February 26 street date. Architects are back with their ninth studio album "For Those That Wish To Exist". The band have confirmed their ascent to the very upper echelons of British heavy music. Few bands, of this modern era or any other, can match the quintet's ability to blend uncompromising heaviness with razor-sharp melodic musicianship. A versatile metal group based out of Brighton, England, Architects employ a lethal combination of breakdown-heavy guitars, melodic vocals and symphonic-ambient post-metal. That sonic delivery is conducted from a platform built on veganism and environmental activism.
February 26 street date. Architects are back with their ninth studio album "For Those That Wish To Exist". The band have confirmed their ascent to the very upper echelons of British heavy music. Few bands, of this modern era or any other, can match the quintet's ability to blend uncompromising heaviness with razor-sharp melodic musicianship. A versatile metal group based out of Brighton, England, Architects employ a lethal combination of breakdown-heavy guitars, melodic vocals and symphonic-ambient post-metal. That sonic delivery is conducted from a platform built on veganism and environmental activism.
February 26 street date. Architects are back with their ninth studio album "For Those That Wish To Exist". The band have confirmed their ascent to the very upper echelons of British heavy music. Few bands, of this modern era or any other, can match the quintet's ability to blend uncompromising heaviness with razor-sharp melodic musicianship. A versatile metal group based out of Brighton, England, Architects employ a lethal combination of breakdown-heavy guitars, melodic vocals and symphonic-ambient post-metal. That sonic delivery is conducted from a platform built on veganism and environmental activism. Also available on CD and 2LP black vinyl.
February 26 street date. Julien Baker will release her third studio album, "Little Oblivions", on February 26 via Matador Records. Her first full length since 2017's "Turn Out The Lights", "Little Oblivions" was recorded in Memphis, TN between December 2019 and January 2020. The record weaves together unflinching autobiography with assimilated experience and hard won observations from the past few years, taking Baker's capacity for storytelling to new heights. It also marks a sonic shift, with the songwriter's intimate piano and guitar arrangements newly enriched by bass, drums, keyboards, banjo, and mandolin with nearly all of the instruments performed by Baker.
February 26 street date. Julien Baker will release her third studio album, "Little Oblivions", on February 26 via Matador Records. Her first full length since 2017's "Turn Out The Lights", "Little Oblivions" was recorded in Memphis, TN between December 2019 and January 2020. The record weaves together unflinching autobiography with assimilated experience and hard won observations from the past few years, taking Baker's capacity for storytelling to new heights. It also marks a sonic shift, with the songwriter's intimate piano and guitar arrangements newly enriched by bass, drums, keyboards, banjo, and mandolin with nearly all of the instruments performed by Baker.
February 26 street date. "In Ferneaux" explores pain in motion, building audio-spatial chambers of experience and memory. Using an archive of field recordings from a decade of global travels, isolation gave Blanck Mass an opportunity to make connections in a moment when being together is impossible. The record is divided into two long-form journeys that gather the memories of being with now-distant others through the composition of a nostalgic travelogue. The journeys are haunted with the vestiges of voices, places, and sensations. These scenes alternate with the building up and releasing of great aural tension, intensities that emerge from the trauma of a personal grieving process which has perhaps embraced its rage moment. With "In Ferneaux", Blanck Mass wrangles the immanent materials of the here-and-now to build a sense of transcendence. Here, the uncanny angelic hymn sits comfortably beside the dirge. The misery and blessing are one.
February 26 street date. "In Ferneaux" explores pain in motion, building audio-spatial chambers of experience and memory. Using an archive of field recordings from a decade of global travels, isolation gave Blanck Mass an opportunity to make connections in a moment when being together is impossible. The record is divided into two long-form journeys that gather the memories of being with now-distant others through the composition of a nostalgic travelogue. The journeys are haunted with the vestiges of voices, places, and sensations. These scenes alternate with the building up and releasing of great aural tension, intensities that emerge from the trauma of a personal grieving process which has perhaps embraced its rage moment. With "In Ferneaux", Blanck Mass wrangles the immanent materials of the here-and-now to build a sense of transcendence. Here, the uncanny angelic hymn sits comfortably beside the dirge. The misery and blessing are one.
Please note new street date: February 26. Join Buzzcocks as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band's formation in front of a ravenous London audience. Recorded in December 2006, and never before released on vinyl, ‘30’ captures the band on excellent form, performing twentyeight songs from across their back catalogue, including their seminal late 70s hits and highlights from the rest of their career. Still wired, still buzzing with punk energy and still playing loud, fast and unapologetically, this is the sound of a band on unstoppable form, led, as ever, by the inimitable combination of Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle. Limited to 1000 copies, this red vinyl edition promises to be a must-have for die-hards and collectors, and a brilliant primer for those not yet in the know.
Please note new street date: February 26. Black vinyl edition. 2009's "Further Complications" is joined by a 12-inch featuring "You're In My Eyes (Discosong)".
Please note new street date: February 26. Black vinyl edition. 2006's "Jarvis" comes with a seven-inch single featuring his rabble-rousing classic single "Running The World", which was the subject of a UK, fan-campaign to get it into the Christmas charts last year in the aftermath of the general election.
February 26 street date. Swedish dark melodic metal masters Evergrey return with their 12th album - dark and heavy, the phoenix is rising! Since the release of "Hymns For The Broken" in 2014, Evergrey has enjoyed increased notoriety and success with "The Storm Within" (2016) and "The Atlantic" (2019) - ironically, a conceptual trilogy - which is highly unusual for a veteran act. They mean to continue this tradition with "Escape Of The Phoenix", another heavy, melancholic and thought-provoking journey as only Evergrey can create. The result is 11 songs that embody everything Evergrey fans have to expect, albeit - a more metal version of "The Atlantic", with songs that are more direct - according to Englund and producer Jacob Hansen.
February 26 street date. Swedish dark melodic metal masters Evergrey return with their 12th album - dark and heavy, the phoenix is rising! Since the release of "Hymns For The Broken" in 2014, Evergrey has enjoyed increased notoriety and success with "The Storm Within" (2016) and "The Atlantic" (2019) - ironically, a conceptual trilogy - which is highly unusual for a veteran act. They mean to continue this tradition with "Escape Of The Phoenix", another heavy, melancholic and thought-provoking journey as only Evergrey can create. The result is 11 songs that embody everything Evergrey fans have to expect, albeit - a more metal version of "The Atlantic", with songs that are more direct - according to Englund and producer Jacob Hansen.
February 26 street date. Swedish dark melodic metal masters Evergrey return with their 12th album - dark and heavy, the phoenix is rising! Since the release of "Hymns For The Broken" in 2014, Evergrey has enjoyed increased notoriety and success with "The Storm Within" (2016) and "The Atlantic" (2019) - ironically, a conceptual trilogy - which is highly unusual for a veteran act. They mean to continue this tradition with "Escape Of The Phoenix", another heavy, melancholic and thought-provoking journey as only Evergrey can create. The result is 11 songs that embody everything Evergrey fans have to expect, albeit - a more metal version of "The Atlantic", with songs that are more direct - according to Englund and producer Jacob Hansen.
February 26 street date. Swedish dark melodic metal masters Evergrey return with their 12th album - dark and heavy, the phoenix is rising! Since the release of "Hymns For The Broken" in 2014, Evergrey has enjoyed increased notoriety and success with "The Storm Within" (2016) and "The Atlantic" (2019) - ironically, a conceptual trilogy - which is highly unusual for a veteran act. They mean to continue this tradition with "Escape Of The Phoenix", another heavy, melancholic and thought-provoking journey as only Evergrey can create. The result is 11 songs that embody everything Evergrey fans have to expect, albeit - a more metal version of "The Atlantic", with songs that are more direct - according to Englund and producer Jacob Hansen.
February 26 street date. Swedish dark melodic metal masters Evergrey return with their 12th album - dark and heavy, the phoenix is rising! Since the release of "Hymns For The Broken" in 2014, Evergrey has enjoyed increased notoriety and success with "The Storm Within" (2016) and "The Atlantic" (2019) - ironically, a conceptual trilogy - which is highly unusual for a veteran act. They mean to continue this tradition with "Escape Of The Phoenix", another heavy, melancholic and thought-provoking journey as only Evergrey can create. The result is 11 songs that embody everything Evergrey fans have to expect, albeit - a more metal version of "The Atlantic", with songs that are more direct - according to Englund and producer Jacob Hansen.
February 26 street date. Swedish dark melodic metal masters Evergrey return with their 12th album - dark and heavy, the phoenix is rising! Since the release of "Hymns For The Broken" in 2014, Evergrey has enjoyed increased notoriety and success with "The Storm Within" (2016) and "The Atlantic" (2019) - ironically, a conceptual trilogy - which is highly unusual for a veteran act. They mean to continue this tradition with "Escape Of The Phoenix", another heavy, melancholic and thought-provoking journey as only Evergrey can create. The result is 11 songs that embody everything Evergrey fans have to expect, albeit - a more metal version of "The Atlantic", with songs that are more direct - according to Englund and producer Jacob Hansen.
February 26 street date. "Life is Not a Lesson" is Glitterer's second full-length album, featuring Ned Russin, bassist/vocalist of seminal hardcore-punk band Title Fight. This time Ned has produced the record himself, notwithstanding some recording and performance help from his twin brother, Ben, and some other friends, as well as mixing and mastering by Arthur Rizk (Code Orange, Power Trip). It may surprise you to hear that, irrespective of worldly doom and gloom, the new songs are even catchier and bigger-sounding than those from his 2019 release, "Looking Through the Shades". With roomier drums and more electric-guitars-per-square-inch than ever, "Life is Not a Lesson" has a way of evoking an alternate-universe version of Guided By Voices, one with a hardcore-punk background. "Life is Not a Lesson" proves to be a rigorous reckoning with the life of the mind at a time when there's not much life outside the mind.
February 26 street date. "Life is Not a Lesson" is Glitterer's second full-length album, featuring Ned Russin, bassist/vocalist of seminal hardcore-punk band Title Fight. This time Ned has produced the record himself, notwithstanding some recording and performance help from his twin brother, Ben, and some other friends, as well as mixing and mastering by Arthur Rizk (Code Orange, Power Trip). It may surprise you to hear that, irrespective of worldly doom and gloom, the new songs are even catchier and bigger-sounding than those from his 2019 release, "Looking Through the Shades". With roomier drums and more electric-guitars-per-square-inch than ever, "Life is Not a Lesson" has a way of evoking an alternate-universe version of Guided By Voices, one with a hardcore-punk background. "Life is Not a Lesson" proves to be a rigorous reckoning with the life of the mind at a time when there's not much life outside the mind.
February 26 street date. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021, The National’s self-titled debut album of sozzled Americana is a thing of beauty, laden with heavy hints that this was a special band in the making. Their first release, "The National" arrived two years after The National formed, a time when they were juggling band life with needing to hold down full-time jobs. And while nods to the alt.rock artists that inspired them (Pavement, Silver Jews) can be heard, so too are the beginnings of something all their own - Matt Berninger's stunning and unexpected lyrics being pinned to melodies that stop you in your tracks. "The National" marks the start point for one of the best bands of their generation with its new master helping elevate it to new levels. A great primer to a great band. Remastered at Abbey Road Studios, this 2021 repress stays faithful to its original artwork while the stunning new master helps make it sound as vital as ever, further emphasising the early signs of the sound that would go on to make them one of the ?nest and most beloved alternative bands of their generation.
February 26 street date. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021, The National’s self-titled debut album of sozzled Americana is a thing of beauty, laden with heavy hints that this was a special band in the making. Their first release, "The National" arrived two years after The National formed, a time when they were juggling band life with needing to hold down full-time jobs. And while nods to the alt.rock artists that inspired them (Pavement, Silver Jews) can be heard, so too are the beginnings of something all their own - Matt Berninger's stunning and unexpected lyrics being pinned to melodies that stop you in your tracks. "The National" marks the start point for one of the best bands of their generation with its new master helping elevate it to new levels. A great primer to a great band. Remastered at Abbey Road Studios, this 2021 repress stays faithful to its original artwork while the stunning new master helps make it sound as vital as ever, further emphasising the early signs of the sound that would go on to make them one of the ?nest and most beloved alternative bands of their generation.
February 26 street date. The National's second album, "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers" (2003) proved a leap forward from 2001's eponymous debut, showing a band adept at delivering warm embraces and gut punches in equal measure. With word of mouth now spreading on the band, critics proved equally enthusiastic... Pitchfork in their glowing review called it a "gorgeous train wreck" that "lives up to its blunt title (with) Matt Berninger's self-e?acing barbs matched by the band’s equally potent hooks," while Uncut also became early champions saying the album was "a genuine treasure... livid as a bruise, this is brave, desperate, beautiful music." No longer a secret among those that know, "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers" is an important record in The National's discography with this new remaster showing that it's more than standing the test of time. Remastered at Abbey Road Studios, this 2021 repress stays faithful to its original artwork while the stunning new master helps make it sound as vital as ever, further emphasising the early signs of the sound that would go on to make them one of the ?nest and most beloved alternative bands of their generation.
February 26 street date. The National's second album, "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers" (2003) proved a leap forward from 2001's eponymous debut, showing a band adept at delivering warm embraces and gut punches in equal measure. With word of mouth now spreading on the band, critics proved equally enthusiastic... Pitchfork in their glowing review called it a "gorgeous train wreck" that "lives up to its blunt title (with) Matt Berninger's self-effacing barbs matched by the band’s equally potent hooks," while Uncut also became early champions saying the album was "a genuine treasure... livid as a bruise, this is brave, desperate, beautiful music." No longer a secret among those that know, "Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers" is an important record in The National's discography with this new remaster showing that it's more than standing the test of time. Remastered at Abbey Road Studios, this 2021 repress stays faithful to its original artwork while the stunning new master helps make it sound as vital as ever, further emphasising the early signs of the sound that would go on to make them one of the finest and most beloved alternative bands of their generation.
February 26 street date. Released a year before The National broke through with their third album "Alligator", 2004's "Cherry Tree" EP is a thrilling record which - thanks to its collection of delicate ballads and anthemic crowd-pleasers - sums up what they do best in under 30 minutes. Now a firm fan-favourite, among "Cherry Tree"'s seven tracks are National classics ‘About Today’ and ‘All The Wine’, plus a thrilling live version of ‘Murder Me Rachael’ that reminds of the band's fearsome early live performances. "Cherry Tree" can be seen as the record that marks the moment when The National had truly found themselves, a bridge from what went before to a band ready to conquer the world. Remastered at Abbey Road Studios, this 2021 repress stays faithful to its original artwork while the stunning new master helps make it sound as vital as ever, further emphasising the early signs of the sound that would go on to make them one of the finest and most beloved alternative bands of their generation.
February 26 street date. Released a year before The National broke through with their third album "Alligator", 2004's "Cherry Tree" EP is a thrilling record which - thanks to its collection of delicate ballads and anthemic crowd-pleasers - sums up what they do best in under 30 minutes. Now a firm fan-favourite, among "Cherry Tree"'s seven tracks are National classics ‘About Today’ and ‘All The Wine’, plus a thrilling live version of ‘Murder Me Rachael’ that reminds of the band's fearsome early live performances. "Cherry Tree" can be seen as the record that marks the moment when The National had truly found themselves, a bridge from what went before to a band ready to conquer the world. Remastered at Abbey Road Studios, this 2021 repress stays faithful to its original artwork while the stunning new master helps make it sound as vital as ever, further emphasising the early signs of the sound that would go on to make them one of the finest and most beloved alternative bands of their generation.
Please note new street dates: February 26 for CD / March 12 for LP. When it comes to classic Fat Wreck bands No Use For A Name certainly need no introduction, but here's the scoop: they were one of the first bands on Fat Wreck Chords and remain a cornerstone of the label roster. Their unique take on California punk emphasized equally innovative and catchy melody, paired with top-flight musicianship. Despite the tragic passing of singer and songwriter Tony Sly in 2012, their presence can still be felt today, as their influence is evident in the work of many other artists. Fat Wreck recently unearthed some demos and early versions of some of the best No Use For A Name songs. The response was unanimous - people must hear these! So alas, we bring you "Rarities Vol. 2: The Originals". Side A gets the listener hooked immediately with rare versions of songs that have only appeared on compilations. The B-side contains never-before heard demos from the classic NUFAN album "Hard Rock Bottom".
February 26 street date (CD)/March 19 street date (LP). After nearly 40 years, what is left to say about NOFX? Can a band continue to shake it up after almost four decades as a band? The answer to this question lies on "Single Album", the quartet's 14th full-length studio album. It is, as frontman and bassist Fat Mike describes, "a dark album". That wasn't the original intent. By early 2020, NOFX had written and recorded enough songs for a planned double album to be released that fall. Like so much about 2020, those plans changed. The band decided they had fell short of making the perfect double album, so they scrapped some tracks, and condensed it down to one solid single album. Hence the title. Recorded at Motor Studios in San Francisco with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore (Rise Against, Alkaline Trio), "Single Album" gets more personal than NOFX ever has before. The result of these 10 tracks is a NOFX album that is both familiar and unpredictable traits that legions of adoring fans have grown to love about the band.
February 26 street date. "Amperland, NY" is a collection (and feature length film) that features 21 brand new studio recordings spanning Pinegrove's career and catalogue, captured upstate in the house where the band lived and recorded for 4 years - a place they lovingly referred to as "Amperland". All good things (and leases) come to an end, and before they bid adieu to the space permanently, they gathered together for one last performance with friends and family. Featuring original member and keyboardist/vocalist Nandi Rose (Half Waif) on many tracks, this collection will thrill old and new listeners alike, with the band breathing new life into fan favorites and deep cuts. From acoustic versions to unique arrangements featuring piano, pedal steel and organ, "Amperland, NY" touches on notes of folk and progressive rock previously unheard on their studio albums. This will be an essential addition to the Pinegrove catalog and encompasses all of the earnest and ecstatic live energy the band is known for. The beautiful double album will be housed in a heavyweight matte gatefold package and comes with a fully annotated script and behind the scenes photos from the film.
February 26 street date. "Amperland, NY" is a collection (and feature length film) that features 21 brand new studio recordings spanning Pinegrove's career and catalogue, captured upstate in the house where the band lived and recorded for 4 years - a place they lovingly referred to as "Amperland". All good things (and leases) come to an end, and before they bid adieu to the space permanently, they gathered together for one last performance with friends and family. Featuring original member and keyboardist/vocalist Nandi Rose (Half Waif) on many tracks, this collection will thrill old and new listeners alike, with the band breathing new life into fan favorites and deep cuts. From acoustic versions to unique arrangements featuring piano, pedal steel and organ, "Amperland, NY" touches on notes of folk and progressive rock previously unheard on their studio albums. This will be an essential addition to the Pinegrove catalog and encompasses all of the earnest and ecstatic live energy the band is known for. The beautiful double album will be housed in a heavyweight matte gatefold package and comes with a fully annotated script and behind the scenes photos from the film.
February 26 street date. "Vignettes" sees Wesley Schultz, the 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter-guitarist and co-founder of The Lumineers, exploring his myriad influences and early inspirations with a series of starkly beautiful cover versions spanning such legendary artists as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Sheryl Crow, Jim Croce, Derek and the Dominos, and Warren Zevon.
February 26 street date. "Vignettes" sees Wesley Schultz, the 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter-guitarist and co-founder of The Lumineers, exploring his myriad influences and early inspirations with a series of starkly beautiful cover versions spanning such legendary artists as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Sheryl Crow, Jim Croce, Derek and the Dominos, and Warren Zevon.
February 26 street date. Smerz are the Nowegian duo of Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg. The duo, who produce, write, direct and conceptualize all their own work, carve out a space where it's not so impossible for dreams, both big and small, to grow in the midst of the systemic societal weeds that tangle up people's self-worth and confidence. With "Believer", their 2021 debut full-length album on XL Recordings, they formalize the boundless sonic world that started to emerge within each of their debut EP's and in their running NTS monthly residency. Are you a Believer?
February 26 street date. Smerz are the Nowegian duo of Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg. The duo, who produce, write, direct and conceptualize all their own work, carve out a space where it's not so impossible for dreams, both big and small, to grow in the midst of the systemic societal weeds that tangle up people's self-worth and confidence. With "Believer", their 2021 debut full-length album on XL Recordings, they formalize the boundless sonic world that started to emerge within each of their debut EP's and in their running NTS monthly residency. Are you a Believer?
Please note new street date: February 26. STRFKR's sound has morphed over the years through variations of hyper catchy, danceable pop, but on "Ambient 1" - the band's first fully instrumental album - the band has achieved something very different. For a little shy of an hour, "Ambient 1" drifts through softly glowing electronic instrumentals that extract the synth core from the group's well established synth pop sound. It's patient, playful, and calming music that travels through passageways of chaos and anxiety on a journey towards healing. Upon completing work on the lo-fi dreaminess of "Future Past Life", STRFKR's principal songwriter Josh Hodges found himself returning repeatedly to albums by his favorite ambient artists and minimal composers. This growing obsession with synthesis and the culture around it also concurred with the daily darkness of the pandemic and some personal disruptions. Without spending too much time thinking about what it meant, Hodges began recording ambient experiments almost daily as a way of processing these difficult emotions. Even at his most drony and experimental, Hodges can't escape his distinctive melodic approach. "Ambient 1" strips away the familiar and the expected, exposing Hodges' signature sonic personality at a granular level.
Please note new street date: February 26. STRFKR's sound has morphed over the years through variations of hyper catchy, danceable pop, but on "Ambient 1" - the band's first fully instrumental album - the band has achieved something very different. For a little shy of an hour, "Ambient 1" drifts through softly glowing electronic instrumentals that extract the synth core from the group's well established synth pop sound. It's patient, playful, and calming music that travels through passageways of chaos and anxiety on a journey towards healing. Upon completing work on the lo-fi dreaminess of "Future Past Life", STRFKR's principal songwriter Josh Hodges found himself returning repeatedly to albums by his favorite ambient artists and minimal composers. This growing obsession with synthesis and the culture around it also concurred with the daily darkness of the pandemic and some personal disruptions. Without spending too much time thinking about what it meant, Hodges began recording ambient experiments almost daily as a way of processing these difficult emotions. Even at his most drony and experimental, Hodges can't escape his distinctive melodic approach. "Ambient 1" strips away the familiar and the expected, exposing Hodges' signature sonic personality at a granular level.
February 26. Marking his first full-length album in six years, five-time GRAMMY Award nominee and diamond-selling performer, actor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Robin Thicke makes a return in 2021 with the long awaited new album, "On Earth, and in Heaven". Setting the stage for the record, the scorching single "That's What Love Can Do," ignited this new flame and hit #1 on the Urban A.C. charts. The second single, "Forever Mine," garnered high praise from Vibe, and has already amassed over 2 million Spotify streams and counting. Presenting the same bold, bright, and boisterous R&B that turned him into a household name, he ascends to new heights on his eighth full-length album.
March 5 street date. Songs from Caribou's "Suddenly" remixed by four exciting new artists. Dan Snaith says: "the best thing about remixes is getting to hear producers whose music I love rework my music. Shanti Celeste, India Jordan, Kareem Ali, and Logic1000" - I've been super excited by all of their music recently, and I feel really lucky that they were up for creating these beautiful remixes". Limited to 300 copies in North America.
March 5 street date. "The Pet Parade", the title track to Fruit Bats' newest album, might be a surprising opening track for longtime fans of Eric D. Johnson's beloved indie folk-rock project. The six-and-a-half-minute tone poem smolders and drones over just two chords, inspired by the strange and silly community events that he saw growing up outside of Chicago, in La Grange, Illinois, in which people dressed up and showed off their pets. Decades later, "The Pet Parade" emerges in troubled times, living within what Johnson refers to as the beauty and absurdity of existence. While many of the songs on "The Pet Parade" were actually written before the pandemic, it's impossible to disassociate the record from the times. As an example, producer Josh Kaufman (Bob Weir, The National, and Bonny Light Horseman, in which he plays with Johnson and Anaïs Mitchell) was brought in for his deep emotional touch and bandleading abilities. At times upbeat and reassuring and at times quietly contemplative, "The Pet Parade" marks a milestone for Johnson, who celebrates 20 years of Fruit Bats in 2021.
March 5 street date. "The Pet Parade", the title track to Fruit Bats' newest album, might be a surprising opening track for longtime fans of Eric D. Johnson's beloved indie folk-rock project. The six-and-a-half-minute tone poem smolders and drones over just two chords, inspired by the strange and silly community events that he saw growing up outside of Chicago, in La Grange, Illinois, in which people dressed up and showed off their pets. Decades later, "The Pet Parade" emerges in troubled times, living within what Johnson refers to as the beauty and absurdity of existence. While many of the songs on "The Pet Parade" were actually written before the pandemic, it's impossible to disassociate the record from the times. As an example, producer Josh Kaufman (Bob Weir, The National, and Bonny Light Horseman, in which he plays with Johnson and Anaïs Mitchell) was brought in for his deep emotional touch and bandleading abilities. At times upbeat and reassuring and at times quietly contemplative, "The Pet Parade" marks a milestone for Johnson, who celebrates 20 years of Fruit Bats in 2021.
March 5 street date. With a name as bold as Junglepussy and an artistry to match, Shayna McHayle is New York's premier rap rule-breaker. Honest, funny, and freaky, her rhymes span from the explicitly audacious to the tenderly relatable. Her unfailingly confident flow accentuates her roots in Brooklyn (her parents are from Trinidad and Jamaica), and her bars land with cool impact. In the universe that is Junglepussy, relationships are complicated, vegetables are magic, and an excellently delivered flex on an ex is one punchline away. With contributions from vocalist Ian Isiah, rapper Gangsta Boo, and producers Dave Sitek and Nick Hook, "Jp4" is Junglepussy ascended. After almost a decade of experimenting, Junglepussy feels she's finally living up to her name. Over an eight year career, Junglepussy's music has led her to lecture at Yale and Columbia, create her own Junglepussy Juice, star in 2018 feature film Support The Girls, and embark on sold-out domestic and international tours.
February 5 street date. Koralle kicks off 2021 with his second length album “Fonografie”. 2020 was a real roller coaster year for Italian beatmaker Koralle. COVID-19 hit his hometown Bologna hard. Meanwhile, Koralle has been as busy as ever releasing eight singles from “Fonografie”, including collabs with Cologne beat smith Twit One, London MC & activist Isatta Sheriff, Houston rapper Anti Lilly and Turt from Summers Sons.
March 5 street date. Gil Evans to Miles Davis.... Holger Czukay to the ensemble known as Can....Jean Claude Vannier to Serge Gainsbourg on "Histoire de Melody Nelson". That's the only way to explain the specificity of Four Tet and Madlib's collaboration, in this special album that showcases a two-decade long friendship that has resulted in an album that follows Madlib's classics like Quasimoto's "The Unseen", "Madvillainy" and his "Pinata" and "Bandana" albums with Freddie Gibbs. "A few months ago I completed work on an album with my friend Madlib that we'd been making for the last few years. He is always making loads of music in all sorts of styles and I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album. Not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish. I put this concept to him when we were hanging out eating some nice food one day and we decided to work on this together with him sending me tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that I would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine. I was sent hundreds of pieces of music over a couple of years stretch and during that time I put together this album with all the parts that fitted with my vision" - Kieren Hebden aka Four Tet.
March 5 street date. Gil Evans to Miles Davis.... Holger Czukay to the ensemble known as Can....Jean Claude Vannier to Serge Gainsbourg on "Histoire de Melody Nelson". That's the only way to explain the specificity of Four Tet and Madlib's collaboration, in this special album that showcases a two-decade long friendship that has resulted in an album that follows Madlib's classics like Quasimoto's "The Unseen", "Madvillainy" and his "Pinata" and "Bandana" albums with Freddie Gibbs. "A few months ago I completed work on an album with my friend Madlib that we'd been making for the last few years. He is always making loads of music in all sorts of styles and I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album. Not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish. I put this concept to him when we were hanging out eating some nice food one day and we decided to work on this together with him sending me tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that I would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine. I was sent hundreds of pieces of music over a couple of years stretch and during that time I put together this album with all the parts that fitted with my vision" - Kieren Hebden aka Four Tet.
March 5 street date. Some art is about sustenance. Some of it is about healing, or harm; some is about play and some about its own labour. There is art about wishing, and politics, and despair, and inheritance, and enchanted basilisks. Across 15 years and five solo albums, the Toronto musician Owen Pallett has made art that is each of these things - music that shines, gallops, shudders, climaxes. Working alone and with some of the biggest names in popular music, he has sewn his name into the early sound of this century, a message hidden at its hem. "Island", Pallett's latest, begins with 13 darkened chords. It is the sound of waking up - alone, on a new shore. What comes next is shimmering and luscious: an orchestral album that draws across the full breadth of Pallett's discography. Almost entirely acoustic, "Island" deploys the grandest ensemble of Pallett's solo career - the monumental London Contemporary Orchestra, recorded live at Abbey Road Studios - and yet it also presents the musician at his most distilled, often unadorned, just the words he's singing and the way he sings them. Pallett wrote these nine songs on old-fashioned acoustic guitar. Later, he imagined these tracks as an immersive, 80-minute orchestral album. The finished result is somewhere uniquely in-between - the 46-minute fruit of an instinctive, whirlwind recording process, completed over years but in short, concentrated bursts.
March 5 street date. Some art is about sustenance. Some of it is about healing, or harm; some is about play and some about its own labour. There is art about wishing, and politics, and despair, and inheritance, and enchanted basilisks. Across 15 years and five solo albums, the Toronto musician Owen Pallett has made art that is each of these things - music that shines, gallops, shudders, climaxes. Working alone and with some of the biggest names in popular music, he has sewn his name into the early sound of this century, a message hidden at its hem. "Island", Pallett's latest, begins with 13 darkened chords. It is the sound of waking up - alone, on a new shore. What comes next is shimmering and luscious: an orchestral album that draws across the full breadth of Pallett's discography. Almost entirely acoustic, "Island" deploys the grandest ensemble of Pallett's solo career - the monumental London Contemporary Orchestra, recorded live at Abbey Road Studios - and yet it also presents the musician at his most distilled, often unadorned, just the words he's singing and the way he sings them. Pallett wrote these nine songs on old-fashioned acoustic guitar. Later, he imagined these tracks as an immersive, 80-minute orchestral album. The finished result is somewhere uniquely in-between - the 46-minute fruit of an instinctive, whirlwind recording process, completed over years but in short, concentrated bursts.
March 12 street date. "Dies Occidendum" is a mythical voyage across fog-laden, scorched earth terrain from the original friar of dark hip hop, DJ Muggs The Black Goat. Known and revered as the sonic mastermind behind both Cypress Hill and his own Soul Assassins imprint, here Muggs sheds the MCs and presents his latest dark-soaked productions as an illuminated manuscript of sorts; a fully immersive, instrumental soundtrack to the mysterious "Dies Occidendum". No one wields the Excalibur of sonic darkness quite like Muggs. Combining ingredients of psych rock, gypsy folk with modern elements of trap, forged together under layers of his signature sonic grime, Muggs has created yet another blueprint for the utmost sonic menace and macabre. The Renaissance is upon us. Long live King Muggs.
March 12 street date. "Dies Occidendum" is a mythical voyage across fog-laden, scorched earth terrain from the original friar of dark hip hop, DJ Muggs The Black Goat. Known and revered as the sonic mastermind behind both Cypress Hill and his own Soul Assassins imprint, here Muggs sheds the MCs and presents his latest dark-soaked productions as an illuminated manuscript of sorts; a fully immersive, instrumental soundtrack to the mysterious "Dies Occidendum". No one wields the Excalibur of sonic darkness quite like Muggs. Combining ingredients of psych rock, gypsy folk with modern elements of trap, forged together under layers of his signature sonic grime, Muggs has created yet another blueprint for the utmost sonic menace and macabre. The Renaissance is upon us. Long live King Muggs.
March 12 street date. "Dies Occidendum" is a mythical voyage across fog-laden, scorched earth terrain from the original friar of dark hip hop, DJ Muggs The Black Goat. Known and revered as the sonic mastermind behind both Cypress Hill and his own Soul Assassins imprint, here Muggs sheds the MCs and presents his latest dark-soaked productions as an illuminated manuscript of sorts; a fully immersive, instrumental soundtrack to the mysterious "Dies Occidendum". No one wields the Excalibur of sonic darkness quite like Muggs. Combining ingredients of psych rock, gypsy folk with modern elements of trap, forged together under layers of his signature sonic grime, Muggs has created yet another blueprint for the utmost sonic menace and macabre. The Renaissance is upon us. Long live King Muggs.
Please note new street dates: February 26 for CD / March 12 for LP. When it comes to classic Fat Wreck bands No Use For A Name certainly need no introduction, but here's the scoop: they were one of the first bands on Fat Wreck Chords and remain a cornerstone of the label roster. Their unique take on California punk emphasized equally innovative and catchy melody, paired with top-flight musicianship. Despite the tragic passing of singer and songwriter Tony Sly in 2012, their presence can still be felt today, as their influence is evident in the work of many other artists. Fat Wreck recently unearthed some demos and early versions of some of the best No Use For A Name songs. The response was unanimous - people must hear these! So alas, we bring you "Rarities Vol. 2: The Originals". Side A gets the listener hooked immediately with rare versions of songs that have only appeared on compilations. The B-side contains never-before heard demos from the classic NUFAN album "Hard Rock Bottom".
March 12 street date. First time on vinyl for this 2006 release! 6 track EP - two of which reappeared on "Wolves In Wolves' Clothing" and four tracks that are otherwise unavailable.
March 12 street date. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Chastity Belt's Annie Truscott descended into a state of mourning. Her plan had been to join her partner, Jay Som's Melina Duterte, as violinist on tour, a privilege rarely afforded since both maintain busy road schedules. Routine was born of this disappointment. Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Truscott and Duterte's collaborative project offers a glimpse of the creative possibilities that can emerge from a state of defeat. Written and recorded over the course of a month in Joshua Tree, Routine's lush debut EP "And Other Things" finds the couple trying on new roles. Truscott, who plays bass in Chastity Belt, wrote the bulk of the material and sings on the EP, while Duterte, normally a band leader, used the project as an opportunity to, in her words, "take the backseat", as accompanist, producer, and engineer.
