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.
Please note new street date: January 22/20. Pearlescent bronze vinyl edition, limited to 1000 copies. 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.
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.
January 22 street date. It seems that every time you turn around, there's another Oh Sees [OSEES] slab. Long ago we lost all capacity to be surprised that this sturdy unit keeps putting out records and that they're really good. You can now add the "Metamorphosed" 12-inch to you ever deeper sagging row of John Dwyer and company's seemingly no sleep release schedule. The five tracks were taken from the sessions that formed 2019's Face Stabber album. "Metamorphosed" would have been the perfect third LP to fit in with the other two. This isn't just some barrel scrape for those who can't get enough. All of the five tracks stand up to anything on "Face Stabber". The record's 23 minute ‘I Got A Lot’ is one of the coolest songs the band has ever done.
January 22 street date. Rhye, the project of Los Angeles-based, Toronto-born musician Michael Milosh, announces his new album, "Home". Following 2018's JUNO-winning "Blood", "Home" is centered around the idea of home as the core of creativity and community. It's familiar in its synthesis of propulsive beats, orchestral flourishes, piano ruminations and sultry, gender-nonconforming vocals, but never have they sounded more cohesive or alive. Written throughout 2019 and early 2020, "Home" was recorded at United Recording Studios, Revival at The Complex (Earth, Wind & Fire), as well as Milosh's home studio, and mixed by Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, Interpol, My Bloody Valentine). For Milosh, the home is the center of creativity and community. It transcends conventional understandings of walls, stairs and hardwood floors. A culmination of a wayfarer's journey, the home is a balm for a restless spirit - a place to simply be.
January 22 street date. Ten years ago, Flemish Eye released ‘Public Strain’, the second album by Women. Just over a month after the album's release, the short-lived band was finished; however, the reverberations of ‘Public Strain’ were widespread. It became regarded as a modern-day masterpiece, and a clear touchstone for countless albums since its release. Now, a decade later, Flemish Eye announces a special limited-edition 12" of rarities in celebration of the band and the album. Fans around the world have waited years to hear snippets of rare material, and five of these long-rare tracks are now available in one collection. ‘Rarities 2007-2010’ features material that was either hard-to-find or never released, all mastered properly for the first time.
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.
January 29 street date. 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.
January 29 street date. 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: 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 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.
January 29 street date. Most listeners were introduced to Mike Krol in 2015 with the release of his Merge debut, "Turkey". Few knew at the time that "Turkey" was actually Chapter 3 of the Krol saga, and that he had self-released two records years earlier. To the delight of his new legion of fans, Merge reissued those early albums as the 2017 collection "Mike Krol Is Never Dead". With that release, "I Hate Jazz" and "Trust Fund" found new life, and the inclusion of digital-only rarities led to fresh demand for this CD reissue. The 3-CD edition of "Mike Krol Is Never Dead" includes the first two albums housed in miniature-sized reproductions of the original album tri-fold wallets, and an additional disc filled with an illuminating selection of outtakes, demos, and B-sides from that era.
January 29 street date. Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio specialize in the lost art of "feel good music". The ingredients of this intoxicating cocktail include a big helping of the 1960s organ jazz stylings of Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette; a pinch of the snappy soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.'s and The Meters; and sprinkles of Motown, Stax Records, blues, and cosmic Jimi Hendrix-style guitar. It's a soul-jazz concoction that goes straight to your heart and head makes your body break out in a sweat. The band features organist Delvon Lamarr, a self-taught virtuosic musician, with perfect pitch who taught himself jazz and has effortlessly been able to play a multitude of instruments. On guitar is the dynamo Jimmy James who eases through Steve Cropper-style chanking guitar, volcanic acid-rock freak-out lead playing, and slinky Grant Green style jazz. From Reno, Nevada is drummer Dan Weiss (also of the powerhouse soul and funk collective The Sextones). Dan's smoldering pocket-groove drumming locks in the trio's explosive chemistry.
January 29 street date. Written in his home after his adopted hometown of Nashville was hit by a tornado and the world was hit by a global pandemic, Langhorne Slim's "Strawberry Mansion" was born while writing a song a day to help reignite his artistic muse. What results is a collection of bursts of joy, hope, struggle, and honest moments from a tumultuous time.
January 29 street date. Written in his home after his adopted hometown of Nashville was hit by a tornado and the world was hit by a global pandemic, Langhorne Slim's "Strawberry Mansion" was born while writing a song a day to help reignite his artistic muse. What results is a collection of bursts of joy, hope, struggle, and honest moments from a tumultuous time.
January 29 street date. The Milk Carton Kids are releasing the live album "Live From Lincoln Theatre" for the first time, on vinyl. Founded in 2011, The Milk Carton Kids swiftly emerged as a major force in the American folk tradition, blending ethereal harmonies and intricate musicianship with a uniquely powerful brand of contemporary songcraft. Comprised of singers and acoustic guitar players Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, The Milk Carton Kids both filmed and recorded their set at this Columbus, Ohio theatre in October 2013 during their tour in support of the Grammy-nominated album "The Ash & Clay". "Live From Lincoln Theatre" is the truest representation of what Joey and I have been up to for the last decade," Pattengale explains. "The set list is like a greatest hits album of Milk Carton Kids songs. I've never played guitar in the studio quite the way that it comes together on stage. Our voices also communicate something extra for the occasion. And, of course, Joey doesn't ramble about our master recordings, but there's no stopping him once the lights are dim and the mics are hot".
January 29 street date. 20 year old British musican and poet Arlo Parks has been very steadily climbing the ranks of an artist to watch since the release of her confessional debut single "Cola" in 2018. Arlo has received praise from artists such as Billie Eilish, Wyclef Jean, Florence Welsh, and Phoebe Bridgers during the last year while growing her fan base exponentially. She was also named the BBC Introducing 2020 Artist Of The Year. Arlo describes her debut album "Collapsed In Sunbeams" as "a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia - I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific". Parks struggled with her identity growing up; a self-confessed tomboy who was super sensitive and "uncool", she says "I'm a black kid who can't dance for shit, listens to emo music, and currently has a crush on some girl in my Spanish class".
