Well, that nice weather didn’t last very long! Looking to be an only OK long weekend. The good news is, there’s lots of killer fresh wax you could pick up to listen to for the long weekend!
It seems like a good idea to mention the first of two Record Store Day drops is coming up soon! June 12th. And much like last year, we’ll be doing the Drops online again. Info and titles can be found on our site. We’ll start putting up the new titles as we start to find out what is actually coming. IF there’s something you are after, let us know ASAP and we’ll try add it on to our orders.
And due to the long weekend, we’ll be here 11-4 on Saturday as usual, and 12-5 on Monday!
Also! Like the Other Music Documentary, we are again teaming up with Oscilloscope Labs for the distribution/viewing of the new documentary TRUTH TO POWER, about System of a Down’s frontman Serj Tankian. Click the link to rent the film and we’ll get a cut of the proceeds. Rent it HERE
As always, big thanks to everyone who’s been hitting up our webstore and placing orders! We’ve been getting the used stuff up on the site a bit earlier these days, usually around 4:30, with the promise, if all 10 sell by 6pm, I’ll post another batch! If you haven’t hit up the WEBSTORE, MAYBE YOU SHOULD! If you can’t figure out the site, or don’t like to use computers, you can always call the store and we can do an order over the phone. We’ll be at the shop 11-6 Monday – Friday & Saturday 11-4. Stay safe!
Oh ya… if you don’t follow us on Instagram, WHY NOT?! And now you know.
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…..picks of the week…..
Elevator To Hell: Eerieconsiliation ‘Extra’ (Blue Fog) LP
Blue Fog brings you a sweet fully remastered double vinyl gatefold reissue of this classic Elevator album. Record one featuring the original 16 song album, record two has 16 more songs from the “Eerie” sessions including original 7 inch only tracks, rarities, live tracks and 3 completely never before heard out-takes. All the original artwork has been freshly rescanned and is looking better than ever with a new layout including lots of photos and lyrics.
File Under: Indie Rock, Psych
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Various: Vanity Records Vol. 1 (Vinyl on Demand) BOX
The Vanity Box Vol. 1 presents an anthology of releases by legendary Japanese DIY label Vanity, active in the late ’70s and early ’80s. The box includes 5 LPs which offer the following contents: LP-1 R.N.A. Organism – R.N.A. Organism Meets P.O.P.O. (Vanity 0006, originally released in 1980), LP-2 BGM – Back Ground Music (Vanity 0008, originally released in 1980), LP-3 Sympathy Nervous – Sympathy Nervous (Vanity 0007, originally released in 1980), LP-4 Sab – Crystallization (Vanity 0002, originally released in 1978), LP-5 A compilation of 7″ singles – Sympathy Nervous – Polaroid (VA-S1, originally released in 1980), Mad Tea Party- Hide and Seek (VA-S2, originally released in 1980), Perfect Mother ‒ You’ ll No So Wit (VA-S3, originally released in 1980)
Various: Vanity Records Vol. 2 (Vinyl on Demand) BOX
The Vanity Box vol 2 presents another beautiful boxet with releases by legendary Japanese DIY label Vanity, active in the late 70s and early 80s. It was conceived by Studio Warp, in collaboration with Agi Yuzuru and the whole roster of artists involved with Vanity. Contents: LP-1 Dada – Jyo (Vanity 0001, originally released in 1978), LP-2 Agata Morio – Norimonozukan (Vanity 0005, originally released in 1980), LP-3 Normal Brain – Lady Maid (Vanity 0009, originally released in 1980), LP-4 R.N.A. Organism – unaffected Mixes (previously unreleased)
File Under: Electronic, Industrial, Experimental
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And Here
…..new arrivals…..