March 19 street date. Ryan Adams' first album in three years, "Wednesdays", is purely raw, vulnerable, and honest. The music takes you on a deep dive exploring the complex heart of Ryan Adams, through a journey of love, pain, and heartbreak. The album so effortlessly creates an immediate connection with anyone who has ever experienced love lost - the type of love that haunts you in quiet places of your mind. While the lyrics walk you through the vast emotional layers of grief, they also remind you of the rich memories of a love that will forever remain a part of you.
March 19 street date. Ryan Adams' first album in three years, "Wednesdays", is purely raw, vulnerable, and honest. The music takes you on a deep dive exploring the complex heart of Ryan Adams, through a journey of love, pain, and heartbreak. The album so effortlessly creates an immediate connection with anyone who has ever experienced love lost - the type of love that haunts you in quiet places of your mind. While the lyrics walk you through the vast emotional layers of grief, they also remind you of the rich memories of a love that will forever remain a part of you.
March 19 street date. Hot on the heels of five viral video singles, "Tea Party Revenge Porn", the first full album since 2014 by Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine, is finally here! This is very strong stuff. Hear the inimitable Mr. B skewer the place the country has put itself in like no one else would - or could - as he and The Guantanamo School Of Medicine capture the full power of their live shows on disc as never before. Only so many artists have a track record of lyrics this good, and back it up with music as good or better. So as germs and police riots rage, there's no better primal scream therapy than a long-awaited new Jello Biafra album.
March 19 street date. Hot on the heels of five viral video singles, "Tea Party Revenge Porn", the first full album since 2014 by Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine, is finally here! This is very strong stuff. Hear the inimitable Mr. B skewer the place the country has put itself in like no one else would - or could - as he and The Guantanamo School Of Medicine capture the full power of their live shows on disc as never before. Only so many artists have a track record of lyrics this good, and back it up with music as good or better. So as germs and police riots rage, there's no better primal scream therapy than a long-awaited new Jello Biafra album.
March 19 street date. Sophomore album from the Windsor duo who were nominated for a 2020 Juno for Breakthrough Group Of The Year. When Tarek Jafar and Justin Tessier formed The Blue Stones, they were facing uncertainty about who they were and where they were going. But they did know they wanted to make music together, and so they did, writing songs over time and eventually releasing their debut album "Black Holes" in 2018. As confident and self-assured as they are, that record was very much about the pair finding themselves, both musically and existentially, and deciding to pursue the rock 'n' roll dream by jumping into a black hole of the unknown instead of choosing a more ordinary life-path. The band drew the attention of producer, Paul Meany - the creative force behind alternative rock band Mutemath, and who recently worked with Twenty One Pilots, producing their fifth album, "Trench". Working with Meany didn't just lead to The Blue Stones exploring - and creating - music in a different way than they had before, but it also led Jafar to approach and tackle lyrics in an entirely new light. Combined with the band's nuanced and layered approach to their sound, it makes these songs resonate with a powerful emotional intensity.
March 19 street date. Sophomore album from the Windsor duo who were nominated for a 2020 Juno for Breakthrough Group Of The Year. When Tarek Jafar and Justin Tessier formed The Blue Stones, they were facing uncertainty about who they were and where they were going. But they did know they wanted to make music together, and so they did, writing songs over time and eventually releasing their debut album "Black Holes" in 2018. As confident and self-assured as they are, that record was very much about the pair finding themselves, both musically and existentially, and deciding to pursue the rock 'n' roll dream by jumping into a black hole of the unknown instead of choosing a more ordinary life-path. The band drew the attention of producer, Paul Meany - the creative force behind alternative rock band Mutemath, and who recently worked with Twenty One Pilots, producing their fifth album, "Trench". Working with Meany didn't just lead to The Blue Stones exploring - and creating - music in a different way than they had before, but it also led Jafar to approach and tackle lyrics in an entirely new light. Combined with the band's nuanced and layered approach to their sound, it makes these songs resonate with a powerful emotional intensity.
Please note new street date: March 19. Fleet Foxes fourth studio album "Shore" is a collection of 15 new songs, available on double-gatefold 2LP vinyl and CD. Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold shares, "Shore feels like a relief, like you’d feel when your feet finally hit sand after getting caught in a riptide. It's a celebration of life in the face of death, honoring our lost musical heroes, from David Berman to John Prine to Judee Sill to Bill Withers, embracing the joy and solace they brought to our lives and honoring their memory. "Shore" is an object levitating between the magnetic fields of the past and the future". "Shore" was released digitally in its entirety on the fall equinox (9/22) alongside an album length Super-16mm landscape film captured and edited in Washington State by the filmmaker Kersti Jan Werdal. The album was recorded in upstate New York at Aaron Dessner's Long Pond Studio, in Paris at Studios St. Germain, in Los Angeles at the legendary Vox, in Long Island City at Diamond Mine, and New York City's Electric Lady.
Please note new street date: March 19. Fleet Foxes fourth studio album "Shore" is a collection of 15 new songs, available on double-gatefold 2LP vinyl and CD. Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold shares, "Shore feels like a relief, like you’d feel when your feet finally hit sand after getting caught in a riptide. It's a celebration of life in the face of death, honoring our lost musical heroes, from David Berman to John Prine to Judee Sill to Bill Withers, embracing the joy and solace they brought to our lives and honoring their memory. "Shore" is an object levitating between the magnetic fields of the past and the future". "Shore" was released digitally in its entirety on the fall equinox (9/22) alongside an album length Super-16mm landscape film captured and edited in Washington State by the filmmaker Kersti Jan Werdal. The album was recorded in upstate New York at Aaron Dessner's Long Pond Studio, in Paris at Studios St. Germain, in Los Angeles at the legendary Vox, in Long Island City at Diamond Mine, and New York City's Electric Lady.
Please note new street date: March 19. Fleet Foxes fourth studio album "Shore" is a collection of 15 new songs, available on double-gatefold 2LP vinyl and CD. Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold shares, "Shore feels like a relief, like you’d feel when your feet finally hit sand after getting caught in a riptide. It's a celebration of life in the face of death, honoring our lost musical heroes, from David Berman to John Prine to Judee Sill to Bill Withers, embracing the joy and solace they brought to our lives and honoring their memory. "Shore" is an object levitating between the magnetic fields of the past and the future". "Shore" was released digitally in its entirety on the fall equinox (9/22) alongside an album length Super-16mm landscape film captured and edited in Washington State by the filmmaker Kersti Jan Werdal. The album was recorded in upstate New York at Aaron Dessner's Long Pond Studio, in Paris at Studios St. Germain, in Los Angeles at the legendary Vox, in Long Island City at Diamond Mine, and New York City's Electric Lady.
Please note new street date: March 19. "The Pet Parade", the title track to Fruit Bats' newest album, might be a surprising opening track for longtime fans of Eric D. Johnson's beloved indie folk-rock project. The six-and-a-half-minute tone poem smolders and drones over just two chords, inspired by the strange and silly community events that he saw growing up outside of Chicago, in La Grange, Illinois, in which people dressed up and showed off their pets. Decades later, "The Pet Parade" emerges in troubled times, living within what Johnson refers to as the beauty and absurdity of existence. While many of the songs on "The Pet Parade" were actually written before the pandemic, it's impossible to disassociate the record from the times. As an example, producer Josh Kaufman (Bob Weir, The National, and Bonny Light Horseman, in which he plays with Johnson and Anaïs Mitchell) was brought in for his deep emotional touch and bandleading abilities. At times upbeat and reassuring and at times quietly contemplative, "The Pet Parade" marks a milestone for Johnson, who celebrates 20 years of Fruit Bats in 2021.
March 19 street date. "Propeller" was the fifth album by Guided By Voices, and was intended to be the group's last. Released as a limited edition of 500 LPs in 1992, the album featured handmade covers and blank labels to keep expenses as low as possible. Their other albums hadn’t sold much, why would this one? As fate would have it, the band wound up releasing an album chock full of gems Pollard had stockpiled, and for the first time sounded distinctly like the band that fans have since come to love. "Propeller" also marks the return of Tobin Sprout to the GBV fold, along with an increased songwriting presence. "Propeller" is a hell of a ride, and remains one of the most important albums in the band's discography. The vinyl edition has been out of print for a decade, and features different cover art than previous pressings. The CD edition has been out of print for a minute as well, and is now housed in digipak format, also with a new, unique cover from one of the original pressings. And for the first time, "Propeller" is available on cassette.
March 19 street date. "Propeller" was the fifth album by Guided By Voices, and was intended to be the group's last. Released as a limited edition of 500 LPs in 1992, the album featured handmade covers and blank labels to keep expenses as low as possible. Their other albums hadn’t sold much, why would this one? As fate would have it, the band wound up releasing an album chock full of gems Pollard had stockpiled, and for the first time sounded distinctly like the band that fans have since come to love. "Propeller" also marks the return of Tobin Sprout to the GBV fold, along with an increased songwriting presence. "Propeller" is a hell of a ride, and remains one of the most important albums in the band's discography. The vinyl edition has been out of print for a decade, and features different cover art than previous pressings. The CD edition has been out of print for a minute as well, and is now housed in digipak format, also with a new, unique cover from one of the original pressings. And for the first time, "Propeller" is available on cassette.
March 19 street date. "Propeller" was the fifth album by Guided By Voices, and was intended to be the group's last. Released as a limited edition of 500 LPs in 1992, the album featured handmade covers and blank labels to keep expenses as low as possible. Their other albums hadn’t sold much, why would this one? As fate would have it, the band wound up releasing an album chock full of gems Pollard had stockpiled, and for the first time sounded distinctly like the band that fans have since come to love. "Propeller" also marks the return of Tobin Sprout to the GBV fold, along with an increased songwriting presence. "Propeller" is a hell of a ride, and remains one of the most important albums in the band's discography. The vinyl edition has been out of print for a decade, and features different cover art than previous pressings. The CD edition has been out of print for a minute as well, and is now housed in digipak format, also with a new, unique cover from one of the original pressings. And for the first time, "Propeller" is available on cassette.
Please note new street date: March 19. Deluxe edtion, limited to 1000 copies. Double transparent red coloured vinyl with an exclusive bonus 12" featuring exclusive demos along with a CD and a full-size colour photo book. Mogwai have advanced without a plan since they were teenagers, there have been no secretive meetings to work out the master plan. It is rare to hear a band that has been going for this long, and have this many albums behind them - ten records in and still no disappointments or mistaken creative left turns. You may know what to expect, but you will never get the same. Both transcendent and surprising, "As The Love Continues" shows that Mogwai are still offering solace from the mundane, supplying the soundtrack to whatever movie you are making in your head. Produced by Dave Fridmann, the album features contributions from Atticus Ross and Colin Stetson, and will arrive almost exactly 25 years after the release of their debut single, "Tuner"/"Lower".
February 26 street date (CD)/March 19 street date (LP). After nearly 40 years, what is left to say about NOFX? Can a band continue to shake it up after almost four decades as a band? The answer to this question lies on "Single Album", the quartet's 14th full-length studio album. It is, as frontman and bassist Fat Mike describes, "a dark album". That wasn't the original intent. By early 2020, NOFX had written and recorded enough songs for a planned double album to be released that fall. Like so much about 2020, those plans changed. The band decided they had fell short of making the perfect double album, so they scrapped some tracks, and condensed it down to one solid single album. Hence the title. Recorded at Motor Studios in San Francisco with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore (Rise Against, Alkaline Trio), "Single Album" gets more personal than NOFX ever has before. The result of these 10 tracks is a NOFX album that is both familiar and unpredictable traits that legions of adoring fans have grown to love about the band.
March 19 street date. Since his 2004 debut album of bedroom recordings - the now legendary "Infiniheart" - Chad VanGaalen has been a restless and limitless creative force. It's been three long years since his last studio album "Light Information", and fans are hungry to finally see a full-length follow-up. 2020 was a terrible year for gardening. It was terrible for peppers, it was terrible for tomatoes, it was terrible for the condition of the soul. But Chad somehow raised a garden all the same: carrots and sprouts and broccoli and a revivifying new album, all of them grown at home. He likes to eat directly off the plant, he says - "I get down on my knees and graze. It's nice to feel the vegetables in your face" - and the 13 songs on "World's Most Stressed Out Gardener" were harvested with just such a spirit: in their raw state, young and vegetal, at the very moment, they were made. The songwriter's new album is a psychedelic bumper crop. A collection of tunes that does away with obsessiveness, the anxiety of perfectionism, in favor of freshness and immediacy - capturing the world while recording alone at home over a period of years. Throughout these 40 minutes, VanGaalen floats from mania to solace to oblivion, searching for zen in all the wrong places.
March 19 street date. First pressing on limited edition coloured vinyl. Since his 2004 debut album of bedroom recordings - the now legendary "Infiniheart" - Chad VanGaalen has been a restless and limitless creative force. It's been three long years since his last studio album "Light Information", and fans are hungry to finally see a full-length follow-up. 2020 was a terrible year for gardening. It was terrible for peppers, it was terrible for tomatoes, it was terrible for the condition of the soul. But Chad somehow raised a garden all the same: carrots and sprouts and broccoli and a revivifying new album, all of them grown at home. He likes to eat directly off the plant, he says - "I get down on my knees and graze. It's nice to feel the vegetables in your face" - and the 13 songs on "World's Most Stressed Out Gardener" were harvested with just such a spirit: in their raw state, young and vegetal, at the very moment, they were made. The songwriter's new album is a psychedelic bumper crop. A collection of tunes that does away with obsessiveness, the anxiety of perfectionism, in favor of freshness and immediacy - capturing the world while recording alone at home over a period of years. Throughout these 40 minutes, VanGaalen floats from mania to solace to oblivion, searching for zen in all the wrong places.
Please note new street date: March 19. With no touring in 2020, and possibly this year, Woods decided to take a deep dive into their archives and put together the first volume of their much discussed archival series, "Reflections". Featuring rare and unreleased recordings from 2009-2013, including a ghost town desert jam off the side of the highway, their first live performance in Big Sur, the first recorded version of "Bend Beyond" and some shelved diamonds in the rough that were finished up during quarantine. Their hope is that it plays like a "lost record" from an extremely strange and fruitful period in Woods history.
Please note new street date: March 19. With no touring in 2020, and possibly this year, Woods decided to take a deep dive into their archives and put together the first volume of their much discussed archival series, "Reflections". Featuring rare and unreleased recordings from 2009-2013, including a ghost town desert jam off the side of the highway, their first live performance in Big Sur, the first recorded version of "Bend Beyond" and some shelved diamonds in the rough that were finished up during quarantine. Their hope is that it plays like a "lost record" from an extremely strange and fruitful period in Woods history.
March 26 street date. "Green To Gold" is the much-anticipated new album from New York based Indie/Folk band The Antlers. Perhaps what distinguishes "Green To Gold" from the rest of The Antlers' canon is its, well, sunniness. Conceived and written almost entirely in the morning hours, "Green To Gold" is the band's first new music in nearly seven years, and easily their most luminous to date. The brighter outlook emerged, paradoxically, after a succession of ominous events. In 2015, Silberman suffered with an auditory condition that made touring near impossible and he retreated to the quiet of upstate New York to heal. His return in 2017 with a solo album was short lived when he was diagnosed with lesions on his vocal chords, which required surgery and again a quiet rest and recovery period. Singer and primary songwriter Peter Silberman explains. "I took these health obstacles as a sign that I should change course for a little while. I hadn't made a full stop like that since The Antlers began. I think the shift in tone is the result of getting older. It doesn't make sense for me to try to tap into the same energy that I did ten or fifteen years ago, because I continue to grow as a person, as I'm sure our audience does too. "Green To Gold" is about this idea of gradual change".
March 26 street date. "Green To Gold" is the much-anticipated new album from New York based Indie/Folk band The Antlers. Perhaps what distinguishes "Green To Gold" from the rest of The Antlers' canon is its, well, sunniness. Conceived and written almost entirely in the morning hours, "Green To Gold" is the band's first new music in nearly seven years, and easily their most luminous to date. The brighter outlook emerged, paradoxically, after a succession of ominous events. In 2015, Silberman suffered with an auditory condition that made touring near impossible and he retreated to the quiet of upstate New York to heal. His return in 2017 with a solo album was short lived when he was diagnosed with lesions on his vocal chords, which required surgery and again a quiet rest and recovery period. Singer and primary songwriter Peter Silberman explains. "I took these health obstacles as a sign that I should change course for a little while. I hadn't made a full stop like that since The Antlers began. I think the shift in tone is the result of getting older. It doesn't make sense for me to try to tap into the same energy that I did ten or fifteen years ago, because I continue to grow as a person, as I'm sure our audience does too. "Green To Gold" is about this idea of gradual change".
March 26 street date. "Green To Gold" is the much-anticipated new album from New York based Indie/Folk band The Antlers. Perhaps what distinguishes "Green To Gold" from the rest of The Antlers' canon is its, well, sunniness. Conceived and written almost entirely in the morning hours, "Green To Gold" is the band's first new music in nearly seven years, and easily their most luminous to date. The brighter outlook emerged, paradoxically, after a succession of ominous events. In 2015, Silberman suffered with an auditory condition that made touring near impossible and he retreated to the quiet of upstate New York to heal. His return in 2017 with a solo album was short lived when he was diagnosed with lesions on his vocal chords, which required surgery and again a quiet rest and recovery period. Singer and primary songwriter Peter Silberman explains. "I took these health obstacles as a sign that I should change course for a little while. I hadn't made a full stop like that since The Antlers began. I think the shift in tone is the result of getting older. It doesn't make sense for me to try to tap into the same energy that I did ten or fifteen years ago, because I continue to grow as a person, as I'm sure our audience does too. "Green To Gold" is about this idea of gradual change".
March 26 street date. Citizen have always eluded definition. The Toledo, Ohio-based four-piece have been making dynamic, wide-ranging guitar music for over ten years, challenging expectations with each new album and refusing to fit neatly in a box. On their fourth full-length, "Life In Your Glass World", Citizen have crafted their most singular work to date completely on their own terms - proving that only the band themselves can define their identity. Recorded in vocalist Mat Kerekes' home studio in his garage, Citizen's need to continue moving forward creatively went hand in hand with their desire to be fully in control of their creative destiny. The new process afforded the band time to focus on each song's individual mood, making their sig-nature blend of aggression and melody all the more pronounced, and even capturing appealing imperfections. The result is an album that represents the members' vision in its purest form, something that feels distinctly Citizen while also marking the start of a fresh chapter.
March 26 street date. Citizen have always eluded definition. The Toledo, Ohio-based four-piece have been making dynamic, wide-ranging guitar music for over ten years, challenging expectations with each new album and refusing to fit neatly in a box. On their fourth full-length, "Life In Your Glass World", Citizen have crafted their most singular work to date completely on their own terms - proving that only the band themselves can define their identity. Recorded in vocalist Mat Kerekes' home studio in his garage, Citizen's need to continue moving forward creatively went hand in hand with their desire to be fully in control of their creative destiny. The new process afforded the band time to focus on each song's individual mood, making their sig-nature blend of aggression and melody all the more pronounced, and even capturing appealing imperfections. The result is an album that represents the members' vision in its purest form, something that feels distinctly Citizen while also marking the start of a fresh chapter.
Please note new street date: March 26. David Kilgour on "Mister Pop": ""Mister Pop" began in Brooklyn, NY, at Gary Olson's Marlborough Farms studio and was completed in the basement hall of First Church Dunedin. There is more synthesizer on this album than the others, mainly an old Juno synth. I do remember having a bath in Brooklyn while Robert was downstairs singing and writing. I thought he was singing "he's a factory man", so I dried off and went down and wrote "Factory Man" while thinking heavily of The Kinks". Robert Scott on "Mister Pop": "I remember thinking at the start of the NY sessions with Gary Olson, "is this the start of a new album?". We were coming up with quite a bit of new stuff, and of course, Gary is great to work with. We carried on at Burlington St in Dunedin with (engineer and Heavy 8) Tex Houston at the controls, good fun from what I remember, lots of mucking around with keyboards and synths. We were going for that Krautrock groove and we sure got it on "Tensile", one of my faves along with the pure pop of "Dreamlife".
Please note new street date: March 26. David Kilgour on "Unknown Country": "The Clean always wanna try something different, but on this LP, we were obsessed with the idea. I remember we generally left vocal ideas to last, after the tracks were recorded, so we never really knew where we were headed. Might also explain all the instrumentals! Made during the Balkan War, hence the reference. And for the freaks, I think "Balkans" is the only Clean track ever to not actually feature The Clean playing. It's all Alan Starrett, as we removed the backing track". Robert Scott on "Unknown Country": "This album is very different from our other albums. We didn't go into the studio with many "song" ideas - a lot of it was written on the spot. I really enjoyed recording this as it was free of expectation. We weren't playing much live at the time. Certainly our most experimental album".
March 26 street date. Fresh off of their 2020 offering "Adult Themes", El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled "Yeti Season", this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA's patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where "Adult Themes" inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, "Yeti Season" brings us to a different place in time - with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with "Yeti Season". If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. It's a heavy album - as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better - or fuller -coming our way. The limited edition deluxe version comes with a 50 page children's book inspired by the album.
March 26 street date. Fresh off of their 2020 offering "Adult Themes", El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled "Yeti Season", this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA's patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where "Adult Themes" inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, "Yeti Season" brings us to a different place in time - with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with "Yeti Season". If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. It's a heavy album - as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better - or fuller -coming our way. The limited edition deluxe version comes with a 50 page children's book inspired by the album.
March 26 street date. Fresh off of their 2020 offering "Adult Themes", El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled "Yeti Season", this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA's patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where "Adult Themes" inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, "Yeti Season" brings us to a different place in time - with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with "Yeti Season". If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. It's a heavy album - as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better - or fuller -coming our way. The limited edition deluxe version comes with a 50 page children's book inspired by the album.
March 26 street date. Fresh off of their 2020 offering "Adult Themes", El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled "Yeti Season", this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA's patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where "Adult Themes" inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, "Yeti Season" brings us to a different place in time - with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with "Yeti Season". If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. It's a heavy album - as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better - or fuller -coming our way. The limited edition deluxe version comes with a 50 page children's book inspired by the album.
March 26 street date. CD and LP reissue of the cassette-only 2020 quarantine album by Mountain Goats called "Songs for Pierre Chuvin". John recorded this one alone while homebound with his hallowed boombox, which he hadn't touched since recording 2002's "All Hail West Texas". After selling over 4000 cassettes in a matter of minutes, the avid Mountain Goats fanbase has demanded more and we are happy to acquiesce!
March 26 street date. CD and LP reissue of the cassette-only 2020 quarantine album by Mountain Goats called "Songs for Pierre Chuvin". John recorded this one alone while homebound with his hallowed boombox, which he hadn't touched since recording 2002's "All Hail West Texas". After selling over 4000 cassettes in a matter of minutes, the avid Mountain Goats fanbase has demanded more and we are happy to acquiesce!
March 26 street date. CD and LP reissue of the cassette-only 2020 quarantine album by Mountain Goats called "Songs for Pierre Chuvin". John recorded this one alone while homebound with his hallowed boombox, which he hadn't touched since recording 2002's "All Hail West Texas". After selling over 4000 cassettes in a matter of minutes, the avid Mountain Goats fanbase has demanded more and we are happy to acquiesce!
March 26 street date. Romy (Romy Madley-Croft of The xx) unveils the "Lifetime" remixes 12" featuring reworks of Romy's debut solo track by an all-female and nonbinary cast of musicians, including Planningtorock, Anz and HAAi. "Lifetime" combines Romy's love of yearning, emotional club music with timeless songwriting. Having co-written her band The xx's three acclaimed albums, she's also written songs for Mark Ronson, Jehnny Beth, benny blanco and Dua Lipa (including her Grammy-winning hit single "Electricity" with Ronson and Diplo's Silk City), among others. At the same time as honing her craft as a songwriter, Romy has embraced a burgeoning DJ career. DJing since the age of 17 (when she got her first job playing records at a gay club in Soho), the last twelve months have seen her passion reignited, with appearances at Manchester's Homobloc, Turin's Club to Club and a closing set at this year's Pride Inside for Amnesty. She was also a key contributor to 2019's BBC Radio 1 Residency series.
March 26 street date. Spoon's classic "Gimme Fiction" pressed onto limited red and white vinyl. Recorded throughout 2004 at Jim Eno's Public Hifi studio in Austin with the production help of Mike McCarthy (...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead), "Gimme Fiction", Spoon's fifth full-length, is the sound of a band who, having long since found their own voice, were making the catchiest, most confident rock'n'roll of any group on the planet. Though there are still echoes of some of Britt Daniel's influences, "Gimme Fiction" is a sprawling, exhilarating, filler-free album of keenly focused artistic vision and ambition. Features the hit single "I Turn My Camera On," as well as other tracks included on the recent greatest hits "Everything Hits At Once: The Best of Spoon". Nothing short of a dizzying, soulful masterpiece, easily the most expansive work in their career.
March 26 street date. Spoon's classic "Gimme Fiction" pressed onto limited red and white vinyl. Recorded throughout 2004 at Jim Eno's Public Hifi studio in Austin with the production help of Mike McCarthy (...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead), "Gimme Fiction", Spoon's fifth full-length, is the sound of a band who, having long since found their own voice, were making the catchiest, most confident rock'n'roll of any group on the planet. Though there are still echoes of some of Britt Daniel's influences, "Gimme Fiction" is a sprawling, exhilarating, filler-free album of keenly focused artistic vision and ambition. Features the hit single "I Turn My Camera On," as well as other tracks included on the recent greatest hits "Everything Hits At Once: The Best of Spoon". Nothing short of a dizzying, soulful masterpiece, easily the most expansive work in their career.
March 26 street date. Spoon's classic "Gimme Fiction" pressed onto limited red and white vinyl. Recorded throughout 2004 at Jim Eno's Public Hifi studio in Austin with the production help of Mike McCarthy (...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead), "Gimme Fiction", Spoon's fifth full-length, is the sound of a band who, having long since found their own voice, were making the catchiest, most confident rock'n'roll of any group on the planet. Though there are still echoes of some of Britt Daniel's influences, "Gimme Fiction" is a sprawling, exhilarating, filler-free album of keenly focused artistic vision and ambition. Features the hit single "I Turn My Camera On," as well as other tracks included on the recent greatest hits "Everything Hits At Once: The Best of Spoon". Nothing short of a dizzying, soulful masterpiece, easily the most expansive work in their career.
March 26 street date. Tune-Yards' fifth studio album, "sketchy.", will be available on CD, translucent blue and standard black vinyl On "sketchy." Merrill balances self-inspection and reflection with bombastic rallying cries, reminiscent of the furious tones of early days Tune-Yards. Inspired by the Beastie Boys Book and Questlove's Creative Quest, the result is a colourful and joyous record with lyrics that cut to the bone. "I started remembering that people come to us to be entertained, to move, to feel joy. And together, I think, we can wake up." From 2009 to 2018, Tune-Yards (both Merrill and her partner and collaborator Nate Brenner) released four critically acclaimed albums, travelled the world relentlessly to play live shows, and composed the psychedelic score to Boots Riley's surrealist cinematic masterpiece "Sorry To Bother You".
March 26 street date. Tune-Yards' fifth studio album, "sketchy.", will be available on CD, translucent blue and standard black vinyl On "sketchy." Merrill balances self-inspection and reflection with bombastic rallying cries, reminiscent of the furious tones of early days Tune-Yards. Inspired by the Beastie Boys Book and Questlove's Creative Quest, the result is a colourful and joyous record with lyrics that cut to the bone. "I started remembering that people come to us to be entertained, to move, to feel joy. And together, I think, we can wake up." From 2009 to 2018, Tune-Yards (both Merrill and her partner and collaborator Nate Brenner) released four critically acclaimed albums, travelled the world relentlessly to play live shows, and composed the psychedelic score to Boots Riley's surrealist cinematic masterpiece "Sorry To Bother You".
March 26 street date. Tune-Yards' fifth studio album, "sketchy.", will be available on CD, translucent blue and standard black vinyl On "sketchy." Merrill balances self-inspection and reflection with bombastic rallying cries, reminiscent of the furious tones of early days Tune-Yards. Inspired by the Beastie Boys Book and Questlove's Creative Quest, the result is a colourful and joyous record with lyrics that cut to the bone. "I started remembering that people come to us to be entertained, to move, to feel joy. And together, I think, we can wake up." From 2009 to 2018, Tune-Yards (both Merrill and her partner and collaborator Nate Brenner) released four critically acclaimed albums, travelled the world relentlessly to play live shows, and composed the psychedelic score to Boots Riley's surrealist cinematic masterpiece "Sorry To Bother You".
March 26 street date. Xiu Xiu makes beautiful music for hard times. For nearly 20 years, the band has a track record of crafting experimental music for moments when life's harsh realities meet its existential mysteries. On the latest album, Jamie Stewart explores a recent revelation and is reminded of the power of the band's music to surprise and connect. Listening to the songs on "OH NO", it is hard to feel truly alone. Instead, it is a reminder that even when we’re alone, we're alone together. "OH NO", the group's newest album, is an album of duets, with Stewart sharing the stage with an array of guests who have made an impact on him personally and musically. This is the first Xiu Xiu album where every song spotlights Jamie Stewart and a collaborator. The album features artists across the musical spectrum, including Sharon Van Etten, Circuit des Yeux's Haley Fohr, Grouper's Liz Harris, Alice Bag, Chelsea Wolfe, Owen Pallet, and Twin Shadow's George Lewis Jr., all drifting into Xiu Xiu's distinctive soundworld.
March 26 street date. Xiu Xiu makes beautiful music for hard times. For nearly 20 years, the band has a track record of crafting experimental music for moments when life's harsh realities meet its existential mysteries. On the latest album, Jamie Stewart explores a recent revelation and is reminded of the power of the band's music to surprise and connect. Listening to the songs on "OH NO", it is hard to feel truly alone. Instead, it is a reminder that even when we’re alone, we're alone together. "OH NO", the group's newest album, is an album of duets, with Stewart sharing the stage with an array of guests who have made an impact on him personally and musically. This is the first Xiu Xiu album where every song spotlights Jamie Stewart and a collaborator. The album features artists across the musical spectrum, including Sharon Van Etten, Circuit des Yeux's Haley Fohr, Grouper's Liz Harris, Alice Bag, Chelsea Wolfe, Owen Pallet, and Twin Shadow's George Lewis Jr., all drifting into Xiu Xiu's distinctive soundworld.
April 2 street date. ‘Chemz’ is hooky, rushy and loved-up - both an unhinged premonition of unleashed post-pandemic joy, and a demonic flashback to past ecstasies in a hardcore style perfected in the UK. ‘Chemz’ is a 12 minute rave monster that has ingested several tracks and incorporated them into its distended body. At the other end of the Burial bi-polar spectrum, ‘Dolphinz’ is a desolate oceanic love letter to our underwater friends.
April 2 street date. Dry Cleaning, The South London group of Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals) will release "New Long Leg" on 2 April. The 10-track long-player was recorded over two weeks last summer at Rockfield Studios in rural Wales with producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding). Following on from their thrillingly taut 2019 EPs "Boundary Road Snacks And Drinks" and "Sweet Princess", "New Long Leg" is more ambitious and complex, with Shaw's spoken vocals tightly intertwined with the band's restless instrumentals. Dry Cleaning was formed by friends Tom Dowse, Nick Buxton and Lewis Maynard after a karaoke party in 2017 inspired a collaboration. They wrote instrumentally to begin with until six months later Florence Shaw, a visual artist, university lecturer and picture researcher by day - with no prior musical experience - turned up to a band rehearsal armed with reams of her own collected writing and a copy of Michael Bernard Loggins' "Fears Of Your Life" to read out over the music. Before long she was the group's front-person, contributing words of her own, and serving as the perfect foil to the band's music.
April 2 street date. Dry Cleaning, The South London group of Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals) will release "New Long Leg" on 2 April. The 10-track long-player was recorded over two weeks last summer at Rockfield Studios in rural Wales with producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding). Following on from their thrillingly taut 2019 EPs "Boundary Road Snacks And Drinks" and "Sweet Princess", "New Long Leg" is more ambitious and complex, with Shaw's spoken vocals tightly intertwined with the band's restless instrumentals. Dry Cleaning was formed by friends Tom Dowse, Nick Buxton and Lewis Maynard after a karaoke party in 2017 inspired a collaboration. They wrote instrumentally to begin with until six months later Florence Shaw, a visual artist, university lecturer and picture researcher by day - with no prior musical experience - turned up to a band rehearsal armed with reams of her own collected writing and a copy of Michael Bernard Loggins' "Fears Of Your Life" to read out over the music. Before long she was the group's front-person, contributing words of her own, and serving as the perfect foil to the band's music.
April 2 street date. Dry Cleaning, The South London group of Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals) will release "New Long Leg" on 2 April. The 10-track long-player was recorded over two weeks last summer at Rockfield Studios in rural Wales with producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding). Following on from their thrillingly taut 2019 EPs "Boundary Road Snacks And Drinks" and "Sweet Princess", "New Long Leg" is more ambitious and complex, with Shaw's spoken vocals tightly intertwined with the band's restless instrumentals. Dry Cleaning was formed by friends Tom Dowse, Nick Buxton and Lewis Maynard after a karaoke party in 2017 inspired a collaboration. They wrote instrumentally to begin with until six months later Florence Shaw, a visual artist, university lecturer and picture researcher by day - with no prior musical experience - turned up to a band rehearsal armed with reams of her own collected writing and a copy of Michael Bernard Loggins' "Fears Of Your Life" to read out over the music. Before long she was the group's front-person, contributing words of her own, and serving as the perfect foil to the band's music.
April 2 street date. On her second full-length record, "Head of Roses", Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) follows a winding thread of intuition into the unknown and into healing, led by gut feelings and the near-spiritual experience of visceral songwriting. The result is a combination of Wasner's ability to embrace new levels of vulnerability, honesty and openness, with the self-assuredness that comes with a decade-plus career as a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and prolific collaborator. Simply put, "Head of Roses" is a record about heartbreak, but from a dualistic perspective. It's about the experience of having one's heart broken and breaking someone else's heart at the same time. But beyond that, it's about having to reconcile the experience of one's own pain with the understanding that it's impossible to go through life without being the source of great pain for someone else. Carefully curated and culled from the depths of Wasner's heartbreak and healing, it's deeply, intensely personal.