January 29 street date. 20 year old British musican and poet Arlo Parks has been very steadily climbing the ranks of an artist to watch since the release of her confessional debut single "Cola" in 2018. Arlo has received praise from artists such as Billie Eilish, Wyclef Jean, Florence Welsh, and Phoebe Bridgers during the last year while growing her fan base exponentially. She was also named the BBC Introducing 2020 Artist Of The Year. Arlo describes her debut album "Collapsed In Sunbeams" as "a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia - I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific". Parks struggled with her identity growing up; a self-confessed tomboy who was super sensitive and "uncool", she says "I'm a black kid who can't dance for shit, listens to emo music, and currently has a crush on some girl in my Spanish class".
January 29 street date. 20 year old British musican and poet Arlo Parks has been very steadily climbing the ranks of an artist to watch since the release of her confessional debut single "Cola" in 2018. Arlo has received praise from artists such as Billie Eilish, Wyclef Jean, Florence Welsh, and Phoebe Bridgers during the last year while growing her fan base exponentially. She was also named the BBC Introducing 2020 Artist Of The Year. Arlo describes her debut album "Collapsed In Sunbeams" as "a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia - I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific". Parks struggled with her identity growing up; a self-confessed tomboy who was super sensitive and "uncool", she says "I'm a black kid who can't dance for shit, listens to emo music, and currently has a crush on some girl in my Spanish class".
Please note new street date: January 29. Please note: due to an error at the pressing plant, the pressing was on black vinyl instead of the "sunset" coloured vinyl originally solicited. Double LP gatefold with an etched D-side. Rhye, the project of Los Angeles-based, Toronto-born musician Michael Milosh, announces his new album, "Home". Following 2018's JUNO-winning "Blood", "Home" is centered around the idea of home as the core of creativity and community. It's familiar in its synthesis of propulsive beats, orchestral flourishes, piano ruminations and sultry, gender-nonconforming vocals, but never have they sounded more cohesive or alive. Written throughout 2019 and early 2020, "Home" was recorded at United Recording Studios, Revival at The Complex (Earth, Wind & Fire), as well as Milosh's home studio, and mixed by Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, Interpol, My Bloody Valentine). For Milosh, the home is the center of creativity and community. It transcends conventional understandings of walls, stairs and hardwood floors. A culmination of a wayfarer's journey, the home is a balm for a restless spirit - a place to simply be.
January 29 street date. Recorded in 2011 in a dusty, beloved barn, "Even Your Drums Will Die" is a time machine, a real one, to a moment packed thick with Richard Swift's singular, crackling liveliness. Swift is known to many as a producer moreso than a songwriter, but these songs! This voice! They are machete-sharp here, his voice clear as a bell and slicing wry, expert wordplay on its blade. Where Swift's studio recordings are marked by texture, tone and mood, "Even Your Drums Will Die" puts an indelible spotlight on Swift's voice, his lyrics and his songwriting. If you know these songs, you will find them set alight here. If you don't, "Even Your Drums Will Die" is an incomparable snapshot of both art and artist. It is a genie, a real one, let loose from the lamp with Richard Swift's explosive energy, imagination and mischief.
February 5 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.
Please note new street date: February 5. 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 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.
February 5 street date. Unique composer duo Rebekka Karijord & Jon Ekstrand create compelling, hybrid score to intimate portrait of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. ‘I Am Greta’, the intimate Hulu documentary by Swedish director Nathan Grossman, tells the story of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg through compelling, never-before-seen-footage. To musically accompany Greta and the children of the Fridays for Future movement on their journey, composers Rebekka Karijord and Jon Ekstrand spent time searching for the right balance when it comes to how much emotional triggers the music should offer: Their dynamic score is huge and intimate, uplifting and melancholic, and manages to carry the emotional nuance of Greta's story. The score forms a musical parallel to Greta's journey and narrative voice throughout the film. Its energy, urgency and emotional depth reminds us that the time for climate action is now.
February 5 street date. ‘Stupid Dream’ was the fifth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. First released in March 1999, the album contains Porcupine Tree classics including ‘Even Less’, ‘Pure Narcotic’, ‘Tinto Brass’, and ‘Stop Swimming’ and is one of the essential albums in the band's catalogue. This new Transmission edition of ‘Stupid Dream’ will be presented as a 12 track CD with an 8-page colour booklet featuring artwork by Lasse Hoile.
February 5 street date. Featuring the original studio versions of Porcupine Tree classics such as "Shesmovedon", "Russia On Ice", "Hatesong", and "Feel So Low", along with string arrangements provided by Dave Gregory of XTC, 2000's ‘Lightbulb Sun’ features the lush and powerful music of a band confidently in control of their sound, and akin to1999's ‘Stupid Dream’, explores more song-based territory.
February 5 street date. Unsurprisingly, there isn't a precedent for launching a band during a global pandemic, but among the general sense of anxiety and unease pervading everything at the moment, TV Priest's entrance in April with the release of debut single "House Of York" - a searing examination of the Monarchy set over wiry post-punk and fronted by a Mark E. Smith-like mouthpiece - served as a breath of fresh air among the chaos, its anger and confusion making some kind of twisted sense to the nation's fried brains. It's the same continued global sense of anxiety that will greet the release of "Uppers", and it's an album that has a lot to say right now. Taking musical cues from post-punk stalwarts The Fall and Protomartyr as well as the mechanical, pulsating grooves of krautrock, it's a record that moves with an untamed energy. Over the top of this rumbling musical machine is vocalist Charlie, a cuttingly funny, angry, confused, real frontman. "Uppers" sees TV Priest taking musical and personal risks, reaching outside of themselves and trying to make sense of this increasingly messy world. It's a band and a record that couldn't arrive at a more perfect time.