Doug Carn: Revelation (Real Gone) LP
Aside from McCoy Tyner’s “Contemplation,” John Coltrane’s “Naima,” and René McLean sic McClean’s “Jihad,” Doug Carn himself takes the composing reins on this masterful 1973 release, which further integrates Jean Carn’s ethereal yet soulful vocals into the his impressive stylistic vision. And this time the band includes such heavyweights as trumpeter Olu Dara, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Ira Williams. All of Carn’s albums for Black Jazz are classics; this one—featuring a new remastering by Mike Milchner of Sonic Vision and liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen Whitey! The Sights & Sounds of Black Power 1968-1975—might just be first among equals. Orange with black swirl vinyl pressing limited to 500 copies and exclusive to independent record stores
File Under: Jazz
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Ray Charles: Genius + Soul = Jazz (Acoustic Sounds Series) (Verve) LP
Originally released in 1961, Ray Charles’ Genius + Soul = Jazz is a big band jazz album featuring arrangements by Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns and accompaniment from members of Count Basie’s band including Thad Jones (cornet), Freddie Green (guitar), Billy Mitchell (tenor saxophone) and Frank Wess (alto saxophone). Genius + Soul = Jazz is primarily made-up of instrumental tracks such as the the Top Ten hit “One Mint Julep,” but Brother Ray also graces the collection with the two signature vocal cuts “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town” and “I’ve Got New For You” for good measure. One of the original releases on Impulse! when the label debuted in 1961, the enterprising soul-jazz crossover emphasizes Charles as a jazz instrumentalist and also finds the music legend switching from his usual electric piano to a Hammond organ for added nuance. The success of the Genius + Soul = Jazz album and standout single “One Mint Julep” helped put Impulse! on the map. This all-analog 180g vinyl LP reissue was mastered from the original analog tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound, pressed at QRP, and comes housed in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket.
File Under: Jazz
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Gojira: Fortitude (Roadrunner) LP
Recorded and produced by Joe Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio – Gojira’s Ridgewood, Queens headquarters – and mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine), Fortitude is a collection of songs urging humanity to imagine a new world – and then make it happen. Voted by fans as the No.1 release on Revolver’s “5 Most Anticipated Albums of 2021,” Fortitude continues Gojira’s career-long tradition of harnessing their music as a vehicle for environmental activism with songs like “Amazonia” and “The Chant” not only surveying critical cases, but also catalyzing listeners to take action. The band initially laid the foundation for Fortitude with the surprise 2020 single “Another World” which NPR hailed as “an apocalyptic banger.” As if shedding skin and baring armor in its place, fellow single, “Born For One Thing” represents a natural evolution for the acclaimed French band: hyper-focused but unhinged, confrontational and yet compassionate. “We have to practice detaching ourselves from everything, beginning with actual things,” vocalist/guitarist Joe Duplantier says of the song’s anti-consumerist message, which was partially inspired by the Tibetan and Thai philosophers he read in his youth back in France. “Own less possessions, and give what you don’t need away, because one day we’ll have to let everything go, and if we don’t, we’ll just become ghosts stuck between dimensions.”
File Under: Metal
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Kathy Heideman: Move with Love (Numero) LP
Lodged between a heartbreak and a smoke break, Kathy Heideman’s Move With Love wandered off I-5 somewhere just south of Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area and broke down. At its dusty roadside, cheap truck-stop java flows over plaintive coffeehouse tunes concerning “Bob” and “Need.” Her session hand’s lanky, echo-laden guitar might’ve twanged a bit strong for the typical sandal-shoed hitchhiker, who’d have fell harder for Dylanesque grandeur on “The Earth Won’t Hold Me.” More Bakersfield than Laurel Canyon, and set to walking in 1976 by the one-off Dia imprint in a plain-Jane, black-on-white sleeve, Heideman’s lone LP suffered the geographical misfortune of having ripened in the pre-silicon orchards of San Jose, California, far from more marketable realms—Emmylou’s backyard, say, or Joni Mitchell’s summery lawn. Heideman herself faded out thereafter, packing her shaken, singular voice into a rustic suitcase, moseying on, and leaping into the moving sun.