April 2 street date. On her second full-length record, "Head of Roses", Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) follows a winding thread of intuition into the unknown and into healing, led by gut feelings and the near-spiritual experience of visceral songwriting. The result is a combination of Wasner's ability to embrace new levels of vulnerability, honesty and openness, with the self-assuredness that comes with a decade-plus career as a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and prolific collaborator. Simply put, "Head of Roses" is a record about heartbreak, but from a dualistic perspective. It's about the experience of having one's heart broken and breaking someone else's heart at the same time. But beyond that, it's about having to reconcile the experience of one's own pain with the understanding that it's impossible to go through life without being the source of great pain for someone else. Carefully curated and culled from the depths of Wasner's heartbreak and healing, it's deeply, intensely personal.
April 2 street date. On her second full-length record, "Head of Roses", Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) follows a winding thread of intuition into the unknown and into healing, led by gut feelings and the near-spiritual experience of visceral songwriting. The result is a combination of Wasner's ability to embrace new levels of vulnerability, honesty and openness, with the self-assuredness that comes with a decade-plus career as a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and prolific collaborator. Simply put, "Head of Roses" is a record about heartbreak, but from a dualistic perspective. It's about the experience of having one's heart broken and breaking someone else's heart at the same time. But beyond that, it's about having to reconcile the experience of one's own pain with the understanding that it's impossible to go through life without being the source of great pain for someone else. Carefully curated and culled from the depths of Wasner's heartbreak and healing, it's deeply, intensely personal.
April 2 street date. On her second full-length record, "Head of Roses", Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) follows a winding thread of intuition into the unknown and into healing, led by gut feelings and the near-spiritual experience of visceral songwriting. The result is a combination of Wasner's ability to embrace new levels of vulnerability, honesty and openness, with the self-assuredness that comes with a decade-plus career as a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and prolific collaborator. Simply put, "Head of Roses" is a record about heartbreak, but from a dualistic perspective. It's about the experience of having one's heart broken and breaking someone else's heart at the same time. But beyond that, it's about having to reconcile the experience of one's own pain with the understanding that it's impossible to go through life without being the source of great pain for someone else. Carefully curated and culled from the depths of Wasner's heartbreak and healing, it's deeply, intensely personal.
April 2 street date. "Heavy Sun" is the soulful debut from Daniel Lanois and his invigorating new all-star band. Recorded in Los Angeles and Toronto, the album fuses classic gospel and modern electronics, mixing gritty, human textures with crisp, digital accents and lush, swirling atmospherics to create a sound that's at once warmly familiar and boldly unexpected. The arrangements here are spacious and dreamy, anchored by rich, righteous organ topped with airy falsetto and mesmerizing four-part harmony, and the writing is buoyant and soulful to match, tapping into the shared uncertainty of the human condition to offer hope, comfort, and connection at a time when all three run in desperately short supply. Lanois and his bandmates - guitarist/ vocalist Rocco DeLuca, organist/vocalist Johnny Shepherd, and bassist/vocalist Jim Wilson - showcase an undeniable chemistry and boundless appetite for sonic discovery that far surpasses the influence of any individual member.
April 2 street date. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Shakey Graves' debut album, Dualtone is product to release "Roll The Bones X", as a special double-album presentation in a gorgeous high-quality package with a 20-page photo journal. The first disc contains the original studio record, previously only available through Bandcamp where it garnered over 100,000 downloads. The second, never-before-hear 'odds & ends' disc contains live tracks, demos, B-sides, and more.
April 2 street date. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Shakey Graves' debut album, Dualtone is product to release "Roll The Bones X", as a special double-album presentation in a gorgeous high-quality package with a 20-page photo journal. The first disc contains the original studio record, previously only available through Bandcamp where it garnered over 100,000 downloads. The second, never-before-hear 'odds & ends' disc contains live tracks, demos, B-sides, and more.
April 9 street date. Reissue of Beverly Glenn-Copeland's 2020 Polaris Heritage Prize winning album! In 1970, nine years after leaving the United States to study music in Canada, Beverly Glenn-Copeland released two self-titled albums. Both were a stunning showcase of classical and jazz acumen, layered with poetry and accompanied by some of the best players of the time. Original pressings now fetch thousands of dollars. Glenn-Copeland then vanished as a recording artist until his re-emergence in 1986 with the release (just a few hundred copies on cassette) of what many now believe to be his masterpiece, "Keyboard Fantasies". Marking its 35th anniversary, Transgressive reissues "Keyboard Fantasies" with updated artwork and liner notes by pop star, Robyn.
April 9 street date. Reissue of Beverly Glenn-Copeland's 2020 Polaris Heritage Prize winning album! In 1970, nine years after leaving the United States to study music in Canada, Beverly Glenn-Copeland released two self-titled albums. Both were a stunning showcase of classical and jazz acumen, layered with poetry and accompanied by some of the best players of the time. Original pressings now fetch thousands of dollars. Glenn-Copeland then vanished as a recording artist until his re-emergence in 1986 with the release (just a few hundred copies on cassette) of what many now believe to be his masterpiece, "Keyboard Fantasies". Marking its 35th anniversary, Transgressive reissues "Keyboard Fantasies" with updated artwork and liner notes by pop star, Robyn.
April 9 street date. Reissue of Beverly Glenn-Copeland's 2020 Polaris Heritage Prize winning album! In 1970, nine years after leaving the United States to study music in Canada, Beverly Glenn-Copeland released two self-titled albums. Both were a stunning showcase of classical and jazz acumen, layered with poetry and accompanied by some of the best players of the time. Original pressings now fetch thousands of dollars. Glenn-Copeland then vanished as a recording artist until his re-emergence in 1986 with the release (just a few hundred copies on cassette) of what many now believe to be his masterpiece, "Keyboard Fantasies". Marking its 35th anniversary, Transgressive reissues "Keyboard Fantasies" with updated artwork and liner notes by pop star, Robyn.
April 9 street date. An iconic Canadian media figure, Sook-Yin Lee is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, actor, visual artist and broadcaster who has immersed herself in myriad creative collaborations. Many of them were made with her life partner and frequent co-creator Adam Litovitz, including their 2015 ethereal electroacoustic album "jooj". Though Adam passed away in 2019, his work with Sook-Yin lives on with "jooj two", an unapologetic dive into playful art-pop and a document of a lost language between lovers. While financial difficulties and external pressures contributed to the end of their romantic relationship, Sook-Yin and Adam remained best friends and creative partners. As he was busy with a soundtrack for Netflix, Adam gave Sook-Yin his blessing to continue working on their second album without him. Increasingly, Adam struggled with anxiety and depression, compounded by a prescription drug dependency that exacerbated insomnia and pain. Tragically, he died by suicide June 16, 2019. With the assistance of mixer Steve Chahley (U.S. Girls, Badge Époque Ensemble, Darlene Shrugg) Sook-Yin completed the album and will share it with the world this spring. Despite the circumstances surrounding its completion, "jooj two" is a celebration of life, especially Adam's.
April 9 street date. An iconic Canadian media figure, Sook-Yin Lee is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, actor, visual artist and broadcaster who has immersed herself in myriad creative collaborations. Many of them were made with her life partner and frequent co-creator Adam Litovitz, including their 2015 ethereal electroacoustic album "jooj". Though Adam passed away in 2019, his work with Sook-Yin lives on with "jooj two", an unapologetic dive into playful art-pop and a document of a lost language between lovers. While financial difficulties and external pressures contributed to the end of their romantic relationship, Sook-Yin and Adam remained best friends and creative partners. As he was busy with a soundtrack for Netflix, Adam gave Sook-Yin his blessing to continue working on their second album without him. Increasingly, Adam struggled with anxiety and depression, compounded by a prescription drug dependency that exacerbated insomnia and pain. Tragically, he died by suicide June 16, 2019. With the assistance of mixer Steve Chahley (U.S. Girls, Badge Époque Ensemble, Darlene Shrugg) Sook-Yin completed the album and will share it with the world this spring. Despite the circumstances surrounding its completion, "jooj two" is a celebration of life, especially Adam's.
April 9 street date. Produced by Ivo Watts-Russell, who was chosen by Peter due to his This Mortal Coil production, this album was released in 1986. Melody Maker declared "the man with everything to prove has just proved everything".
April 9 street date. 1988's "Love Hysteria" was produced by Simon Rogers, who at the time was also playing with The Fall. It contains eight songs written by Peter with Paul Statham, plus a cover of Iggy Pop's "Funtime". Record Collector said that the album's songs ""All Night Long", "Indigo Eyes", "Dragnet Drag" and "Blind Sublime" managed to combine direct rock power with Murphy's vocal gymnastics and imaginative way with lyrics".
April 9 street date. Originally released in 1984, ‘Pop’ is the only studio album from Tones On Tail, the side project of Bauhaus members Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins along with Glenn Campling. Pressed on black vinyl with audio from the original analog master, this standard edition follows a previously sold-out Record Store Day edition which was the album's first-ever vinyl repress. The standard edition also features the RSD version's new sleeve and re-worked artwork.
April 23 street date. "Bad Brains" is the self-titled debut studio album recorded by American hardcore punk/reggae band Bad Brains. Recorded in 1981 and released on (then) cassette-only label ROIR on February 5, 1982, many fans refer to it as "The Yellow Tape" because of its yellow packaging. Though Bad Brains had recorded the 16 song "Black Dots" album in 1979 and the 5-song "Omega Sessions" EP in 1980, the ROIR cassette was the band's first release of anything longer than a single. This reissue marks the second release in the remaster campaign, re-launching the Bad Brains Records label imprint. In coordination with the band, Org Music has overseen the restoration and remastering of the iconic Bad Brains' recordings. The audio was mastered by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering and pressed at Furnace Record Pressing.
April 23 street date. "Bad Brains" is the self-titled debut studio album recorded by American hardcore punk/reggae band Bad Brains. Recorded in 1981 and released on (then) cassette-only label ROIR on February 5, 1982, many fans refer to it as "The Yellow Tape" because of its yellow packaging. Though Bad Brains had recorded the 16 song "Black Dots" album in 1979 and the 5-song "Omega Sessions" EP in 1980, the ROIR cassette was the band's first release of anything longer than a single. This reissue marks the second release in the remaster campaign, re-launching the Bad Brains Records label imprint. In coordination with the band, Org Music has overseen the restoration and remastering of the iconic Bad Brains' recordings. The audio was mastered by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering and pressed at Furnace Record Pressing.
April 23 street date. "Bad Brains" is the self-titled debut studio album recorded by American hardcore punk/reggae band Bad Brains. Recorded in 1981 and released on (then) cassette-only label ROIR on February 5, 1982, many fans refer to it as "The Yellow Tape" because of its yellow packaging. Though Bad Brains had recorded the 16 song "Black Dots" album in 1979 and the 5-song "Omega Sessions" EP in 1980, the ROIR cassette was the band's first release of anything longer than a single. This reissue marks the second release in the remaster campaign, re-launching the Bad Brains Records label imprint. In coordination with the band, Org Music has overseen the restoration and remastering of the iconic Bad Brains' recordings. The audio was mastered by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering and pressed at Furnace Record Pressing.
April 23 street date. Here is "Sweep It Into Space", the fifth new studio album cut by Dinosaur Jr.. during the 13th year of their rebirth. Originally scheduled for issue in mid 2020, this record's temporal trajectory was thwarted by the coming of the Plague. But it would take more than a mere Plague to tamp down the exquisite fury of this trio when they are fully dialed-in. And "Sweep It Into Space" is a masterpiece of zoned dialing. The only extra musician used this time with Kurt Vile, who co-produced the album. As is typical, Lou Barlow writes and sings two of the album's dozen tunes and Murph's pure-Flinstonian drumming drives the record like a go cart from Hell. But there are very few moments where you wouldn't know you were hearing Dinosaur Jr. in blindfolded needle drop. They have a signature sound as sure as the Stooges or Sonic Youth or Discharge ever did. They continue to expand their personal universe with "Sweep It Into Space", without ever losing their central core.
April 23 street date. Here is "Sweep It Into Space", the fifth new studio album cut by Dinosaur Jr.. during the 13th year of their rebirth. Originally scheduled for issue in mid 2020, this record's temporal trajectory was thwarted by the coming of the Plague. But it would take more than a mere Plague to tamp down the exquisite fury of this trio when they are fully dialed-in. And "Sweep It Into Space" is a masterpiece of zoned dialing. The only extra musician used this time with Kurt Vile, who co-produced the album. As is typical, Lou Barlow writes and sings two of the album's dozen tunes and Murph's pure-Flinstonian drumming drives the record like a go cart from Hell. But there are very few moments where you wouldn't know you were hearing Dinosaur Jr. in blindfolded needle drop. They have a signature sound as sure as the Stooges or Sonic Youth or Discharge ever did. They continue to expand their personal universe with "Sweep It Into Space", without ever losing their central core.
April 23 street date. Here is "Sweep It Into Space", the fifth new studio album cut by Dinosaur Jr.. during the 13th year of their rebirth. Originally scheduled for issue in mid 2020, this record's temporal trajectory was thwarted by the coming of the Plague. But it would take more than a mere Plague to tamp down the exquisite fury of this trio when they are fully dialed-in. And "Sweep It Into Space" is a masterpiece of zoned dialing. The only extra musician used this time with Kurt Vile, who co-produced the album. As is typical, Lou Barlow writes and sings two of the album's dozen tunes and Murph's pure-Flinstonian drumming drives the record like a go cart from Hell. But there are very few moments where you wouldn't know you were hearing Dinosaur Jr. in blindfolded needle drop. They have a signature sound as sure as the Stooges or Sonic Youth or Discharge ever did. They
continue to expand their personal universe with "Sweep It Into Space", without ever losing their central core.
April 23 street date. Dead-eyed post-punk from Olympia's reigning noise-niks. "Repetition" rejects the major label signing spree of the mid-1990s entirely, training its hulking focus on haircut hardcore, white belt Jiujitsu, and frenzied feedback. The soundtrack to a fantasy Halloween candy heist, now on vinyl for the first time since 1996.
April 23 street date. Dead-eyed post-punk from Olympia's reigning noise-niks. "Repetition" rejects the major label signing spree of the mid-1990s entirely, training its hulking focus on haircut hardcore, white belt Jiujitsu, and frenzied feedback. The soundtrack to a fantasy Halloween candy heist, now on vinyl for the first time since 1996.
April 23 street date. Unwound's paranoid and pulsating sixth album, "Challenge For a Civilized Society" explores the pre-Y2K technological dread of modern punk living. Producer Steve Fisk threads Justin Trosper's stabbing, discordant guitar in and around Sara Lund's consolidated drum attack and Vern Rumsey's relentless, throbbing bass. A vicious and sinister penultimate LP from the most misunderstood band of the 90s.
April 23 street date. Unwound's paranoid and pulsating sixth album, "Challenge For a Civilized Society" explores the pre-Y2K technological dread of modern punk living. Producer Steve Fisk threads Justin Trosper's stabbing, discordant guitar in and around Sara Lund's consolidated drum attack and Vern Rumsey's relentless, throbbing bass. A vicious and sinister penultimate LP from the most misunderstood band of the 90s.
April 23 street date. "Mutator" is the first release in the Alan Vega Vault series on Sacred Bones, collecting rare and unreleased archival recordings. Alan Vega's name is synonymous with unfettered, tireless creativity. Beginning in the late 1950s, when he was a fine art student at Brooklyn College, through his years playing in Suicide, and all the way up until his death in 2016, Vega was constantly creating. That process naturally led to a wealth of material that didn't see the light of day immediately when it was recorded, which came to be known as the Vega Vault. "Mutator" was recorded alongside Vega's longtime collaborator Liz Lamere at his NYC studio from 1995-1996, and it serves as a document of a particularly fertile time in his creative life. At the time of the "Mutator" sessions, Vega was massively inspired by what was happening in the streets of New York - not only the hip hop scenes that were exploding throughout the outer boroughs, but also the literal sounds of the streets, the traffic noise and industrial ambience of city living. That influence trickled into the sounds he and Lamere captured in those sessions.
April 23 street date. "Mutator" is the first release in the Alan Vega Vault series on Sacred Bones, collecting rare and unreleased archival recordings. Alan Vega's name is synonymous with unfettered, tireless creativity. Beginning in the late 1950s, when he was a fine art student at Brooklyn College, through his years playing in Suicide, and all the way up until his death in 2016, Vega was constantly creating. That process naturally led to a wealth of material that didn't see the light of day immediately when it was recorded, which came to be known as the Vega Vault. "Mutator" was recorded alongside Vega's longtime collaborator Liz Lamere at his NYC studio from 1995-1996, and it serves as a document of a particularly fertile time in his creative life. At the time of the "Mutator" sessions, Vega was massively inspired by what was happening in the streets of New York - not only the hip hop scenes that were exploding throughout the outer boroughs, but also the literal sounds of the streets, the traffic noise and industrial ambience of city living. That influence trickled into the sounds he and Lamere captured in those sessions.
April 23 street date. "Mutator" is the first release in the Alan Vega Vault series on Sacred Bones, collecting rare and unreleased archival recordings. Alan Vega's name is synonymous with unfettered, tireless creativity. Beginning in the late 1950s, when he was a fine art student at Brooklyn College, through his years playing in Suicide, and all the way up until his death in 2016, Vega was constantly creating. That process naturally led to a wealth of material that didn't see the light of day immediately when it was recorded, which came to be known as the Vega Vault. "Mutator" was recorded alongside Vega's longtime collaborator Liz Lamere at his NYC studio from 1995-1996, and it serves as a document of a particularly fertile time in his creative life. At the time of the "Mutator" sessions, Vega was massively inspired by what was happening in the streets of New York - not only the hip hop scenes that were exploding throughout the outer boroughs, but also the literal sounds of the streets, the traffic noise and industrial ambience of city living. That influence trickled into the sounds he and Lamere captured in those sessions.
April 30 street date. "becalmyounglovers" is as much a return as it is a farewell. Phil Moore's first Bowerbirds album since 2012 is an artifact of transition, a domino effect of doors closing and Moore stumbling headfirst into the uncertainty of what comes after a life fundamentally changes. Like a polaroid slowly swimming into focus, "becalmyounglovers" reconciles the memories of yourself in relation to another person, and then what's unearthed when you're left to face your identity alone - and which one of those selves is true? Written and recorded mainly in an isolated cabin hand built by Moore and his ex-partner, out in Siler City, North Carolina, "becalmyounglovers" chronicles a long-term relationship's death rattle, inevitable breakup, and its immediate aftermath - and Moore's getting to understand himself better in the process. These songs don't trudge through upheaval - instead, they float, still sanguine and light in the face of plans gone awry.
April 30 street date. Is it really a musical?! The 33rd Guided By Voices album, "Earth Man Blues", is a magical cinematic rock album, full of dramatic and surreal twists and turns. Lyrics and liner notes trace the growth of young Harold Admore Harold through a coming of age and a reckoning with darkness. Vivid scenes appear: snapshots of youth, fantastical nightmares, unknown worlds. The music hasn't softened a bit. One will hear the impossibly perfect melodies and word play that you expect from Robert Pollard, with the band playing at peak-heavy. Doug Gillard's brilliant guitar playing explodes out of the speakers. The rhythm section of Kevin March and Mark Shue, always strong and reliable, has grown into a breathing composite organism. Along with Bobby Bare, Jr on rhythm guitar, they drive the songs and make one's head shake. Producer Travis Harrison ties the talents of the band together, once again recorded remotely and individually, pandemic-style.
April 30 street date. Is it really a musical?! The 33rd Guided By Voices album, "Earth Man Blues", is a magical cinematic rock album, full of dramatic and surreal twists and turns. Lyrics and liner notes trace the growth of young Harold Admore Harold through a coming of age and a reckoning with darkness. Vivid scenes appear: snapshots of youth, fantastical nightmares, unknown worlds. The music hasn't softened a bit. One will hear the impossibly perfect melodies and word play that you expect from Robert Pollard, with the band playing at peak-heavy. Doug Gillard's brilliant guitar playing explodes out of the speakers. The rhythm section of Kevin March and Mark Shue, always strong and reliable, has grown into a breathing composite organism. Along with Bobby Bare, Jr on rhythm guitar, they drive the songs and make one's head shake. Producer Travis Harrison ties the talents of the band together, once again recorded remotely and individually, pandemic-style.
Please note new street date: January 15 / April 30 for cassette. Shame follow up their wildly acclaimed debut with a James Ford-produced peek into the riddled mind of the band's frontman, Charlie Steen. There are moments on Drunk Tank Pink where you almost have to reach for the sleeve to check this is the same band who made 2018’s Songs Of Praise. Such is the jump Shame have made from the riotous post-punk of their debut to the sprawling adventurism and twitching anxieties laid out here. The South Londoner's blood and guts spirit, that wink and grin of devious charm, is still present, it's just that it's grown into something bigger, something deeper, more ambitious and unflinchingly honest. The genius of Drunk Tank Pink is how these lyrical themes dovetail with the music. Opener Alphabet dissects the premise of performance over a siren call of nervous, jerking guitars, its chorus thrown out like a beer bottle across a mosh pit. Songs spin off and lurch into unexpected directions throughout here, be it March Day’s escalating aural panic attack or the shapeshifting darkness of Snow Day. From the womb to the clouds (sort of), Shame are currently very much in the pink.
April 30 street date. Shovels & Rope continue their Busted Jukebox series where they join forces with their musical friends to cover classic songs in their own unique ways with "Busted Jukebox Volume 3". Volume 3 sees the duo covering a series of kid-friendly songs, such as "Tomorrow" from 'Annie' featuring The War and Treaty, "You Are My Sunshine" featuring The Felice Brothers, and "What A Wonderful World" featuring John Paul White, along with some other classics like R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" alongside T. Hardy Morris, and The Beach Boys' "In My Room" featuring Sharon Van Etten.
April 30 street date. Shovels & Rope continue their Busted Jukebox series where they join forces with their musical friends to cover classic songs in their own unique ways with "Busted Jukebox Volume 3". Volume 3 sees the duo covering a series of kid-friendly songs, such as "Tomorrow" from 'Annie' featuring The War and Treaty, "You Are My Sunshine" featuring The Felice Brothers, and "What A Wonderful World" featuring John Paul White, along with some other classics like R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" alongside T. Hardy Morris, and The Beach Boys' "In My Room" featuring Sharon Van Etten.
Please note new street date: April 30. Even if we weren't living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body, and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world. "Endless Arcade" follows the band's ninth album "Here", released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first UK Top 10 album since 1997, a mark of how much they're treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heartwarming and heartaching, guitars chime and distort, keyboard lines mesh and spiral, harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day. Recent albums such as "Shadows" and "Here" have documented a more relaxed, less "teenage" Fanclub, reflecting the band's stage in life and state of mind, alongside which "Endless Arcade" slots perfectly.The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community, and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts of insecurity, anxiety, and loss.
Please note new street date: April 30. Even if we weren't living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body, and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world. "Endless Arcade" follows the band's ninth album "Here", released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first UK Top 10 album since 1997, a mark of how much they're treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heartwarming and heartaching, guitars chime and distort, keyboard lines mesh and spiral, harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day. Recent albums such as "Shadows" and "Here" have documented a more relaxed, less "teenage" Fanclub, reflecting the band's stage in life and state of mind, alongside which "Endless Arcade" slots perfectly.The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community, and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts of insecurity, anxiety, and loss.
Please note new street date: April 30. Even if we weren't living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body, and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world. "Endless Arcade" follows the band's ninth album "Here", released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first UK Top 10 album since 1997, a mark of how much they're treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heartwarming and heartaching, guitars chime and distort, keyboard lines mesh and spiral, harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day. Recent albums such as "Shadows" and "Here" have documented a more relaxed, less "teenage" Fanclub, reflecting the band's stage in life and state of mind, alongside which "Endless Arcade" slots perfectly.The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community, and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts of insecurity, anxiety, and loss.
April 30 street date. Nicholas Galanin is one of the most vital voices in contemporary art. Born in Sheet'ka (Sitka, Alaska), Galanin is Tlingit and Unangax^; he creates from his perspective as an Indigenous man. His work calls for an accounting of the damages done to land and life by unfettered capitalism while envisioning and advocating alternate possibilities. His work spans sculpture, video, installation, photography, jewelry and music; advocating Indigenous sovereignty, racial, social and environmental justice, for present, and future generations. His debut as Ya Tseen ("be alive" - a reference to his Tlingit name Yeil Ya Tseen) is "Indian Yard", his first album for Sub Pop. Rich with emotional range and sharp awareness, "Indian Yard" explores love, desire, frustration, pain, revolution, and connection through the magnetic expressions of an Indigenous mind. These 11 tracks put Galanin, Ya Tseen, and Indigenous art at large in a current musical conversation with the likes of Moses Sumney and TV on the Radio, FKA Twigs, and James Blake. During strings of sessions in Sitka and Seattle, a cast of brilliant friends - Shabazz Palaces, Nick Hakim, fellow Indigenous Alaskan singer and songwriter Qacung, fellow Alaskans Portugal. The Man (whom Galanin counts as friends and allies for social and environmental justice), Stas THEE Boss (THEESatisfaction), to name a few - helped turn "Indian Yard" into a cataract of intensely current pop wonders.
April 30 street date. Nicholas Galanin is one of the most vital voices in contemporary art. Born in Sheet'ka (Sitka, Alaska), Galanin is Tlingit and Unangax^; he creates from his perspective as an Indigenous man. His work calls for an accounting of the damages done to land and life by unfettered capitalism while envisioning and advocating alternate possibilities. His work spans sculpture, video, installation, photography, jewelry and music; advocating Indigenous sovereignty, racial, social and environmental justice, for present, and future generations. His debut as Ya Tseen ("be alive" - a reference to his Tlingit name Yeil Ya Tseen) is "Indian Yard", his first album for Sub Pop. Rich with emotional range and sharp awareness, "Indian Yard" explores love, desire, frustration, pain, revolution, and connection through the magnetic expressions of an Indigenous mind. These 11 tracks put Galanin, Ya Tseen, and Indigenous art at large in a current musical conversation with the likes of Moses Sumney and TV on the Radio, FKA Twigs, and James Blake. During strings of sessions in Sitka and Seattle, a cast of brilliant friends - Shabazz Palaces, Nick Hakim, fellow Indigenous Alaskan singer and songwriter Qacung, fellow Alaskans Portugal. The Man (whom Galanin counts as friends and allies for social and environmental justice), Stas THEE Boss (THEESatisfaction), to name a few - helped turn "Indian Yard" into a cataract of intensely current pop wonders.
May 7 street date. With each new release, Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, Jakob Tvilling Pless, Johan Surrballe Wieth and Dan Kjær Nielsen refigure the contours of a typical Iceage song. This is especially true of "Seek Shelter", their fifth LP and first for Mexican Summer. Enrolling Sonic Boom (Pete Kember of Spacemen 3) to produce the record and an additional guitarist in the form of Casper Morilla Fernandez, "Seek Shelter" sees Iceage's propulsive momentum pushing them in new, expansive, ecstatic directions. A decade on from their first record, Iceage continue to harness their lives together through music. This journey, in music and life, has never progressed in a linear fashion. What precisely makes an Iceage song is still a mysterious thing, and the band wishes to maintain this protean quality. With "Seek Shelter", they've managed to hold onto this core of presence and risk while writing their most ambitious songs.
May 7 street date. With each new release, Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, Jakob Tvilling Pless, Johan Surrballe Wieth and Dan Kjær Nielsen refigure the contours of a typical Iceage song. This is especially true of "Seek Shelter", their fifth LP and first for Mexican Summer. Enrolling Sonic Boom (Pete Kember of Spacemen 3) to produce the record and an additional guitarist in the form of Casper Morilla Fernandez, "Seek Shelter" sees Iceage's propulsive momentum pushing them in new, expansive, ecstatic directions. A decade on from their first record, Iceage continue to harness their lives together through music. This journey, in music and life, has never progressed in a linear fashion. What precisely makes an Iceage song is still a mysterious thing, and the band wishes to maintain this protean quality. With "Seek Shelter", they've managed to hold onto this core of presence and risk while writing their most ambitious songs.
May 7 street date. With each new release, Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, Jakob Tvilling Pless, Johan Surrballe Wieth and Dan Kjær Nielsen refigure the contours of a typical Iceage song. This is especially true of "Seek Shelter", their fifth LP and first for Mexican Summer. Enrolling Sonic Boom (Pete Kember of Spacemen 3) to produce the record and an additional guitarist in the form of Casper Morilla Fernandez, "Seek Shelter" sees Iceage's propulsive momentum pushing them in new, expansive, ecstatic directions. A decade on from their first record, Iceage continue to harness their lives together through music. This journey, in music and life, has never progressed in a linear fashion. What precisely makes an Iceage song is still a mysterious thing, and the band wishes to maintain this protean quality. With "Seek Shelter", they've managed to hold onto this core of presence and risk while writing their most ambitious songs.
May 7 street date. MAN ON MAN (also M.O.M.) is a new gay lover band made up of Joey Holman (HOLMAN) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen, CRICKETS, Nastie Band). Their upcoming self-titled record is infused with indie-rock distortion and soaked in gay pop confidence while still maintaining the dry acerbic sense of humour they both share. MAN ON MAN's music transcends both genre or decade, creating a timeless appeal for so many kinds of listening. The varied influences and textures of the record are a meditation on the myriad of emotions of lockdown, as well as this particular moment in their own lives, collectively and independently. The shoegaze whirlpools of "Stohner" transition into the square wave synths of "1983" with ease, while tracks like "It's So Fun (To Be Gay)" open us up to a new type of queer anthem for the 2020s.
May 7 street date. MAN ON MAN (also M.O.M.) is a new gay lover band made up of Joey Holman (HOLMAN) and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen, CRICKETS, Nastie Band). Their upcoming self-titled record is infused with indie-rock distortion and soaked in gay pop confidence while still maintaining the dry acerbic sense of humour they both share. MAN ON MAN's music transcends both genre or decade, creating a timeless appeal for so many kinds of listening. The varied influences and textures of the record are a meditation on the myriad of emotions of lockdown, as well as this particular moment in their own lives, collectively and independently. The shoegaze whirlpools of "Stohner" transition into the square wave synths of "1983" with ease, while tracks like "It's So Fun (To Be Gay)" open us up to a new type of queer anthem for the 2020s.
May 7 street date. Peter's third solo album saw him break wide open with his biggest hit "Cuts You Up", which is often included in lists of the greatest alternative singles. Propelling him into mainstream stardom, "Deep" also had two additional fantastic charting singles - "The Line Between the Devil's Teeth (And That Which Cannot Be Repeat)", and "A Strange Kind of Love". Again produced by Simon Rogers, the critically acclaimed album is still a fan favourite.
May 7 street date. The fourth Peter Murphy album "Holy Smoke" contained the single "The Sweetest Drop", which made it onto the modern rock charts. It was an elegant follow up to "Deep" with crisp production by Mike Thorne. As written in the original press release for the album, "you can’t pin down "Holy Smoke", it curls and eddies in white and blue swirls, drawing a series of patterns on the brain, but just when an image begins to come into focus, the music mutates into something hypnotically new".
May 14 street date. "Blood" is Juliana Hatfield's 19th solo studio album of originals, and a deep dive into the dark side. The album is a brutal and critical look at modern human psychology and behavior; at personal and societal sickness. "I think these songs are a reaction to how seriously and negatively a lot of people have been affected by the past four years," says Juliana. "But it's fun, musically. There's a lot of playing around. I didn't really have a plan when I started this project". "Chunks" and "Had A Dream" are gritty and abrasive while "Mouthful of Blood" and "Gorgon" are groovy and ultra-melodic. All of it is eminently hummable and thought-provoking. Sophisticated but catchy. Challenging but danceable.
May 14 street date. "Blood" is Juliana Hatfield's 19th solo studio album of originals, and a deep dive into the dark side. The album is a brutal and critical look at modern human psychology and behavior; at personal and societal sickness. "I think these songs are a reaction to how seriously and negatively a lot of people have been affected by the past four years," says Juliana. "But it's fun, musically. There's a lot of playing around. I didn't really have a plan when I started this project". "Chunks" and "Had A Dream" are gritty and abrasive while "Mouthful of Blood" and "Gorgon" are groovy and ultra-melodic. All of it is eminently hummable and thought-provoking. Sophisticated but catchy. Challenging but danceable.
May 14 street date. "Blood" is Juliana Hatfield's 19th solo studio album of originals, and a deep dive into the dark side. The album is a brutal and critical look at modern human psychology and behavior; at personal and societal sickness. "I think these songs are a reaction to how seriously and negatively a lot of people have been affected by the past four years," says Juliana. "But it's fun, musically. There's a lot of playing around. I didn't really have a plan when I started this project". "Chunks" and "Had A Dream" are gritty and abrasive while "Mouthful of Blood" and "Gorgon" are groovy and ultra-melodic. All of it is eminently hummable and thought-provoking. Sophisticated but catchy. Challenging but danceable.
May 14 street date. Pioneers of the British music scene, ‘Blackest Blue’ will be the Morcheeba's 10th studio album in a discography that spans three decades. ‘Blackest Blue’ is a refined 10 track album that fuses previous incarnations and sound of the band - such as downbeat, chill, electro-pop, and soul - into one cohesive record that dives deep into the soul of the band's genre-mashing musical heritage. As usual, the band didn't approach the album with any pre-conceptions, and instead created an organic journey that represents everything great about Morcheeba. Skye Edwards' lyrics are primarily focused on positivity and overcoming personal adversity that lies within. The album includes features with Duke Garwood (known for his work with Mark Lanegan, amongst others) and Brad Barr (The Slip, The Barr Brothers). Morcheeba's global reach is impressive, taking them to every corner of the world. Their signature chilled electronic/organic sound has been border-hopping ever since the London-based band emerged as a household name.
May 14 street date. Pioneers of the British music scene, ‘Blackest Blue’ will be the Morcheeba's 10th studio album in a discography that spans three decades. ‘Blackest Blue’ is a refined 10 track album that fuses previous incarnations and sound of the band - such as downbeat, chill, electro-pop, and soul - into one cohesive record that dives deep into the soul of the band's genre-mashing musical heritage. As usual, the band didn't approach the album with any pre-conceptions, and instead created an organic journey that represents everything great about Morcheeba. Skye Edwards' lyrics are primarily focused on positivity and overcoming personal adversity that lies within. The album includes features with Duke Garwood (known for his work with Mark Lanegan, amongst others) and Brad Barr (The Slip, The Barr Brothers). Morcheeba's global reach is impressive, taking them to every corner of the world. Their signature chilled electronic/organic sound has been border-hopping ever since the London-based band emerged as a household name.
