Hooooboy, what a day! Our eternal thank yous to all you fine folks that came out on Saturday and partook in the RSD festivities. Another great day filled with great people, great times, great vibes, and great records. So again, thank you thank you thank you. And another big thank you to our fine friends who gave us some great swag to give away… Arturo Denim, Rosebud, Local 124, Barber Ha, Sherbrooke Liquor, Daptone Records, & Didgin’ For Rainbows. Moving on… not a LOAD of new stuff in this week, but there are a few sweet new slabs, and a few of our choiciest left overs from RSD.
Also, it’s Easter this weekend, so our hours over the weekend shall be…
Friday – 12 – 5
Saturday – 11 – 6
Sunday – Closed
Monday – 11 – 6
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…..pick of the week…..
Kilchhofer Anklin: Moto Perpetuo (Marionette) LP
“For the ninth Marionette, Kilchhofer and Anklin release their collaboration record Moto Perpetuo. Michael Anklin is a drummer and percussionist based in Switzerland. He’s involved in various bands, collaborations and interdisciplinary projects. Anklin has previously appeared on a few recordings from Kilchhofer’s album The Book Room. Kilchhofer uses his main instrument — the modular synth — in a more electroacoustic manner, where he derives and processes voltages from Anklin’s playing. The album title describes the fascinating idea (yet impossible reality) of a perpetual motion — where no energy is lost yet energy is constantly being created, an endless music, yet far away from generic ambient or minimal music. Anklin’s live drumming influences delicate feedback patches on Kilchhofer’s synth, where dry and transient heavy percussion and synthesizer sounds erupt into a feral electroacoustic instrument. A fluid concept of time where the rhythmic pulse constantly shifts is at the heart of the record. The idea was to create an instrument where acoustics and electronics are interconnected and dependent on each other. The smallest disturbance could sway the entire system out of order. This idea of a circular motion was at the center of the recording process and is also reflected in the artwork which resembles a topographical view of a closed natural habitat. Kilchhofer and Anklin draw inspiration mainly from their rural surroundings and mountain landscapes where natural overtones and stumbling rhythms navigate through high plateaus and velds to stony ravines and wooden trails — on a never ending quest for an ‘ur-klang’; a primordial, ancestral music.” LP includes download code; Risograph insert.
File Under: Electronic, Ambient, Fourth World
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…..new arrivals…..
Budos Band: V (Daptone) LP
As menacing and unhinged as ever, the pride of Staten Island is back with their fifth full-length offering, V. Raw and absent of the modern technological trappings, the Budos pick up where they left off with 2014’s “Burnt Offering”, and finds the group expanding on the brooding, fuzz-fueled riffs, whilst harkening back to the Ethiopian inspired rhythms and percussive proclivity that put Budos Band on the map.
File Under: Funk
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Captain Beefheart: Trout Mask Replica (Third Man) LP
A stone cold weirdo classic that for some INSANE reason hasn’t been properly reissued until now, and as this write up says, until you’ve seen this reissue, you might as well have seen a childen’s drawing of the cover, this restoration is absolutely incredible. Trout Mask Replica is a touchstone in the history of recorded music. The mix of dada absurdist blues and previously unexplored experimental avenues has long been praised as one of the greatest albums of all time. As so eloquently put by John Peel, “If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is probably that work.” In full partnership with the Zappa Family Trust and to celebrate the relaunch of the seminal Bizarre label imprint, Third Man Records is proud to announce Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band’s Trout Mask Replica. Out of print on vinyl for nearly ten years, this remaster was helmed by industry legend Bob Ludwig and cut by the estimable Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Utilizing crystalline-quality safety masters kept in the Zappa family vault for decades by the trustworthy Joe Travers, the audio here is positively glorious. Every last skronk breathes full life into the room. Every twisted guitar figure uncurls onto paths previously unpaved. Every last bark and howl shines resolute through the vast emptiness of your mind. Previous countless Trout Mask Replica repressings used scans of scans of scans of the cover image, but the original Cal Schenkel cover photo has been tracked down and reproduced here at its clearest — its resolution from the original release in 1969. If you’ve only ever seen a jpg online or fuzzy, smeared-looking CD issues from the 90’s, be prepared to be wowed by the fully engaging spectrum this iconic image casts. This 2xLP is pressed on heavyweight 180-gram black vinyl for that full-on frenetic feeling.
File Under: Rock, Blues, Outsider
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Alex Zhang Hungtai: August at Akiko’s (Factory 25) LP
Hungtai has captivated us since he emerged from Montreal’s burgeoning music scene at the early 2010’s as Dirty Beaches, and his movements since have taken turns that have been both unexpected and entirely in keeping with his unique aesthetic approach, pushing ever further into the rawly expressive style that has earned him cult-like status over the course of the past decade. August At Akiko’s is in some respects his most unvarnished and personal work to date – infused with location recordings made in Hawaii, the music reflects the serene, introspective ambience of the film itself. Opening with the short, naked field recording of ‘Temple Bell’, and resolving with the harmonious glow and dissonant shards of keys in ‘Ocean Boy’, the soundtrack is dominated by two contrasting tracts featuring Hungtai on his favoured sax. The first, ‘Sky Burial’ is a starkly brooding piece opening with a menacing rumble and clatter of ceremonial Buddhist music where he joins in, tentatively at first, but growing into a ripping display of wounded beast bleats and whirling shreds as febrile and roving as the background drums. In sharp contrast, the flipside is free of drums, leaving Hungtai blowing beautifully blue whims to himself. Unadorned and as vulnerable as could be, the side ends with a meditative solo piano piece which acts as a perfect distillation of the stillness and inner peace the film manages to capture so well, living in the seams between dreams, reality, and memory, with a temporality all of its own. Stunning.
