Some major reissues out this week. As every summer, not a lot of new releases but you’re probably still catching up from the last month or so anyway.
Our pals from Collective Arts Brewing (you may recall them from RSD) are having a tap takeover at The Underground tomorrow (Friday) night. They’ll have the full available line on tap, and a bunch of folks, including myself will be spinning records all evening. Definitely a good way to kick off your weekend.
…..picks of the week…..
Beak>: s/t (Temporary Residence) LP
To celebrate the addition of Bristol’s preeminent out-rock trio, Beak>, to the Temporary Residence family, the label reissues their eponymous debut album on audiophile-quality double vinyl. Remastered for the format by Josh Bonati, and packaged in a heavyweight old-styile tip-on gatefold jacket, Beak> includes the original album in its entirety, as well as a vinyl-only bonus track not available on the CD or Digital formats. Beak> was formed in January of 2009 by Bristol musicians Billy Fuller, Matt Williams, and Geoff Barrow. The band instituted very strict guidelines governing the recording and writing process of their work: The music was to be recorded live in one room with no overdubs or repair, only using edits to create arrangements. All tracks were written over a 12-day session in SOA Studios, Bristol. Often a band can be no more than the sum of its parts, but Beak> are an equation in which it’s impossible to define equivalents or totals. Instead the meeting of three unique talents form a foundation from which ideas assimilate and propagate. Fuller was reared an aural diet of anything and everything, facilitated later by his time working in the city’s top independent record shop Replay Records, and also playing with handfuls of bands – including Massive Attack, Robert Plant, and Malakai. Billy is Beak>’s thoughtful pulse; his bass a forceful origin for their superlative narrative arcs. Williams picked up a Yamaha keyboard at age 3 and never looked back, as Team Brick creates dissonance that immediately elucidates free-forming thought, and impacts heavily on Beak>’s rolling landscape. Barrow is best known for forming and producing popular music group Portishead, as well as scoring acclaimed film and TV productions, including Black Mirror, Ex Machina, and Annihilation.
File Under: Krautrock, Electronic, Portishead
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Luis Perez: Ipan In Xiktli Metzli (Mr. Bongo) LP
Official Mr Bongo reissue. Replica original artwork, including the insert with listening instructions, in Spanish and English. Luis Pérez was born in Mexico City on July 11, 1951. From 1971 onwards he dedicated much of his time to the research of the pre-Columbian instrumentation of Mesoamerica. This research allowed him to travel the Mexican territory and study musical traditions of the native peoples of Mexico. He learned directly from the living sources of the music and collected samples of musical instruments and the songs of different native speakers including Maya, Nahuatl, Mazateco, Yoemem, Comcaac, Raramuri, Wixarika and more. His personal collection of native Mexican instruments includes ethnographic instruments still in use by ethnic groups, along with archaeological artifacts some of which are more than 2,000 years old. He continuously utilises these instruments in performances, concerts, lectures, exhibitions, and recordings, keeping them alive.‘El Ombligo de la Luna’ delves deep into the past but also exists entirely outside of time, as Luis Pérez ‘Ixoneztli’’s offering to the world – the soul of Mexico channeled through the hands and heart of a master musician. Huge thanks to Carlos Niño for his assistance on this very special project. Copy adapted from original copy written and supplied by Jesse Peterson (2017), used with thanks. Licensed directly from Luis Pérez.
File Under: Mexico, Electronic, Experimental
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…..new arrivals…..