May 14 street date. Blue vinyl edition, exclusively available to independent shops and D2C. Pioneers of the British music scene, ‘Blackest Blue’ will be the Morcheeba's 10th studio album in a discography that spans three decades. ‘Blackest Blue’ is a refined 10 track album that fuses previous incarnations and sound of the band - such as downbeat, chill, electro-pop, and soul - into one cohesive record that dives deep into the soul of the band's genre-mashing musical heritage. As usual, the band didn't approach the album with any pre-conceptions, and instead created an organic journey that represents everything great about Morcheeba. Skye Edwards' lyrics are primarily focused on positivity and overcoming personal adversity that lies within. The album includes features with Duke Garwood (known for his work with Mark Lanegan, amongst others) and Brad Barr (The Slip, The Barr Brothers). Morcheeba's global reach is impressive, taking them to every corner of the world. Their signature chilled electronic/organic sound has been border-hopping ever since the London-based band emerged as a household name.
May 14 street date. Marking his first full-length album in six years, five-time GRAMMY Award nominee and diamond-selling performer, actor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Robin Thicke makes a return in 2021 with the long awaited new album, "On Earth, and in Heaven". Setting the stage for the record, the scorching single "That's What Love Can Do," ignited this new flame and hit #1 on the Urban A.C. charts. The second single, "Forever Mine," garnered high praise from Vibe, and has already amassed over 2 million Spotify streams and counting. Presenting the same bold, bright, and boisterous R&B that turned him into a household name, he ascends to new heights on his eighth full-length album.
May 14 street date. White vinyl edition with bonus 7" single, exclusively available to independent shops and limited to 1000 copies. Pioneers of the British music scene, ‘Blackest Blue’ will be the Morcheeba's 10th studio album in a discography that spans three decades. ‘Blackest Blue’ is a refined 10 track album that fuses previous incarnations and sound of the band - such as downbeat, chill, electro-pop, and soul - into one cohesive record that dives deep into the soul of the band's genre-mashing musical heritage. As usual, the band didn't approach the album with any pre-conceptions, and instead created an organic journey that represents everything great about Morcheeba. Skye Edwards' lyrics are primarily focused on positivity and overcoming personal adversity that lies within. The album includes features with Duke Garwood (known for his work with Mark Lanegan, amongst others) and Brad Barr (The Slip, The Barr Brothers). Morcheeba's global reach is impressive, taking them to every corner of the world. Their signature chilled electronic/organic sound has been border-hopping ever since the London-based band emerged as a household name.
May 21 street date. Since breaking out in 2018, CHAI have been associated with explosive joy. At the core of their music, CHAI have upheld a stated mission to deconstruct the standards of beauty and cuteness that can be so oppressive in Japan. Like all musicians, CHAI spent 2020 forced to rethink the fabric of their work and lives. But CHAI took this as an opportunity to shake up their process and bring their music somewhere thrillingly new. Having previously used their maximalist recordings to capture the exuberance of their live shows, with the audiences' reactions in mind, CHAI instead focused on crafting the slightly-subtler and more introspective kinds of songs they enjoy listening to at home. Their third full-length and first for Sub Pop, "WINK" contains CHAI's mellowest and most minimal music, and also their most affecting and exciting songwriting by far. CHAI draw R&B and hip-hop into their mix of dance-punk and pop-rock, all while remaining undeniably CHAI.
May 21 street date. Since breaking out in 2018, CHAI have been associated with explosive joy. At the core of their music, CHAI have upheld a stated mission to deconstruct the standards of beauty and cuteness that can be so oppressive in Japan. Like all musicians, CHAI spent 2020 forced to rethink the fabric of their work and lives. But CHAI took this as an opportunity to shake up their process and bring their music somewhere thrillingly new. Having previously used their maximalist recordings to capture the exuberance of their live shows, with the audiences' reactions in mind, CHAI instead focused on crafting the slightly-subtler and more introspective kinds of songs they enjoy listening to at home. Their third full-length and first for Sub Pop, "WINK" contains CHAI's mellowest and most minimal music, and also their most affecting and exciting songwriting by far. CHAI draw R&B and hip-hop into their mix of dance-punk and pop-rock, all while remaining undeniably CHAI.
May 21 street date. Since breaking out in 2018, CHAI have been associated with explosive joy. At the core of their music, CHAI have upheld a stated mission to deconstruct the standards of beauty and cuteness that can be so oppressive in Japan. Like all musicians, CHAI spent 2020 forced to rethink the fabric of their work and lives. But CHAI took this as an opportunity to shake up their process and bring their music somewhere thrillingly new. Having previously used their maximalist recordings to capture the exuberance of their live shows, with the audiences' reactions in mind, CHAI instead focused on crafting the slightly-subtler and more introspective kinds of songs they enjoy listening to at home. Their third full-length and first for Sub Pop, "WINK" contains CHAI's mellowest and most minimal music, and also their most affecting and exciting songwriting by far. CHAI draw R&B and hip-hop into their mix of dance-punk and pop-rock, all while remaining undeniably CHAI.
May 21 street date. Fly Pan Am have composed some of their most direct, visceral and immediately satisfying music for the acclaimed modern dance piece "Frontera" by Montréal-based troupe Animals Of Distinction. Juxtaposing stern foreboding electronics and minimalist motorik avant-rock, the "Frontera" studio album superbly captures the bristling, sculpted, intensely evocative instrumental pieces that Fly Pan Am developed in close conception and collaboration with the dancers. The "Frontera" recordings track faithfully to the narrative of the original work, where eight movements (featuring a company of 10 dancers) flow from controlled chaos and tensely choreographed kinetics to slow, wrenchingly austere set pieces. This also music stands powerfully and exceptionally well on its own, resonating with the themes of the devastating dance piece. Deluxe 180g vinyl includes artworked inner and 6-panel fold-out insert featuring photographic stills from the original dance production.
May 21 street date. Fly Pan Am have composed some of their most direct, visceral and immediately satisfying music for the acclaimed modern dance piece "Frontera" by Montréal-based troupe Animals Of Distinction. Juxtaposing stern foreboding electronics and minimalist motorik avant-rock, the "Frontera" studio album superbly captures the bristling, sculpted, intensely evocative instrumental pieces that Fly Pan Am developed in close conception and collaboration with the dancers. The "Frontera" recordings track faithfully to the narrative of the original work, where eight movements (featuring a company of 10 dancers) flow from controlled chaos and tensely choreographed kinetics to slow, wrenchingly austere set pieces. This also music stands powerfully and exceptionally well on its own, resonating with the themes of the devastating dance piece. Deluxe 180g vinyl includes artworked inner and 6-panel fold-out insert featuring photographic stills from the original dance production.
June 25 street date. His last solo album for Beggars, "Cascade" came after a time of change for Peter Murphy. He had dissolved his longtime backing band and moved to Turkey with his family. After a year of soul-searching and re-discovery, the songs flowed. He said "it confirmed my belief that writing - like painting or any art form - comes from a very silent place that's not dependent on outside stimulus. It was like rediscovering the initial innocence and purity that's there when you join your first band". The album was written with Paul Statham and produced by Pascal Gabriel. It also contains guitar work by noted artist Michael Brook. Includes four bonus tracks.
June 25 street date. This album of rarities was curated by Andrew Brooksbank and Stephen Webbon with Peter Murphy's guidance. It contains 10 rare tracks that are demo versions, remixes and edits.
Please note new street date for LP: February 26 / January 29 for CD. Liverpool's legendary Death Metal pioneers Carcass (who still tour extensively to this day) are often credited with shaping the entire death metal genre, pushing boundaries with their shocking imagery whilst evolving and innovating with each new album. "Swansong" is their sixth album, originally released in 1996.
Please note new street date: February 26. Full dynamic range audio vinyl edition of the second album from Death Metal pioneers Carcass. Originally released in 1989, "Symphonies Of Sickness" contains 10 relentless tracks exploring the subject of brutal animal cruelty in the meat industry.
February 26 for LP (date change) / January 8 street date (CD). Liverpool's legendary Death Metal pioneers Carcass (who still tour extensively to this day) are often credited with shaping the entire death metal genre, pushing boundaries with their shocking imagery whilst evolving and innovating with each new album. "Reek of Putrefaction, originally released in 1988, gave the band their 'Goregrind' identity breeding the genres of grindcore and death metal. Presented with their famously controversial artwork consisting of extremely vivid images taken from a medical dictionary. Pressed from the original master tapes, this edition of "Reek Of Puterfaction" has been specially recreated using "FDR" - full dynamic range - mastering allowing the music's nuances to shine through and give this classic a more ferocious and dynamic sound.
Release date: tba (date change). It is the simple thing that is so hard to do. This is the paradox that musician Lael Neale has lived within throughout her development as an artist. It is the reason she became enthralled with poetry. Poems are a distillation. Lael says, "this challenge to winnow away what is unessential is the most maddening and, ultimately, rewarding part of writing a song." Lael's new album "Acquainted With Night" is a testament to this poetic devotion. Stripped of any extraneous word or sound, the songs are lit by Lael's crystalline voice which lays on a lush bed of Omnichord. The collection touches on themes that have been thread into her work for years: isolation, mortality, yearning, and reaching ever toward the transcendent experience. Normally a morning person, Lael recorded most of these songs in the darkening.
Please note new street date: June 12. From Shrine to Stax, Isaac Hayes to Gloria Ann Taylor, The Mad Lads to The Staple Singers, Detroit to Atlanta, Kendrick to Pusha-T, Dale Warren's singular voice is the lone constant. Beneath the ethereal beauty of his productions was a genius crippled by his unbridled id. His ever-evolving 24-Carat Black project spanned the 1970s, producing a masterpiece and an unfinished follow up. Discovered in a storage space were Warren's 1980s demos cut with grown 'n' sexy divas Princess Hearn, Vicki Gray, and LaRhonda LeGette right before his untimely death at the age of 50. "III" is an unfinished symphony that peels away the final layer of Dale Warren's mysterious oeuvre.
Please note new street date: May 15. "Perception is/as/of Deception" is an anxiety fueled cyclone of pandemonium that only ADULT. would know how to harness. The album was given life in a temporary space the duo created by painting their windowless basement entirely black, with the sole intention to deprive their senses, question their perceptions, and witness the resulting ramifications. With over 23 years and a sprawling discography left in their wake, Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus have spent their entire career as ADULT. obscuring any defined genre or style. With a history as uncanny as ADULT., the pieces making up "Perception is/as/of Deception" might be perceived as their most punk-infused and introspective work to date. The elements of frustration and apprehension that have consistently woven throughout their material are at full mast, although augmented by a strident and more "head-on" approach.
Please note new street date: May 15. "Perception is/as/of Deception" is an anxiety fueled cyclone of pandemonium that only ADULT. would know how to harness. The album was given life in a temporary space the duo created by painting their windowless basement entirely black, with the sole intention to deprive their senses, question their perceptions, and witness the resulting ramifications. With over 23 years and a sprawling discography left in their wake, Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus have spent their entire career as ADULT. obscuring any defined genre or style. With a history as uncanny as ADULT., the pieces making up "Perception is/as/of Deception" might be perceived as their most punk-infused and introspective work to date. The elements of frustration and apprehension that have consistently woven throughout their material are at full mast, although augmented by a strident and more "head-on" approach.
January 24 street date. "A true legend and a hero. I love Terry's music so much" - Kurt Vile. Iconic and iconoclastic Texan songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen's heartbreaking, hilarious new album, his first set of new songs since 2013's "Bottom Of The World", features the full Panhandle Mystery Band, including co-producer Charlie Sexton (Dylan, Bowie, Blaze), Shannon McNally, and Jo Harvey Allen; mainstays Bukka Allen, Richard Bowden, and Lloyd Maines; and co-writes with Joe Ely and Dave Alvin. The connections to Melville's masterpiece are metaphorical and allusive, as elusive as the White Whale. The masterly spiritual successor to "Lubbock (on everything)", "Just Like Moby Dick" casts its net wide for wild stories, depicting, among other monstrous things, Houdini in existential crisis, the death of the last stripper in town, bloodthirsty pirates, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a vampire-infested circus, mudslides and burning mobile homes, and all manner of tragicomic disasters, abandonments, betrayals, bad memories, failures, and fare-thee-wells. The deluxe tip-on gatefold 2xLP package features lyrics, color labels, high-res Bandcamp download code, three sides of music, and a fourth-side vinyl etching artwork by Allen.
January 24 street date. "A true legend and a hero. I love Terry's music so much" - Kurt Vile. Iconic and iconoclastic Texan songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen's heartbreaking, hilarious new album, his first set of new songs since 2013's "Bottom Of The World", features the full Panhandle Mystery Band, including co-producer Charlie Sexton (Dylan, Bowie, Blaze), Shannon McNally, and Jo Harvey Allen; mainstays Bukka Allen, Richard Bowden, and Lloyd Maines; and co-writes with Joe Ely and Dave Alvin. The connections to Melville's masterpiece are metaphorical and allusive, as elusive as the White Whale. The masterly spiritual successor to "Lubbock (on everything)", "Just Like Moby Dick" casts its net wide for wild stories, depicting, among other monstrous things, Houdini in existential crisis, the death of the last stripper in town, bloodthirsty pirates, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a vampire-infested circus, mudslides and burning mobile homes, and all manner of tragicomic disasters, abandonments, betrayals, bad memories, failures, and fare-thee-wells. The deluxe tip-on gatefold 2xLP package features lyrics, color labels, high-res Bandcamp download code, three sides of music, and a fourth-side vinyl etching artwork by Allen.
Please note new street date: May 29. 2nd installment of Ariel Pink collections/reissues from Mexican Summer; The Doldrums, Worn Copy, and House Arrest, three of the signature records from the Haunted Graffiti era. Recorded during a sleepier era in Ariel’s native Los Angeles, it’s easy to hear The Doldrums as a response to a feeling of under-stimulation or malaise, a mood that had been angrily mined by Gen X in the 1990s but which Ariel treated with some ironic distance. Songs like “Gray Sunsets” and “Let’s Build a Campfire There” articulate a longing melancholia with arresting lyrics that blend the juvenile and poetic. Ariel Pink’s public profile at the time was limited to Los Angeles. It wasn’t until 2004, after Ariel Pink’s music began reaching wider audiences through releases on Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label that he began touring the U.S. in support of The Doldrums, House Arrest and Worn Copy. Live reviews from the tour mention Ariel changing the format and feel of the show night by night. Oddly, albums such as The Doldrums, Worn Copy and House Arrest were not widely embraced initially, though their inventiveness and strange beauty was usually recognized by reviewers, if not begrudgingly. Critical opinion was divided: Ariel Pink was either a self-indulgent “weirdo” or a pop music genius. Twenty years on, Ariel’s music still stupefies.
Please note new street date: May 29. 2nd installment of Ariel Pink collections/reissues from Mexican Summer; The Doldrums, Worn Copy, and House Arrest, three of the signature records from the Haunted Graffiti era. Recorded during a sleepier era in Ariel’s native Los Angeles, it’s easy to hear The Doldrums as a response to a feeling of under-stimulation or malaise, a mood that had been angrily mined by Gen X in the 1990s but which Ariel treated with some ironic distance. Songs like “Gray Sunsets” and “Let’s Build a Campfire There” articulate a longing melancholia with arresting lyrics that blend the juvenile and poetic. Ariel Pink’s public profile at the time was limited to Los Angeles. It wasn’t until 2004, after Ariel Pink’s music began reaching wider audiences through releases on Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label that he began touring the U.S. in support of The Doldrums, House Arrest and Worn Copy. Live reviews from the tour mention Ariel changing the format and feel of the show night by night. Oddly, albums such as The Doldrums, Worn Copy and House Arrest were not widely embraced initially, though their inventiveness and strange beauty was usually recognized by reviewers, if not begrudgingly. Critical opinion was divided: Ariel Pink was either a self-indulgent “weirdo” or a pop music genius. Twenty years on, Ariel’s music still stupefies.
Please note new street date: May 29. 2nd installment of Ariel Pink collections/reissues from Mexican Summer; The Doldrums, Worn Copy, and House Arrest, three of the signature records from the Haunted Graffiti era. Recorded during a sleepier era in Ariel’s native Los Angeles, it’s easy to hear The Doldrums as a response to a feeling of under-stimulation or malaise, a mood that had been angrily mined by Gen X in the 1990s but which Ariel treated with some ironic distance. Songs like “Gray Sunsets” and “Let’s Build a Campfire There” articulate a longing melancholia with arresting lyrics that blend the juvenile and poetic. Ariel Pink’s public profile at the time was limited to Los Angeles. It wasn’t until 2004, after Ariel Pink’s music began reaching wider audiences through releases on Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label that he began touring the U.S. in support of The Doldrums, House Arrest and Worn Copy. Live reviews from the tour mention Ariel changing the format and feel of the show night by night. Oddly, albums such as The Doldrums, Worn Copy and House Arrest were not widely embraced initially, though their inventiveness and strange beauty was usually recognized by reviewers, if not begrudgingly. Critical opinion was divided: Ariel Pink was either a self-indulgent “weirdo” or a pop music genius. Twenty years on, Ariel’s music still stupefies.
November 6 street date. The pioneering electronic composer Mort Garson ("Mother Earth's Plantasia") takes on supernatural phenomena with lush synth grooves on "The Unexplained", his only release under the name Ataraxia. Subtitled "Electronic Musical Impressions of the Occult", the album explores tarot, astral projection, seances, and more with Garson's signature Moog synthesizer serving as the listener's tour guide to the paranormal. The exploratory, whimsical spirit of its creator is evident throughout the release, but it also takes its subject matter seriously, making it essential for anyone interested in musical conjurations of the occult. This remastered edition marks the first official reissue of the album since its initial 1975 release, and it includes all the original liner notes.
November 6 street date. The pioneering electronic composer Mort Garson ("Mother Earth's Plantasia") takes on supernatural phenomena with lush synth grooves on "The Unexplained", his only release under the name Ataraxia. Subtitled "Electronic Musical Impressions of the Occult", the album explores tarot, astral projection, seances, and more with Garson's signature Moog synthesizer serving as the listener's tour guide to the paranormal. The exploratory, whimsical spirit of its creator is evident throughout the release, but it also takes its subject matter seriously, making it essential for anyone interested in musical conjurations of the occult. This remastered edition marks the first official reissue of the album since its initial 1975 release, and it includes all the original liner notes.
May 15 street date. For over 20 years, Atmosphere have pursued the underbelly of what it means to be human with a rabid curiosity. Ant's dusky production has provided the pulse for Slug's evolving and matter-of-fact pen. As Slug transitioned from throwing-up-in-the-backseat-raps to holding-hands-when-you-cross-the-street-raps, Ant has grown to be a master of crate digging and unearthing the humanity of a drum loop. Thriving at the intersection of guttural and self-effacing, Atmosphere will go down as some of America's best archivists. On "Whenever", the duo continue to move in lockstep. Within the minutiae lie clues they're still struggling with mortality and the need to protect emotional energy, as on previous releases, but there's a quiet romanticism now, with Slug sounding - reluctantly - in love with life. And no other producer can pull truths out of a rapper like Ant fishes the blues out of Slug. The album breathes in the way only Slug and Ant could summon a collective breath. On "Whenever", the duo inhale panic and exhale greatness.
May 15 street date. For over 20 years, Atmosphere have pursued the underbelly of what it means to be human with a rabid curiosity. Ant's dusky production has provided the pulse for Slug's evolving and matter-of-fact pen. As Slug transitioned from throwing-up-in-the-backseat-raps to holding-hands-when-you-cross-the-street-raps, Ant has grown to be a master of crate digging and unearthing the humanity of a drum loop. Thriving at the intersection of guttural and self-effacing, Atmosphere will go down as some of America's best archivists. On "Whenever", the duo continue to move in lockstep. Within the minutiae lie clues they're still struggling with mortality and the need to protect emotional energy, as on previous releases, but there's a quiet romanticism now, with Slug sounding - reluctantly - in love with life. And no other producer can pull truths out of a rapper like Ant fishes the blues out of Slug. The album breathes in the way only Slug and Ant could summon a collective breath. On "Whenever", the duo inhale panic and exhale greatness.
June 19 street date. Bad Cop/Bad Cop has done angry. The band's 2017 full-length, "Warriors", was recorded in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election. The message the band is sending this time around on their third full-length album "The Ride" is less about wagging your finger at others, or giving the middle one to the Man, than it is about self-love and acceptance. That positivity fuels many of the album's tracks. This self-love is tasking the listener with putting a fix on the problems at hand and finding it in themselves to create the life that they want. Singer Stacey Dee speaks from experience. In 2018 she was hospitalized twice for different ailments, then discovered she had stage one breast cancer at the end of the year. Fortunately it was highly treatable, but the experience was life-altering. Dee captures it with brutal frankness on "Breastless", whose bright melodies belie the struggle described in the lyrics. The perspective behind "The Ride" lends it an undeniable maturity, without losing its power. The album boasts all of the elements of Bad Cop/Bad Cop's sound: big guitars, lock-step bass and drums, intricate vocal harmonies, and plenty of attitude. The only difference this time is the attitude is encouraging, not raging.
June 19 street date. Bad Cop/Bad Cop has done angry. The band's 2017 full-length, "Warriors", was recorded in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election. The message the band is sending this time around on their third full-length album "The Ride" is less about wagging your finger at others, or giving the middle one to the Man, than it is about self-love and acceptance. That positivity fuels many of the album's tracks. This self-love is tasking the listener with putting a fix on the problems at hand and finding it in themselves to create the life that they want. Singer Stacey Dee speaks from experience. In 2018 she was hospitalized twice for different ailments, then discovered she had stage one breast cancer at the end of the year. Fortunately it was highly treatable, but the experience was life-altering. Dee captures it with brutal frankness on "Breastless", whose bright melodies belie the struggle described in the lyrics. The perspective behind "The Ride" lends it an undeniable maturity, without losing its power. The album boasts all of the elements of Bad Cop/Bad Cop's sound: big guitars, lock-step bass and drums, intricate vocal harmonies, and plenty of attitude. The only difference this time is the attitude is encouraging, not raging.
February 12 street date. Bailter Space's "Wammo" is back in print for the first time since the album's release 25 years ago. The LP is pressed onto limited transparent orange vinyl and features newly remastered audio from the original session reels. Formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1987 as Nelsh Bailter Space, the band's musical family tree touches on some of the nation's most revered weirdo luminaries - including Flying Nun mainstays like the Skeptics, the Clean, and the Gordons. Bailter Space embraced chaos, but celebrated precision, finding melody amid networks of brooding noise and feedback. After relocating to New York City, the band - who by then included Alister Parker, John Halvorsen, and Brent McLachlan - arrived on Matador in time for the US release of "Robot World" (1993). "Wammo" was the trio's third and final full-length with the label (their fifth album overall) and was among its most tuneful efforts (relatively speaking!). At the time, music scribes were a bit puzzled by the record's "accessibility". In the rear view, though, we can recognize "Wammo" for the perfectly melancholy and drone-laced brain-zap that it is.
July 31 street date. Vinyl reissue of Lou Barlow's 2005 solo album "EMOH", previously only briefly available on vinyl in the UK upon release. "Emoh is primarily an acoustic LP with live performances at its core, and that was a personal achievement for me. I'm still very pleased with it. Though my follow-up, Goodnight Unknown, went back inward and is, lyrically, more evasive, with Emoh I realigned myself with my craft. I had embraced songwriting in a high-profile way and made myself solely responsible for the results. The fact that it coincided with becoming a father for the first time makes it a time marker and game changer that has been invaluable to me, serving to keep me focused and on track personally and creatively ever since" - Lou Barlow.
LP and CD in stock now. Jennah Barry's long-awaited sophomore release!! (new single hiit #5 on CBC Top 20. Confirmed coverage from Mojo, Popmatters, Exclaim! & many more!!) - Hailing from the coastal haven of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Jennah Barry is one of Atlantic Canada’s surest sirens. Her undeniable, rosewater voice sets a mood wherein even the hardest truths seem palatable. Moving effortlessly between folk, country and soft rock motifs, Barry’s music, last heard on her instantly classic debut Young Men, sets her at the forefront of a tradition of women making music as strong as it is sentimental. "Hazy and calm and entirely entrancing" - The Line of Best Fit // "Barry has an unsettling ability to capture the warmth of an evening (possibly seaside) while slowly cracking into that cozy façade with the tap-tap of insistent heartbreak." - CBC Music
November 13 street date. William Basinski's reputation as the foremost producer of profound meditations on death and decay has long been established, but on his new album, "Lamentations", he transforms operatic tragedy into abyssal beauty. More than any other work since "The Disintegration Loops", there is an ominous grief throughout the album, and that sense of loss lingers like an emotional vapor. Captured and constructed from tape loops and studies from Basinski's archives - dating back to 1979 - "Lamentations" is over forty years of mournful sighs meticulously crafted into songs. They are shaped by the inevitable passage of time and the indisputable collapsing of space - and their collective resonance is infinite and eternal.
Please note new street date: January 22/21. William Basinski's reputation as the foremost producer of profound meditations on death and decay has long been established, but on his new album, "Lamentations", he transforms operatic tragedy into abyssal beauty. More than any other work since "The Disintegration Loops", there is an ominous grief throughout the album, and that sense of loss lingers like an emotional vapor. Captured and constructed from tape loops and studies from Basinski's archives - dating back to 1979 - "Lamentations" is over forty years of mournful sighs meticulously crafted into songs. They are shaped by the inevitable passage of time and the indisputable collapsing of space - and their collective resonance is infinite and eternal.
August 29 RECORD STORE DAY DROP. BAYSIDE has always focused on creating songs that are relevant to people who want substance, rather than being relegated to one genre. With Interrobang, the band has put together an eclectic, inspiring, and bold collection of songs. Raneri shares, “Love it or hate it, we wanted the record to invoke something in people. We said with this record we either wanted to create something great or fall on our faces. Negative or positive, we just didn’t want the record to be ‘fine.’” While many bands would coast on their past success, BAYSIDE rejects the premise and proves with Interrobang, that the best is yet to come. This 7” is a record store day exclusive with Bayside’s song “Heaven,” off of their latest album “Interrobang,” b/w an unreleased acoustic version. For Fans Of: Alkaline Trio, The Menzingers, Taking Back Sunday
July 10 street date. The debut collaboration album from doom metal giants Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin (the solo folk project of singer/songwriter Erik Moggridge), under the moniker of Stygian Bough is a culmination of the work of both artists as witnessed previously on Bell Witch's three full length albums, where Moggrdige has contributed guest vocals. With each succeeding Bell Witch release, one has seen Moggridge's involvement with the band developing, growing and getting more elaborate. This release, produced by Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Wolves In The Throne Room, Anna Von Hausswolff), follows up Bell Witch's colossal "Mirror Reaper" opus with Moggrdige actually being involved in the creative and writing process with the band duo of Dylan Desmond (bass/vocals) and Jesse Shreibman (drums/synthesizers/vocals). Not only does Stygian Bough expand and broaden this alliance between the artists, but with Aerial Ruin contributing to the songwriting of this dedicated collaboration and incorporating his signature and alluring style of emotionally-driven folk, along with taking the lead vocal position, adding to the band's caliber of unearthly towering doom, this album becomes its own singular, unparalleled doom metal entity.
July 10 street date. The debut collaboration album from doom metal giants Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin (the solo folk project of singer/songwriter Erik Moggridge), under the moniker of Stygian Bough is a culmination of the work of both artists as witnessed previously on Bell Witch's three full length albums, where Moggrdige has contributed guest vocals. With each succeeding Bell Witch release, one has seen Moggridge's involvement with the band developing, growing and getting more elaborate. This release, produced by Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Wolves In The Throne Room, Anna Von Hausswolff), follows up Bell Witch's colossal "Mirror Reaper" opus with Moggrdige actually being involved in the creative and writing process with the band duo of Dylan Desmond (bass/vocals) and Jesse Shreibman (drums/synthesizers/vocals). Not only does Stygian Bough expand and broaden this alliance between the artists, but with Aerial Ruin contributing to the songwriting of this dedicated collaboration and incorporating his signature and alluring style of emotionally-driven folk, along with taking the lead vocal position, adding to the band's caliber of unearthly towering doom, this album becomes its own singular, unparalleled doom metal entity.
December 11 street date. "What To Look For In Summer" is a live double album gathering choice selections from Belle And Sebastian's 2019 world tour. Neither a retrospective nor a back-door greatest-hits, "What To Look For In Summer" is the sound of a band that's always moving forward, a picture of Belle and Sebastian in 2019 that gives equal weight to early days ("My Wandering Days Are Over", "Seeing Other People") and recent years.
December 11 street date. "What To Look For In Summer" is a live double album gathering choice selections from Belle And Sebastian's 2019 world tour. Neither a retrospective nor a back-door greatest-hits, "What To Look For In Summer" is the sound of a band that's always moving forward, a picture of Belle and Sebastian in 2019 that gives equal weight to early days ("My Wandering Days Are Over", "Seeing Other People") and recent years.
January 29 street date. "The Besnard Lakes Are The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings" is the group's sixth album and the first on Flemish Eye. After 2016's "A Coliseum Complex Museum" - which saw Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas attempting shorter, less sprawling songs - the Besnards and their label decided it was time to go their separate ways; with that decision came a question of whether to even continue the project at all. What use is a band with an instinct for long, tectonic tunes - rock songs with chthonic heft and ethereal grace, 5 or 10 or 18 minutes long? How do you sell that in an age of bite-sized streaming? How do you make it relevant? Despite all its grandeur, "...The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings" honours the very essence of punk rock: the notion that a band need only be relevant to itself. At last the Besnard Lakes have crafted a continuous long-form suite: nine tracks that could be listened together as one, overflowing with melody and harmony, drone and dazzle, the group's own unique weather. In late 2020, as the world burns, there might be nothing less trendy than an hour-long psych-rock epic by a band of Canadian grandmasters. Then again, there might be nothing we need more.
January 29 street date. "The Besnard Lakes Are The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings" is the group's sixth album and the first on Flemish Eye. After 2016's "A Coliseum Complex Museum" - which saw Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas attempting shorter, less sprawling songs - the Besnards and their label decided it was time to go their separate ways; with that decision came a question of whether to even continue the project at all. What use is a band with an instinct for long, tectonic tunes - rock songs with chthonic heft and ethereal grace, 5 or 10 or 18 minutes long? How do you sell that in an age of bite-sized streaming? How do you make it relevant? Despite all its grandeur, "...The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings" honours the very essence of punk rock: the notion that a band need only be relevant to itself. At last the Besnard Lakes have crafted a continuous long-form suite: nine tracks that could be listened together as one, overflowing with melody and harmony, drone and dazzle, the group's own unique weather. In late 2020, as the world burns, there might be nothing less trendy than an hour-long psych-rock epic by a band of Canadian grandmasters. Then again, there might be nothing we need more.
July 17 street date. Bing & Ruth, the ever-evolving project helmed by New York composer David Moore, has announced the release of "Species", which will be released on 17 July. "Species" is an exploration of the sonic possibilities of the Farfisa organ, aided only by a clarinet and double bass. "I suppose what interested me the most in putting this together was the concept of trance and what can happen to the listener by submitting to the wave of the thing," Moore explains. "Species", and the transcendental state it embodies, was inspired by two recent loves of Moore's: the desert and long-distance running. Bing & Ruth have had to postpone their previously scheduled Spring/Summer tour. Canadian dates will now take place on September 1st (Toronto - Brothers Dressler) and September 2nd (Montreal - La Sala Rossa).
July 17 street date. Bing & Ruth, the ever-evolving project helmed by New York composer David Moore, has announced the release of "Species", which will be released on 17 July. "Species" is an exploration of the sonic possibilities of the Farfisa organ, aided only by a clarinet and double bass. "I suppose what interested me the most in putting this together was the concept of trance and what can happen to the listener by submitting to the wave of the thing," Moore explains. "Species", and the transcendental state it embodies, was inspired by two recent loves of Moore's: the desert and long-distance running. Bing & Ruth have had to postpone their previously scheduled Spring/Summer tour. Canadian dates will now take place on September 1st (Toronto - Brothers Dressler) and September 2nd (Montreal - La Sala Rossa).
January 24 street date. It's country music but not as we know it which begs the question: have these Bad Kids of 21st Century rock 'n' roll finally grown up on their ninth studio album? ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ continues to flick the middle finger to one and all. This ain't another gaggle of bearded southern sons fleeing their collective suburban upbringings and collegiate music education. There aren't the usual clichés about drinking, honky tonks, and heartbreak. These are, after all, the same Black Lips who rescued the waning garage punk subgenre. They also dug contemporary hip-hop and punk and actualized themselves. Like so many dramatic moments in the Black Lips career, ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ was born out of crisis. The band's stylistic evolution through decades of prolific touring and recording took them where no garage punk band had gone before - huge venues, network television shows, and major music festivals. Here Black Lips are at their grimiest, most dangerous and equipped with the best collection of songs since the aughts. They roll on with an unapologetic southern-fried twang, pacing the beast, every now and then dropping a psycho howl into the rubber room madness lurking underneath the truckstop fireworks. This ain't your granny's country album. And conversely this ain't your mama's Black Lips!
January 24 street date. It's country music but not as we know it which begs the question: have these Bad Kids of 21st Century rock 'n' roll finally grown up on their ninth studio album? ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ continues to flick the middle finger to one and all. This ain't another gaggle of bearded southern sons fleeing their collective suburban upbringings and collegiate music education. There aren't the usual clichés about drinking, honky tonks, and heartbreak. These are, after all, the same Black Lips who rescued the waning garage punk subgenre. They also dug contemporary hip-hop and punk and actualized themselves. Like so many dramatic moments in the Black Lips career, ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ was born out of crisis. The band's stylistic evolution through decades of prolific touring and recording took them where no garage punk band had gone before - huge venues, network television shows, and major music festivals. Here Black Lips are at their grimiest, most dangerous and equipped with the best collection of songs since the aughts. They roll on with an unapologetic southern-fried twang, pacing the beast, every now and then dropping a psycho howl into the rubber room madness lurking underneath the truckstop fireworks. This ain't your granny's country album. And conversely this ain't your mama's Black Lips!