February 5 street date. Unsurprisingly, there isn't a precedent for launching a band during a global pandemic, but among the general sense of anxiety and unease pervading everything at the moment, TV Priest's entrance in April with the release of debut single "House Of York" - a searing examination of the Monarchy set over wiry post-punk and fronted by a Mark E. Smith-like mouthpiece - served as a breath of fresh air among the chaos, its anger and confusion making some kind of twisted sense to the nation's fried brains. It's the same continued global sense of anxiety that will greet the release of "Uppers", and it's an album that has a lot to say right now. Taking musical cues from post-punk stalwarts The Fall and Protomartyr as well as the mechanical, pulsating grooves of krautrock, it's a record that moves with an untamed energy. Over the top of this rumbling musical machine is vocalist Charlie, a cuttingly funny, angry, confused, real frontman. "Uppers" sees TV Priest taking musical and personal risks, reaching outside of themselves and trying to make sense of this increasingly messy world. It's a band and a record that couldn't arrive at a more perfect time.
February 5 street date. Unsurprisingly, there isn't a precedent for launching a band during a global pandemic, but among the general sense of anxiety and unease pervading everything at the moment, TV Priest's entrance in April with the release of debut single "House Of York" - a searing examination of the Monarchy set over wiry post-punk and fronted by a Mark E. Smith-like mouthpiece - served as a breath of fresh air among the chaos, its anger and confusion making some kind of twisted sense to the nation's fried brains. It's the same continued global sense of anxiety that will greet the release of "Uppers", and it's an album that has a lot to say right now. Taking musical cues from post-punk stalwarts The Fall and Protomartyr as well as the mechanical, pulsating grooves of krautrock, it's a record that moves with an untamed energy. Over the top of this rumbling musical machine is vocalist Charlie, a cuttingly funny, angry, confused, real frontman. "Uppers" sees TV Priest taking musical and personal risks, reaching outside of themselves and trying to make sense of this increasingly messy world. It's a band and a record that couldn't arrive at a more perfect time.
February 5 street date. Limited LOSER edition. Unsurprisingly, there isn't a precedent for launching a band during a global pandemic, but among the general sense of anxiety and unease pervading everything at the moment, TV Priest's entrance in April with the release of debut single "House Of York" - a searing examination of the Monarchy set over wiry post-punk and fronted by a Mark E. Smith-like mouthpiece - served as a breath of fresh air among the chaos, its anger and confusion making some kind of twisted sense to the nation's fried brains. It's the same continued global sense of anxiety that will greet the release of "Uppers", and it's an album that has a lot to say right now. Taking musical cues from post-punk stalwarts The Fall and Protomartyr as well as the mechanical, pulsating grooves of krautrock, it's a record that moves with an untamed energy. Over the top of this rumbling musical machine is vocalist Charlie, a cuttingly funny, angry, confused, real frontman. "Uppers" sees TV Priest taking musical and personal risks, reaching outside of themselves and trying to make sense of this increasingly messy world. It's a band and a record that couldn't arrive at a more perfect time.
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.
Please note new street date: January 29. 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 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.
February 12 street date. 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 12 street date. 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".
Please note new street date: February 12. Oceanator's debut full-length, "Things I Never Said", sees NYC multi-instrumentalist Elise Okusami hyperbolically equating early adulthood malaise with apocalyptic destruction. The type of anxieties that form when thoughts bottle up and stress gets the best of you. Throughout the record, allusions to intrusive thoughts and depression-induced stasis are weaved in between references to falling skies, rolling fires, and the possibility of the world literally falling apart. However, while Okusami's emotional and physical solitude makes for a resilient foe, "Things I Never Said" is ultimately a record about finding comfort in the face of destruction, whether it be through appreciating the little things or forming a bond with someone you can mutually confide in about mental afflictions. There's no concrete resolution to the album, but rather a vital reminder that love and friendship, both with others and herself, will always reign victorious in our darkest moments.
Please note new street date: February 12. Oceanator's debut full-length, "Things I Never Said", sees NYC multi-instrumentalist Elise Okusami hyperbolically equating early adulthood malaise with apocalyptic destruction. The type of anxieties that form when thoughts bottle up and stress gets the best of you. Throughout the record, allusions to intrusive thoughts and depression-induced stasis are weaved in between references to falling skies, rolling fires, and the possibility of the world literally falling apart. However, while Okusami's emotional and physical solitude makes for a resilient foe, "Things I Never Said" is ultimately a record about finding comfort in the face of destruction, whether it be through appreciating the little things or forming a bond with someone you can mutually confide in about mental afflictions. There's no concrete resolution to the album, but rather a vital reminder that love and friendship, both with others and herself, will always reign victorious in our darkest moments.
February 12 street date. Second pressing of the highly sought after RSD 2020 12". Sounding more "in your face" (think "Nosferatu Man") than the final 1991 "Spiderland" LP mixes, these original mixes were mastered by Bob Weston of Chicago Mastering Service at 45 rpm for optimum fidelity. Feel the hot kick of Britt's drum, the down and dirty rumble of Todd's bass, the special sizzle of Dave's guitar, and the meaty chunk of Brian's guitar (he sings too) stronger, louder, and different than you've ever heard them before!
February 12 sales sheet. The world may seem like a pretty strange place right now, but if nothing else that's forced us into realizing that being human is a shared experience. That sentiment lies at the core of "Earth Is A Black Hole", the second full-length from the Los Angeles rock act Teenage Wrist. The album also marks the group's first release since the departure of former bassist/vocalist Kamtin Mohager last year and sees the duo of guitarist Marshall Gallagher stepping up as frontman, with longtime drummer Anthony Salazar backing him up in spectacular fashion. The artistic liberation of this lineup change, coupled with the past two years the band spent touring alongside genre-smashing acts such as Thrice, allowed Teenage Wrist to expand on the shoegazing sound that helped establish them as one of the most exciting rock bands around today. In order to capture this sound, the band enlisted Colin Brittain (Basement, A Day to Remember), whose production style merged perfectly with what Teenage Wrist were trying to accomplish with this album.