Body/Head: The Switch (Matador) LP
Body/Head is the duo of Kim Gordon and Bill Nace. Creative alchemy doesn’t just happen in the studio or in the practice space; so much of it is the product of solo time with one’s instrument, learning how body and wood and electronics fuse, and of subconscious processes as one lives one’s daily life – picking up the ambient noise of the world outside, listening to others’ work, talking through ideas with friends. For Kim and Bill, time together these days is limited to live performances and recording, so they’ve got to bring all their magic to every encounter. Lucky for us, these are two experimental sorcerers of significant renown. Their debut album together as Body/Head, Coming Apart, from 2013, was more of a rock record – heavy, emotional, cathartic, spellwork in shades of black and grey. The Switch is their second studio full-length, and it finds the duo working with a more subtle palette, refining their ideas and identity. Some of it was sketched out live (if you’ve not had the fortune of seeing them in that natural environment yet, see 2016’s improvisational document No Waves), but much of it happened purely in the moment. Working in the same studio and with the same producer as Coming Apart, here Body/Head stretch out, making spacious pieces that build shivering drones, dissonant interplay, Gordon’s manipulated vocals, and scraping, haunting textures into something that feels both delicate and dangerous. Less discrete songs than one composition broken up into thematic movements, a slow-moving narrative that requires as much attention and care from the listener as it did from everyone involved in its creation, it is a record that sticks around after it’s done playing. This is Nace’s favorite of Gordon’s guitar work; she’s truly come into her own as a guitarist, having built up her confidence through solo shows. The way the duo work together, you’d never know they spend so much time apart; on The Switch, their vision and focus feel truly unified. If Coming Apart was dark magic, The Switch works with light, though it never forgets that these approaches are two sides of the same coin, and that binaries – black/white, near/far, emotion/analysis, body/head – are made to be broken open, and that the truth of things is in the energy between.
File Under: Indie Rock, Experimental
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Deafheaven: Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (Anti) LP
Deafheaven was formed in 2010 by vocalist George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy. They released their debut studio album Roads To Judah in 2011. They added drummer Daniel Tracy to the group and released their breakthrough album Sunbather in 2013. After rounding out their line up with guitarist Shiv Mehra and bassist Stephen Clark—each subsequent live set felt like a religious experience for the bigger (and bigger) shows that followed. Their third album, and first for ANTI-, 2015’s New Bermuda, was heavier, sturdier, and more grounded in the dirt than Sunbather. They toured extensively to support New Bermuda playing tours and festivals with Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Danzig, and Gojira. Deafheaven’s new album, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, finds them working with old friends again. The Jack Shirley-produced and Nick Steinhardt-art directed (of Touché Amoré) collection gets its title from Graham Greene’s novel The End of the Affair, referencing a moment when someone is looking for love, in all of its imper¬fection and simple beauty. This sentiment is carried throughout the hazy, yearning romanticism of the record with song titles and words as sumptuous as the sounds around them. Clarke describes the composition of Ordinary Corrupt Human Love beginning with “small seeds of healing, repair, and rebirth,” and like each subsequent Deafheaven album, this record is, in fact, a revelation.
File Under: Metal
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Dirty Projectors: Lamp Lit Prose (Domino) LP
Dirty Projectors return with a new album that’s the yang to the yin of their eponymous 2017 effort. The songs signal a page turned for David Longstreth: hope instead of heartbreak, a restorative balance. Guitars have returned to the Dirty Projectors’ world, intricate and gorgeous vocal harmony too. It begins with “Right Now,” David singing, “there was silence in my heart, but now I’m striking up the band.” LA string group the Calder Quartet, and The Brass Players of Los Angeles both appear on several songs while further collaborations come from the likes of HAIM, Syd, Robin Pecknold, Rostam Batmanglij, Amber Mark, Empress Of and Dear Nora. Lamp Lit Prose is a recommitment to the sounds and ideals of Dirty Projectors, embracing the band’s trademarks while pushing forward the sonic envelope. Single vinyl LP housed in a gatefold jacket containing a 16 page 6″ x 11″ libretto and download card.