January 24 street date. Limited deluxe red vinyl edition, with a die cut spot gloss sleeve and poster - available exclusively to indie shops. It's country music but not as we know it which begs the question: have these Bad Kids of 21st Century rock 'n' roll finally grown up on their ninth studio album? ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ continues to flick the middle finger to one and all. This ain't another gaggle of bearded southern sons fleeing their collective suburban upbringings and collegiate music education. There aren't the usual clichés about drinking, honky tonks, and heartbreak. These are, after all, the same Black Lips who rescued the waning garage punk subgenre. They also dug contemporary hip-hop and punk and actualized themselves. Like so many dramatic moments in the Black Lips career, ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ was born out of crisis. The band's stylistic evolution through decades of prolific touring and recording took them where no garage punk band had gone before - huge venues, network television shows, and major music festivals. Here Black Lips are at their grimiest, most dangerous and equipped with the best collection of songs since the aughts. They roll on with an unapologetic southern-fried twang, pacing the beast, every now and then dropping a psycho howl into the rubber room madness lurking underneath the truckstop fireworks. This ain't your granny's country album. And conversely this ain't your mama's Black Lips!
February 28 street date. Black Market Brass' sophomore record, "Undying Thirst", is a noxious brew of diesel and bleach; a special long-player full of wasteoid rippers for skullduggerous hover-bike gangs peddling fugazi relics and snake oil tinctures. Hellacious guitars, nitrous-charged percussion, a brass section harsher than paint-thinner, and a special batch of short-circuited electronics and synthesizers will leave your head buzzing into the 31st century. Blasting "Undying Thirst" from your home speaker system is like going over a waterfall in a rusted out oil barrel, long after the sun has boiled the falls dry. RIYL Antibalas or The Budos Band.
February 28 street date. Black Market Brass' sophomore record, "Undying Thirst", is a noxious brew of diesel and bleach; a special long-player full of wasteoid rippers for skullduggerous hover-bike gangs peddling fugazi relics and snake oil tinctures. Hellacious guitars, nitrous-charged percussion, a brass section harsher than paint-thinner, and a special batch of short-circuited electronics and synthesizers will leave your head buzzing into the 31st century. Blasting "Undying Thirst" from your home speaker system is like going over a waterfall in a rusted out oil barrel, long after the sun has boiled the falls dry. RIYL Antibalas or The Budos Band.
July 17 street date. London-based band black midi follow their debut album, "Schlagenheim" ("the most intense and invigorating debut of 2019" - MOJO), with a new 12" featuring "Sweater" and "7-eleven". Both tracks were recorded with Speedy Wunderground's Dan Carey during the same period that resulted in "Schlagenheim", and "Sweater" was the last of the tracks recorded during those sessions. Available for the first time on 12".
Please note new street date: June 26. In 2011, Benjamin John Power (Fuck Buttons) released his first solo album as Blanck Mass on Rock Action Records. The vinyl went out of print shortly thereafter and has been largely unavailable ever since. Now, nine years later, Sacred Bones Records is honoured to put it back in print. The album, a collection of tracks loosely themed around cerebral hypoxia and the beautiful complexity of the natural world, features ten songs which were written, recorded and self-produced at home in London between Summer and Winter 2010. An interstellar journey that defies classification, revealing itself further and further with each listen; offering more with each visit. Its paradoxically claustrophobic-but-liberating warmth is brought about through a heavy, shimmering, orchestral, electric guitar prominence on the record, alongside manipulated field recordings, warm analogue synth, heavy sub and deep drone, a palette of sounds as wide and emotional as the world Blanck Mass sees before him.
February 19 street date. The cover art for "iii", the upcoming EP from Canadian art-rock band Blessed, depicts a wall of wooden blocks, all different shapes, jumbled messily and precariously high against a softly-coloured background. It's an image that captures Blessed at their most essential: experimental, asymmetrical, and interdependent, all the more remarkable for their marriage of those three qualities. The EP's four tracks expand on Blessed's already-idiosyncratic vision: cavernous post-punk electronics and measured drum work pave under guitarwork that trips and sways from chiming and sunny, to serrated and snarling, to frigid and stiff. Vocalist Drew Riekman's lithe tenor flickers in and out across tracks, an extra texture rather than a spotlit focus. Rather than aim for one uniform mix, the band pursued four separate ones: Corin Roddick (Purity Ring), John McEntire (Tortoise), Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck), and Riekman. The result is four tracks with distinctly different palettes and trajectories.
February 19 street date. The cover art for "iii", the upcoming EP from Canadian art-rock band Blessed, depicts a wall of wooden blocks, all different shapes, jumbled messily and precariously high against a softly-coloured background. It's an image that captures Blessed at their most essential: experimental, asymmetrical, and interdependent, all the more remarkable for their marriage of those three qualities. The EP's four tracks expand on Blessed's already-idiosyncratic vision: cavernous post-punk electronics and measured drum work pave under guitarwork that trips and sways from chiming and sunny, to serrated and snarling, to frigid and stiff. Vocalist Drew Riekman's lithe tenor flickers in and out across tracks, an extra texture rather than a spotlit focus. Rather than aim for one uniform mix, the band pursued four separate ones: Corin Roddick (Purity Ring), John McEntire (Tortoise), Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck), and Riekman. The result is four tracks with distinctly different palettes and trajectories.
Please note street date is July 31. (Legendary Montreal-based wildman of rock and roll and R & B has worked with Jon Spencer, King Khan, the 5678’s and Deke Dickerson!!) For nearly twenty years, Bloodshot Bill has shouted, snorted, cooed and crooned his way through the wild shadowland of primitive rock and roll, touring the world and collaborated with heavyweights like Jon Spencer, King Khan, the 5678’s and Deke Dickerson. Seventeen albums and over two dozen singles later, this unstoppable Montrealeño has not slowed his manic touring and recording schedule one whit. He’s a seminal punk, a true wildman who blazes his own path to honky tonk hell with a bottomless repertoire of desperate rock and roll and insatiable R&B. That means he knows a lotta songs—not that he doesn’t wear pants. But on the right night, who knows! This spring, Bloodshot Bill will release his eighteenth album, Get Loose Or Get Lost, his second for Memphis’ Goner Records. He will be touring everywhere, continuing his twenty-year rampage with a new record and a new slew of shows—do not miss it!
Please note street date is July 31. (Legendary Montreal-based wildman of rock and roll and R & B has worked with Jon Spencer, King Khan, the 5678’s and Deke Dickerson!!) For nearly twenty years, Bloodshot Bill has shouted, snorted, cooed and crooned his way through the wild shadowland of primitive rock and roll, touring the world and collaborated with heavyweights like Jon Spencer, King Khan, the 5678’s and Deke Dickerson. Seventeen albums and over two dozen singles later, this unstoppable Montrealeño has not slowed his manic touring and recording schedule one whit. He’s a seminal punk, a true wildman who blazes his own path to honky tonk hell with a bottomless repertoire of desperate rock and roll and insatiable R&B. That means he knows a lotta songs—not that he doesn’t wear pants. But on the right night, who knows! This spring, Bloodshot Bill will release his eighteenth album, Get Loose Or Get Lost, his second for Memphis’ Goner Records. He will be touring everywhere, continuing his twenty-year rampage with a new record and a new slew of shows—do not miss it!
March 13 street date. Where The Bombpops had a "Fear Of Missing Out" on their 2017 debut full-length, their highly anticipated follow up shows what happens when you're too involved - with booze, bad situations, and behavior that's unsustainable at best and destructive at worst. It's right there in the title - "Death In Venice Beach" - an allusion to Thomas Mann's celebrated novella about the price of an artistic life. What draws The Bombpops hasn't changed on their newest effort: highly melodic punk with big guitars, vocal harmonies, and the SoCal sound that inspired the quartet to pick up instruments. But the more light-hearted skate punk of "Fear Of Missing Out" has a serrated edge on "Death In Venice Beach", as they explore darker themes drawing from real life experiences leading up to and during the making of the album.
March 13 street date. Where The Bombpops had a "Fear Of Missing Out" on their 2017 debut full-length, their highly anticipated follow up shows what happens when you're too involved - with booze, bad situations, and behavior that's unsustainable at best and destructive at worst. It's right there in the title - "Death In Venice Beach" - an allusion to Thomas Mann's celebrated novella about the price of an artistic life. What draws The Bombpops hasn't changed on their newest effort: highly melodic punk with big guitars, vocal harmonies, and the SoCal sound that inspired the quartet to pick up instruments. But the more light-hearted skate punk of "Fear Of Missing Out" has a serrated edge on "Death In Venice Beach", as they explore darker themes drawing from real life experiences leading up to and during the making of the album.
March 27 street date. Bon Iver's "Blood Bank" EP was originally released in early 2009, hot on the heels of the beloved album "For Emma, Forever Ago". The EP was a harbinger of a new sound for Bon Iver: a movement away from the acoustic guitar-led instrumentation of the debut and the beginning of an exploration into the experimental sounds that have evolved but defined Bon Iver ever since. The reissue of this seminal EP is coupled with brand new live renditions of all the EP tracks, all recorded at various venues in 2018.
March 27 street date. Limited translucent red vinyl edition. Bon Iver's "Blood Bank" EP was originally released in early 2009, hot on the heels of the beloved album "For Emma, Forever Ago". The EP was a harbinger of a new sound for Bon Iver: a movement away from the acoustic guitar-led instrumentation of the debut and the beginning of an exploration into the experimental sounds that have evolved but defined Bon Iver ever since. The reissue of this seminal EP is coupled with brand new live renditions of all the EP tracks, all recorded at various venues in 2018.
January 24 street date. The timeless qualities of traditional tunes can carry us across oceans and eons, linking us not only to the past but to each other as well. It was under the banner of those eternal connections that the trio of Bonny Light Horseman came together. From festival fields and a German art hub to a snowy upstate studio and everywhere in between, the astral folk outfit - comprised of Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats, The Shins), and Josh Kaufman (The National, Bob Weir) - is mixing the ancient, mystical medium of transatlantic traditional folk music with a contemporary, collective brush. The resulting album, "Bonny Light Horseman", is an elusive kind of sonic event: a bottled blend of lightning and synergy that will excite fans of multiple genres, eras, and ages.
January 24 street date. The timeless qualities of traditional tunes can carry us across oceans and eons, linking us not only to the past but to each other as well. It was under the banner of those eternal connections that the trio of Bonny Light Horseman came together. From festival fields and a German art hub to a snowy upstate studio and everywhere in between, the astral folk outfit - comprised of Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats, The Shins), and Josh Kaufman (The National, Bob Weir) - is mixing the ancient, mystical medium of transatlantic traditional folk music with a contemporary, collective brush. The resulting album, "Bonny Light Horseman", is an elusive kind of sonic event: a bottled blend of lightning and synergy that will excite fans of multiple genres, eras, and ages.
Please note new street date: August 14. Orange vinyl pressing of this late 2019 release. In an emotional musical journey, Booker T explores new takes on the songs that make up the fabric of his musical identity. Largely mirroring the chapter titles from his forthcoming memoir "Time Is Tight", "Note By Note" serves as a musical companion. Stax staples like "Cause I Love You" and "These Arms Of Mine" are woven into defining musical moments from Booker's journey after Stax, when he produced and recorded with artists as diverse as Willie Nelson and Carlos Santana. Booker T & The MG's fans will enjoy a new ending to the song "Time Is Tight", a Romanesque coda that has been played live yet never recorded. The album culminates with new original music, highlighting the soaring guitar and vocals of Booker's son and collaborator Teddy Jones. Booker T is a 4 time Grammy Award winner (including the Lifetime Achievement Award), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, and arguably the most famous Hammond B3 player in history.
Please note new street date: August 14. In an emotional musical journey, Booker T explores new takes on the songs that make up the fabric of his musical identity. Largely mirroring the chapter titles from his forthcoming memoir "Time Is Tight", "Note By Note" serves as a musical companion. Stax staples like "Cause I Love You" and "These Arms Of Mine" are woven into defining musical moments from Booker's journey after Stax, when he produced and recorded with artists as diverse as Willie Nelson and Carlos Santana. Booker T & The MG's fans will enjoy a new ending to the song "Time Is Tight", a Romanesque coda that has been played live yet never recorded. The album culminates with new original music, highlighting the soaring guitar and vocals of Booker's son and collaborator Teddy Jones. Booker T is a 4 time Grammy Award winner (including the Lifetime Achievement Award), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, and arguably the most famous Hammond B3 player in history.
June 19 street date. The arrival of "Punisher" cements Phoebe Bridgers as one of the most clever, tender and prolific songwriters of our era. Bridgers is the rare artist with enough humor to deconstruct her own meteoric rise. She doesn't write love songs as much as songs about the impact love can have on our lives, personalities, and priorities. "Punisher", her fourth release and second solo album, is concerned with that subject. To say she writes about heartbreak is to undersell her blue wisdom, to say she writes about pain erases all the strange joy her music emanates. Repeatedly praised by publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Pitchfork, The Fader, The Los Angeles Times and countless others. On "Punisher", Bridgers pulls together a formidable crew of guests, including the Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Christian Lee Hutson and Conor Oberst as well as Nathaniel Walcott (of Bright Eyes), Nick Zinner (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Jenny Lee Lindberg (of Warpaint), Blake Mills and Jim Keltner as well as her longtime bandmates Marshall Vore (drums), Harrison Whitford (guitar), Emily Retsas (bass) and Nick White (keys).
June 19 street date. The arrival of "Punisher" cements Phoebe Bridgers as one of the most clever, tender and prolific songwriters of our era. Bridgers is the rare artist with enough humor to deconstruct her own meteoric rise. She doesn't write love songs as much as songs about the impact love can have on our lives, personalities, and priorities. "Punisher", her fourth release and second solo album, is concerned with that subject. To say she writes about heartbreak is to undersell her blue wisdom, to say she writes about pain erases all the strange joy her music emanates. Repeatedly praised by publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Pitchfork, The Fader, The Los Angeles Times and countless others. On "Punisher", Bridgers pulls together a formidable crew of guests, including the Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Christian Lee Hutson and Conor Oberst as well as Nathaniel Walcott (of Bright Eyes), Nick Zinner (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Jenny Lee Lindberg (of Warpaint), Blake Mills and Jim Keltner as well as her longtime bandmates Marshall Vore (drums), Harrison Whitford (guitar), Emily Retsas (bass) and Nick White (keys).
August 21 street date. Sometimes it feels like you hear a Bright Eyes song with your whole body. From Conor Oberst's early recordings in an Omaha basement in 1995 all the way up to 2020, Bright Eyes' music tries to unravel the impossible tangles of dissent: personal and political, external and internal. It's a study of the beauty in unsteadiness in all its forms - in a voice, beliefs, love, identity, and what fills up the spaces in-between. And in so many ways, it's just about searching for a way through. 2020 is full of significant anniversaries for Bright Eyes. "Fevers And Mirrors" was released 20 years ago this May, while "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" and "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" both turned 15 in January. And while 2020 is a year of milestones for the band, it's also the year Bright Eyes returns, newly signed to Dead Oceans. Amidst the current overwhelming uncertainty and upheaval of global and personal worlds, Bright Eyes reunited under the moniker as both an escape from, and a confrontation of, trying times. Getting the band back together felt right, and necessary, and the friendship at the core of the band has been a longtime pillar of Bright Eyes' output. For Bright Eyes, this long-awaited re-emergence feels like coming home.
August 21 street date. Sometimes it feels like you hear a Bright Eyes song with your whole body. From Conor Oberst's early recordings in an Omaha basement in 1995 all the way up to 2020, Bright Eyes' music tries to unravel the impossible tangles of dissent: personal and political, external and internal. It's a study of the beauty in unsteadiness in all its forms - in a voice, beliefs, love, identity, and what fills up the spaces in-between. And in so many ways, it's just about searching for a way through. 2020 is full of significant anniversaries for Bright Eyes. "Fevers And Mirrors" was released 20 years ago this May, while "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" and "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" both turned 15 in January. And while 2020 is a year of milestones for the band, it's also the year Bright Eyes returns, newly signed to Dead Oceans. Amidst the current overwhelming uncertainty and upheaval of global and personal worlds, Bright Eyes reunited under the moniker as both an escape from, and a confrontation of, trying times. Getting the band back together felt right, and necessary, and the friendship at the core of the band has been a longtime pillar of Bright Eyes' output. For Bright Eyes, this long-awaited re-emergence feels like coming home.
August 21 street date. Sometimes it feels like you hear a Bright Eyes song with your whole body. From Conor Oberst's early recordings in an Omaha basement in 1995 all the way up to 2020, Bright Eyes' music tries to unravel the impossible tangles of dissent: personal and political, external and internal. It's a study of the beauty in unsteadiness in all its forms - in a voice, beliefs, love, identity, and what fills up the spaces in-between. And in so many ways, it's just about searching for a way through. 2020 is full of significant anniversaries for Bright Eyes. "Fevers And Mirrors" was released 20 years ago this May, while "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" and "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" both turned 15 in January. And while 2020 is a year of milestones for the band, it's also the year Bright Eyes returns, newly signed to Dead Oceans. Amidst the current overwhelming uncertainty and upheaval of global and personal worlds, Bright Eyes reunited under the moniker as both an escape from, and a confrontation of, trying times. Getting the band back together felt right, and necessary, and the friendship at the core of the band has been a longtime pillar of Bright Eyes' output. For Bright Eyes, this long-awaited re-emergence feels like coming home.
August 21 street date. Limited transparent red/transparent orange vinyl edition. Sometimes it feels like you hear a Bright Eyes song with your whole body. From Conor Oberst's early recordings in an Omaha basement in 1995 all the way up to 2020, Bright Eyes' music tries to unravel the impossible tangles of dissent: personal and political, external and internal. It's a study of the beauty in unsteadiness in all its forms - in a voice, beliefs, love, identity, and what fills up the spaces in-between. And in so many ways, it's just about searching for a way through. 2020 is full of significant anniversaries for Bright Eyes. "Fevers And Mirrors" was released 20 years ago this May, while "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" and "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" both turned 15 in January. And while 2020 is a year of milestones for the band, it's also the year Bright Eyes returns, newly signed to Dead Oceans. Amidst the current overwhelming uncertainty and upheaval of global and personal worlds, Bright Eyes reunited under the moniker as both an escape from, and a confrontation of, trying times. Getting the band back together felt right, and necessary, and the friendship at the core of the band has been a longtime pillar of Bright Eyes' output. For Bright Eyes, this long-awaited re-emergence feels like coming home.
March 20 street date. Brownout's legendary status as a "Funk Powerhouse" (Stereogum) is a reputation well deserved. The band of musicians have an impressive resumé performing with Prince, GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, Bernie Worrell, and accolades from Ozzy Osbourne for their "Brownout Presents: Brown Sabbath" project. The Austin 9-piece is back with their first full length album of original music in over 8 years. The album, aptly titled "Berlin Sessions" was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and is the first with lead singer Alex Marrero, whom they originally collaborated with on their wildly successful "Brown Sabbath" records. "Berlin Sessions" finds the group merging a multitude of styles, from rock to psych and of course the Latin Funk and Breakbeat on which they have built their sixteen-year career and reputation as Austin's premier party-starters.
March 20 street date. Brownout's legendary status as a "Funk Powerhouse" (Stereogum) is a reputation well deserved. The band of musicians have an impressive resumé performing with Prince, GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, Bernie Worrell, and accolades from Ozzy Osbourne for their "Brownout Presents: Brown Sabbath" project. The Austin 9-piece is back with their first full length album of original music in over 8 years. The album, aptly titled "Berlin Sessions" was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and is the first with lead singer Alex Marrero, whom they originally collaborated with on their wildly successful "Brown Sabbath" records. "Berlin Sessions" finds the group merging a multitude of styles, from rock to psych and of course the Latin Funk and Breakbeat on which they have built their sixteen-year career and reputation as Austin's premier party-starters.
Please note new street date: May 15. When Anna Burch introduced herself on her 2018 debut "Quit The Curse", it was with a concentrated wash of energetic, serotonin-boosting pop. Two years later, Burch's follow up "If You're Dreaming" takes us down a different path than its predecessor, shedding some nervous energy in favor of a deeper exploration of an internal world. "If You're Dreaming" was tracked with producer Sam Evian in his home studio in the Catskill mountains of upstate New York. The end goal was to present not just an assortment of new songs, but craft an album that moved dynamically through an interconnected emotional arc. With recurring themes of isolation, weariness and longing, these songs deliver that emotional arc with a delicate but uncompromising execution. Even at its most introverted, "If You're Dreaming" is always warm and present. Daring and clear-headed, these songs cut deeper in their subtleties. "If You're Dreaming" moves with intention, taking its time revealing new layers of sophistication and growth in Burch's always charming songcraft.
Please note new street date: May 15. When Anna Burch introduced herself on her 2018 debut "Quit The Curse", it was with a concentrated wash of energetic, serotonin-boosting pop. Two years later, Burch's follow up "If You're Dreaming" takes us down a different path than its predecessor, shedding some nervous energy in favor of a deeper exploration of an internal world. "If You're Dreaming" was tracked with producer Sam Evian in his home studio in the Catskill mountains of upstate New York. The end goal was to present not just an assortment of new songs, but craft an album that moved dynamically through an interconnected emotional arc. With recurring themes of isolation, weariness and longing, these songs deliver that emotional arc with a delicate but uncompromising execution. Even at its most introverted, "If You're Dreaming" is always warm and present. Daring and clear-headed, these songs cut deeper in their subtleties. "If You're Dreaming" moves with intention, taking its time revealing new layers of sophistication and growth in Burch's always charming songcraft.
Please note new street date: May 15. When Anna Burch introduced herself on her 2018 debut "Quit The Curse", it was with a concentrated wash of energetic, serotonin-boosting pop. Two years later, Burch's follow up "If You're Dreaming" takes us down a different path than its predecessor, shedding some nervous energy in favor of a deeper exploration of an internal world. "If You're Dreaming" was tracked with producer Sam Evian in his home studio in the Catskill mountains of upstate New York. The end goal was to present not just an assortment of new songs, but craft an album that moved dynamically through an interconnected emotional arc. With recurring themes of isolation, weariness and longing, these songs deliver that emotional arc with a delicate but uncompromising execution. Even at its most introverted, "If You're Dreaming" is always warm and present. Daring and clear-headed, these songs cut deeper in their subtleties. "If You're Dreaming" moves with intention, taking its time revealing new layers of sophistication and growth in Burch's always charming songcraft.
August 28 street date. This 3 CD SoulMusic Records' set celebrates the recordings that Solomon Burke made for the legendary Atlantic Records label between 1960 and 1968. Solomon is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest soul singers to emerge during the genre's golden days. He signed to Atlantic before "soul music" became a bona fide sub-genre of African-American music and it was Solomon who helped define this new movement and he was, in fact, one of the first artists to use "soul" to describe his music. He would eventually be known the world over as ‘The King of Rock and Soul’. His Atlantic recordings are presented in chronological order of recording across the three discs and each session is identified by date, location and all the musicians present are identified (where known). This celebratory definitive collection includes the content of all six of the LPs released during Solomon's tenure with Atlantic plus all non-album tracks for a total of 79 soulful cuts.
September 25 street date. In the five years since Will Butler released his debut album, "Policy", he's toured the world both solo and as a member of Arcade Fire, released the "Friday Night" live album, recorded and released Arcade Fire's international #1 album "Everything Now", earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard, hosted a series of touring town halls on local issues (police contracts, prison reform, municipal paid sick leave, voting rights), and spent time raising his three children. He also found the time and inspiration to write and record a new album, "Generations". While the songs on "Generations" contain their fair share of dread and regret, there is ultimately a lightness that shines through Butler's music. The band's electricity is palpable throughout "Generations", with the bulk of the new songs having been worked out live. "Generations" opens a dialogue with the world. It posits answers - and deals with those answers being refuted. Ultimately, it navigates the conversation as a way to find the truth... or at least a way forward.
September 25 street date. In the five years since Will Butler released his debut album, "Policy", he's toured the world both solo and as a member of Arcade Fire, released the "Friday Night" live album, recorded and released Arcade Fire's international #1 album "Everything Now", earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard, hosted a series of touring town halls on local issues (police contracts, prison reform, municipal paid sick leave, voting rights), and spent time raising his three children. He also found the time and inspiration to write and record a new album, "Generations". While the songs on "Generations" contain their fair share of dread and regret, there is ultimately a lightness that shines through Butler's music. The band's electricity is palpable throughout "Generations", with the bulk of the new songs having been worked out live. "Generations" opens a dialogue with the world. It posits answers - and deals with those answers being refuted. Ultimately, it navigates the conversation as a way to find the truth... or at least a way forward.
September 25 street date. In the five years since Will Butler released his debut album, "Policy", he's toured the world both solo and as a member of Arcade Fire, released the "Friday Night" live album, recorded and released Arcade Fire's international #1 album "Everything Now", earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard, hosted a series of touring town halls on local issues (police contracts, prison reform, municipal paid sick leave, voting rights), and spent time raising his three children. He also found the time and inspiration to write and record a new album, "Generations". While the songs on "Generations" contain their fair share of dread and regret, there is ultimately a lightness that shines through Butler's music. The band's electricity is palpable throughout "Generations", with the bulk of the new songs having been worked out live. "Generations" opens a dialogue with the world. It posits answers - and deals with those answers being refuted. Ultimately, it navigates the conversation as a way to find the truth... or at least a way forward.
Please note new street date: June 12. Having disbanded in 1981, Buzzcocks regrouped in 1989 and began to work on a new album, resulting in a demo cassette circulated in 1991. Featuring early versions of tracks which would appear on later albums, and material which would not make it that far, this collection has remained unreleased until now. Released in association with the band, ‘The 1991 Demo Album’ is alive with the combination of punk energy and melodic and memorable songwriting the band's reputation is founded on, and is both a long-awaited treat for fans and an important document of the group's rebirth.
Please note new street date: June 12. Buzzcocks require no introduction (but you're getting one anyway!). Pivotal to the punk and post-punk DIY movements, the group, led by frontman Pete Shelley and co-conspirator Steve Diggle, brought an essential pop sensibility and sartorial style to the late 1970s and early 1980s. Having disbanded in 1981, the band re-grouped in 1989 and continue to write, record and perform to this day, despite the saddening and untimely loss of Pete Shelley in 2018. This handsome box set captures the eight albums and numerous singles the band produced with Shelley during a 23 year period, alongside previously unheard rarities, demos and outtakes. Packed with remarkable music, including excellent re-visits of much of their best loved material on ‘A Different Compilation’, ‘Sell You Everything’ showcases a longevity and a hunger rarely seen in a band now into their forty-second year.
August 14 street date. As C418, composer and producer Daniel Rosenfeld designs sounds to resonate in both physical and pixelated realms. Best known for his original soundtracks to "Minecraft", the single best-selling video game of all time, he's developed a discography of instrumental music over the last decade that traverses electronic pop patterns, neo-classical dreamscapes, and sparse ambient motifs. The latter element has broken from the "8-bit" pigeonholing of game music and earned him accolades that reference artists like Erik Satie (The Guardian) and Brian Eno (VICE). Now, following several restocks of "Alpha" to fervent fan response, it is time for the soundtrack's second installment to shine. For the legion of listeners and players to, at long last, have "Minecraft Volume Beta" in tangible formats. The double LP arrives in May 2020 on standard black and fire splatter colored vinyl, available in regular sleeves as well an exclusive limited-edition jacket with a lenticular cover which gives depth and movement to its 3D-rendered image.
August 14 street date. As C418, composer and producer Daniel Rosenfeld designs sounds to resonate in both physical and pixelated realms. Best known for his original soundtracks to "Minecraft", the single best-selling video game of all time, he's developed a discography of instrumental music over the last decade that traverses electronic pop patterns, neo-classical dreamscapes, and sparse ambient motifs. The latter element has broken from the "8-bit" pigeonholing of game music and earned him accolades that reference artists like Erik Satie (The Guardian) and Brian Eno (VICE). Now, following several restocks of "Alpha" to fervent fan response, it is time for the soundtrack's second installment to shine. For the legion of listeners and players to, at long last, have "Minecraft Volume Beta" in tangible formats. The double LP arrives in May 2020 on standard black and fire splatter colored vinyl, available in regular sleeves as well an exclusive limited-edition jacket with a lenticular cover which gives depth and movement to its 3D-rendered image.
March 27 street date. Cable Ties are a fierce, tense rock’n’roll trio. They take the three-minute punk burner and stretch it past breaking point to deliver smouldering feminist anthems. Post-punk and garage rock hammered together by a relentless rhythmic pulse. Jenny McKechnie channels her struggles into songs that resonate deeply, giving voice to feelings often buried in modern life. Shauna Boyle and Nick Brown are a rhythm section anchored in Stooges primitivism, relentlessly hammering out a bedrock for McKechnie’s guitar pyrotechnics and vocal wallop. Three friends summoning a rhythmic tide to deliver anthems that turn latent anxieties into a rallying cry. The band has been committed to an inclusive feminist and political outlook since its inception in 2015, exploring issues of gendered violence, colonialism, and sexual assault. The band members have been involved in benefit shows, organized DIY festivals, and volunteer with Girls Rock!, a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower female, trans, and gender non-binary youth in music. Their debut self-titled album, released in 2017 on Poison City Records, was a Triple J feature album and album of the week on 3RRR, with strong support nationally from community radio. The album was distributed internationally by independent distributors Cargo UK and Cargo Germany. They have also self released three 7-inch singles which have all sold out. The debut album is on its third vinyl pressing. Cable Ties have supported artists such as Joan Jett, The Kills, Camp Cope, and Cash Savage. They won Best Hard Rock Act at the 2017 National Live Music Awards and were nominated in five categories. They won the Corner Music Award in 2017, have been nominated for eight Age Music Victoria awards, and were longlisted for The Australian Music Prize 2017.
March 27 street date. Cable Ties are a fierce, tense rock’n’roll trio. They take the three-minute punk burner and stretch it past breaking point to deliver smouldering feminist anthems. Post-punk and garage rock hammered together by a relentless rhythmic pulse. Jenny McKechnie channels her struggles into songs that resonate deeply, giving voice to feelings often buried in modern life. Shauna Boyle and Nick Brown are a rhythm section anchored in Stooges primitivism, relentlessly hammering out a bedrock for McKechnie’s guitar pyrotechnics and vocal wallop. Three friends summoning a rhythmic tide to deliver anthems that turn latent anxieties into a rallying cry. The band has been committed to an inclusive feminist and political outlook since its inception in 2015, exploring issues of gendered violence, colonialism, and sexual assault. The band members have been involved in benefit shows, organized DIY festivals, and volunteer with Girls Rock!, a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower female, trans, and gender non-binary youth in music. Their debut self-titled album, released in 2017 on Poison City Records, was a Triple J feature album and album of the week on 3RRR, with strong support nationally from community radio. The album was distributed internationally by independent distributors Cargo UK and Cargo Germany. They have also self released three 7-inch singles which have all sold out. The debut album is on its third vinyl pressing. Cable Ties have supported artists such as Joan Jett, The Kills, Camp Cope, and Cash Savage. They won Best Hard Rock Act at the 2017 National Live Music Awards and were nominated in five categories. They won the Corner Music Award in 2017, have been nominated for eight Age Music Victoria awards, and were longlisted for The Australian Music Prize 2017.
May 1 street date. Making A Door Less Open, the new album from Car Seat Headrest and the first set of brand-new songs since 2016’s Teens Of Denial, is set for release May 1 on Matador Records. Created over the course of four years, Making a Door Less Open is the result of a fruitful “collaboration” between Car Seat Headrest, led by Will Toledo, and 1 Trait Danger, a CSH electronic side project consisting of drummer Andrew Katz and Toledo’s alternative persona, “Trait.” To realize this, the band recorded the album twice: once live with guitars, drums and bass, and once in a MIDI environment using purely synthesized sounds. During the mixing process, the two approaches were gradually combined using elements of each, with additional overdubs. In this way, Making A Door Less Open sees Toledo embarking on new and imaginative roads to songwriting and recording, placing emphasis on the individual songs, each with its own “special energy,” rather than attempting to draw a coherent storyteller narrative through the album as he has in the past, resulting in his most dynamic and open-ended work to date. Car Seat Headrest will embark on a North American tour this summer, including two nights at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall (June 3rd and 4th) and two night's at The Commodore Ballroom (July 9th and 10th) Comprised of Will Toledo, Andrew Katz (drums), Ethan Ives (guitar) and Seth Dalby (bass), Car Seat Headrest has either released 11 or three albums to date, depending on the way you look at it. A prolific songwriter, Toledo took his moniker from making early recordings in the private environment of his family’s car, releasing a dozen self-recorded and produced albums on Bandcamp and building a tight-knit following. Toledo has since gone from an empty five-seater to selling out tours and filling festival main stages.
May 1 street date. Making A Door Less Open, the new album from Car Seat Headrest and the first set of brand-new songs since 2016’s Teens Of Denial, is set for release May 1 on Matador Records. Created over the course of four years, Making a Door Less Open is the result of a fruitful “collaboration” between Car Seat Headrest, led by Will Toledo, and 1 Trait Danger, a CSH electronic side project consisting of drummer Andrew Katz and Toledo’s alternative persona, “Trait.” To realize this, the band recorded the album twice: once live with guitars, drums and bass, and once in a MIDI environment using purely synthesized sounds. During the mixing process, the two approaches were gradually combined using elements of each, with additional overdubs. In this way, Making A Door Less Open sees Toledo embarking on new and imaginative roads to songwriting and recording, placing emphasis on the individual songs, each with its own “special energy,” rather than attempting to draw a coherent storyteller narrative through the album as he has in the past, resulting in his most dynamic and open-ended work to date. Car Seat Headrest will embark on a North American tour this summer, including two nights at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall (June 3rd and 4th) and two night's at The Commodore Ballroom (July 9th and 10th). Comprised of Will Toledo, Andrew Katz (drums), Ethan Ives (guitar) and Seth Dalby (bass), Car Seat Headrest has either released 11 or three albums to date, depending on the way you look at it. A prolific songwriter, Toledo took his moniker from making early recordings in the private environment of his family’s car, releasing a dozen self-recorded and produced albums on Bandcamp and building a tight-knit following. Toledo has since gone from an empty five-seater to selling out tours and filling festival main stages.