File Under: Jazz, OST, Experimental
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Basil Kirchin: Worlds Within Worlds (Trunk) LP
This is in all seriousness, the biggest, bestest RSD release ever… maybe just reissue to come out ever! Major holy grail here for me. Needless to say I freaked out when I saw it on the list, HOWEVER, this record is not for everyone, it’s a pretty wild ride. But, if you like a little adventure in your listening, then maybe you should give it a whirl…. Worlds Within Worlds: Part I And II is one of the most important experimental and improvised jazz-based recordings of all time. Released in 1971 it sold just a handful of copies, but has become a keystone in the development of ambient sounds; originals now fetch £1000+. This is the first time this exceptional, unique, and highly desirable record has been repressed. Originally conceived whilst walking round the docklands in Hull, Basil Kirchin felt that the futuristic music he had often imagined could actually be made. Only in 1969 and with the help of an arts grant could he afford the vital equipment he needed: a Nagra tape machine and Sennheiser directional microphone. Armed with these tools he set about recording landscapes, people, places, machines, animals, birds, bees, the zoo, and the autistic children from Schurmatt in Switzerland. He then took these recordings, edited them and then began the process of slowing them down to reveal the “little boulders of sound” hidden deep within the recordings. Kirchin built up layers of noise, symphonies of slowness, and then encouraged his jazz associates including Derek Bailey and Evan Parker to improvise along. The result was WWW, and nothing quite like it had been made or heard before. Today it offers listeners a mesmerizing sonic experience that remains years ahead of its time. This first ever repress features a new gatefold sleeve (Kirchin hated the original sleeve), with images of Kirchin, his original field recording tapes, and notes by WWW fan Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth). Edition of 1500 with 300 on gold vinyl; the LPs will be mixed randomly — there will be no way of telling which color is which as all LPs will be sealed. Personnel: Basil Kirchin, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Claire Deniz, Graham Lyons, Daryl Runswick, Frank Ricotti. The perfect RSD release.
File Under: Jazz, Avant Garde, Experimental
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Kevin Morby: Oh My God (Dead Oceans) LP
With his four acclaimed solo albums and myriad records of various collaboration, Kevin Morby has become a true musical auteur. Each record possesses its own unique persona and explores intriguing themes and fertile terrain through shifting, focused textures and dexterous, dedicated skill. And now, with the lavish, resplendent, career-best double LP Oh My God, Morby delivers a grandiose director’s cut of his biggest statement to date, epic in scope as well as sound. Throughout his past work, Morby has noticed the ubiquity of an apparent religious theme. Though not identifying as “religious” in the slightest, Morby recognizes in himself a somewhat spiritual being with a secular attitude towards the soulful. And so, in an effort to tackle that notion head-on and once-and-for-all, he wrote what would become his first true concept-album. If Singing Saw was Morby’s LA record, and City Music was his ode to New York City, then Oh My God lives in the sky, above the weather, both nowhere and everywhere at once. “This one feels full circle, my most realized record yet,” he says. “It’s a cohesive piece; all the songs fit under the umbrella of this religious theme. I was able to write and record the album I wanted to make. It’s one of those marks of a life: this is why I slept on floors for seven years. I’ve now gotten the keys to my own little kingdom, and I’m devoting so much of my life to music that I just want to keep it interesting. At the end of the day, the only thing I don’t want is to be bored. If someone wants to get in my face about writing a non-religious religious record? Thank god. That’s all I gotta say.”
File Under: Indie Rock
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Murlocs: Manic Candid Episode (ATO) LP
The Murlocs are led by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizards‘ Ambrose Kenny-Smith and feature Gizz’s lead guitar player Cook Craig. Their new album Manic Candid Episode was recorded at Melbourne’s Newmarket studios and was produced by Stu Mackenzie (King Gizzard) and mixed by NYC musician Jarvis Taveniere (Real Estate, Woods, Parquet Courts). Formed in late 2010, the five members of The Murlocs play their own blown-out, distorted brand of soulful R&B. Their up-tempo snare cracks and noisy guitars, accompanied by Ambrose’s warm vocals have been described as a mesmerizing, demented dance party.