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.
February 19 street date. "For this EP I was trying to live less in nostalgia and function less off obvious references. I worked on "Pout" while becoming a dad, sitting a lot in my garden, and trying to kill my ego. Tracks like "Mountain Access" make me think about driving around Hamilton, Ontario, my home as of a year ago. I hope people can still get a chance to walk around with this on headphones or daydream while listening to this project" - Ryan Hemsworth. Limited edition first pressing on coke bottle clear vinyl. Features from Ms. John Soda and BADBADNOTGOOD's Leland Whitty.
February 19 street date. 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 19 street date. 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 19 street date. 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: February 19. From label owner Terry Cole, "It was on March 16, 2020 that we closed up our storefront as the reality of a worldwide pandemic began to spread across the Midwest. While the level of uncertainty was unnerving, from that uncertainty came the idea for "Brighter Days Ahead". We knew we wanted to continue to release new music, but proceeding with our heavy 2020 release schedule as planned seemed ill advised. So the idea was to release individual tracks from many of our artists on a weekly basis and as a musical family, we could all help shine light on each individual artist weekly. So throughout the summer and into the fall, that's what we did. We released several dozen tracks and the weekly announcements certainly garnered a strong sense of community for our artists and fans alike. We're very proud to present "Brighter Days Ahead": a compilation from our talented stable of artists on both our Colemine and Karma Chief imprints". Features tracks from Ikebe Shakedown, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Ben Pirani, Neal Francis, and many more. 22 tracks, of which several tracks will only be available physically on this compilation.
Please note new street date February 19. From label owner Terry Cole, "It was on March 16, 2020 that we closed up our storefront as the reality of a worldwide pandemic began to spread across the Midwest. While the level of uncertainty was unnerving, from that uncertainty came the idea for "Brighter Days Ahead". We knew we wanted to continue to release new music, but proceeding with our heavy 2020 release schedule as planned seemed ill advised. So the idea was to release individual tracks from many of our artists on a weekly basis and as a musical family, we could all help shine light on each individual artist weekly. So throughout the summer and into the fall, that's what we did. We released several dozen tracks and the weekly announcements certainly garnered a strong sense of community for our artists and fans alike. We're very proud to present "Brighter Days Ahead": a compilation from our talented stable of artists on both our Colemine and Karma Chief imprints". Features tracks from Ikebe Shakedown, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Ben Pirani, Neal Francis, and many more. 22 tracks, of which several tracks will only be available physically on this compilation.
Please note new street date: February 19. From label owner Terry Cole, "It was on March 16, 2020 that we closed up our storefront as the reality of a worldwide pandemic began to spread across the Midwest. While the level of uncertainty was unnerving, from that uncertainty came the idea for "Brighter Days Ahead". We knew we wanted to continue to release new music, but proceeding with our heavy 2020 release schedule as planned seemed ill advised. So the idea was to release individual tracks from many of our artists on a weekly basis and as a musical family, we could all help shine light on each individual artist weekly. So throughout the summer and into the fall, that's what we did. We released several dozen tracks and the weekly announcements certainly garnered a strong sense of community for our artists and fans alike. We're very proud to present "Brighter Days Ahead": a compilation from our talented stable of artists on both our Colemine and Karma Chief imprints". Features tracks from Ikebe Shakedown, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Ben Pirani, Neal Francis, and many more. 22 tracks, of which several tracks will only be available physically on this compilation.
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.
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. 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. 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.
Please note new street date: February 26. 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. 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.
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.
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. "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.
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.
Please note new street date: March 5. 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.
March 5 street date. 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 5 street date. 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 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.
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. 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.
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. 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 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. 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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 8 street date (CD) / January 22 for 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. "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.
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: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
March 27 street date. Half Waif Nandi Rose is on her own again, and three songs into her forthcoming album The Caretaker , the singer, songwriter and producer declares her fearlessness: “Baby don’t worry about me, I don’t worry about you.” Here, on “Ordinary Talk,” Rose meditates on the heaviness of ordinary moments, the constellation of tears and chores and self-doubt and small talk that comprise being a person, accompanied by her most cinematic, pulsing arrangements to date. It’s an apt introduction to The Caretaker, an ax-lbum that negotiates the space between working alone and with others, between isolation and connection. The result is her boldest work yet. Over the course of eleven songs, Rose creates the lush world of a humid summer night, dreaming of and reaching for a season in which she is her “best self.”
March 27 street date. Half Waif Nandi Rose is on her own again, and three songs into her forthcoming album The Caretaker , the singer, songwriter and producer declares her fearlessness: “Baby don’t worry about me, I don’t worry about you.” Here, on “Ordinary Talk,” Rose meditates on the heaviness of ordinary moments, the constellation of tears and chores and self-doubt and small talk that comprise being a person, accompanied by her most cinematic, pulsing arrangements to date. It’s an apt introduction to The Caretaker, an ax-lbum that negotiates the space between working alone and with others, between isolation and connection. The result is her boldest work yet. Over the course of eleven songs, Rose creates the lush world of a humid summer night, dreaming of and reaching for a season in which she is her “best self.”
February 14 street date. The UK's cosmic, psychedelic-funk ensemble issue their first album on maverick producer Madlib's label, Madlib Invazion. The Heliocentrics' albums are all confounding pieces of work. Drawing equally from the funk universe of James Brown, the disorienting asymmetry of Sun Ra, the cinematic scope of Ennio Morricone, the sublime fusion of David Axelrod, Pierre Henry's turned-on musique concrète, and Can's beat-heavy Krautrock, they have - regardless of the label on which they've released their music - pointed the way towards a brand new kind of psychedelia, one that could only come from a band of accomplished musicians who were also obsessive music fans. Drummer Malcolm Catto and bassist Jake Ferguson are the Heliocentrics’ masterminds and producers, and they are obsessive weirdos in today's musical climate, searching, progressive humans who are often out-of-time with current trends. The Heliocentrics search for an individual in an alternate galaxy where the orbits of funk, jazz, psychedelic, electronic, avant-garde and "ethnic" music all revolve around "The One". With "Infinity Of Now", the Heliocentrics have returned to develop their epic vision of psychedelic funk, while exploring the possibilities created by their myriad influences - Latin, African, and more.