May 1 street date. Making A Door Less Open, the new album from Car Seat Headrest and the first set of brand-new songs since 2016’s Teens Of Denial, is set for release May 1 on Matador Records. Created over the course of four years, Making a Door Less Open is the result of a fruitful “collaboration” between Car Seat Headrest, led by Will Toledo, and 1 Trait Danger, a CSH electronic side project consisting of drummer Andrew Katz and Toledo’s alternative persona, “Trait.” To realize this, the band recorded the album twice: once live with guitars, drums and bass, and once in a MIDI environment using purely synthesized sounds. During the mixing process, the two approaches were gradually combined using elements of each, with additional overdubs. In this way, Making A Door Less Open sees Toledo embarking on new and imaginative roads to songwriting and recording, placing emphasis on the individual songs, each with its own “special energy,” rather than attempting to draw a coherent storyteller narrative through the album as he has in the past, resulting in his most dynamic and open-ended work to date. Car Seat Headrest will embark on a North American tour this summer, including two nights at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall (June 3rd and 4th) and two night's at The Commodore Ballroom (July 9th and 10th) Comprised of Will Toledo, Andrew Katz (drums), Ethan Ives (guitar) and Seth Dalby (bass), Car Seat Headrest has either released 11 or three albums to date, depending on the way you look at it. A prolific songwriter, Toledo took his moniker from making early recordings in the private environment of his family’s car, releasing a dozen self-recorded and produced albums on Bandcamp and building a tight-knit following. Toledo has since gone from an empty five-seater to selling out tours and filling festival main stages.
August 7 street date. Available again! Liverpool's legendary Death Metal pioneers Carcass (who still tour extensively to this day) are often credited with shaping the entire death metal genre, pushing boundaries with their shocking imagery whilst evolving and innovating with each new album. "Necroticism - Descanting The Insalubrious" is Carcass' third studio album and the first featuring guitarist Michael Amott. The album was well received by press and fans upon its original release in 1991 and was ranked in Rock Hard magazine's Top Rock/Metal Albums of all time.
January 29 street date (CD) / February 26 (LP) (date change). Liverpool's legendary Death Metal pioneers Carcass (who still tour extensively to this day) are often credited with shaping the entire death metal genre, pushing boundaries with their shocking imagery whilst evolving and innovating with each new album. "Swansong" is their sixth album, originally released in 1996.
August 7 street date. Available again! Liverpool's legendary Death Metal pioneers Carcass (who still tour extensively to this day) are often credited with shaping the entire death metal genre, pushing boundaries with their shocking imagery whilst evolving and innovating with each new album. "Necroticism - Descanting The Insalubrious" is Carcass' third studio album and the first featuring guitarist Michael Amott. The album was well received by press and fans upon its original release in 1991 and was ranked in Rock Hard magazine's Top Rock/Metal Albums of all time.
February 26 for LP (date change) / January 8 street date (CD). Liverpool's legendary Death Metal pioneers Carcass (who still tour extensively to this day) are often credited with shaping the entire death metal genre, pushing boundaries with their shocking imagery whilst evolving and innovating with each new album. "Reek of Putrefaction, originally released in 1988, gave the band their 'Goregrind' identity breeding the genres of grindcore and death metal. Presented with their famously controversial artwork consisting of extremely vivid images taken from a medical dictionary. Pressed from the original master tapes, this edition of "Reek Of Puterfaction" has been specially recreated using "FDR" - full dynamic range - mastering allowing the music's nuances to shine through and give this classic a more ferocious and dynamic sound.
August 7 street date. Hot on the heels of Caribou's celebrated album "Suddenly", this limited-edition 12-inch features remixes of album track "Never Come Back" by Four Tet and Morgan Geist. This is what it sounds like when the universe spontaneously synchronizes: the Four Tet remix of Caribou's single "Never Come Back". Kieran Hebden took the track and warped and bent it into a playfully hypnotic late-night earworm that lures you in with its repetitive claps, snares, and synths. Morgan Geist is one of the architects of modern electronic dance music and electronic pop as we know it today. His rework of "Never Come Back" pays tribute to the early 90s transatlantic house phenomenon that stretched from New York to London. Black vinyl in a white dustsleeve housed in a heavyweight cardstock jacket. Does not include a download coupon.
August 7 street date. This limited-edition 12-inch features Floating Points' remixes of "Never Come Back" and "Sister", two songs off Caribou's celebrated album "Suddenly". Three is the magic number! Following remixes by Four Tet and Morgan Geist of "Never Come Back", Floating Points' Sam Shepherd completes the holy trinity, outdoing himself by adding a dash of Motor City oil to the track. The B-side is his remix of "Suddenly" album opener "Sister". Black vinyl in a white dustsleeve housed in a heavyweight cardstock jacket. Does not include a download coupon.
February 28 street date. In 2014, Dan Snaith aka Caribou released Our Love to overwhelming critical acclaim. Caribou returns now with his new studio album Suddenly, a warm, untamable, and constantly surprising record about family and the changes we go through as those relationships evolve. Most prominently, Suddenly refers to the moments of dramatic and unexpected change that occur at points in any life and within any family—universal themes that can catch you off guard and change your life in a heartbeat. Those dramatic moments are part of a slower process. These moments rear their heads, for good or bad, during the everyday flow of life. “There’s a tension between those sudden things which blindside you and the more glacial, gradual day-to-day changes,” he observes. “We are so caught up in the immediate—the details that require our attention every day—that we can be blind to the bigger forces shaping us. That’s why so often when something drastic happens suddenly, it catalyzes all sorts of changes in our lives. Our perspective shifts.” Suddenly is in the music, too. This is the most surprising and unpredictable Caribou album to date. Though it retains the trademark Caribou warmth and technicolor, this album is littered with swerves and left turns. “I wanted to balance the familiar—the sound that people associate with my music— against these moments of surprise,” Snaith says. As his passion and joy in music-making remains as fresh as ever, Suddenly is the purest example of this yet. LP is half-speed mastered by Matt Colton of Metropolis Studios in London UK. First album with Dan Snaith vocals on all tracks. Saxophone & guitar performance by Colin Fisher. LP is pressed at RTI on lead-free black vinyl
February 28 street date. In 2014, Dan Snaith aka Caribou released Our Love to overwhelming critical acclaim. Caribou returns now with his new studio album Suddenly, a warm, untamable, and constantly surprising record about family and the changes we go through as those relationships evolve. Most prominently, Suddenly refers to the moments of dramatic and unexpected change that occur at points in any life and within any family—universal themes that can catch you off guard and change your life in a heartbeat. Those dramatic moments are part of a slower process. These moments rear their heads, for good or bad, during the everyday flow of life. “There’s a tension between those sudden things which blindside you and the more glacial, gradual day-to-day changes,” he observes. “We are so caught up in the immediate—the details that require our attention every day—that we can be blind to the bigger forces shaping us. That’s why so often when something drastic happens suddenly, it catalyzes all sorts of changes in our lives. Our perspective shifts.” Suddenly is in the music, too. This is the most surprising and unpredictable Caribou album to date. Though it retains the trademark Caribou warmth and technicolor, this album is littered with swerves and left turns. “I wanted to balance the familiar—the sound that people associate with my music— against these moments of surprise,” Snaith says. As his passion and joy in music-making remains as fresh as ever, Suddenly is the purest example of this yet. LP is half-speed mastered by Matt Colton of Metropolis Studios in London UK. First album with Dan Snaith vocals on all tracks. Saxophone & guitar performance by Colin Fisher. LP is pressed at RTI on lead-free black vinyl
May 29 street date. caroline’s debut 12" single features lead track ‘Dark blue’ (A side) and ‘BRJ’ (B side). London based caroline began as a three-piece (Jasper Llewellyn, Mike O'Malley, Casper Hughes) in early 2017, initially evolving out of weekly improvisation sessions. Bringing together shared influences in, and experiences of playing, midwestern ‘emo’ guitar music, Appalachian folk, minimalist classical and various forms of dance music. The group spent a year and a half playing privately, without a project name. Reiterating, deconstructing and re-building the same small handful of songs over and over again, the group slowly expanded their on-stage members before playing their debut show as caroline in 2018. A hand drawn 12” insert is included with all orders.
February 5 street date. Much has changed in the musical life of renowned composer and director John Carpenter since 2016's "Lost Themes II". Following the release of that album, he went on his first-ever concert tour, performing material from the "Lost Themes" albums, as well as music from his classic film scores. He re-recorded many of those classic movie themes for 2017's "Anthology" album, working alongside son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies. The following year, he was asked to executive produce and compose the music for the new "Halloween" movie directed by David Gordon Green. Now, he returns with his first album of non-soundtrack music in nearly five years, "Lost Themes III: Alive After Death". Underpinning Carpenter's renaissance as a musician has been his collaboration with Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. They've composed and performed as a trio throughout this entire run, on studio albums, on soundtracks, and onstage. Here, the trio reaches a new level of creative mind meld. Richly rendered worlds are built in the interplay between Davies' guitar and the dueling synthesizers played by the Carpenters.
February 5 street date. Much has changed in the musical life of renowned composer and director John Carpenter since 2016's "Lost Themes II". Following the release of that album, he went on his first-ever concert tour, performing material from the "Lost Themes" albums, as well as music from his classic film scores. He re-recorded many of those classic movie themes for 2017's "Anthology" album, working alongside son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies. The following year, he was asked to executive produce and compose the music for the new "Halloween" movie directed by David Gordon Green. Now, he returns with his first album of non-soundtrack music in nearly five years, "Lost Themes III: Alive After Death". Underpinning Carpenter's renaissance as a musician has been his collaboration with Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. They've composed and performed as a trio throughout this entire run, on studio albums, on soundtracks, and onstage. Here, the trio reaches a new level of creative mind meld. Richly rendered worlds are built in the interplay between Davies' guitar and the dueling synthesizers played by the Carpenters.
February 5 street date. Much has changed in the musical life of renowned composer and director John Carpenter since 2016's "Lost Themes II". Following the release of that album, he went on his first-ever concert tour, performing material from the "Lost Themes" albums, as well as music from his classic film scores. He re-recorded many of those classic movie themes for 2017's "Anthology" album, working alongside son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies. The following year, he was asked to executive produce and compose the music for the new "Halloween" movie directed by David Gordon Green. Now, he returns with his first album of non-soundtrack music in nearly five years, "Lost Themes III: Alive After Death". Underpinning Carpenter's renaissance as a musician has been his collaboration with Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. They've composed and performed as a trio throughout this entire run, on studio albums, on soundtracks, and onstage. Here, the trio reaches a new level of creative mind meld. Richly rendered worlds are built in the interplay between Davies' guitar and the dueling synthesizers played by the Carpenters. Includes a massive 24" x 36" foldout poster.
July 3 street date. Beggars Arkive is excited to reissue "Between 10th and 11th", the second album by The Charlatans, out on July 3rd. Available on double clear vinyl and double CD, the reissue contains the original album plus remastered tracks from the often-bootlegged live show from Chicago in 1991, known as "Isolation 21.2.91", a holy grail amongst fans. "Between 10th and 11th" was originally released in 1992 and contained the hit "Weirdo", as well as singles "Tremolo Song" and "I Don't Want To See The Sights". Produced by Flood, you can hear the pure crispness in the audio. Entertainment Weekly said that "Between 10th and 11th" "consolidates the band's riveting, hypnotic attack, all musical tips o' the hat to the 60s and 70s, smeared over a smorgasbord of unrelenting dance beats and topped with hook ("I Don’t Want to See the Sights") after hook ("Weirdo")."
July 3 street date. Beggars Arkive is excited to reissue "Between 10th and 11th", the second album by The Charlatans, out on July 3rd. Available on double clear vinyl and double CD, the reissue contains the original album plus remastered tracks from the often-bootlegged live show from Chicago in 1991, known as "Isolation 21.2.91", a holy grail amongst fans. "Between 10th and 11th" was originally released in 1992 and contained the hit "Weirdo", as well as singles "Tremolo Song" and "I Don't Want To See The Sights". Produced by Flood, you can hear the pure crispness in the audio. Entertainment Weekly said that "Between 10th and 11th" "consolidates the band's riveting, hypnotic attack, all musical tips o' the hat to the 60s and 70s, smeared over a smorgasbord of unrelenting dance beats and topped with hook ("I Don’t Want to See the Sights") after hook ("Weirdo")."
Please note new street date: May 29. Salt Lake City's indie pop favorites Choir Boy return after four years with the release of their new cosmic album, "Gathering Swans". An emotionally powerful record, full of poignant heartbreak and gently steeped in pop nostalgia, Choir Boy push their distinctive sound further, while tenderly romancing the unsuspected. "Gathering Swans" builds upon Choir Boy's infectiousness with unique pop sensibilities and impeccable polish. The first single, "Complainer", demonstrates Adam Klopp's angelic voice effortlessly floating within the heart-wrenchingly somber melodies, that in a tender state, will surely render tears. Creative, sincere, passionate and glaring with intention, "Gathering Swans" paints a bright, hopeful, and deeply heartfelt image that will most assuredly attract anyone who accompanies Choir Boy upon their journey.
Please note new street date: May 29. Salt Lake City's indie pop favorites Choir Boy return after four years with the release of their new cosmic album, "Gathering Swans". An emotionally powerful record, full of poignant heartbreak and gently steeped in pop nostalgia, Choir Boy push their distinctive sound further, while tenderly romancing the unsuspected. "Gathering Swans" builds upon Choir Boy's infectiousness with unique pop sensibilities and impeccable polish. The first single, "Complainer", demonstrates Adam Klopp's angelic voice effortlessly floating within the heart-wrenchingly somber melodies, that in a tender state, will surely render tears. Creative, sincere, passionate and glaring with intention, "Gathering Swans" paints a bright, hopeful, and deeply heartfelt image that will most assuredly attract anyone who accompanies Choir Boy upon their journey.
April 3 street date. Clams Casino stands amongst the most respected hip-hop producers in the game today. After several years of underground notoriety, Clams became widely known after producing several of the standout tracks on A$AP Rocky’s monolithic debut mixtape "Live. Love. ASAP" and has received widespread critical acclaim for his collaborations with Lil Peep, Vince Staples, Lil B, Mac Miller, The Weeknd, Joji amongst others. His hugely anticipated instrumental album "Moon Trip Radio" is a stunning collection of tracks that showcase his immense talent as both a composer and producer.
Please note new street date: February 12. What are we to make of the world? In many ways, the title "New Fragility" perfectly sums up our collective state of unease and anxiety, but it's particularly apt for singer songwriter Alec Ounsworth aka Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the trauma he's spent the best part of three years processing. Yet it also showcases what Ounsworth has become so masterful at - couching a certain level of seriousness in something fun. Something danceable. It's what's powered some of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's most memorable moments, and what makes "New Fragility" such an accomplished, affecting record. Powerful too, taking aim at what Ounsworth calls "the failed democratic experiment that is the United States of America" and the supine hypocrisy of those currently in government. Trace the arc of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's evolution and it shows an accomplished musician and composer sounding ever more confident, constantly refining and broadening his sound and indulging an ever wider set of influences. Few have been as consistently brilliant, eclectic, and intimate; fewer still have done so while being defiantly, 100% independent, refusing to sign deals that compromise artistic vision.
February 12 street date. Black vinyl edition. What are we to make of the world? In many ways, the title "New Fragility" perfectly sums up our collective state of unease and anxiety, but it's particularly apt for singer songwriter Alec Ounsworth aka Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the trauma he's spent the best part of three years processing. Yet it also showcases what Ounsworth has become so masterful at - couching a certain level of seriousness in something fun. Something danceable. It's what's powered some of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's most memorable moments, and what makes "New Fragility" such an accomplished, affecting record. Powerful too, taking aim at what Ounsworth calls "the failed democratic experiment that is the United States of America" and the supine hypocrisy of those currently in government. Trace the arc of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's evolution and it shows an accomplished musician and composer sounding ever more confident, constantly refining and broadening his sound and indulging an ever wider set of influences. Few have been as consistently brilliant, eclectic, and intimate; fewer still have done so while being defiantly, 100% independent, refusing to sign deals that compromise artistic vision.
Please note new street date: February 12. Milky clear translucent vinyl edition, limited to 1000 copies. What are we to make of the world? In many ways, the title "New Fragility" perfectly sums up our collective state of unease and anxiety, but it's particularly apt for singer songwriter Alec Ounsworth aka Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the trauma he's spent the best part of three years processing. Yet it also showcases what Ounsworth has become so masterful at - couching a certain level of seriousness in something fun. Something danceable. It's what's powered some of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's most memorable moments, and what makes "New Fragility" such an accomplished, affecting record. Powerful too, taking aim at what Ounsworth calls "the failed democratic experiment that is the United States of America" and the supine hypocrisy of those currently in government. Trace the arc of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's evolution and it shows an accomplished musician and composer sounding ever more confident, constantly refining and broadening his sound and indulging an ever wider set of influences. Few have been as consistently brilliant, eclectic, and intimate; fewer still have done so while being defiantly, 100% independent, refusing to sign deals that compromise artistic vision.
Please note new street date: December 4 (CD). Few groups in recent history forged as confounding and alchemical a body of work as Coil, the partnership of Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and John Balance. From album to album and phase to phase their recordings spelunk perplexing depths of esoteric industrial, occult electronics, and drugged poetry, both embodying and alienating parallel currents of their peers. The late 1990s in particular were a fertile era for the duo, embracing chance, chaos, and collaboration, enhanced by recent advancements in synthesis and sampling. Fittingly, at the summit of the decade's long, intoxicated arc, their divergent strains of interstitial ritual congealed into one of Coil's most celebrated and hallucinatory creations: "Music To Play In The Dark". Although the album's creative process was admittedly "iterative" and "a bit of a drug blur", the results are astoundingly inventive and well realized, winding through shades of divination dirge, wormhole kosmische, noir lounge, ominous humor, and black mass downtempo, guided by Balance's cryptic lunar muse. What's most remarkable about the album 20 years after its release is how brazen, insular, and unpredictable it still feels.
November 27 street date. Few groups in recent history forged as confounding and alchemical a body of work as Coil, the partnership of Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and John Balance. From album to album and phase to phase their recordings spelunk perplexing depths of esoteric industrial, occult electronics, and drugged poetry, both embodying and alienating parallel currents of their peers. The late 1990s in particular were a fertile era for the duo, embracing chance, chaos, and collaboration, enhanced by recent advancements in synthesis and sampling. Fittingly, at the summit of the decade's long, intoxicated arc, their divergent strains of interstitial ritual congealed into one of Coil's most celebrated and hallucinatory creations: "Music To Play In The Dark". Although the album's creative process was admittedly "iterative" and "a bit of a drug blur", the results are astoundingly inventive and well realized, winding through shades of divination dirge, wormhole kosmische, noir lounge, ominous humor, and black mass downtempo, guided by Balance's cryptic lunar muse. What's most remarkable about the album 20 years after its release is how brazen, insular, and unpredictable it still feels.
Please note new street date: June 26. Coriky is a band from Washington, D.C. with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat), Joe Lally (Fugazi), and Amy Farina (The Evens). Formed in 2015, Coriky did not play their first show until 2018. They have recorded one album. They hope to tour.
Please note new street date: June 26. Coriky is a band from Washington, D.C. with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat), Joe Lally (Fugazi), and Amy Farina (The Evens). Formed in 2015, Coriky did not play their first show until 2018. They have recorded one album. They hope to tour.
March 27 street date. Forged in trauma and an intense, bewildering slew of mixed emotions - wildfires raged near the secluded cabin near Kelowna in which he was recording, his grandfather passed away from said wildfires during the recording process, and he discovered his new feelings of love were mutual only a day before she moved to Paris - Vancouver's Ian William Craig has created an album of incredible beauty, sadness and depth. "Red Sun Through Smoke" is a profoundly moving album, a standout record in a prolific body of work that shows no sign of faltering.
March 27 street date. Forged in trauma and an intense, bewildering slew of mixed emotions - wildfires raged near the secluded cabin near Kelowna in which he was recording, his grandfather passed away from said wildfires during the recording process, and he discovered his new feelings of love were mutual only a day before she moved to Paris - Vancouver's Ian William Craig has created an album of incredible beauty, sadness and depth. "Red Sun Through Smoke" is a profoundly moving album, a standout record in a prolific body of work that shows no sign of faltering.
August 29 RSD street date. Mikal Cronin experienced a creativity boom in late 2018/early 2019, inspired in part by the massive wildfires in Southern California. Forced to evacuate from the Idyllwild cabin where he’d been writing songs, Cronin returned to Los Angeles ready to make something. In fact, he recorded two albums: Seeker, released in October 2019, and its electronic counterpart Switched-On Seeker, out April 18, 2020, aka Record Store Day. The idea for Switched-On Seeker, whose title was inspired by a series of early electronic music records by Wendy Carlos playing classical music on an early Moog system, arose from Cronin’s interest in synths and electronic music, and he set out to rerecord the songs of Seeker track by track using only his voice and a collection of synthesizers and drum machines. Alone in his garage, Cronin made the album with a variety of synths including Arturia DrumBrute, Moog Sub 37, Moog Mother-32, Hohner String Performer, Mellotron, Omnichord, various little Casios, Roland SH-01A, Korg R3, and classic drum machine samples. While the overarching theme of destruction and rebirth unites Seeker and Switched-On Seeker, everything else about these two albums is different. Experience your favorite songs from Seeker in a whole new way on this Record Store Day exclusive LP!
January 15 street date. Rat-a-Tat-Tat! Is that the sound of the reaper knocking on your door to collect your soul - or Dale Crover hammering out another distinctive drum fill? There are pretty good odds it's the latter; between 36 years (and about as many full-lengths and EPs) as drummer/bassist for the Melvins and his contributions to acts as varied as Altamont, Peeping Tom, Redd Kross, Shrinebuilder, and a little band called Nirvana, he's built quite the body of work. In 2017, he added a proper solo album to his extensive catalog, "Fickle Finger of Fate". Now he's followed that with "Rat-a-Tat-Tat!". Crover takes the solo thing seriously: he wrote the album while on the road and provided vocals, drums, guitars, vibraphone, and miscellaneous percussion. So what's different this time around? Crover assembled an actual band to help him out. Redd Kross bassist Steve McDonald asked Crover to open for Redd Kross, Crover asked McDonald to play bass for him, and the rest is history.In addition to McDonald, Toshi Kasai (ex-Big Business, Plan D) helps with keyboards, synths, jawharp, and backing vocals. Mindee Jorgensen (Dangerously Sleazy) sits behind the kit live and contributes additional drumming and some sweet saxophone skills here. His former Altamont bandmate Dan Southwick plays bass on "Tougher", a track Crover cowrote with Kasai.
January 15 street date. Rat-a-Tat-Tat! Is that the sound of the reaper knocking on your door to collect your soul - or Dale Crover hammering out another distinctive drum fill? There are pretty good odds it's the latter; between 36 years (and about as many full-lengths and EPs) as drummer/bassist for the Melvins and his contributions to acts as varied as Altamont, Peeping Tom, Redd Kross, Shrinebuilder, and a little band called Nirvana, he's built quite the body of work. In 2017, he added a proper solo album to his extensive catalog, "Fickle Finger of Fate". Now he's followed that with "Rat-a-Tat-Tat!". Crover takes the solo thing seriously: he wrote the album while on the road and provided vocals, drums, guitars, vibraphone, and miscellaneous percussion. So what's different this time around? Crover assembled an actual band to help him out. Redd Kross bassist Steve McDonald asked Crover to open for Redd Kross, Crover asked McDonald to play bass for him, and the rest is history.In addition to McDonald, Toshi Kasai (ex-Big Business, Plan D) helps with keyboards, synths, jawharp, and backing vocals. Mindee Jorgensen (Dangerously Sleazy) sits behind the kit live and contributes additional drumming and some sweet saxophone skills here. His former Altamont bandmate Dan Southwick plays bass on "Tougher", a track Crover cowrote with Kasai.
September 18 street date. Cults were deep into the process of recording their fourth full-length LP when singer Madeline Follin let a secret slip. At the time, it seemed inconsequential, just a passing comment amongst friends, but in the end, it would prove to be a monumental revelation, one that would change the acclaimed New York duo forever. What followed was a radical reimagining, both of the band's sound and its dynamic, and the result is Cults' utterly mesmerizing new album, ‘Host’. Written more collaboratively than ever before and recorded primarily with live instruments for the first time, the collection marks the start of a bold new chapter for the band, one fueled by an ever-deepening trust and a boundless appetite for growth and experimentation. The songs here are deceptively charming, with lush, airy arrangements that belie their dark, weighty lyrics, and the production is rich and multifaceted to match, blending retro and futuristic palettes into a spellbinding swirl of high-def indie rock and lo-fi bedroom pop. Four albums in and the duo is still discovering fresh layers and possibility within their creative relationship, a bond which grows richer and more rewarding by the day.
September 18 street date. Cults were deep into the process of recording their fourth full-length LP when singer Madeline Follin let a secret slip. At the time, it seemed inconsequential, just a passing comment amongst friends, but in the end, it would prove to be a monumental revelation, one that would change the acclaimed New York duo forever. What followed was a radical reimagining, both of the band's sound and its dynamic, and the result is Cults' utterly mesmerizing new album, ‘Host’. Written more collaboratively than ever before and recorded primarily with live instruments for the first time, the collection marks the start of a bold new chapter for the band, one fueled by an ever-deepening trust and a boundless appetite for growth and experimentation. The songs here are deceptively charming, with lush, airy arrangements that belie their dark, weighty lyrics, and the production is rich and multifaceted to match, blending retro and futuristic palettes into a spellbinding swirl of high-def indie rock and lo-fi bedroom pop. Four albums in and the duo is still discovering fresh layers and possibility within their creative relationship, a bond which grows richer and more rewarding by the day.
September 18 street date. Cults were deep into the process of recording their fourth full-length LP when singer Madeline Follin let a secret slip. At the time, it seemed inconsequential, just a passing comment amongst friends, but in the end, it would prove to be a monumental revelation, one that would change the acclaimed New York duo forever. What followed was a radical reimagining, both of the band's sound and its dynamic, and the result is Cults' utterly mesmerizing new album, ‘Host’. Written more collaboratively than ever before and recorded primarily with live instruments for the first time, the collection marks the start of a bold new chapter for the band, one fueled by an ever-deepening trust and a boundless appetite for growth and experimentation. The songs here are deceptively charming, with lush, airy arrangements that belie their dark, weighty lyrics, and the production is rich and multifaceted to match, blending retro and futuristic palettes into a spellbinding swirl of high-def indie rock and lo-fi bedroom pop. Four albums in and the duo is still discovering fresh layers and possibility within their creative relationship, a bond which grows richer and more rewarding by the day.
Please note new street date: December 18. Sudden Death and D.O.A. have gone back in time and restored one of punk's seminal albums, "Something Better Change", and reissued it on vinyl for its 40th anniversary. One also gets the original lyric sheet insert and the original foldout insert with pics of Joey Shithead, Chuck Biscuits, Randy Rampage and Dave Gregg. "The product of two years of solid gigging in their native Vancouver, by the hottest punk rock band the West Coast ever produced this side of the much different Weirdos and Avengers, "Something Better Change" features a trio so molten, they didn't even manage to get it all down in the studio. And yet it still is an absolutely awesome record. So heavy with chops it nearly leaks, soaring like the best Clash/Pistols/S.L.F. riffs filtered through an American anvil power even those greats couldn't approach." - Jack Rabid.
Please note street date is July 31. Joey Shithead Keithley, Canada's Godfather of Punk, has been getting sick of the dismaying news coming out of world capitals like Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, Pyongyang etc., so he decided to come up with D.O.A.'s musical reaction to this crap. So here it is: "Treason" - the band's eighteenth album. It takes off in full frenzy with "All The President"s Men" - "it's time to put them in the pen". Then the band quickly launches into a modern punk anthem, "Wait Till Tomorrow", a look at the brutal treatment of refugees. But never lost on D.O.A. is that part of their mantra that is punk rock humour, hence they have spawned: "It Was D.O.A.", an uproarious piss-take on unsuspecting musicians that will soon learn the tough lessons of the road: the D.O.A. members themselves. And of course with an album named "Treason", one would expect some comment on President Donald Trump. There's also an absolutely ripping version of fellow Canadian Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My". On "Treason", D.O.A. pulls no punches, and nor should they. This is an uncontrollable punk rock riot that seems to breathe fire, the way punk was meant to be.
Please note street date is July 31. Joey Shithead Keithley, Canada's Godfather of Punk, has been getting sick of the dismaying news coming out of world capitals like Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, Pyongyang etc., so he decided to come up with D.O.A.'s musical reaction to this crap. So here it is: "Treason" - the band's eighteenth album. It takes off in full frenzy with "All The President"s Men" - "it's time to put them in the pen". Then the band quickly launches into a modern punk anthem, "Wait Till Tomorrow", a look at the brutal treatment of refugees. But never lost on D.O.A. is that part of their mantra that is punk rock humour, hence they have spawned: "It Was D.O.A.", an uproarious piss-take on unsuspecting musicians that will soon learn the tough lessons of the road: the D.O.A. members themselves. And of course with an album named "Treason", one would expect some comment on President Donald Trump. There's also an absolutely ripping version of fellow Canadian Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My". On "Treason", D.O.A. pulls no punches, and nor should they. This is an uncontrollable punk rock riot that seems to breathe fire, the way punk was meant to be.
Please note new street date: June 12. The brand new studio album from punk/metal icon and powerhouse vocalist Glenn Danzig paying tribute to his idol and inspiration, Elvis Presley! Features 14 unforgettable interpretations of well-known Elvis classics and unheralded deep cuts that will thrill fans of both of these kings of rock music! Highlights include Danzig's sinister take on "Fever" and a truly haunting version of "Always On My Mind!" Danzig is no stranger to working with American music royalty having written songs for both Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison! Available in a special digipak for CD and on vinyl in a deluxe gatefold jacket!
Please note new street date: June 12. The brand new studio album from punk/metal icon and powerhouse vocalist Glenn Danzig paying tribute to his idol and inspiration, Elvis Presley! Features 14 unforgettable interpretations of well-known Elvis classics and unheralded deep cuts that will thrill fans of both of these kings of rock music! Highlights include Danzig's sinister take on "Fever" and a truly haunting version of "Always On My Mind!" Danzig is no stranger to working with American music royalty having written songs for both Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison! Available in a special digipak for CD and on vinyl in a deluxe gatefold jacket!
February 28 street date. Whether scoring a film or making a solo album, Daniel Davies thinks cinematically. Images and story - on a movie screen, on a canvas, or flashing through his mind - inform the shape of his compositions and the sounds he uses to bring them to life. For "Signals", his first solo record for Sacred Bones, the inspiration for his musical narration was a collaboration with visual artist Jesse Draxler, whose otherworldly mixed media works grace the cover and the booklet. Using Draxler's images as his jumping off point, Davies created eight richly textured compositions that created a soundtrack for the unsettling world of the artwork. As the songs move through the landscape, Davies calls on whatever instrumentation he needs to serve their journey. He utilizes the warbling synths and slicing guitar that have characterized his soundtrack work, but he's also preternaturally at ease when he busts out a harpsichord and a vocal synth on lead single "Phantom Waltz." On "Destructive Field," he leaves space for his Halloween collaborator John Carpenter to lay down his signature sound. With the exception of that passage, all the music on the record is recorded by Davies himself. "Signals " is an album with a lot to discover, and repeat listens will reveal an inviting - if a bit unnerving - world that you'll want to spend all day in.
February 28 street date. Limited smoke coloured vinyl edition. Whether scoring a film or making a solo album, Daniel Davies thinks cinematically. Images and story - on a movie screen, on a canvas, or flashing through his mind - inform the shape of his compositions and the sounds he uses to bring them to life. For "Signals", his first solo record for Sacred Bones, the inspiration for his musical narration was a collaboration with visual artist Jesse Draxler, whose otherworldly mixed media works grace the cover and the booklet. Using Draxler's images as his jumping off point, Davies created eight richly textured compositions that created a soundtrack for the unsettling world of the artwork. As the songs move through the landscape, Davies calls on whatever instrumentation he needs to serve their journey. He utilizes the warbling synths and slicing guitar that have characterized his soundtrack work, but he's also preternaturally at ease when he busts out a harpsichord and a vocal synth on lead single "Phantom Waltz." On "Destructive Field," he leaves space for his Halloween collaborator John Carpenter to lay down his signature sound. With the exception of that passage, all the music on the record is recorded by Davies himself. "Signals " is an album with a lot to discover, and repeat listens will reveal an inviting - if a bit unnerving - world that you'll want to spend all day in.
Please note new street date: May 29. Veteran thrashgrass band Days N Daze has spent more than a decade doing it themselves in a way few can match. From the beginning, they have forged their own path - playing acoustically so they'd have less gear and could perform anywhere, booking and promoting themselves, and self-recording and self-releasing their albums. In the rare instances when they work with outsiders, they stick with people they know. Which is why, after a dozen hardscrabble years, they've joined Fat Wreck Chords for their eighth full-length! Like previous Days N Daze albums, "Show Me The Blueprints" crams more ideas into its 11 tracks than albums twice its length. "Show Me The Blueprints" is a bold step forward for a band that has always followed a bold path.
Please note new street date: May 29. Veteran thrashgrass band Days N Daze has spent more than a decade doing it themselves in a way few can match. From the beginning, they have forged their own path - playing acoustically so they'd have less gear and could perform anywhere, booking and promoting themselves, and self-recording and self-releasing their albums. In the rare instances when they work with outsiders, they stick with people they know. Which is why, after a dozen hardscrabble years, they've joined Fat Wreck Chords for their eighth full-length! Like previous Days N Daze albums, "Show Me The Blueprints" crams more ideas into its 11 tracks than albums twice its length. "Show Me The Blueprints" is a bold step forward for a band that has always followed a bold path.
September 26 street date. NOTE THAT THERE HAS BEEN A SLIGHT PRICE INCREASE ON THIS TITLE, ALL OLDER B/Os HAVE BEEN DELETED AS OF 7/8/20 SO BE SURE TO RE-ORDER A.S.A.P. Green Colored 180 Gram Vinyl + Download card. Pre-GWAR mayhem. This is the band that started it all. Before Oderus Urungus, Dave Brockie fronted Richmond VA art-punk weirdos, Death Piggy. First American vinyl pressing in over 30 years. All 3 of their EPs are combined with unreleased and compilation tracks on 180 gram vinyl with experimental etchings, remastered from the original tapes and with liner notes written by the band's guitarist Russ Bahorsky. BONUS Download: 20 minute never before heard live improv acoustic set from 1984, recorded as the band surprised business owners and pedestrians on the street with an impromptu performance.
