

Debut album from the Brooklyn based Afro-funksters. Fronted by Afrobeat and Juju veteran Leon LiganMajek AKA Kaleta-a native of Benin Republic-Mèdaho draws on the group's shared reverence for the raw, psychedelic afro-funk sound that captivated Kaleta as a music loving kid in 1970s Benin. [CD edition due October 11.]

SadhuGold - The Gold Room LP (Nature Sounds)

With a sound he describes as the soundtrack to the subconscious of the space-time continuum, Philadelphia producer SadhuGold has emerged as one of hip-hop's most exciting new sonic architects. Specializing in raw, dusty vibes with an otherworldly feel, SahduGold has crafted tracks for acclaimed artists like Mach-Hommy, Westside Gunn, Tha God Fahim, Your Old Droog, and more. His latest project is The Gold Room, a brand new instrumental album conceived as the score of a prequel to Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining.

Le Butcherettes - Live At Clouds Hill LP (Clouds Hill)

The band, founded in 2007 by Teri Gender Bender, captivates with a mixture of noisy songs which are always catchy enough to stay in the listener's head. How wild the live shows can be, the band showed during their gig in the Clouds Hill Studios.

Nosaj Thing - Drift [Reissue/2009] LP (Timetable)

An entire decade has passed since the release of Nosaj Thing's critically acclaimed masterpiece of an album, Drift. In listening to how effortlessly this album has held up over the past 10 years, it is evident that Jason Chung is nothing shy of an exceptionally talented record producer, composer, and is proud to finally reissue this classic.

Boys Of Fall - Better Moments LP (Invogue)

Detroit, MI's Boys Of Fall offer up an expanded edition of their breakout 2018 album Better Moments featuring new songs and B-side versions of a couple of fan favorites.

Nas - It Was Written LP (Get On Down)
"It Was Written," the 1996 follow-up to Nas' 1994 breakthrough "Illmatic," threw critics and fans for a loop, with Nas dipping his toes into the world of mafioso rap. Amidst production from heavy hitters like Trackmasters, Dr. Dre, L.E.S., Havoc of Mobb Deep, and Illmatic-collaborator DJ Premier, among others, Nas weaves evocative narratives of gang warfare, downtrodden neighborhoods, drug deals gone awry, and gangsta triumph, against a backdrop of samples from Sam Cooke, Etta James, the Isley Brothers, and even Chuck Mangione. The album even managed to cause some minor controversy in the hip-hop community for its collaboration with West Coast producer Dr. Dre, at a time when the East Coast/West Coast rap feud was reaching a fever pitch, briefly attracting the ire of one Tupac Shakur. "It Was Written" garnered critical acclaim and also hit the top of the Billboard 200 chart, reaching platinum sales status four times, and, alongside albums like Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, helped usher in the era of mafioso rap in the mainstream.

Kool Keith - Computer Technology LP (Junkadelic Music)
Kool Keith is an educated man, boasting a pair of doctorates -- one in dooomology and another in octagon mathematics. Production on Keith's albums is eerily evil; his music is an LSD experience gone horribly wrong. On "Computer Technology," producer Junkaz Lou's bizarre, ethereal sound effects and tight, piercing drum loops prepare the listener for a down and dirty lyrical delivery that's been cultivated since Keith first arrived on the rap scene with the Ultramagnetic MCs. Verses contain unique rhyme structures and original metaphors, and range from classic emcee braggadocio to tales of robbery and street sex.

Pink Siifu - Ensley 2LP (Pink Siifu)
Pink Siifu is a 27 year old artist from Birmingham and raised in Cincinnati who started making music in 2012. Also known for his work with producer Ahwlee as B. Cool-Aid and always working on music with producer Swarvy, Siifu makes music that reflects the ideas, life, and struggles experienced through blackness even in light, with a style drawing from soul, punk , jazz, rap, and experimental music. His debut project "ensley" touches on notions of faith, family, and community and inspires both his art and communication.

L'Indecis - Plethoria LP (Chillhop Music)
Back by popular demand, Plethoria is instrumental hip-hop/downtempo producer's L'indécis' first full length album, which tells a story about a city that's washed away and reborn in both music and visuals. Repressed on limited edition white vinyl.