February 14 street date. The UK's cosmic, psychedelic-funk ensemble issue their first album on maverick producer Madlib's label, Madlib Invazion. The Heliocentrics' albums are all confounding pieces of work. Drawing equally from the funk universe of James Brown, the disorienting asymmetry of Sun Ra, the cinematic scope of Ennio Morricone, the sublime fusion of David Axelrod, Pierre Henry's turned-on musique concrète, and Can's beat-heavy Krautrock, they have - regardless of the label on which they've released their music - pointed the way towards a brand new kind of psychedelia, one that could only come from a band of accomplished musicians who were also obsessive music fans. Drummer Malcolm Catto and bassist Jake Ferguson are the Heliocentrics’ masterminds and producers, and they are obsessive weirdos in today's musical climate, searching, progressive humans who are often out-of-time with current trends. The Heliocentrics search for an individual in an alternate galaxy where the orbits of funk, jazz, psychedelic, electronic, avant-garde and "ethnic" music all revolve around "The One". With "Infinity Of Now", the Heliocentrics have returned to develop their epic vision of psychedelic funk, while exploring the possibilities created by their myriad influences - Latin, African, and more.
Please note new street date: November 13. The first new music from legendary band, Hum, in 22 years! Aside from a few shows and festival performances, Hum has been largely quiet since the release of 1998's "Downward Is Heavenward". Outside of "Stars" (from 1995's "You'd Prefer An Astronaut"), the band never really trafficked in the mainstream, but during their absence Hum's legacy and influence have only continued to grow. With "Inlet", the band has created another epic masterpiece that further reinforces Hum's place of honor among the shoegaze/alt-rock elite.
Please note new street date: November 13. The first new music from legendary band, Hum, in 22 years! Aside from a few shows and festival performances, Hum has been largely quiet since the release of 1998's "Downward Is Heavenward". Outside of "Stars" (from 1995's "You'd Prefer An Astronaut"), the band never really trafficked in the mainstream, but during their absence Hum's legacy and influence have only continued to grow. With "Inlet", the band has created another epic masterpiece that further reinforces Hum's place of honor among the shoegaze/alt-rock elite.
September 26 street date. Translucent blue RSD edition! Tastemakers and fans alike have found HUNNY to be a perfect mix of post-punk tinged pop and their childhood influences like Prince and The Cure. The result is a sound that feels uniquely them. With a few more years and more material under their belt, HUNNY has gained fans across the globe by touring with the likes of The Neighbourhood, Beach Slang, The Frights and more. This is just the start of a long and promising career for HUNNY. HUNNY is front man Jason Yarger, guitarist Jake Goldstein, bassist/keyboardist Kevin Grimmett, and drummer Joey Anderson.
August 29 Record Store Day Drop. Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions is a previously-unissued release of studio recordings from pianist Bob James captured with no audience at Wollman Auditorium at Columbia University in New York City in 1965 by Resonance founder and co-president George Klabin. This limited-edition (of 5,000 copies worldwide) 180g LP features James in two different trio settings — one from January 20, 1965 with bassist Larry Rockwell and drummer Bob Pozar, and one from October 9, 1965 with bassist Bill Wood and drummer Omar Clay — performing a mix of jazz standards and original compositions. The title track "Once Upon A Time" was named by James as an homage to the ONCE Festival of New Music in Ann Arbor, MI which ran from 1961-1966 and holds a special place in his early musical career. The deluxe gatefold set includes an extensive booklet with essays by jazz writer Mark Stryker (Jazz from Detroit) and engineer George Klabin; new interviews with Bob James and Makoto Ozone, and a 2011 interview with Bob Pozar by Hank Shteamer (Rolling Stone); plus rare archival photographs by Tom Copi. Mastered by Bernie Grundman, cut at 33 1/3 RPM and pressed by RTI.
December 11 street date. Remastered version of Jamie xx's debut album "In Colour", available on single coloured LP, with colours distributed at random. Standard black vinyl will also be available. "In Colour" is a bold, celebratory and emotional artistic statement that received critical acclaim across the board as well achieving huge commercial success. The 11 track LP was widely regarded as one of the best albums of 2015 and was voted in the top 25 of Pitchfork's best records of the decade. "In Colour" went on to receive Grammy, Brit and Mercury Award nominations, reaching Gold status in the UK Official Charts, and its singles ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)’ featuring Young Thug and Popcaan and 'Loud Places' are both certified Gold in Canada. As well as continued success with The xx (whose third album "I See You" was released in 2017), Jamie released a new single ‘Idontknow’ in April this year, which has sold out on limited edition 12".
Please note new street date: June12. Jamo Gang consists of L.A. legend Ras Kass, NYC veteran emcee El Gant, and J57 on production. The trio's debut album "Walking With Lions" features DJ Premier, Slug from Atmosphere, Sid Wilson from Slipknot, Sick Jacken from Psycho Realm, and Slaine from La Coka Nostra. The album embodies head-nodder boom-bap infused with big sounding, lush soundscapes as Ras Kass and El Gant command the listener's attention, speaking on subject matter ranging from school shootings to what life would be like with a nuke arriving in 38 minutes.
Please note new street date: June12. Jamo Gang consists of L.A. legend Ras Kass, NYC veteran emcee El Gant, and J57 on production. The trio's debut album "Walking With Lions" features DJ Premier, Slug from Atmosphere, Sid Wilson from Slipknot, Sick Jacken from Psycho Realm, and Slaine from La Coka Nostra. The album embodies head-nodder boom-bap infused with big sounding, lush soundscapes as Ras Kass and El Gant command the listener's attention, speaking on subject matter ranging from school shootings to what life would be like with a nuke arriving in 38 minutes.