June 19 street date. Over the past couple of years while making their new album, Deerhoof have been asking themselves if there was any music they could create that expressed how our rapidly emerging future might actually feel. The band envisioned an album about people haunted by memory of a lost world and of every failed attempt to save it. People already living outside the system, already having practiced new ways of life required for survival - these hopeful heroes are Deerhoof's inspiration. These are the Future Teenage Cave Artists. Like a lot of the music they have released over the last quarter-century, the Deerhoof of "Future Teenage Cave Artists" (Satomi Matsuzaki on bass and vocals, Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich on guitars, and Greg Saunier on drums, vocals and piano) stitches together fragments of 'r&b' and 'classic rock' and transforms them into a new language of revolution, forgoing verse-chorus structures for dream logic and blind intuition. But what makes this album different is its intimacy - the blues riffs and slide guitars are joined by rusty pianos and whispered three-part harmonies. The album is borne of self-isolation and deprivation. It's the sound of a sparkling, manic musical intelligence being disconnected from a nourishing public and devouring itself inside its own cocoon, attempting metamorphosis.
Please note new street date: June 19. Over the past couple of years while making their new album, Deerhoof have been asking themselves if there was any music they could create that expressed how our rapidly emerging future might actually feel. The band envisioned an album about people haunted by memory of a lost world and of every failed attempt to save it. People already living outside the system, already having practiced new ways of life required for survival - these hopeful heroes are Deerhoof's inspiration. These are the Future Teenage Cave Artists. Like a lot of the music they have released over the last quarter-century, the Deerhoof of "Future Teenage Cave Artists" (Satomi Matsuzaki on bass and vocals, Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich on guitars, and Greg Saunier on drums, vocals and piano) stitches together fragments of 'r&b' and 'classic rock' and transforms them into a new language of revolution, forgoing verse-chorus structures for dream logic and blind intuition. But what makes this album different is its intimacy - the blues riffs and slide guitars are joined by rusty pianos and whispered three-part harmonies. The album is borne of self-isolation and deprivation. It's the sound of a sparkling, manic musical intelligence being disconnected from a nourishing public and devouring itself inside its own cocoon, attempting metamorphosis.
Please note new street date: June 19. Over the past couple of years while making their new album, Deerhoof have been asking themselves if there was any music they could create that expressed how our rapidly emerging future might actually feel. The band envisioned an album about people haunted by memory of a lost world and of every failed attempt to save it. People already living outside the system, already having practiced new ways of life required for survival - these hopeful heroes are Deerhoof's inspiration. These are the Future Teenage Cave Artists. Like a lot of the music they have released over the last quarter-century, the Deerhoof of "Future Teenage Cave Artists" (Satomi Matsuzaki on bass and vocals, Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich on guitars, and Greg Saunier on drums, vocals and piano) stitches together fragments of 'r&b' and 'classic rock' and transforms them into a new language of revolution, forgoing verse-chorus structures for dream logic and blind intuition. But what makes this album different is its intimacy - the blues riffs and slide guitars are joined by rusty pianos and whispered three-part harmonies. The album is borne of self-isolation and deprivation. It's the sound of a sparkling, manic musical intelligence being disconnected from a nourishing public and devouring itself inside its own cocoon, attempting metamorphosis.
Please note new street date: September 18. Vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and sonic visionary Angel Deradoorian has never shied away from testing aural and conceptual boundaries in her work. Fusing elements of indie rock, world music, and dance rhythms, Deradoorian launched a solo career after making a name for herself collaborating with notable acts Dirty Projectors, Avey Tare of Animal Collective, and Flying Lotus. Deradoorian has released two full-length solo albums, Mind Raft in 2010 (Lovepump United) and The Expanding Flower Planet in 2015 (Anticon). Her music is a fusion of riveting vocals co-mingling with various of instruments – a true testament to an artist who found new depths both within herself and in her process through allowing herself to be driven entirely by instinct. Now signed with ANTI- records, Deradoorian is set to release her third album Find The Sun on May 22.
January 31 street date. Destroyer conceived of Have We Met as a Y2K album. Dan Bejar assigned producer and bandmate John Collins the role of layering synth and rhythm sections over demos with the period-specific Björk, Air, and Massive Attack in mind, but he soon realized the sonic template was too removed from Destroyer’s own, and the idea of a concept was silly anyway. So he abandoned it and gave Collins the most timeless instruction of all: “Make it sound cool.” The result is not a startling departure from 2017’s ken, but unlike that more band-oriented approach, the only actual instruments that appear are bass and electric guitar. MIDI instrumentation will of course invite Your Blues and Kaputt nostalgia, but Have We Met is buoyed by precise, plasticky guitar shredding three dimensionally across massive percussion—the loudest and dirtiest drums on a Destroyer record to date. Atmosphere and loose approximations of a place or feeling are what we’ve come to expect from any new Destroyer record— certainly not an easily defined and stridently adhered to theme or concept. Have We Met manages to meet somewhere between those disparate Y2K reference points and Destroyer’s own area of expertise, gliding deftly into territory that marries the old strident Destroyer with the new, aged crooning one of late.
January 31 street date. Destroyer conceived of Have We Met as a Y2K album. Dan Bejar assigned producer and bandmate John Collins the role of layering synth and rhythm sections over demos with the period-specific Björk, Air, and Massive Attack in mind, but he soon realized the sonic template was too removed from Destroyer’s own, and the idea of a concept was silly anyway. So he abandoned it and gave Collins the most timeless instruction of all: “Make it sound cool.” The result is not a startling departure from 2017’s ken, but unlike that more band-oriented approach, the only actual instruments that appear are bass and electric guitar. MIDI instrumentation will of course invite Your Blues and Kaputt nostalgia, but Have We Met is buoyed by precise, plasticky guitar shredding three dimensionally across massive percussion—the loudest and dirtiest drums on a Destroyer record to date. Atmosphere and loose approximations of a place or feeling are what we’ve come to expect from any new Destroyer record— certainly not an easily defined and stridently adhered to theme or concept. Have We Met manages to meet somewhere between those disparate Y2K reference points and Destroyer’s own area of expertise, gliding deftly into territory that marries the old strident Destroyer with the new, aged crooning one of late.
August 14 street date. Tanya Donelly and the Parkington Sisters cover some of Tanya's favorite songs by The Go Go's, Leonard Cohen, Kirsty MacColl, Split Enz, Linda Ronstadt, The Pretenders, Wings, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Mary Margaret O'Hara on this outstanding new album. "When Joe from American Laundromat asked if I'd be interested in doing a covers album, I was hesitant, mainly because most of the songs I truly love are already perfect in their original form. But then I had the idea to ask the brilliant Parkington Sisters to be the band for this project, to bring their gorgeous sound and spirit, and make it something cohesive and centered. Happily, they said Yes. So I chose a handful of songs that have been on heavy rotation in my head and heart from the first time I heard them, and the Sisters took over".
August 14 street date. Tanya Donelly and the Parkington Sisters cover some of Tanya's favorite songs by The Go Go's, Leonard Cohen, Kirsty MacColl, Split Enz, Linda Ronstadt, The Pretenders, Wings, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Mary Margaret O'Hara on this outstanding new album. "When Joe from American Laundromat asked if I'd be interested in doing a covers album, I was hesitant, mainly because most of the songs I truly love are already perfect in their original form. But then I had the idea to ask the brilliant Parkington Sisters to be the band for this project, to bring their gorgeous sound and spirit, and make it something cohesive and centered. Happily, they said Yes. So I chose a handful of songs that have been on heavy rotation in my head and heart from the first time I heard them, and the Sisters took over".
February 7 street date. Dooz Kawa revient avec son cinquième album, "Nomad's Land", dont le fil conducteur est le voyage, une échappée belle physique mais avant tout spirituelle et philosophique. Cet album se veut onirique et plein d'espoir en dépit du constat parfois difficile du rappeur. Sur ce disque fait de tristesse gaie, Dooz Kawa nous parle en treize chansons du bonheur et de ce qui nous lie. Il invite pour l'occasion Gaël Faye, Davodka, Degiheugi, Shantel, Swift Guad et le spécialiste en mandoline Vincent Beer Demander. Le tout est entrecoupé d’interludes avec Dorian Astor, maitre de conférences international et expert européen de Nietzsche. Force est de constater que peu importe le temps qui passe, peu importe les années qui défilent et l’âge qui avance, les mots de Dooz Kawa, seul ou accompagné, font toujours le même effet.
February 7 street date. Dooz Kawa revient avec son cinquième album, "Nomad's Land", dont le fil conducteur est le voyage, une échappée belle physique mais avant tout spirituelle et philosophique. Cet album se veut onirique et plein d'espoir en dépit du constat parfois difficile du rappeur. Sur ce disque fait de tristesse gaie, Dooz Kawa nous parle en treize chansons du bonheur et de ce qui nous lie. Il invite pour l'occasion Gaël Faye, Davodka, Degiheugi, Shantel, Swift Guad et le spécialiste en mandoline Vincent Beer Demander. Le tout est entrecoupé d’interludes avec Dorian Astor, maitre de conférences international et expert européen de Nietzsche. Force est de constater que peu importe le temps qui passe, peu importe les années qui défilent et l’âge qui avance, les mots de Dooz Kawa, seul ou accompagné, font toujours le même effet.
February 14 street date (LP) / February 21 for CD (date change). The simple power of DRAMA's musical expression is matched only by their work ethic. Since 2014, the Chicago-based duo have bootstrapped a subtle rise on their own terms, self-releasing several EPs and mapping multiple tours with Midwestern grit. A multicultural collaboration between producer Na'el Shehade and vocalist Via Rosa, the project plays to the complementary dynamics of their pairing, blurring the lines between R&B and dance-pop, heartbreak and bliss. Following their signing to Ghostly International in 2019, they realize their years-in-the-making full-length debut, aptly titled "Dance Without Me", a refined collection that recasts romantic tragedy as moonlit self-acceptance. DRAMA's first record appears remarkably refined for a young band; Rosa's lyrical candor creates expressionistic narratives about interpersonal intricacies all finessed for the club by Shehade. Here we see a lyricist whose vocal stylings are, not just complimented, but completed by a producer, and a producer whose genteel tracks are given a soul, however blue, depicted in a collaborator's deeply human lyrics.
February 14 street date (LP) / February 21 for CD (date change). The simple power of DRAMA's musical expression is matched only by their work ethic. Since 2014, the Chicago-based duo have bootstrapped a subtle rise on their own terms, self-releasing several EPs and mapping multiple tours with Midwestern grit. A multicultural collaboration between producer Na'el Shehade and vocalist Via Rosa, the project plays to the complementary dynamics of their pairing, blurring the lines between R&B and dance-pop, heartbreak and bliss. Following their signing to Ghostly International in 2019, they realize their years-in-the-making full-length debut, aptly titled "Dance Without Me", a refined collection that recasts romantic tragedy as moonlit self-acceptance. DRAMA's first record appears remarkably refined for a young band; Rosa's lyrical candor creates expressionistic narratives about interpersonal intricacies all finessed for the club by Shehade. Here we see a lyricist whose vocal stylings are, not just complimented, but completed by a producer, and a producer whose genteel tracks are given a soul, however blue, depicted in a collaborator's deeply human lyrics.
March 13 street date. First time on vinyl. "Placer Found" establishes the sonic and emotional palette that would come to define Dan Burton's work as Early Day Miners. This is music that rewards patience, and reveals itself more with each listen. There's a deep clarity within the soft focus - equal parts lost and found. The opening title track sets the mood just right, its comforting guitar interplay and gentle vocals holding your hand toward an unseen destination that's "still a ways to go." "East Berlin at Night" is the definition of cinematic, almost like an Ativin song with the amplifiers turned down from 12 to 3, while the last two minutes of "Texas Cinema," are the equivalent of a deep embrace from which you never want to let go. This new edition brings it all back to the proverbial start, as it is being released on Secretly Canadian which championed Ativin from the beginning and quickly became a home for Early Day Miners after the initial Western Vinyl release of "Placer Found." The two unreleased instrumental tracks on side D are fascinating glimpses into creative paths not taken. "Prospect Refuge" is a delicious slice of posi-vibes math-rock, while the taut, vaguely ominous "Blue Casino" makes an entirely different song out of a riff later utilized for the standout "Jefferson" from the band's 2003 "Jefferson at Rest" LP.
Please note new street date: June 5. One of the beautiful things about instrumental music is that the listener can decide what the narrative is. With "Adult Themes", El Michels Affair has created a "choose your own adventure" in musical form. "Adult Themes" marks the long awaited, highly anticipated return to an album of original compositions from El Michels Affair. In 2017, in between producing, playing, and recording on other artists' records, Leon Michels began creating compilations of short interludes intended to be sampled by hip hop producers. Some of these wound up becoming songs by Jay Z & Beyonce, Travis Scott, and Don Toliver. These minute-long snippets were inspired by the dense moody work of 1960s composers like David Axelrod, and Francois de Roubaix, as well as Moondog's brand of classical jazz. Michels was having so much fun creating these instrumental/orchestral nuggets that he decided to expand on some of the ideas and create what would become the soundtrack for a movie that has yet to be made, an imaginary film entitled "Adult Themes".
Please note new street date: June 5. One of the beautiful things about instrumental music is that the listener can decide what the narrative is. With "Adult Themes", El Michels Affair has created a "choose your own adventure" in musical form. "Adult Themes" marks the long awaited, highly anticipated return to an album of original compositions from El Michels Affair. In 2017, in between producing, playing, and recording on other artists' records, Leon Michels began creating compilations of short interludes intended to be sampled by hip hop producers. Some of these wound up becoming songs by Jay Z & Beyonce, Travis Scott, and Don Toliver. These minute-long snippets were inspired by the dense moody work of 1960s composers like David Axelrod, and Francois de Roubaix, as well as Moondog's brand of classical jazz. Michels was having so much fun creating these instrumental/orchestral nuggets that he decided to expand on some of the ideas and create what would become the soundtrack for a movie that has yet to be made, an imaginary film entitled "Adult Themes".
Please note new street date: June 5. Limited opaque white vinyl edition. One of the beautiful things about instrumental music is that the listener can decide what the narrative is. With "Adult Themes", El Michels Affair has created a "choose your own adventure" in musical form. "Adult Themes" marks the long awaited, highly anticipated return to an album of original compositions from El Michels Affair. In 2017, in between producing, playing, and recording on other artists' records, Leon Michels began creating compilations of short interludes intended to be sampled by hip hop producers. Some of these wound up becoming songs by Jay Z & Beyonce, Travis Scott, and Don Toliver. These minute-long snippets were inspired by the dense moody work of 1960s composers like David Axelrod, and Francois de Roubaix, as well as Moondog's brand of classical jazz. Michels was having so much fun creating these instrumental/orchestral nuggets that he decided to expand on some of the ideas and create what would become the soundtrack for a movie that has yet to be made, an imaginary film entitled "Adult Themes".
Delayed. Out of print and unavailable for many years, "Peter" is one of the most memorable Eric's Trip releases, as it is the EP that introduced them to the world. Their youthful energy, catchy songs, and noisy lo-fi recording techniques set them apart from many of the other bands of 1992-93. This newly remixed and remastered vinyl edition now contains more songs, all recorded during the same time period, including the songs from the Belong 7", their first single. Six songs has now become fifteen, turning the "Peter" EP into the "Peter" LP! Pressed on three colour swirl vinyl, newly scanned artwork and printed inner sleeve. Limited pressing as usual!
March 13 street date. Espers, existing in between places, were a part of a flow of ideation that has as much to do with revelations from the 70s or 60s - with all the decades of the last century, really - as it does with the current expressions in favor of selfhood and safety that are struggled over today. Their music has retained a mysterious, unknowable vitality that, in the name of their original intention, continues to express Espers'’ individualism, optimism and deeply empathetic soul. Espers' self-titled first release appeared in 2004, heralding an era in which there was a perception of back-to-the-roots in the underground; kids making new music that spoke strongly of folk traditions and psychedelia, in the process setting themselves apart from latter-day sounds and approaches. Espers didn't shy away from this image, projecting a collective air, almost like a rural outpost, out of time and place in the urban environs of Philadelphia. The staid harmonies of Meg Baird and Greg Weeks, the 6- and 12-string guitars and percussion of Brooke Sietinsons, the full-bodied arrangements rife with traditional and classical details and the regular intervention of acid-toned guitar leads formed, along with the mystic and melancholy cast to their songwriting, a galvanizing identity for them among other like-minded music players of the day.
March 13 street date. Espers, existing in between places, were a part of a flow of ideation that has as much to do with revelations from the 70s or 60s - with all the decades of the last century, really - as it does with the current expressions in favor of selfhood and safety that are struggled over today. Their music has retained a mysterious, unknowable vitality that, in the name of their original intention, continues to express Espers'’ individualism, optimism and deeply empathetic soul. Espers' self-titled first release appeared in 2004, heralding an era in which there was a perception of back-to-the-roots in the underground; kids making new music that spoke strongly of folk traditions and psychedelia, in the process setting themselves apart from latter-day sounds and approaches. Espers didn't shy away from this image, projecting a collective air, almost like a rural outpost, out of time and place in the urban environs of Philadelphia. The staid harmonies of Meg Baird and Greg Weeks, the 6- and 12-string guitars and percussion of Brooke Sietinsons, the full-bodied arrangements rife with traditional and classical details and the regular intervention of acid-toned guitar leads formed, along with the mystic and melancholy cast to their songwriting, a galvanizing identity for them among other like-minded music players of the day.
March 13 street date. The second Espers album, "The Weed Tree" was released in 2005. It was a nearly inevitable endeavor for the group, made almost entirely of cover material, but the traditional folk songs - "Rosemary Lane" and "Black Is The Color" - were paired with songs by Nico, Michael Hurley, and even Blue Oyster Cult, making for an oblique run through eclectic aspects of the past that succeeded due to Espers' thorough re-imagining of the material in their own image. The addition of current members Helena Espvall on cello and Otto Hauser on drums and percussion upped the alchemy of the band to its most potent, making music that drew from tradition, but making it new at the same time.
March 13 street date. The second Espers album, "The Weed Tree" was released in 2005. It was a nearly inevitable endeavor for the group, made almost entirely of cover material, but the traditional folk songs - "Rosemary Lane" and "Black Is The Color" - were paired with songs by Nico, Michael Hurley, and even Blue Oyster Cult, making for an oblique run through eclectic aspects of the past that succeeded due to Espers' thorough re-imagining of the material in their own image. The addition of current members Helena Espvall on cello and Otto Hauser on drums and percussion upped the alchemy of the band to its most potent, making music that drew from tradition, but making it new at the same time.
Please note new street date: March 13. Smile With Your Heart: The Best of Bill Evans on Resonance takes listeners on a journey through the four official Bill Evans discoveries in the Resonance catalog — Live at Art D’Lugoff’s Top of the Gate (2012), Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest (2016), Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (2017) & Evans In England (2019). Mastered by Bernie Grudman and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI.
Please note new street date: September 26 Record Store Day Drop. Back by overwhelming popular demand, the critically acclaimed 2016 Resonance release by jazz piano icon Bill Evans, Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest, is available once again as a deluxe, exclusive Record Store Day limited-edition (of 6,000 copies worldwide) 180gram 2LP 2nd pressing newly-remastered by renowned engineer Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, cut at 33 1/3 RPM and pressed by RTI. This studio album features bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette, recorded by legendary engineer/producer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer at MPS Studios in Villingen, Germany on June 20, 1968, only five days after the trio's tour de force live performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The extensive LP insert includes essays by the acclaimed author Marc Myers and MPS studios engineer and studio manager Friedhelm Schulz; interviews with Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette; plus previously unpublished photos by David Redfern, Giuseppe Pino, Jan Persson, and Hans Harzheim, including images taken at the actual June 20th session by German Hasenfratz.
May 8 street date. From the opening call of Flash Flash Flash’s “No Revolution,” Boston’s punk rock patriots the Explosion make their statement quite clear. Lyrics like “We look to the past, and ask for nothing more” drive home the band’s unapologetic point -- sure they wish it was 1977, but they know full well that it isn’t. With that in mind, the band’s debut LP still sees them tumble through 14 tracks of dirty Clash-styled punk rock in under a half hour -- a performance that would make their forefathers proud. It’s simple music and far from mind-blowing lyrics that form the basis of the Explosion’s attack, but it’s their high-energy attitude that carries their music to the next level. Tracks like “Terrorist” and “God Bless the S.O.S” are short speedy bursts of punk packed with catchy choruses and thick guitars, a recipe that the band often employs and generally finds success with. After their poorly recorded first EP, Flash Flash Flash’s to-the-point presentation makes it clear that all this band needed was a little polishing to make a great record. They certainly got it down this time around, and the result is one of the better punk albums to arise from a scene that has already lasted a few more decades than expected. – AllMusic.com. SPIN Top 20 Albums Of 2000.
May 8 street date. From the opening call of Flash Flash Flash’s “No Revolution,” Boston’s punk rock patriots the Explosion make their statement quite clear. Lyrics like “We look to the past, and ask for nothing more” drive home the band’s unapologetic point -- sure they wish it was 1977, but they know full well that it isn’t. With that in mind, the band’s debut LP still sees them tumble through 14 tracks of dirty Clash-styled punk rock in under a half hour -- a performance that would make their forefathers proud. It’s simple music and far from mind-blowing lyrics that form the basis of the Explosion’s attack, but it’s their high-energy attitude that carries their music to the next level. Tracks like “Terrorist” and “God Bless the S.O.S” are short speedy bursts of punk packed with catchy choruses and thick guitars, a recipe that the band often employs and generally finds success with. After their poorly recorded first EP, Flash Flash Flash’s to-the-point presentation makes it clear that all this band needed was a little polishing to make a great record. They certainly got it down this time around, and the result is one of the better punk albums to arise from a scene that has already lasted a few more decades than expected. – AllMusic.com. SPIN Top 20 Albums Of 2000.
Please note new street date: May 15. "I first heard Daniel in 1985. Half Japanese had a show in Austin and Daniel's manager Jeff Tartakov gave me a tape of "Hi How Are You?". I loved it and began corresponding with Jeff and Daniel. A few years later I was in NYC to take part in a recording session of Moe Tucker at Kramer's studio Noise New York. Daniel was at the studio and he and I became friends. Daniel recorded two songs with lyrics I wrote. He recorded "Do It Right" for Moe's album, and "Some Things Last A Long Time" for his album "1990". Soon after his time in NYC I invited him to my home and we had a week to record the songs for "It's Spooky". I considered Daniel to be a genius. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him. I'm so grateful to have it released again and it's sounding better than ever thanks to an amazing mastering job by Kramer". - Jad Fair.
May 22 street date. In early 2016, D.C. punk legends Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion) and Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace, One Last Wish) met up at Hampton's Brooklyn home to play music together. Friends since first grade, the two guitarists ended up writing a handful of songs that day, then closed out the session with a spur-of-the-moment decision to start a band. When it came to finding a bassist, Baker and Hampton looked to Johnny Temple of Girls Against Boys and Soulside (another fellow student at their elementary school), who equally shared their passion for what Temple refers to as "loud, angry, visceral music." By the end of the year, the band had enlisted Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén as their singer, thus cementing the lineup to punk-rock supergroup Fake Names. Soon after dubbing themselves Fake Names, the band headed to Renegade Studios with the goal of creating a demo to present to record labels. But after playing those recordings for Baker's Bad Religion bandmate Brett Gurewitz, the Epitaph founder made an unexpected proposal. "Brett said to us, "this isn't a demo, this is the album," Baker recalls. "He was pretty adamant about putting it out exactly as it was, so that's what we wound up doing."
May 22 street date. In early 2016, D.C. punk legends Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion) and Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace, One Last Wish) met up at Hampton's Brooklyn home to play music together. Friends since first grade, the two guitarists ended up writing a handful of songs that day, then closed out the session with a spur-of-the-moment decision to start a band. When it came to finding a bassist, Baker and Hampton looked to Johnny Temple of Girls Against Boys and Soulside (another fellow student at their elementary school), who equally shared their passion for what Temple refers to as "loud, angry, visceral music." By the end of the year, the band had enlisted Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén as their singer, thus cementing the lineup to punk-rock supergroup Fake Names. Soon after dubbing themselves Fake Names, the band headed to Renegade Studios with the goal of creating a demo to present to record labels. But after playing those recordings for Baker's Bad Religion bandmate Brett Gurewitz, the Epitaph founder made an unexpected proposal. "Brett said to us, "this isn't a demo, this is the album," Baker recalls. "He was pretty adamant about putting it out exactly as it was, so that's what we wound up doing."
November 13 street date (LP) / December 11 (Cassette). Hailing from Orangeville, Ontario, Falcon Jane's second album "Faith" started coming together at the beginning of 2019 when Sara May, the artist behind the band, experienced a string of deaths in her family. Attending a seemingly endless number of traditional Catholic funerals within the space of a year caused May to dive inwards, reassessing her own notions of memory, grief, love, ceremony and identity. "Faith" is a way of excavating her truth through clear-eyed self-examination. This new faith is presented in "Heaven", a track that culminates these internal struggles with an idyllic, peaceful state. Says Sara, "that's where I'm trying to get to. The rest of the songs are doing the hard work to try to get there".
January 17 street date. The great Bill Fay returns with the third album in the celebrated second phase of his recording career. A prime Fay song is a deceptively simple thing which carries more emotional weight than its concision and brevity might imply. There are ten of these musical haikus on "Countless Branches", as pointed and as poignant as anything he's ever recorded. For decades now - it's almost 50 years since he cut his classic albums "Bill Fay" and "Time of the Last Persecution" - songs like these have been Fay's ambassadors helping rave reviews and endorsements from the likes of Jim O'Rourke (Tortoise) and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) which led to a huge revival of interest in his music. He had continued to make music almost every day in the intervening decades. For "Countless Branches" he's completed new toplines over some of his cache of backing tracks, most of them 20 to 40 years old.
January 17 street date. Deluxe edition 2xLP set includes two exclusive tracks and a reworking of "Don't Let My Marigolds Die". The great Bill Fay returns with the third album in the celebrated second phase of his recording career. A prime Fay song is a deceptively simple thing which carries more emotional weight than its concision and brevity might imply. For decades now - it's almost 50 years since he cut his classic albums "Bill Fay" and "Time of the Last Persecution" - songs like these have been Fay's ambassadors helping rave reviews and endorsements from the likes of Jim O'Rourke (Tortoise) and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) which led to a huge revival of interest in his music. He had continued to make music almost every day in the intervening decades. For "Countless Branches" he's completed new toplines over some of his cache of backing tracks, most of them 20 to 40 years old.
December 11 street date. Beggars Arkive are happy to announce a 30th anniversary vinyl reissue of Fields Of The Nephilim's third highly acclaimed album "Elizium", released by Beggars Banquet in 1990. Recorded and produced by Pink Floyd engineer Andy Jackson, the audio is via analogue transfer to 96khz/24 bit by John Dent at Loud, with vinyl mastering by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road. It’s pressed on dark green 180g vinyl. Formed in 1984, Fields of the Nephilim is the creation of vocalist and front man Carl McCoy. Highly influential, especially in the world of goth, but also within the metal and electronic genres, their legacy endures to this day. You can hear their influence on bands like Swans, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, Wolves in The Throne Room, Behemoth and more. Carl McCoy has even been called the "uncle" of black metal. "Elizium" is one of their most beautiful albums and considered by many to be their best.
Please note new street date: December 11. "A Joyful Sound" is a future soul classic with all the elements of a classic R&B record, but simply with a joyful holiday lean. With an all-star supporting cast of who's who from the contemporary soul scene, this record is truly a family affair with Kelly at the wheel. Featuring members of Durand Jones & The Indications, The Dap-Kings, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Monophonics, Thee Sinseers, Orgone, Ikebe Shakedown, Jason Joshua & The Beholders, The True Loves, Neal Francis, Jungle Fire, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Ben Pirani, The Jive Turkeys, The Harlem Gospel Travelers, Rudy De Anda, Alanna Royale, and more! Inspired by records like Phil Spector's "A Christmas Gift For You" and Rotary Connection's "Peace", this album will be a record that will appeal not only to lovers of holiday music, but lovers of SOUL music in general!
Please note new street date: December 11. "A Joyful Sound" is a future soul classic with all the elements of a classic R&B record, but simply with a joyful holiday lean. With an all-star supporting cast of who's who from the contemporary soul scene, this record is truly a family affair with Kelly at the wheel. Featuring members of Durand Jones & The Indications, The Dap-Kings, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Monophonics, Thee Sinseers, Orgone, Ikebe Shakedown, Jason Joshua & The Beholders, The True Loves, Neal Francis, Jungle Fire, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Ben Pirani, The Jive Turkeys, The Harlem Gospel Travelers, Rudy De Anda, Alanna Royale, and more! Inspired by records like Phil Spector's "A Christmas Gift For You" and Rotary Connection's "Peace", this album will be a record that will appeal not only to lovers of holiday music, but lovers of SOUL music in general!
Please note new street date: December 11. Indie exclusive edition on Norway spruce green vinyl, limited to 2250 copies. "A Joyful Sound" is a future soul classic with all the elements of a classic R&B record, but simply with a joyful holiday lean. With an all-star supporting cast of who's who from the contemporary soul scene, this record is truly a family affair with Kelly at the wheel. Featuring members of Durand Jones & The Indications, The Dap-Kings, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Monophonics, Thee Sinseers, Orgone, Ikebe Shakedown, Jason Joshua & The Beholders, The True Loves, Neal Francis, Jungle Fire, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Ben Pirani, The Jive Turkeys, The Harlem Gospel Travelers, Rudy De Anda, Alanna Royale, and more! Inspired by records like Phil Spector's "A Christmas Gift For You" and Rotary Connection's "Peace", this album will be a record that will appeal not only to lovers of holiday music, but lovers of SOUL music in general!
Please note new street date: August 29 - RECORD STORE DAY DROP. We are proud to present the instrumental version of "The Tales People Tell", showcasing Kelly Finnigan's superior production and arrangement talents. His debut solo album for Colemine Records represents the culmination of his 15 years of experience - in the studio as a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer - and touring the US and Europe as a singer, musician, and band-leader. The content within reflects his dedication to expression through the rich American music traditions of soul, gospel, doo-wop, and R&B. With Finnigan guiding these songs from their conception all the way to the record pressing plant, the new release provides the singular voice missing from soul music: a visionary that writes, records, performs and produces his own material.
Available now. Each time Firewind released an album over the last 20 years, it wasn't just the brilliancy of exceptional guitarist Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil) that fans were in awe of, but also the skills of every one of the band's vocalists. In that respect nothing has changed in their newest self-titled album, quite the contrary: with his charismatic voice new member Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue, amongst others) refines each and every last one of the ten new songs and infuses them with an expressive force that is remarkable. Gus G and Herbie Langhans got to know each other back in the autumn of 2019, when the Firewind leader was looking for a suitable replacement for Henning Basse after the tour with Queensrÿche. Just a few weeks later the recordings for "Firewind" were a done deal, ready for Swedish sound engineer Tobias Lindell (Europe, Avatar, H.E.A.T.) to mix them in Lindell Audio Studios. The result is impressive indeed. "Firewind" boasts 11 prime examples of Melodic Metal songs. The skill, craftsmanship and power bleeds through every note, a passion you can almost taste, with hymnal melodies as a particularly outstanding feature.
Available now. Limited orange vinyl edition. Each time Firewind released an album over the last 20 years, it wasn't just the brilliancy of exceptional guitarist Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil) that fans were in awe of, but also the skills of every one of the band's vocalists. In that respect nothing has changed in their newest self-titled album, quite the contrary: with his charismatic voice new member Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue, amongst others) refines each and every last one of the ten new songs and infuses them with an expressive force that is remarkable. Gus G and Herbie Langhans got to know each other back in the autumn of 2019, when the Firewind leader was looking for a suitable replacement for Henning Basse after the tour with Queensrÿche. Just a few weeks later the recordings for "Firewind" were a done deal, ready for Swedish sound engineer Tobias Lindell (Europe, Avatar, H.E.A.T.) to mix them in Lindell Audio Studios. The result is impressive indeed. "Firewind" boasts 11 prime examples of Melodic Metal songs. The skill, craftsmanship and power bleeds through every note, a passion you can almost taste, with hymnal melodies as a particularly outstanding feature.
February 21 street date. Rebecca Foon, the composer and musician behind Saltland and Esmerine (and former longstanding member of Silver Mt. Zion) presents a new album entitled "Waxing Moon". While best known as an incomparable cellist crafting textural soundscapes and instrumental chamber-rock in the aforementioned projects (and more recently recognized for her creative and organisational work as co-founder of Pathway To Paris), this new collection of songs finds Foon emphasizing piano and voice with striking intimacy and elegance, showcasing a captivating evolution in her always resplendent songwriting. The climate crisis has profoundly framed Foon's political and artistic life for many years now, and "Waxing Moon" finds her writing and singing her most arrestingly direct yet poetic words, tapping universal and personal heartbreak in both despair and hope.
February 21 street date. Rebecca Foon, the composer and musician behind Saltland and Esmerine (and former longstanding member of Silver Mt. Zion) presents a new album entitled "Waxing Moon". While best known as an incomparable cellist crafting textural soundscapes and instrumental chamber-rock in the aforementioned projects (and more recently recognized for her creative and organisational work as co-founder of Pathway To Paris), this new collection of songs finds Foon emphasizing piano and voice with striking intimacy and elegance, showcasing a captivating evolution in her always resplendent songwriting. The climate crisis has profoundly framed Foon's political and artistic life for many years now, and "Waxing Moon" finds her writing and singing her most arrestingly direct yet poetic words, tapping universal and personal heartbreak in both despair and hope.
Please note new street date: December 11. Originally released in 2010, Four Tet's most celebrated album "There Is Love In You" is reissued on vinyl as a deluxe, limited edition 3xLP set that includes remixes by Caribou, Jon Hopkins, Floating Points, Joy Orbison, and Roska. This special expanded edition has been remastered for vinyl by Matt Colton at Metropolis Mastering.