The Litter - Distortions LP (Sundazed)

Pure, unfiltered '60s garage rock pressed on colored vinyl. Canned Heat - Canned Heat [Reissue/1967] LP (Sundazed Music) Limited gold colored vinyl pressing of Canned Heat's eponymous 1967 debut LP, released shortly after their attention-getting performance at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival introduced the band's audacious synthesis of blues tradition and electrified boogie.

Foghat - Fool For The City [Reissue/1975] LP (Friday Music)

Foghat's first platinum album, Fool For The City is classic meat-and-potatoes '70s rock with killer slide-guitar solos, crunchy leads, driving rhythms, and soaring vocals. [Limited colored red colored vinyl pressing.]

Dick Dale and The Del-Tones - Surfers' Choice [Reissue/1962] LP (Sundazed Music)

Limited gold colored vinyl pressing also available of a surf guitar landmark.

Ace Frehley - Anomaly [Reissue/2009] 2xLP (E1)

Limited 180gm colored vinyl pressing of the Kiss frontman's 2009 solo album featuring embossed artwork and three bonus tracks.

Bro David - Modern Music from Belize LP (Cultures of Soul)
With his 1984 debut album "No Fear," Bredda David Obi introduced a new Belizean groove he called kungo (or cungo), a mélange of traditional Belizean brukdown music and sprinklings of the rock, funk, calypso and reggae he had played in various bands during his years as a journeyman musician in the US. He would further develop this modern tropical sound on subsequent albums, integrating more and more elements from Belizean niche genres like sambai and paranda. This anthology of early recordings from Bredda David's first three albums documents his journey into the soul of Belize. The various ingredients of kungo make the grooves feel somewhat familiar, but the recipe with which David blends them is slightly strange, fresh and intriguing.

Laika Speaks - Red Rocket Right Return LP (Mountain of Leopards)
Modern composers, from Holst to Suzanne Cianni to Sun Ra, differ in how space is represented sonically. Laika Speaks, so named for the famed Russian dog, approaches this question with a minimalist approach to modular synthesis and a healthy dose of electronic delay. Their debut album, Red Rocket Right Return, wonders just what Laika might have heard during her journey around the Earth, incorporating Space Race-era satellite transmissions, morse code, and HAM radio. The listening experience of Red Rocket Right Return is evocative of drifting, the isolation of space travel, the lonely emptiness of the unknown, and the vastness of the universe.

Elder - The Gold & Silver Sessions LP (Blues Funeral Recordings)
An experimental LP of ranging, krautrock-style jams that dramatically expands the Elder sound from its stoner/doom roots. Capturing Elder's expanding dynamic and ongoing progression, The Gold & Silver Sessions is an experimental LP of ranging psychedelic jams that captures their expressive and nuanced development in a way a 'regular' studio release wouldn't. This is still the band who put out 2017's crushing Reflections of a Floating World, but following their imagination in an entirely new direction.

Vacationer - Wavelengths LP (Paxico Records)
Wavelengths is 14 spectacular cuts by Vacationer that "didn't need vocals," composed and recorded while lead singer Kenny Vasoli was also working on the third Vacationer LP, Mindset. "My goal was to complete an album at home within my means. It was made for years in one room with all I had at arms length. I want to bring the listener into that room. I want them to smell the cedar planks and weed and feel the click of the tape machines' record button under their index fingers." - Kenny Vasoli

Trupa Trupa - Of the Sun LP (Lovitt Records/Glitterbeat)
Almost every song on the fifth album from Polish quartet Trupa Trupa lands like an anthem, with barbed hooks driven by an italicized rhythm section and a chimera of crisscrossing harmonies. From the relentlessly pulsing "Long Time Ago" to the deep glisten of "Longing," Of The Sun is an unbroken string of hits in Trupa Trupa's idiosyncratic, self-made universe.