May 8 street date. Jarv Is is a band featuring Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, percussion), Serafina Steer (harp, keyboards, vocals), Emma Smith (violin, guitar vocals), Andrew McKinney (bass, vocals), Jason Buckle (synthesiser & electronic treatments) and Adam Betts (drums, percussion, vocals). "House Music All Night Long" is a straightforward love song about someone stuck alone in the house whilst the object of their affections is out dancing to House music at a rave. "We first performed this at the All Points East festival in Victoria Park in May 2019. The crowd reaction was so positive that I was inspired to do my first-ever bit of crowd-surfing (which I enjoyed so much that I have repeated it a couple of times since). We played the song throughout the summer & eventually recorded it after our final performance of the year at the End of the Road festival on September 4th". From the forthcoming album "Beyond The Pale", scheduled for Sept. 4 release.
July 17 street date. Jarv Is are pleased to announce their debut album "Beyond The Pale". Jarv Is is a band featuring Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, percussion), Serafina Steer (harp, keyboards, vocals), Emma Smith (violin, guitar vocals), Andrew McKinney (bass, vocals), Jason Buckle (synthesiser & electronic treatments) & Adam Betts (drums, percussion, vocals). Jarv Is was conceived as a way of writing songs in collaboration with an audience. As the material they were playing was in a state of flux, the band decided to record their live shows so that they could monitor how the songs were developing. After an appearance at the Desert Daze festival in California, Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Beak>) suggested that these recordings could be used as the basis for an album. Jarv Is an ongoing live experience because life is an ongoing live experience. Or, to put it another way: THIS IS NOT A LIVE ALBUM - it's an ALIVE ALBUM.
July 17 street date. Jarv Is are pleased to announce their debut album "Beyond The Pale". Jarv Is is a band featuring Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, percussion), Serafina Steer (harp, keyboards, vocals), Emma Smith (violin, guitar vocals), Andrew McKinney (bass, vocals), Jason Buckle (synthesiser & electronic treatments) & Adam Betts (drums, percussion, vocals). Jarv Is was conceived as a way of writing songs in collaboration with an audience. As the material they were playing was in a state of flux, the band decided to record their live shows so that they could monitor how the songs were developing. After an appearance at the Desert Daze festival in California, Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Beak>) suggested that these recordings could be used as the basis for an album. Jarv Is an ongoing live experience because life is an ongoing live experience. Or, to put it another way: THIS IS NOT A LIVE ALBUM - it's an ALIVE ALBUM.
July 17 street date. Jarv Is are pleased to announce their debut album "Beyond The Pale". Jarv Is is a band featuring Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, percussion), Serafina Steer (harp, keyboards, vocals), Emma Smith (violin, guitar vocals), Andrew McKinney (bass, vocals), Jason Buckle (synthesiser & electronic treatments) & Adam Betts (drums, percussion, vocals). Jarv Is was conceived as a way of writing songs in collaboration with an audience. As the material they were playing was in a state of flux, the band decided to record their live shows so that they could monitor how the songs were developing. After an appearance at the Desert Daze festival in California, Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Beak>) suggested that these recordings could be used as the basis for an album. Jarv Is an ongoing live experience because life is an ongoing live experience. Or, to put it another way: THIS IS NOT A LIVE ALBUM - it's an ALIVE ALBUM.
July 17 street date. Jarv Is are pleased to announce their debut album "Beyond The Pale". Jarv Is is a band featuring Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, percussion), Serafina Steer (harp, keyboards, vocals), Emma Smith (violin, guitar vocals), Andrew McKinney (bass, vocals), Jason Buckle (synthesiser & electronic treatments) & Adam Betts (drums, percussion, vocals). Jarv Is was conceived as a way of writing songs in collaboration with an audience. As the material they were playing was in a state of flux, the band decided to record their live shows so that they could monitor how the songs were developing. After an appearance at the Desert Daze festival in California, Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Beak>) suggested that these recordings could be used as the basis for an album. Jarv Is an ongoing live experience because life is an ongoing live experience. Or, to put it another way: THIS IS NOT A LIVE ALBUM - it's an ALIVE ALBUM.
Available now. On "Sundry Rock Song Stock", Yves Jarvis continues to refine his creative approach. The latest album from the Montreal-based musician fuses genre elements into a symbiotic relationship where wistful folk, tender R&B, pastoral prog, and musique concrète experiments feed into one another to grow lush new forms. Though he maintains an air of mystery with his lyrics, Jarvis's whisper-soft words can be interpreted as both deeply personal and politically motivated in ways we haven't heard from him before. Resuming the practice of color theory that informed his 2017 album "Good Will Come To You" (morning yellow optimism) and 2019's "The Same But By Different Means" (midnight blue contemplation), "Sundry Rock Song Stock" is infused with the natural state of green. As Jarvis explains, it's the colour he most closely connects to his personality, moving beyond an aesthetic attraction into feelings of wildness, boundless energy, and an anti-establishment streak permeating his 23 years on the planet.
Available now. On "Sundry Rock Song Stock", Yves Jarvis continues to refine his creative approach. The latest album from the Montreal-based musician fuses genre elements into a symbiotic relationship where wistful folk, tender R&B, pastoral prog, and musique concrète experiments feed into one another to grow lush new forms. Though he maintains an air of mystery with his lyrics, Jarvis's whisper-soft words can be interpreted as both deeply personal and politically motivated in ways we haven't heard from him before. Resuming the practice of color theory that informed his 2017 album "Good Will Come To You" (morning yellow optimism) and 2019's "The Same But By Different Means" (midnight blue contemplation), "Sundry Rock Song Stock" is infused with the natural state of green. As Jarvis explains, it's the colour he most closely connects to his personality, moving beyond an aesthetic attraction into feelings of wildness, boundless energy, and an anti-establishment streak permeating his 23 years on the planet.