Please note new street date: January 29 street date. The Lumineers co-founder, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites' solo debut album "Piano Piano" will be release on January 22nd through Dualtone Records. A collection of songs that's been in the works for the better part of a decade, "Piano Piano" features gorgeous, intimate piano-centric instrumental songs capturing Fraites' reflective moments from his Denver home.
Please note new street date: January 29 street date. The Lumineers co-founder, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites' solo debut album "Piano Piano" will be release on January 22nd through Dualtone Records. A collection of songs that's been in the works for the better part of a decade, "Piano Piano" features gorgeous, intimate piano-centric instrumental songs capturing Fraites' reflective moments from his Denver home.
January 8 street date. Soft-spoken with the look of a slightly disaffected 1950s matinee idol, Aaron Frazer possesses a unique voice that's both contemporary and timeless. On "Introducing", his debut solo album produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Aaron melds mid-60s soul with Auerbach's particular sensibilities ('Over You'), songs with a message in the key of Gil Scott-Heron ('Bad News'), and uplifting tales of love told through a blend of disco, gospel, and doo-wop ('Have Mercy'). The Brooklyn-based, Baltimore-raised songwriter first came into the international spotlight as multi-instrumentalist and co-lead singer of Durand Jones & The Indications, but he's more than a revivalist act. On "Introducing", Aaron expertly calibrates consciousness-raising and the desire to be enveloped by love. Where previous records were written in a partial state of turmoil, Aaron's debut LP shows maturation and range. "Introducing" is both loving and gracious, critical without losing hope, and a showcase of a young artist on a seriously soulful ascent.
January 8 street date. Soft-spoken with the look of a slightly disaffected 1950s matinee idol, Aaron Frazer possesses a unique voice that's both contemporary and timeless. On "Introducing", his debut solo album produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Aaron melds mid-60s soul with Auerbach's particular sensibilities ('Over You'), songs with a message in the key of Gil Scott-Heron ('Bad News'), and uplifting tales of love told through a blend of disco, gospel, and doo-wop ('Have Mercy'). The Brooklyn-based, Baltimore-raised songwriter first came into the international spotlight as multi-instrumentalist and co-lead singer of Durand Jones & The Indications, but he's more than a revivalist act. On "Introducing", Aaron expertly calibrates consciousness-raising and the desire to be enveloped by love. Where previous records were written in a partial state of turmoil, Aaron's debut LP shows maturation and range. "Introducing" is both loving and gracious, critical without losing hope, and a showcase of a young artist on a seriously soulful ascent.
August 21 street date. Beggars Arkive is excited to announce the remastered 40th anniversary reissue of the classic Freeez debut album "Southern Freeez" available as a coloured double LP (blue/black marbled). The package also includes "Variations On A Theem", which features six tracks by Freeez founding member and creator John Rocca. Alongside five new Rocca original songs is John's new version, with his vocals for the very first time, of the band’s 1981 UK Top Ten hit ‘Southern Freeez’. Freeez were a legendary group from London, known as one of the UK's main jazz-funk bands of the early 1980s - aka Brit funk. While they may not be a household name, if you know, you know. Freeez went on to be sampled many times, by artists including Jamie xx, Coolio, Brandy, Madlib, and more. "Southern Freeez" was initially released in late 1980 on John Rocca's own label Pink Rythm, but within weeks, they were signed by Beggars Banquet, who re-released it in 1981. The title track, which included guest vocals by Ingrid Mansfield Allman, was described as ‘The Ultimate Brit Funk tune!’ by Gilles Peterson.
March 13 street date. Since their 2013 self-titled debut, The Frights have embodied a carefree vulnerability, setting their most awkward and painful feelings to a wildly joyful surf-punk sound. On their fourth studio album Everything Seems Like Yesterday, the San Diego-based band twist that dynamic to deliver their most emotionally direct body of work to date: a collection of songs written and performed solely by frontman Mikey Carnevale, each track matching its stripped-back simplicity with both raw outpouring and intense reflection. Everything Seems Like Yesterday first took shape through a handful of songs Carnevale wrote on acoustic guitar back in fall 2018. “Hypochondriac was the first time I’d ever written that way, and it felt really therapeutic,” he says, referring to the band’s 2018 Epitaph debut. “It pushed me to get much more into the craft of songwriting—as opposed to mostly writing songs for people to mosh to—and it felt right to keep going with that on this record.” Carnevale originally intended to release this acoustic material as a solo album, but had a change of heart upon sharing his new songs at a series of shows in San Diego and L.A. “All the guys in the band came out and the response was pretty positive, so I started to think this might be something more than a bunch of songs to put online for free,” he says. Carnevale soon enlisted bassist Richard Dotson as a producer, and the two bandmates set off to record at Carnevale’s grandmother’s cabin in Idyllwild, California.
March 13 street date. Since their 2013 self-titled debut, The Frights have embodied a carefree vulnerability, setting their most awkward and painful feelings to a wildly joyful surf-punk sound. On their fourth studio album Everything Seems Like Yesterday, the San Diego-based band twist that dynamic to deliver their most emotionally direct body of work to date: a collection of songs written and performed solely by frontman Mikey Carnevale, each track matching its stripped-back simplicity with both raw outpouring and intense reflection. Everything Seems Like Yesterday first took shape through a handful of songs Carnevale wrote on acoustic guitar back in fall 2018. “Hypochondriac was the first time I’d ever written that way, and it felt really therapeutic,” he says, referring to the band’s 2018 Epitaph debut. “It pushed me to get much more into the craft of songwriting—as opposed to mostly writing songs for people to mosh to—and it felt right to keep going with that on this record.” Carnevale originally intended to release this acoustic material as a solo album, but had a change of heart upon sharing his new songs at a series of shows in San Diego and L.A. “All the guys in the band came out and the response was pretty positive, so I started to think this might be something more than a bunch of songs to put online for free,” he says. Carnevale soon enlisted bassist Richard Dotson as a producer, and the two bandmates set off to record at Carnevale’s grandmother’s cabin in Idyllwild, California.
Please note new street date: May 29. 10 year anniversary vinyl reissue of "The Empyrean" by John Frusciante, cut from the original analog tapes at Bernie Grundman's mastering. Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, composer, and producer, best known as the guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded five albums. Originally released in January of 2009, "The Empyrean" contains contributions from RHCP bandmate Flea and former guitarist of The Smiths, Johnny Marr. Includes hi res audio download card.
December 18 street date. Funkadelic's first album, eponymously released in 1970, gets the HIQLP treatment to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Packaged in a thick card sleeve. 180g orange vinyl pressing. .
December 18 street date. Funkadelic's second album, originally released in 1970, gets the HIQLP treatment to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Packaged in a thick card sleeve. 180g blue vinyl pressing.
March 13 street date. THE GARDEN have been carving their own path since their formation in 2011. With 3 LP’s and 4 EP releases, they have become known musically for their fast, punk influenced jungle and DnB styles, and have consistently touring since 2013.While live, they are known for a mix of aggressive, unpredictable and trickster-ish tendencies - this new album, Kiss My Super Bowl Ring rivals the previous albums lyrically and sonically with an unmatched belligerence. The album is primarily self-produced, but includes tracks co-produced by the likes of Dylan Brady and Wharfwit, along with tracks featuring Ariel Pink and Khalif Jones (aka Le1f) and even a snippet from Carrot Top. The album shows it’s first bit of skin with the opening track, “Clench To Stay Awake” - a track based off the experiences of both brothers mysterious health issues over the years. Kiss My Super Bowl Ring boasts a roster of songs that just might be the most creatively rattling yet from the duo.
March 13 street date. THE GARDEN have been carving their own path since their formation in 2011. With 3 LP’s and 4 EP releases, they have become known musically for their fast, punk influenced jungle and DnB styles, and have consistently touring since 2013.While live, they are known for a mix of aggressive, unpredictable and trickster-ish tendencies - this new album, Kiss My Super Bowl Ring rivals the previous albums lyrically and sonically with an unmatched belligerence. The album is primarily self-produced, but includes tracks co-produced by the likes of Dylan Brady and Wharfwit, along with tracks featuring Ariel Pink and Khalif Jones (aka Le1f) and even a snippet from Carrot Top. The album shows it’s first bit of skin with the opening track, “Clench To Stay Awake” - a track based off the experiences of both brothers mysterious health issues over the years. Kiss My Super Bowl Ring boasts a roster of songs that just might be the most creatively rattling yet from the duo.
November 6 street date. Six years before the release of his landmark "Mother Earth's Plantasia" LP, composer and arranger Mort Garson met experimental film director Skip Sherwood, who was interested in an electronic score for his new movie, "Didn't You Hear?". While not much is known now about the exact nature of their collaboration, we have Garson's magnificent score as a record of those heady, early days after his life-changing discovery of the Moog synthesizer. Notable for being one of the earliest screen appearances by a young Gary Busey, "Didn't You Hear?" also boasts one of the first-ever all-electronic movie scores. Though the score was first released in 1970, it sounds as adventurous and futuristic today as it must have then. Originally available only in the lobby of the theater at screenings of the movie in Seattle, the soundtrack LP went out of print shortly after the film's release. It has been a sought-after record for collectors of Mort Garson and early electronic music ever since. Sacred Bones is honored to reissue "Didn't You Hear?" as it was meant to be heard, taken from the original master tapes and given a pristine remaster by engineer Josh Bonati.
November 6 street date. Six years before the release of his landmark "Mother Earth's Plantasia" LP, composer and arranger Mort Garson met experimental film director Skip Sherwood, who was interested in an electronic score for his new movie, "Didn't You Hear?". While not much is known now about the exact nature of their collaboration, we have Garson's magnificent score as a record of those heady, early days after his life-changing discovery of the Moog synthesizer. Notable for being one of the earliest screen appearances by a young Gary Busey, "Didn't You Hear?" also boasts one of the first-ever all-electronic movie scores. Though the score was first released in 1970, it sounds as adventurous and futuristic today as it must have then. Originally available only in the lobby of the theater at screenings of the movie in Seattle, the soundtrack LP went out of print shortly after the film's release. It has been a sought-after record for collectors of Mort Garson and early electronic music ever since. Sacred Bones is honored to reissue "Didn't You Hear?" as it was meant to be heard, taken from the original master tapes and given a pristine remaster by engineer Josh Bonati.
November 6 street date. Morton S. "Mort" Garson was a Canadian-born composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music. He is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s that were among the first to feature Moog synthesizers. Mort Garson's road to cool cultural caché and the sublimity of "Plantasia" meant a decades' long journey through an underworld of sophisticated, international, string-laced dreck (i.e., your great-grandparents’ record collection) to arrive at "Music From Patch Cord Productions", this set of queasy-listening. "Music From Patch Cord Productions" shows that Garson's knack was to exist in both worlds, super-commercial and waaay out. Via Garson,s wizardry, the synthesizer transcended novelty to ubiquity and dominance.
November 6 street date. Morton S. "Mort" Garson was a Canadian-born composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music. He is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s that were among the first to feature Moog synthesizers. Mort Garson's road to cool cultural caché and the sublimity of "Plantasia" meant a decades' long journey through an underworld of sophisticated, international, string-laced dreck (i.e., your great-grandparents’ record collection) to arrive at "Music From Patch Cord Productions", this set of queasy-listening. "Music From Patch Cord Productions" shows that Garson's knack was to exist in both worlds, super-commercial and waaay out. Via Garson,s wizardry, the synthesizer transcended novelty to ubiquity and dominance.
November 6 street date. Morton S. "Mort" Garson was a Canadian-born composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music. He is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s that were among the first to feature Moog synthesizers. Mort Garson's road to cool cultural caché and the sublimity of "Plantasia" meant a decades' long journey through an underworld of sophisticated, international, string-laced dreck (i.e., your great-grandparents’ record collection) to arrive at "Music From Patch Cord Productions", this set of queasy-listening. "Music From Patch Cord Productions" shows that Garson's knack was to exist in both worlds, super-commercial and waaay out. Via Garson,s wizardry, the synthesizer transcended novelty to ubiquity and dominance.
October 2 street date. On Gabriel Garzón-Montano's new record, there are no outside producers. No ghostwriters.No gimmicks. No games. Nadie más. Just Gabriel. This will come as no surprise to those who've followed GGM since 2014's "Bishouné: Alma Del Huila", the critically-lauded, self-produced EP that put him on the map, and served as sample fodder for a handful of popular music's most iconic artists. His follow-up LP, 2017's "Jardin", melded classical and folkloric instruments with r&b, hip-hop, and cumbia, proving once again that Gabriel is totally comfortable making transformative, funky, cathartic records all by himself. "Agüita", his first release for Jagjaguwar, is a sequence of impossibly diverse offerings ranging from trap anthems to string-drenched art pop ballads - a prismatic self-portrait, personal and universal all at once. "Agüita" stands as the strongest installment thus far in a series of alarmingly sincere, sensationally profound works, from an artist who has sought not only to challenge established preconceptions and categories, but to expose their ultimate unworthiness.
October 2 street date. On Gabriel Garzón-Montano's new record, there are no outside producers. No ghostwriters.No gimmicks. No games. Nadie más. Just Gabriel. This will come as no surprise to those who've followed GGM since 2014's "Bishouné: Alma Del Huila", the critically-lauded, self-produced EP that put him on the map, and served as sample fodder for a handful of popular music's most iconic artists. His follow-up LP, 2017's "Jardin", melded classical and folkloric instruments with r&b, hip-hop, and cumbia, proving once again that Gabriel is totally comfortable making transformative, funky, cathartic records all by himself. "Agüita", his first release for Jagjaguwar, is a sequence of impossibly diverse offerings ranging from trap anthems to string-drenched art pop ballads - a prismatic self-portrait, personal and universal all at once. "Agüita" stands as the strongest installment thus far in a series of alarmingly sincere, sensationally profound works, from an artist who has sought not only to challenge established preconceptions and categories, but to expose their ultimate unworthiness.
October 2 street date. On Gabriel Garzón-Montano's new record, there are no outside producers. No ghostwriters.No gimmicks. No games. Nadie más. Just Gabriel. This will come as no surprise to those who've followed GGM since 2014's "Bishouné: Alma Del Huila", the critically-lauded, self-produced EP that put him on the map, and served as sample fodder for a handful of popular music's most iconic artists. His follow-up LP, 2017's "Jardin", melded classical and folkloric instruments with r&b, hip-hop, and cumbia, proving once again that Gabriel is totally comfortable making transformative, funky, cathartic records all by himself. "Agüita", his first release for Jagjaguwar, is a sequence of impossibly diverse offerings ranging from trap anthems to string-drenched art pop ballads - a prismatic self-portrait, personal and universal all at once. "Agüita" stands as the strongest installment thus far in a series of alarmingly sincere, sensationally profound works, from an artist who has sought not only to challenge established preconceptions and categories, but to expose their ultimate unworthiness.
June 5 street date. Los Angeles based outfit The Ghost Inside are poised to release their fifth studio album. The self-titled album is a true triumph over adversity. The band were involved in a shocking road collision one tragic night in November 2015; a truck crashed into the band's tour bus near El Paso, Texas, killing both the bus driver and truck driver as well as leaving vocalist Jonathan Vigil, guitarist Zach Johnson, and drummer Andrew Tkaczyk in critical condition. Tkaczyk was in a coma for 10 days and eventually lost his right leg. The metalcore heroes have spent the past four years recovering, with each member documenting their recovery process openly. In February 2019, the band released a video featuring some new music they were working on in the studio. Shortly thereafter, they also announced their first concert since the bus crash. It was to be a "one time only" event to take place in August in Los Angeles. 7000 tickets sold out within five minutes after they went on sale on March 1st. One line in "Aftermath" sums it all up: "triumph over tragedy".
June 5 street date. Los Angeles based outfit The Ghost Inside are poised to release their fifth studio album. The self-titled album is a true triumph over adversity. The band were involved in a shocking road collision one tragic night in November 2015; a truck crashed into the band's tour bus near El Paso, Texas, killing both the bus driver and truck driver as well as leaving vocalist Jonathan Vigil, guitarist Zach Johnson, and drummer Andrew Tkaczyk in critical condition. Tkaczyk was in a coma for 10 days and eventually lost his right leg. The metalcore heroes have spent the past four years recovering, with each member documenting their recovery process openly. In February 2019, the band released a video featuring some new music they were working on in the studio. Shortly thereafter, they also announced their first concert since the bus crash. It was to be a "one time only" event to take place in August in Los Angeles. 7000 tickets sold out within five minutes after they went on sale on March 1st. One line in "Aftermath" sums it all up: "triumph over tragedy".
June 5 street date. Limited opaque magenta coloured vinyl edition, exclusively available to independent shops. Los Angeles based outfit The Ghost Inside are poised to release their fifth studio album. The self-titled album is a true triumph over adversity. The band were involved in a shocking road collision one tragic night in November 2015; a truck crashed into the band's tour bus near El Paso, Texas, killing both the bus driver and truck driver as well as leaving vocalist Jonathan Vigil, guitarist Zach Johnson, and drummer Andrew Tkaczyk in critical condition. Tkaczyk was in a coma for 10 days and eventually lost his right leg. The metalcore heroes have spent the past four years recovering, with each member documenting their recovery process openly. In February 2019, the band released a video featuring some new music they were working on in the studio. Shortly thereafter, they also announced their first concert since the bus crash. It was to be a "one time only" event to take place in August in Los Angeles. 7000 tickets sold out within five minutes after they went on sale on March 1st. One line in "Aftermath" sums it all up: "triumph over tragedy".
Please note new street date: October 24 - RECORD STORE DAY DROP. This single LP version of "Piñata", the acclaimed rap album from 2014, is presented in a unique cover for RSD 2020. The cover is a collaboration between Jeff Jank and Pathetic Pixels with inspiration found in the unique graphics and content of 1970s Blaxploitation films. Piñata is "a gangster Blaxploitation film on wax", says Gibbs, who came up on the streets of Gary, Indiana, the disregarded city previously best known for producing Michael Jackson. Here he is joined by Mac Miller, Earl Sweatshirt, Raekwon, Scarface, Domo Genesis, Ab-Soul and a host of others in setting his soliloquies of the streets alongside film snippets and dusted funk, soul and prog musical tapestries. This version of "Piñata" comes on the heels of the 2019 release of the duo's acclaimed album "Bandana", named album of the year by Hypebeast, Rap Caviar, and many others, and is a welcome reminder of the undeniable musical chemistry that first catalyzed 6 years ago, elevating Freddie Gibbs and Madlib to the upper echelon of the genre's teams.
Please note new street date: August 29 - RECORD STORE DAY DROP.I n November 2019, Girl Band played back to back sold out shows at Dublin’s iconic Vicar Street, this wasfollowing the release of long awaited second album ‘The Talkies’ hailed as ‘more abstract and more focused than their debut’ and a sold out East coast U.S & European tour. Recognised for their ferocious live shows which have been described as chaotic, electrifying and ‘genuinely dangerous, like one last rave before the apocalypse’, these shows were highly intimate and intensely sought after creating an air of ‘you had to be there’. This is their first ever Live vinyl and features tracks from their whole repertoire, some of which have only been performed a handful of times.
January 24 street date. "the first glass beach album" was initially self-released by the band in Spring 2019, but its roots date back to as early as 2015 - songwriter and band leader j mclendon started demoing songs for the album when they first moved to Los Angeles and spent three years polishing those first demos into these songs with bassist Jonas Newhouse and drummer William White. On their Bandcamp page, the band describes their sound as the accumulation of jazz, new wave, synth music, and emo distorted through the lens of punk. The songs that make up "the first glass beach album" are ambitious, theatrical and chaotic. Abandoning genre limitations makes glass beach's talent for songwriting all the more apparent - mathy guitar leads, catchy drum grooves and the constant interplay of horns, synths, and even the intermittent theremin set the perfect scene for j's stunning vocal performance, which can shift from a charming falsetto to the lead of a sing-a-long in an instant.
January 24 street date. Limited clear with blue and red splatter edition. "the first glass beach album" was initially self-released by the band in Spring 2019, but its roots date back to as early as 2015 - songwriter and band leader j mclendon started demoing songs for the album when they first moved to Los Angeles and spent three years polishing those first demos into these songs with bassist Jonas Newhouse and drummer William White. On their Bandcamp page, the band describes their sound as the accumulation of jazz, new wave, synth music, and emo distorted through the lens of punk. The songs that make up "the first glass beach album" are ambitious, theatrical and chaotic. Abandoning genre limitations makes glass beach's talent for songwriting all the more apparent - mathy guitar leads, catchy drum grooves and the constant interplay of horns, synths, and even the intermittent theremin set the perfect scene for j's stunning vocal performance, which can shift from a charming falsetto to the lead of a sing-a-long in an instant.
January 29 street date. Goat Girl are delighted to announce their new album "On All Fours", released via Rough Trade Records on January 29th. The new album was produced by Dan Carey (Kate Tempest, Black Midi and Franz Ferdinand). The album will be available on black double LP, transparent pink double LP, and CD. This new record sees the band veer away from the confrontational lyricism of their debut and indicates Goat Girl's maturing perspectives in discussing the world's injustices and social prejudices, using the music to explore global, humanitarian, environmental and mindful wellbeing.
January 29 street date. Goat Girl are delighted to announce their new album "On All Fours", released via Rough Trade Records on January 29th. The new album was produced by Dan Carey (Kate Tempest, Black Midi and Franz Ferdinand). The album will be available on black double LP, transparent pink double LP, and CD. This new record sees the band veer away from the confrontational lyricism of their debut and indicates Goat Girl's maturing perspectives in discussing the world's injustices and social prejudices, using the music to explore global, humanitarian, environmental and mindful wellbeing.
January 29 street date. Goat Girl are delighted to announce their new album "On All Fours", released via Rough Trade Records on January 29th. The new album was produced by Dan Carey (Kate Tempest, Black Midi and Franz Ferdinand). The album will be available on black double LP, transparent pink double LP, and CD. This new record sees the band veer away from the confrontational lyricism of their debut and indicates Goat Girl's maturing perspectives in discussing the world's injustices and social prejudices, using the music to explore global, humanitarian, environmental and mindful wellbeing.
June 26 street date. Gordi recorded her upcoming album ‘Our Two Skins’ in an old cottage on her parents' farm in remote Canowindra. The album was completed with the assistance of Bon Iver production duo Chris Messina and Zach Hanson. Losing someone close to you creates an almost phantom limb-like effect. Often, it feels like they're a phone call away. But that instant between when you reach for the phone and when your brain delivers the new reality to you is a strange, momentary eternity. It’s both an uncompromising void and maybe as close as you'll ever come to communing with that loved one again. On her new song "Sandwiches", Gordi harnesses all the sadness and glory of this feeling into a soaring, post-new wave anthem. One of the first true Gordi "guitar songs", it shimmers with the lush-yet-fragile momentum of The Cranberries' classic "Dreams".
June 26 street date. Gordi recorded her upcoming album ‘Our Two Skins’ in an old cottage on her parents' farm in remote Canowindra. The album was completed with the assistance of Bon Iver production duo Chris Messina and Zach Hanson. Losing someone close to you creates an almost phantom limb-like effect. Often, it feels like they're a phone call away. But that instant between when you reach for the phone and when your brain delivers the new reality to you is a strange, momentary eternity. It’s both an uncompromising void and maybe as close as you'll ever come to communing with that loved one again. On her new song "Sandwiches", Gordi harnesses all the sadness and glory of this feeling into a soaring, post-new wave anthem. One of the first true Gordi "guitar songs", it shimmers with the lush-yet-fragile momentum of The Cranberries' classic "Dreams".
June 26 street date. Limited crisp white vinyl edition. Gordi recorded her upcoming album ‘Our Two Skins’ in an old cottage on her parents' farm in remote Canowindra. The album was completed with the assistance of Bon Iver production duo Chris Messina and Zach Hanson. Losing someone close to you creates an almost phantom limb-like effect. Often, it feels like they're a phone call away. But that instant between when you reach for the phone and when your brain delivers the new reality to you is a strange, momentary eternity. It’s both an uncompromising void and maybe as close as you'll ever come to communing with that loved one again. On her new song "Sandwiches", Gordi harnesses all the sadness and glory of this feeling into a soaring, post-new wave anthem. One of the first true Gordi "guitar songs", it shimmers with the lush-yet-fragile momentum of The Cranberries' classic "Dreams".
Please note new street date: August 21. "Therapy With Colour" is the Constellation debut for composer and sound artist T. Gowdy, who has released three prior albums of exquisitely textured, predominantly ambient electronic music (most recently "Pachira Aquatica" via Shimmering Moods Records in 2019). His sublime audio/visual performances have featured at MUTEK (Montréal and Barcelona) and Spektrum (Berlin), alongside his ongoing work as an in-demand producer/engineer with over fifty album credits to date. Combining experimental electronics with elements of musique concrete, rhythmic grooves, and heady sonic atmospheres, "Therapy With Colour" is a brilliantly adventurous new offering from the forefront of Montréal's avant-garde electronic scene.
Please note new street date: August 21. "Therapy With Colour" is the Constellation debut for composer and sound artist T. Gowdy, who has released three prior albums of exquisitely textured, predominantly ambient electronic music (most recently "Pachira Aquatica" via Shimmering Moods Records in 2019). His sublime audio/visual performances have featured at MUTEK (Montréal and Barcelona) and Spektrum (Berlin), alongside his ongoing work as an in-demand producer/engineer with over fifty album credits to date. Combining experimental electronics with elements of musique concrete, rhythmic grooves, and heady sonic atmospheres, "Therapy With Colour" is a brilliantly adventurous new offering from the forefront of Montréal's avant-garde electronic scene.
December 11 street date. The debut solo album from Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!, recorded with Steve Albini. Laura Jane Grace wasn't planning on making a solo record this year. In fact, she was planning on making a record with Against Me!, the band she's fronted for the past 23 years. But clearly, nothing went according to plan this year. As she sat at home, all of her tours canceled, and the members of Against Me! - as well as her other band Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers - spread across the country, she was left with a batch of songs and no band to record them with. So, Grace picked up the phone and called Electrical Audio to ask if she could make a record with famed engineer Steve Albini. The goal was to go in and document these songs exactly as she'd been playing them in her home, straight to analog tape. When she hung up the phone, she had four days booked. Across the 14 songs that comprise "Stay Alive", Grace takes all her pent-up fears, anger, and anxiety and releases it, like an olive branch to the weary listeners who are feeling those exact same ways.
December 11 street date. The debut solo album from Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!, recorded with Steve Albini. Laura Jane Grace wasn't planning on making a solo record this year. In fact, she was planning on making a record with Against Me!, the band she's fronted for the past 23 years. But clearly, nothing went according to plan this year. As she sat at home, all of her tours canceled, and the members of Against Me! - as well as her other band Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers - spread across the country, she was left with a batch of songs and no band to record them with. So, Grace picked up the phone and called Electrical Audio to ask if she could make a record with famed engineer Steve Albini. The goal was to go in and document these songs exactly as she'd been playing them in her home, straight to analog tape. When she hung up the phone, she had four days booked. Across the 14 songs that comprise "Stay Alive", Grace takes all her pent-up fears, anger, and anxiety and releases it, like an olive branch to the weary listeners who are feeling those exact same ways.
July 24 street date. Epitaph Records is proud to announce the re-issue of Greg Graffin's long-out-of-print solo album from 1997. "American Lesion", which has been newly remastered, will be available on black vinyl. "Around the time of Bad Religion's "Gray Race" (1996), I was undergoing some unusual stress. A crisis of trust, friendship, and love beset my creative world. A divorce coincided with a trusted partner and friend leaving the band. I retreated to songwriting as an expression of some of my complicated emotions at the time," explains Greg Graffin. "This album, recorded and mixed in my home studio, was entirely my own creation, almost like an emotional experiment. I'm grateful to anyone who finds interest in the result and hope that maybe it will inspire others to value the healing properties of music during times of need."
August 21 street date. 25th anniversary vinyl edition of Guided By Voices' 1995 album "Alien Lanes". Inspired by the multicoloured drumhead featured on the album's artwork, this new edition is pressed on blue, green and red multicolored vinyl, making it the first non-exclusive colour vinyl edition of this release. Originally released on April 4, 1995, "Alien Lanes" served as the first Guided by Voices album to be released on Matador Records. "We were fearless at the time we recorded "Alien Lanes". That's why it bristles with insane energy and confidence.... we were proud to be putting out our first album on Matador and cock strutted accordingly. It cost us $10 to make. It's worth a million....God bless 1995 and open hearted record labels like Matador (and Scat before them) for allowing bands like us, with the preferred limited resources, to remove the constraints and pre-conceived notions of the more industry-minded constituents who would have much preferred we destroy the cassette master of "Alien Lanes" in the better interest of sound manufacturing and what's more agriculturally consumable. It's better to leave the farm than to continue plodding through the cow shit" - Robert Pollard 2020.
July 31 Street date (date change). Please note: this will no longer be a Record Store Day release. We are pleased to announce a new vinyl pressing of the classic Guided By Voices album, Vampire on Titus. Although there were several different pressings in the 1990s, this is the first since 1998. This edition features a new master cut at Golden, is packaged in a sturdy tip-on jacket, and includes Bob's original insert, now enlarged to a more readable size. A limited RSD quantity will be available on gold vinyl (colour change) (with a standard black edition forthcoming). Originally released in 1993, Vampire was not unique at that time in its 4 track recording methodology, but it was perhaps the first to garner major media attention. Many minds were blown, and a few were baffled enough to return the album to the store, believing the crude sound meant their copy was defective.
February 20 street date. (The most adventurous GBV album yet!!.. Featuring an exhilarating and dizzying trip to an inventive world of strange characters.) Starting off the year with a 100-song marathon in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve, Robert Pollard is setting a mighty high bar for Guided By Voices in 2020. Following three acclaimed and stylistically distinct full-length albums in 2019, Surrender Your Poppy Field, is a head-spinning tour de force: a bit of everything... plus more! And hands down the most adventurous GBV album ever. There are lo-fi four-track tape recordings, there are songs recorded with a single microphone in a basement, there are big studio fully-produced hook-laden pop songs, and there is a lot in between. Seemingly, the guiding concept of Surrender Your Poppy Field was to make the songs sound as different from one another as possible: sudden shifts in mood, tempo and rhythm, unexpected chord progressions, false endings and codas, string orchestrations, mysterious voices... It’s an exhilarating and dizzying trip to an inventive world of strange characters: Andre the Hawk, Queen Parking Lot, the Cul-de-Sac Kids, the Hard Hitter, the Steely Dodger, the Stone Cold Moron, A Man Called Physician, A Man Called Blunder...Not content with their usual mastery of the 4 P’s (punk, pop, prog, psych) Professor Pollard pushes the envelope on Poppy Field, and continues to redefine GBV from a myriad of angles. Anyone who thinks that he’s gotten complacent after 104 albums hasn’t been paying attention! Don’t miss out.
February 20 street date. (The most adventurous GBV album yet!!.. Featuring an exhilarating and dizzying trip to an inventive world of strange characters.) Starting off the year with a 100-song marathon in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve, Robert Pollard is setting a mighty high bar for Guided By Voices in 2020. Following three acclaimed and stylistically distinct full-length albums in 2019, Surrender Your Poppy Field, is a head-spinning tour de force: a bit of everything... plus more! And hands down the most adventurous GBV album ever. There are lo-fi four-track tape recordings, there are songs recorded with a single microphone in a basement, there are big studio fully-produced hook-laden pop songs, and there is a lot in between. Seemingly, the guiding concept of Surrender Your Poppy Field was to make the songs sound as different from one another as possible: sudden shifts in mood, tempo and rhythm, unexpected chord progressions, false endings and codas, string orchestrations, mysterious voices... It’s an exhilarating and dizzying trip to an inventive world of strange characters: Andre the Hawk, Queen Parking Lot, the Cul-de-Sac Kids, the Hard Hitter, the Steely Dodger, the Stone Cold Moron, A Man Called Physician, A Man Called Blunder...Not content with their usual mastery of the 4 P’s (punk, pop, prog, psych) Professor Pollard pushes the envelope on Poppy Field, and continues to redefine GBV from a myriad of angles. Anyone who thinks that he’s gotten complacent after 104 albums hasn’t been paying attention! Don’t miss out.
December 11 street date / January 22 for LP (date change). "Styles We Paid For" is Guided By Voices' third album of 2020 and it stands as a testament to this "year in isolation", reflecting these dark days through Robert Pollard's prism, with the band sounding as confident and authoritative as ever. Pollard's searing vocals hold center stage, with endless melodic invention and impeccable phrasing. The album is notably heavy in its worldliness, lyrical content, texture, and approach - and rides out like a cinematic journey of the bizarro world one finds oneself in. While other bands have been napping, GBV have achieved their second consecutive hat-trick (three albums per annum), and have further cemented their status as rock legends for achieving more in this bleak year then most bands do across their entire careers.
December 11 street date / January 22 for LP (date change). "Styles We Paid For" is Guided By Voices' third album of 2020 and it stands as a testament to this "year in isolation", reflecting these dark days through Robert Pollard's prism, with the band sounding as confident and authoritative as ever. Pollard's searing vocals hold center stage, with endless melodic invention and impeccable phrasing. The album is notably heavy in its worldliness, lyrical content, texture, and approach - and rides out like a cinematic journey of the bizarro world one finds oneself in. While other bands have been napping, GBV have achieved their second consecutive hat-trick (three albums per annum), and have further cemented their status as rock legends for achieving more in this bleak year then most bands do across their entire careers.
Please note new street date: September 4. When we last heard from Guided By Voices, they had released an astonishing four albums in just over 12 months. Now here is a sunny summer reprieve, a relentless barrage of hooks - "Mirrored Aztec: is the latest stop on this runaway train. Like its immediate predecessors, "Mirrored Aztec" is both its own entity and unmistakably GBV. It's also their most immediately welcoming and inviting offering in years - there's nothing a fan of The Who, Big Star, or Wire wouldn't love. It also contains some unprecedented GBV moments, too, like "Math Rock", an apparent tribute to the titular subgenre featuring classroom instruments and a children's choir. If Robert Pollard's discography - 107 albums and counting - seems intimidating, do not fear! With a brand-new, high-quality, all-the-waythere album every several months, it's abundantly clear that no band's fanbase has more fun.
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