File Under: Garage Rock
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Shovels & Rope: By Blood (Dualtone) LP
Known for their honest, literate, and narrative-driven songwriting, acclaimed husband and wife duo Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent (aka Shovels & Rope) inject raw and fiercely passionate emotion into the 10 tracks on their new album By Blood. It opens with the pulsating mantra of “I’m Comin’ Out,” a song with multiple subtexts ranging from the obvious, to a baby about to emerge, to showing up for the revolution with “the taste of blood in my mouth.” The “blood” referred to in the poignant title track is a message to their young daughter about the unbreakable union of family. As storytellers, Shovels & Rope create cinematic vignettes built around flawed characters who strive for greatness but are often overtaken by their shortcomings. Tracks such as the new wave-infused “The Wire” and the enduring epic “Carry Me Home” exude the vulnerability and fragility that comes with love. The duo puts their twist on the modern murder ballad in “Pretty Polly,” while an inspiring message of hope, strength, and acceptance is at the heart of the tale in “C’mon Utah.” As with their previous work, By Blood was produced by Trent and recorded at their in-home studio, recently upgraded to a new structure in their backyard. Outside of fiddle on one track (“Hammer”) and horns on another (“Twisted Sisters”), all instruments and vocals were performed by Hearst & Trent.
File Under: Folk, Country, Rock
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Sunn o))): Life Metal (Southern Lord) LP
Sunn O))) is pleased to collaborate with Record Store Day to release Life Metal for the first time on vinyl on April 13th via USA/UK/EU indie retail. Life Metal, their first studio album in four years, will be supported by SUNN O)))‘s first US tour since 2017 and the premier US tour of their 2019-2020 season, including stops at The Masonic Lodge in Detroit, Howard Theatre in Washington, DC, Agora Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio, Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago, Illinois (by demand second show added), The Caves in Pelham, Tennessee, and Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, New York. Dates and details can be found below, with more info to come soon. SUNN O))) has also revealed two very special listening events in London and Paris in the lead up to the release. These are free, open to the public and available on a first come, first serve RSVP basis. “With great pleasure we present a few special public deep-listening sessions of our forthcoming album Life Metal. Our wish and intention are to offer the astounding presence, detail and color of this recording on great PA systems in a public situation as an introduction. Part of the joy of producing and mastering this album in the studio was that we were fortunate to be able to listen on the perfect high-fidelity playback situations for the record, top precise studio sound guided by the best ears in the business. With these public listening sessions, we hope to get a step closer to that experience of being inside the studio for you all at these special events, a few weeks before the album is unleashed upon the world.” – Stephen O’Malley & Greg Anderson / SUNN O)))
File Under: Metal, Ambient, Drone, Doom
Orville Peck: Pony (Royal Mountain) LP
Combining the lulling ambience of shoegaze with the iconic melodies and vocal prowess of classic American country music, enigmatic outlaw cowboy – Orville Peck, croons love and loss from the badlands of North America. The resulting sound is one completely his own, taking the listener down dusty rose-colored desert highways, through a world where worn out gamblers, aloof road-dogs and lovesick hustlers drift in and out of his masked gaze. Orville’s debut album, Pony, delivers a diverse collection of stories that sing of heartbreak, revenge and the unrelenting tug of the cowboy ethos. Warm lap steel guitars and echoing drums move through dreamy ballads, campfire lullabies and sometimes frantic buzzsaw tunes, all the while paying homage to his country music roots. Single-pocket jacket with poster insert and download coupon.
File Under: Country, Indie Rock
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Yawpers: Human Question (Bloodshot) LP
The Yawpers are the sheep in wolf’s clothing. Through their first three albums, the group divined a signature style-what Pitchfork described as “an expansive vision of rock ‘n’ roll, one that cherrypicks from various folk traditions: punk, rockabilly, blues, whatever they might have on hand or find in the trash.” The sound is a front-heavy, groovy, fire & brimstone punk-blues overlying a dynamic and metaphysical roots rock. On their fourth album Human Question, the Denver trio zooms out to a more vast and accessible stylistic and spiritual universe. The 38-minute thrill ride generates growth and cathartic self-reflection for audience and performer alike. If there was justice in this world, the Yawpers would be the savior that rock and roll didn’t know it was waiting for.
File Under: Rock
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…..Restocks….
Arcade Fire: Everything Now (Sony) LP
Courtney Barnett: Double EP (Mom+Pop) LP
Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit And Think (Mom+Pop) LP
Courtney Barnett: Tell Me How You Really Feel (Mom+Pop) LP
Budos Band: s/t (Daptone) LP
Budos Band: 3 (Daptone) LP
Cochemea: All My Relations (Daptone) LP
Dylan & The Band: Before the Flood (Columbia) LP
Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde (Columbia) LP
Earth: Bees Made Honey (Southern Lord) LP
Michael Garrick: Prelude to Heart is a Lotus (Gearbox) LP
Jaylib: Champion Sound (Stones Throw) LP
Sharon Jones: Dip-Dappin’ (Daptone) LP
Madvillain: s/t (Stones Throw) LP
Olympians: s/t (Daptone) LP
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd) LP
Rage Against The Machine: s/t (Legacy) LP
Thundercat: Drunk (Brainfeeder) Box
Kamasi Washington: The Epic (Brainfeeder) Box