File Under: Indie Rock
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Eric B & Rakim: Don’t Sweat the Technique (Geffen) LP
In Tomorrow… Legendary hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim first formed in Long Island, NY, in 1985. The premier DJ/MC team, not only was their chemistry superb, but individually, each represented the absolute state of the art in their respective skills. Between 1987 and 1992, they released four acclaimed albums, the platinum-selling Paid In Full (1987), Follow The Leader (1988), Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em (1990) and Don’t Sweat The Technique (1992). Paid In Full caused a stir in the hip-hop music world due to its novel sound, approach, and subject matter. Their songs were the first to really impart hip-hop music lyrics with a serious poetic device sensibility while their gritty, heavy, and dark beats, marked the beginning of heavy sampling in hip-hop records. As a disc jockey, Eric B. reinstated the art of live turntable mixing and his soul-filled sampling became influential in future hip hop production. The dynamic duo’s unprecedented five year run ended with their fourth and final album to date, Don’t Sweat the Technique which found them going out on top with hip-hop masterpieces like the title cut, “The Punisher,” “Casualties Of War,” and Juice theme song “Know The Ledge.” Eric B. & Rakim reunited in 2017 for a string of one-off shows commemorating the 30th anniversary of Paid in Full. In 2018 they will undertake their first major tour together since their initial break up in 1993.
File Under: Hip Hop
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Eric B & Rakim: Follow the Leader (Geffen) LP
In tomorrow… Legendary hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim first formed in Long Island, NY, in 1985. The premier DJ/MC team, not only was their chemistry superb, but individually, each represented the absolute state of the art in their respective skills. Between 1987 and 1992, they released four acclaimed albums, the platinum-selling Paid In Full (1987), Follow The Leader (1988), Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em (1990) and Don’t Sweat The Technique (1992). Paid In Full caused a stir in the hip-hop music world due to its novel sound, approach, and subject matter. Their songs were the first to really impart hip-hop music lyrics with a serious poetic device sensibility while their gritty, heavy, and dark beats, marked the beginning of heavy sampling in hip-hop records. As a disc jockey, Eric B. reinstated the art of live turntable mixing and his soul-filled sampling became influential in future hip hop production. Follow the Leader, Eric B. & Rakim’s second release, is also their second out and out classic record. Following the same formula as their debut it’s anchored by Eric B.’s innovative production style and Rakim’s blisteringly brilliant braggadocio. Home to high-water marks like “Microphone Feind” and “Follow the Leader,” the golden age of hip-hop certainly has a surplus of fantastic LPs but Follow the Leader is right near the top. The duo reunited in 2017 for a string of one-off shows commemorating the 30th anniversary of Paid in Full. In 2018 Eric B. & Rakim will undertake their first major tour together since their initial break up in 1993.
File Under: Hip Hop
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Eric B & Rakim: Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em (Geffen) LP
In tomorrow… Legendary hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim first formed in Long Island, NY, in 1985. The premier DJ/MC team, not only was their chemistry superb, but individually, each represented the absolute state of the art in their respective skills. Between 1987 and 1992, they released four acclaimed albums, the platinum-selling Paid In Full (1987), Follow The Leader (1988), Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em (1990) and Don’t Sweat The Technique (1992). Paid In Full caused a stir in the hip-hop music world due to its novel sound, approach, and subject matter. Their songs were the first to really impart hip-hop music lyrics with a serious poetic device sensibility while their gritty, heavy, and dark beats, marked the beginning of heavy sampling in hip-hop records. As a disc jockey, Eric B. reinstated the art of live turntable mixing and his soul-filled sampling became influential in future hip hop production. The dynamic duo’s relentless rhymes and impeccable production continued to reign supreme through to their third golden age of hip-hop release, Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em which yielded the trio of singles “In the Ghetto,” “Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em” and “Mahogany.” Eric B. & Rakim reunited in 2017 for a string of one-off shows commemorating the 30th anniversary of Paid in Full. In 2018 they will undertake their first major tour together since their initial break up in 1993.