September 4 street date. On the cusp of releasing his first-ever solo album, "Every Feeling On A Loop", songwriter Josiah Johnson is aware he wasn't supposed to be here. Just five years ago when he took a leave of absence from the acclaimed indie-folk band, The Head and the Heart, the question was less where Johnson's star would take him and more whether his struggles with addiction would end his music career. The Head and the Heart's rise was rapid. They built a loyal fanbase and zigzagged the globe, and their 2011 self-titled debut went on to receive RIAA Gold certification, followed by 2013's "Let's Be Still", which landed on Billboard's Top 10 Albums Chart. On "Every Feeling On A Loop", lush musical arrangements and harmonies support Johnson's baritone crooning. At times, the songs sound like prayers. At others, his exuberance feels like the euphoria he'd always sought, this time hard-earned and wiser. He says he feels like a new person making it, charting his journey out of the dark into the wide awake of the morning, using the magic that was his all along.
Please note new street date: May 29. Caleb Landry Jones' debut solo album is a sprawling psychedelic suite built from abrupt and disorienting detours and schizoid shifts of voice, its manic energy forever pulling the tablecloth out from under classic pop orchestration. One minute you're squarely in the realm of biographical fact and a moment later you're having a discussion about lucid dreaming and how Jones once punched up a dream set on a soccer field by willing himself to experience it from the POV of the ball. But maybe that's just another story about grabbing the wheel of your own hallucination; maybe this pertains to the music after all. What you can hear on this record are the marks left by conversion experiences, two in particular. First there’s Jones' formative encounter with the Beatles' "White Album", the Fabs record most obviously composed by four Beatles rowing in different directions, and the beginning of what Jones calls "this British Invasion of my soul", which is still ongoing. Second, there's Syd Barrett, cracked vessel of Pink Floyd's most intergalactic ambitions, and the "falling-down-the-stairs" quality of his solo work in particular.
Please note new street date: May 29. Caleb Landry Jones' debut solo album is a sprawling psychedelic suite built from abrupt and disorienting detours and schizoid shifts of voice, its manic energy forever pulling the tablecloth out from under classic pop orchestration. One minute you're squarely in the realm of biographical fact and a moment later you're having a discussion about lucid dreaming and how Jones once punched up a dream set on a soccer field by willing himself to experience it from the POV of the ball. But maybe that's just another story about grabbing the wheel of your own hallucination; maybe this pertains to the music after all. What you can hear on this record are the marks left by conversion experiences, two in particular. First there’s Jones' formative encounter with the Beatles' "White Album", the Fabs record most obviously composed by four Beatles rowing in different directions, and the beginning of what Jones calls "this British Invasion of my soul", which is still ongoing. Second, there's Syd Barrett, cracked vessel of Pink Floyd's most intergalactic ambitions, and the "falling-down-the-stairs" quality of his solo work in particular.
Please note new street date: May 29. Baby blue vinyl edition, limited to 1500 copies. Caleb Landry Jones' debut solo album is a sprawling psychedelic suite built from abrupt and disorienting detours and schizoid shifts of voice, its manic energy forever pulling the tablecloth out from under classic pop orchestration. One minute you're squarely in the realm of biographical fact and a moment later you're having a discussion about lucid dreaming and how Jones once punched up a dream set on a soccer field by willing himself to experience it from the POV of the ball. But maybe that's just another story about grabbing the wheel of your own hallucination; maybe this pertains to the music after all. What you can hear on this record are the marks left by conversion experiences, two in particular. First there’s Jones' formative encounter with the Beatles' "White Album", the Fabs record most obviously composed by four Beatles rowing in different directions, and the beginning of what Jones calls "this British Invasion of my soul", which is still ongoing. Second, there's Syd Barrett, cracked vessel of Pink Floyd's most intergalactic ambitions, and the "falling-down-the-stairs" quality of his solo work in particular.
September 18 street date. Joyce Manor return with "Songs From Northern Torrance": a collection of b-sides and alternate versions of fan favorites pulled from the band's personal archives. The album kicks off with "House Warning Party", a one-minute blast of lo-fi goodness that offers a glimpse into the band's humble beginnings as a two-piece folk-punk outfit. Lyrics of suburban angst forge with upbeat drums and swift, jangly guitars that make it impossible to not bounce your head along to. As a band who have come to define West Coast indie-punk, Joyce Manor remains one of the most popular bands in the genre and this track is a rarity their fans will surely love.
March 13 street date. Free-thinking Nova Scotia composer, musician and visual artist Jay Crocker (aka JOYFULTALK) channels Minimalism, Japanese environmental music, Maghrebian rhythmic modes and other numinous folkways to create his most focused, vibrant work to date. Based on a monumental, kaleidoscopic graphic score, "A Separation Of Being" is translated from two-dimensional page to trans-dimensional aural life using an array of homemade instruments, crowned with a majestic string arrangement written by Crocker and performed by Polaris and Juno winner Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq, Destroyer). This three-part suite is airtight; interlocking arcs of polyrhythmic deep groove and new minimalism roll out in spellbinding propulsion, the music gathering its warmth from the strings and its peculiarities from Crocker's bespoke instrumentation and analog clockworks. Album packaging on CD and audiophile 180g LP features details on the outer jacket cover art, and a reproduction of the full score on the inside gatefold, and as an exquisite 12" x 24" pull-out art print, respectively.
March 13 street date. Free-thinking Nova Scotia composer, musician and visual artist Jay Crocker (aka JOYFULTALK) channels Minimalism, Japanese environmental music, Maghrebian rhythmic modes and other numinous folkways to create his most focused, vibrant work to date. Based on a monumental, kaleidoscopic graphic score, "A Separation Of Being" is translated from two-dimensional page to trans-dimensional aural life using an array of homemade instruments, crowned with a majestic string arrangement written by Crocker and performed by Polaris and Juno winner Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq, Destroyer). This three-part suite is airtight; interlocking arcs of polyrhythmic deep groove and new minimalism roll out in spellbinding propulsion, the music gathering its warmth from the strings and its peculiarities from Crocker's bespoke instrumentation and analog clockworks. Album packaging on CD and audiophile 180g LP features details on the outer jacket cover art, and a reproduction of the full score on the inside gatefold, and as an exquisite 12" x 24" pull-out art print, respectively.