Chihei Hatakeyama - Forgotten Hill LP (Room40)
Tokyo ambient maestro Chihei Hatakeyama's Forgotten Hill is a record about the melting of time. With reverb-drenched keys and soothing guitar tones, he creates an impressionist meditation on his journey through the Asuka region of Japan; an area known for its burial mounds, epic Buddhist monuments, and quietly poetic landscapes. "With this record, I aimed to create music, like a labyrinth, based on these days spent in the Asuka region. This is a record about time, about losing direction in time and wondering where it is exactly the past, the present and the future might meet, and under what circumstances this might happen."

Reissues & From The Archives

The Beatles - Abbey Road [Reissue/1969] CD/2xCD/3xCD+Blu-ray/LP/ Audio (Capitol)

Digitally remixed 50th Anniversary edition of The Beatles' musical masterpiece featuring a new stereo album mix, sourced directly from the original eight-track session tapes. To produce the mix, Giles Martin working with Sam Okell, was guided by the album's original stereo mix supervised by his father, George Martin. [Deluxe double-CD set pairs the new stereo mix with versions taken from the session takes and demo recordings, sequenced to match the album's running order. Super Deluxe triple-CD features 40 tracks total and adds a hi-res Blu-ray audio disc. Limited picture disc vinyl and triple-LP pressings are also available.]

The Replacements - Dead Man's Pop 4xCD+LP (WB)

Dead Man's Pop features the group's Don't Tell A Soul Album mixed as it was originally intended and expanded with previously unreleased studio and live recordings, including a session with tom waits and a complete 1989 concert. Although Don't Tell A Soul ultimately became the group's best-selling effort, The Replacements were unsatisfied with the sound of the record. The box features a newly completed mix of the album by Don't Tell A Soul producer Matt Wallace (based on his 1988 Paisley Park mix); a disc of unreleased recordings (including a session with Tom Waits); plus the band's entire June 2, 1989 show at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In total, the box includes 60 tracks - 58 of which have never been heard before.

John Coltrane - Blue World CD/LP (Verve)

In 1964, the National Film Board of Canada asked John Coltrane to record the soundtrack for a French-language film titled Le Chat Dans Le Sac (The Cat In The Bag). In June of that year, Coltrane's classic quartet entered Rudy Van Gelder's studio and recorded five previously-recorded Coltrane originals. For many years, viewers of the film who recognized the music thought that they were listening to the original recordings, though in fact they were new and had never been heard. As we went to press the vinyl had not yet arrived for this title. We expect it on Friday.

The Dead South - Good Company [Reissue/2016] CD/LP (Six Shooter)

A rock band without a drummer, a bluegrass band without a fiddler. To the gentlemen of The Dead South, a self-styled 4-piece string band from Regina, Saskatchewan, it's about how, not what, you play. The Dead South's combination of cello, mandolin, guitar and banjo has all the hallmarks of a group tuned to bygone times, but with their signature sleight of hand, The Dead South find distinctly ­modern bathos in this old time rigging.

Kristin Hersh - Crooked [Reissue/2009] CD/LP+MP3 (Fire)

Following a special vinyl release for this year's Record Store Day celebrating its tenth anniversary, Crooked is reissued on black vinyl and CD. 'A figurehead for feminist indie rock' (Classic Rock), Kristin Hersh achieved a music and publishing first when her eighth solo album was initially released as a multi-media book in 2009. Hersh's "poetic, provocative and puzzling songcraft" (The Washington Post) makes Crooked a stunning record.

Lloyd McNeill - Soul Jazz Records Presents Llloyd McNeill: Elegia CD/LP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)

Originally released on the McNeill's own private press Baobab label in New York in 1980, Elegia is a serious collectors piece; a heavyweight and fascinating fusion of deep spiritual jazz with Brazilian rhythms and melodies.

Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony [Reissue/2008] CD/LP (Rise Above Limited)

Blood Ceremony - Living With The Ancients [Reissue/2011] CD/2xLP (Rise Above Limited)

Blood Ceremony - The Eldritch Dark [Reissue/2013] CD/LP (Rise Above Limited)

Blood Ceremony's distinct style of flute-tinged witch rock evolves from an infernal marriage of occult-inspired acid folk and vintage hard-rock riffing. [Limited colored vinyl pressings.]