File Under: Hip Hop
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Eric B & Rakim: Paid in Full (Geffen) LP
In tomorrow… Legendary hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim first formed in Long Island, NY, in 1985. The premier DJ/MC team, not only was their chemistry superb, but individually, each represented the absolute state of the art in their respective skills. Between 1987 and 1992, they released four acclaimed albums, the platinum-selling Paid In Full (1987), Follow The Leader (1988), Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em (1990) and Don’t Sweat The Technique (1992). Paid In Full caused a stir in the hip-hop music world due to its novel sound, approach, and subject matter. Their songs were the first to really impart hip-hop music lyrics with a serious poetic device sensibility while their gritty, heavy, and dark beats, marked the beginning of heavy sampling in hip-hop records. As a disc jockey, Eric B. reinstated the art of live turntable mixing and his soul-filled sampling became influential in future hip hop production. The dynamic duo’s relentless rhymes and impeccable production continued to reign supreme through to their third golden age of hip-hop release, Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em which yielded the trio of singles “In the Ghetto,” “Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em” and “Mahogany.” Eric B. & Rakim reunited in 2017 for a string of one-off shows commemorating the 30th anniversary of Paid in Full. In 2018 they will undertake their first major tour together since their initial break up in 1993.
File Under: Hip Hop
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Gorillaz: Demon Days (Parlophone) LP
Co-produced by Danger Mouse, Demon Days (2005) is the double platinum-certified second studio offering from the world’s most famous virtual hip-hop group. The brainchild of Blur’s Damon Albarn and Tank Girl co-creator Jamie Hewlett, the animated cast of characters from its innovative 2001 predecessor return – 2D (vocals), Murdoc (bass), Noodle (guitar/keyboards) and Russel Hobbs (drums) – alongside guests like De La Soul, Ike Turner, Dennis Hopper, MF Doom, Shaun Ryder, Neneh Cherry, Bootie Brown and the London Community Gospel Choir. Home to the catchy and cinematic singles “Feel Good Inc.,” “Dare” and “Dirty Harry,” New York’s Paper called the album a “work of conceptual art that’s as fulfilling to listen to as it is enjoyable to look at…more melodic, free-flowing and sharper-edged than on its predecessor.”
File Under: Hip Hop
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Grateful Dead: Anthem of the Sun (Rhino) LP
The Grateful Dead continues its ambitious 50th anniversary reissue series with a picture disc pressing of Anthem Of The Sun featuring the 1971 mix of the album remastered by Grammy-winning engineer David Glasser from the original analog master tapes. The band’s most experimental album, Anthem Of The Sun was an unprecedented mix of studio and live recordings stitched together to create a hybrid. Fifty years later, it remains a pinnacle of psychedelic music. It also marked a departure for the band, as they began to channel their creativity into longer jams on songs like “Alligator” and “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” – two live staples of the Dead’s early days. “We weren’t making a record in the normal sense,” explained Jerry Garcia, who mixed the album with Phil Lesh and the Dead’s new soundman, Dan Healy. “We were making a collage. We were trying to do something completely different, which didn’t even have to do with a concept. It had to do with an approach that’s more like electronic music or concrete music, where you are actually assembling bits and pieces toward an enhanced non-realistic representation.” “This is one the most thrilling albums the Grateful Dead ever produced, mixing portions of live recordings from the first six months of Mickey’s tenure with the band, along with studio experimentations that would hint at where the Dead would go when they started recording to 16-track tape the following year,” says archivist/producer David Lemieux.
File Under: Rock
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Jonny Greenwood: You Were Never Really Here (Lakeshore) LP
In tomorrow… In Lynne Ramsay’s 2018 thriller You Were Never Really Here, based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Ames, a traumatized veteran (Joaquin Phoenix), unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe’s nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening. “Jonny Greenwood’s exceptional score is as surprising as Ramsay’s film,” hails Pitchfork. “It is as calmly brutal as Phoenix’s dead-eyed shuffle, and as tender as the way Joe clasps the hand of the dying man he has just dispatched with a bullet to the gut.”
File Under: OST, Radiohead
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Richard Hell & The Voidoids: Blank Generation (Sire) LP
After establishing his reputation as founder of legendary bands the Heartbreakers and Television, Richard Hell went onto to lead the Voidoids which included Robert Quine (Lou Reed, Tom Waits, John Zorn), Ivan Julian (Matthew Sweet) and Marc Bell (aka Marky Ramone). Along with the Ramones, Television, Blondie and Talking Heads, Hell and his band helped to define the early New York “first wave” punk scene. The group’s landmark 1977 debut Blank Generation is an iconic album chock full of attitude and blistering performances that has influenced countless rock bands in its wake. It clearly followed its own template and still sounds as unique and abrasive today. The title cut became a slogan and an anthem and later was emulated by the Sex Pistols for their track, “Pretty Vacant” while additional standouts come in the form of “New Pleasure,” “Betrayal Takes Two” and “Another World.”