December 11 street date. Hot on the heels of ‘Mordechai’, the third album from US psych-rockers Khruangbin, the Texas trio are set to become the latest act to present their own LateNightTales in the popular, long-running musician-curated album series. With a mind-blowing selection of tracks that cross borders and cultures, Khruangbin's deep love of global grooves - from Asian pop to Nigerian reggae - Japanese mellow groove to Latina flavas - are steeped in eclecticism; Nazia Hassan's Hindi-disco ‘Khushi’, produced by British-Indian legend Biddu, South Korean rock band Sanullim who contribute ‘Don’t Go’, a pair of African bangers from Nigerian Maxwell Udoh and Roha Band, from Ethiopia; a diversion to Belarus for and thence to Madrid for the strident vocal performance of Paloma San Basilio with ‘Contigo’ before hightailing back to Texas. Elsewhere, the Lone Star state reps proudly, with David Marez and Kelly Doyle plus, in the LateNightTales tradition, the band deliver an exclusive, horizontally brilliant version of Kool & The Gang's ‘Summer Madness’, while the mix concludes with a spoken word piece by Tierney Malone, accompanied by fellow Houstonian Geoffrey Muller’s atmospheric banjo rendering of Erik Satie's ‘Gnossienne’.
December 11 street date. Hot on the heels of ‘Mordechai’, the third album from US psych-rockers Khruangbin, the Texas trio are set to become the latest act to present their own LateNightTales in the popular, long-running musician-curated album series. With a mind-blowing selection of tracks that cross borders and cultures, Khruangbin's deep love of global grooves - from Asian pop to Nigerian reggae - Japanese mellow groove to Latina flavas - are steeped in eclecticism; Nazia Hassan's Hindi-disco ‘Khushi’, produced by British-Indian legend Biddu, South Korean rock band Sanullim who contribute ‘Don’t Go’, a pair of African bangers from Nigerian Maxwell Udoh and Roha Band, from Ethiopia; a diversion to Belarus and thence to Madrid for the strident vocal performance of Paloma San Basilio with ‘Contigo’ before hightailing back to Texas. Elsewhere, the Lone Star state reps proudly, with David Marez and Kelly Doyle plus, in the LateNightTales tradition, the band deliver an exclusive, horizontally brilliant version of Kool & The Gang's ‘Summer Madness’, while the mix concludes with a spoken word piece by Tierney Malone, accompanied by fellow Houstonian Geoffrey Muller’s atmospheric banjo rendering of Erik Satie's ‘Gnossienne’.
June 26 street date. Khruangbin has always been multilingual, weaving far-flung musical languages like East Asian surf-rock, Persian funk, and Jamaican dub into mellifluous harmony. But on its third album, it's finally speaking out loud. Mordechai features vocals prominently on nearly every song, a first for the mostly instrumental band. It's a shift that rewards the risk, reorienting Khruangbin's transportive sound toward a new sense of emotional directness, without losing the spirit of nomadic wandering that's always defined it. Musically, the band's ever-restless ear saw it pulling reference points from Pakistan, Korea, and West Africa, incorporating strains of Indian chanting boxes and Congolese syncopated guitar. But more than anything, the album became a celebration of Houston, the eclectic city that had nurtured them, and a cultural nexus where you can check out country and zydeco, trap rap, or avant-garde opera on any given night.
June 26 street date. Khruangbin has always been multilingual, weaving far-flung musical languages like East Asian surf-rock, Persian funk, and Jamaican dub into mellifluous harmony. But on its third album, it's finally speaking out loud. Mordechai features vocals prominently on nearly every song, a first for the mostly instrumental band. It's a shift that rewards the risk, reorienting Khruangbin's transportive sound toward a new sense of emotional directness, without losing the spirit of nomadic wandering that's always defined it. Musically, the band's ever-restless ear saw it pulling reference points from Pakistan, Korea, and West Africa, incorporating strains of Indian chanting boxes and Congolese syncopated guitar. But more than anything, the album became a celebration of Houston, the eclectic city that had nurtured them, and a cultural nexus where you can check out country and zydeco, trap rap, or avant-garde opera on any given night.
February 7 street date. It'll take you over four hours just to get from R&B singer Leon Bridges' hometown of Fort Worth down to Houston, where the psychedelic wanderers in Khruangbin hail from. The state is vast, crisscrossed with rugged expanses of road flanked by limestone cliffs and granite mountains, forests of pine and mesquite, miles of desert or acres of sprawling grassland, all depending on what part you're in. And it's all baking under the Texas Sun that lends its name to Bridges and Khruangbin's new collaborative EP. On "Texas Sun", these two members of the state's musical vanguard meet up somewhere in the middle of that scene, in the mythical nexus of Texas' past, present, and future - a dreamy badlands where genres blur as seamlessly as the terrain. A journey through homesick reminiscences, backseat romances, and late-night contemplations, the kind of record made for listening with the windows down and the road humming softly beneath you.
February 7 street date. It'll take you over four hours just to get from R&B singer Leon Bridges' hometown of Fort Worth down to Houston, where the psychedelic wanderers in Khruangbin hail from. The state is vast, crisscrossed with rugged expanses of road flanked by limestone cliffs and granite mountains, forests of pine and mesquite, miles of desert or acres of sprawling grassland, all depending on what part you're in. And it's all baking under the Texas Sun that lends its name to Bridges and Khruangbin's new collaborative EP. On "Texas Sun", these two members of the state's musical vanguard meet up somewhere in the middle of that scene, in the mythical nexus of Texas' past, present, and future - a dreamy badlands where genres blur as seamlessly as the terrain. A journey through homesick reminiscences, backseat romances, and late-night contemplations, the kind of record made for listening with the windows down and the road humming softly beneath you.
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The Digest 
Goat Girl