Compilations, Best Of's, & Sundry Collections

Various Artists - Strut My Stuff CD/LP (Modern Harmonic)

For every successful hit act that cracked the charts in the early '50s to mid- '60s, there were thousands of obscure artists exhibiting genuine country numbers free from mainstream oversight. Strut My Stuff rounds up such enigmas as the hectic hillbilly bopper "You've Been Honky Tonkin",'the shotgun-wedding scenario of "My Inlaws Made An Outlaw Out Of Me", and many more farm-raised rarities.

Various Artists - Soul Jazz Records Presents Studio One DJ Party CD/2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)

The latest installation from the mighty Studio One Records catalogue, a wicked new collection of the finest DJs and toasters ever to inhabit the world of reggae ' seminal Jamaican artists including Prince Jazzbo, Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone, Michigan & Smiley, Lone Ranger as well as a host of lesser known artists and rare cuts from Studio One.

Various Artists - Garland Records: Pacific Northwest Fuzz Box CD/LP (Beatrocket) Various Artists - Garland Records: Pacific Northwest Stash Box CD/LP (Beatrocket)

From the thriving hotbed of sixties garage and psychedelia of the Pacific Northwest and Salem's orphic Garland Records comes these potent caches of rare and previously unreleased recordings. Chiefly composed of moody and mellow folk rockers and ethereal groovers, there are also a few far-out, heady reconstructions of familiar faves.

Various Artists - International Pop Overthrow: Volume 22 3xCD (Omnivore)

A three-CD compilation featuring 69 tracks by artists from all over the world who have played the International Pop Overthrow festival-along with some who haven't.

Books

Steve Gorman & Steven Hyden - Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes BK (Da Capo Press)
For over two decades, The Black Crowes topped the charts and reigned supreme over the radio waves, even as hair bands, grunge, and hip-hop threatened to dethrone them. With hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," and "Remedy," their massive success launched them to stardom in the early '90s, earning them a place among rock royalty. They were on the cover of Rolling Stone, MTV played their videos 24/7, and Generation X re-discovered the power of classic rock and blues by digging into multi-platinum classics like Shake Your Money Maker and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. Founding member Steve Gorman was there for all of it--the coke and weed-fueled tours; the tumultuous recording sessions; the backstage hangs with rock legends. As the band's drummer and voice of reason, he tried to keep the Black Crowes together musically--and in one piece emotionally. In his first-person history of the Black Crowes, Hard To Handle--the first ever account of this great American rock band's beginning, middle, and end--Gorman makes it clear just how impossible that job was. Fortunately, Gorman tells the tale with great insight, candor, and humor. They don't make bands like the Black Crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. But, man, what a ride it was while it lasted.

Patti Smith - Year of the Monkey BK (Knopf)
From the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train, a profound, beautifully realized memoir in which dreams and reality are vividly woven into a tapestry of one transformative year. Following a run of New Year's concerts at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore, Patti Smith finds herself tramping the coast of Santa Cruz, about to embark on a year of solitary wandering. Unfettered by logic or time, she draws us into her private wonderland with no design. Riveting, elegant, often humorous, illustrated by Smith's signature Polaroids, Year of the Monkey is a moving and original work, a touchstone for our turbulent times.

Tegan Quin & Sara Quin - High School BK (MCD)
From the iconic musicians Tegan and Sara comes a memoir about high school, detailing their first loves and first songs in a compelling look back at their humble beginnings. High School is the revelatory and unique coming-of-age story of Sara and Tegan Quin, identical twins from Calgary, Alberta, who grew up at the height of grunge and rave culture in the nineties, well before they became the celebrated musicians and global LGBTQ icons we know today. While grappling with their identity and sexuality, often alone, they also faced academic meltdown, their parents' divorce, and the looming pressure of what might come after high school. A transcendent story of first loves and first songs, High School captures the tangle of discordant and parallel memories of two sisters who grew up in distinct ways even as they lived just down the hall from each another. This is the origin story of Tegan and Sara.