File Under: Punk
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Johnny Marr: Call the Comet (Warner) LP
Recorded with his band in Manchester at Johnny Marr’s Crazy Face studios, Call The Comet is the third solo record from the Smiths guitarist and follows 2013’s critically acclaimed The Messenger and 2014’s Playland; both of which made the UK top 10. “Call The Comet is set in the not-too-distant future” says Marr, “and is mostly concerned with the idea of an alternative society. It’s my own magic realism.” Songs include “Actor Attractor,” “Walk Into The Sea,” “Bug” and recent live favorite “Spiral Cities.” “The characters in the songs are searching for a new idealism, although there are some personal songs in there too. It’s something that people like me can relate to,” he adds.
File Under: Rock
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Pedro the Lion: The Only Reason I Feel Secure (Jade Tree) LP
Originally released in 1999, the Only Reason I Feel Secure EP is the direct follow-up to Pedro The Lion’s breakout debut album, It’s Hard to Find a Friend, hailed by critics and fans alike as further proof of singer/songwriter David Bazan’s genius. It was re-issued by Jade Tree Records in 2001 with three bonus tracks which constituted the bands’s first single. The 8-track edition has been remastered and is presented here. In early 2006, Bazan retired the Pedro The Lion moniker to continue on with solo work under his own name. In December of 2017 Bazan announced that Pedro The Lion will reunite after eleven years for a new album and a worldwide tour.
File Under: Indie Rock
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Colin Stetson: Hereditary OST (Milan) LP
Hereditary is a 2018 horror film directed by newcomer Ari Aster. It follows the Grahams, a family in mourning after the passing of grandma. Annie, the family’s mother, suspects that not all is as it seems after grandma’s death – something unnatural may have been left behind. Annie’s suspicions are confirmed as the family is thrown into a nightmarish scenario of ever-increasing terror at the hands of the inexplicable. As the family turns in on itself in the throes of paranoia and despair, Annie is forced to face the darkness of their inherited fate in order for them to survive. Scoring duties on Hereditary came to Colin Stetson. The saxophonist/reedist/composer has conjured an instant classic for Hereditary using an army of strings and drones. The end result is a uniquely uneasy, sinister suite of music capped with one of the most unexpected conclusions in recent years – listeners will find themselves totally possessed. The 2LP-set is housed in a gatefold jacket featuring liner notes from Aster.
File Under: OST
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…..Restocks…..
Boards of Canada: Geogaddi (Warp) LP
Boards of Canada: Music Has the Right to Children (Warp) LP
Bill Callahan: Apocalypse (Drag City) LP
Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle (Drag City) LP
Childish Gambino: Awaken My Love (Glassnote) LP
John Coltrane: Coltrane (Analogue Productions) LP
John Coltrane: Lush Life (Analogue Productions) LP
Sam Cooke: Singles Collection (Not Now) LP
Lana Del Rey: Born To Die (Universal) LP
Joy Division: Preston 28 February 1980 (Get Back) LP
King Crimson: Discipline (Pangyric) LP
Massive Attack: Heligoland (EMI) LP
Massive Attack: Mezzanine (EMI) LP
Neutral Milk Hotel: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (Merge) LP
Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street (Abkco) LP
Yasuaki Shimizu: Kakashi (Palto Flats) LP
Swans: The Seer (Young God) LP
Caetano Veloso: s/t (Philips) LP
Caetano Veloso: Transa (Philips) LP
War on Drugs: A Deeper Understanding (Warner) LP
Yamantaka//Sonic Titan: Dirt (Paper Bag) LP
Various: Ethiopian Modern Instrumental Hits (Heavenly Sweetness) LP
Various: Heavenly Ethiopiques (Heavenly Sweetness) LP