File Under: Folk, Psych
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Kronos Quartet & Friends: Long Time Passing (Folkways) LP
On Long Time Passing, the trailblazing Kronos Quartet celebrates the music of Pete Seeger and rejoices in the spirit, inspiration, and fearlessness inherent in his life’s work. Along with guests Sam Amidon, Maria Arnal, Brian Carpenter, Meklit, Lee Knight, and Aoife O’Donovan, the group examines Seeger’s celebration of beauty and the pleasure of singing together. Through the power of these eternally relevant cries for unity and moral integrity, the album articulates the responsibility we have as citizens and members of a greater community to question war and injustice, and to develop the courage to raise our voices together both in word and song.
File Under: Folk
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Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime (Matador) LP
Coloured vinyl! On Mdou Moctar’s long awaited new Matador Records album Afrique Victime the prodigious Tuareg guitarist and songwriter rips a new hole in the sky – boldly reforging contemporary Saharan music and “rock music” by melding guitar pyrotechnics, full-blast noise, and field recordings with poetic meditations on love, religion, women’s rights inequality, and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers.
File Under: Africa, Tuareg
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Monster Magnet: A Better Dystopia (Napalm) LP
“Take a trip inside the mind of psychedelic rock legend Dave Wyndorf with MONSTER MAGNET’s A Better Dystopia – a delightfully psychotic selection of proto-metal and late-era psych songs that fit the band like a glove! With wonderfully obscure song choices and excellent sequencing, the mighty Magnet pay homage to some of their favorite songs of all time, crafting another exciting and unique listening experience alike what they’ve become famous for. While the album marks a new frontier for MONSTER MAGNET as their first covers record, this is not your typical set of standards released to pass time. Wyndorf is at the top of his game on A Better Dystopia – howling, crooning, speaking… whatever it takes to get the emotional message of these very special tunes across, delivering each lyric in his own inimitable style. Musicians Phil Caivano, Bob Pantela, Garrett Sweeney and Alec Morton own the sound on A Better Dystopia – vintage and old school, dense and heavy, with searing fuzz leads and pounding bass and drums all played in a deft style that’s almost been lost in modern music. Drop the needle on any song, and A Better Dystopia comes up winning. The album opens with “The Diamond Mine”, as Dave Wyndorf recites a classic monologue by Dave Diamond, an American radio DJ whose programs in the late 1960s and early 1970s helped popularize many psychedelic and acid rock bands. At this point the real trip begins, as the opening chords of the Hawkind classic “Born To Go” gear up for launch. Tracks like standout “Mr. Destroyer” (Poo-Bah) boast swaggering riffs and swirling vocals, spurring visions of some untold Freak revolution – or perhaps dinosaurs battling on a burning planet at the end of time – creating a perfect blend of hard rock and psychedelia. Feverish “Motorcycle (Straight To Hell)” (Table Scraps) is pure punk fury of the old school tradition, evoking a cross between Iggy Pop and Motörhead as Wyndorf wails “”I’m gonna drive it straight to HELL!”” Falling even further down the mind-bending rabbit hole, Magnet offers their stunning, whirlwind take on the often-overlooked hard rock classic “”Learning To Die”” (Dust) and a masterful version the Stooges meets Goth epic, “”Solid Gold Hell”” (The Scientists). The album closes with a nuclear cover of Morgen’s “Welcome To The Void”, inviting you to restart the ride again and again. Take a sonic journey to another time and space and experience what has made MONSTER MAGNET tick since day one with A Better Dystopia!”
File Under: Metal
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Mother Mother: Eureka (Last Gang) LP
“Eureka” is the fourth record from seminal Vancouver alt-rock band Mother Mother, who have experienced a resurgence in online attention based on a series of viral Tik Tok trends this past year. The album celebrates its 10 year anniversary in 2021, and is available for the first time ever on translucent green vinyl. Mother Mother has had a whirlwind decade; over 830 million streams and views, more than 14 million monthly listeners and counting on digital platforms and 2 million Shazam searches. After over a decade of releasing music, a new global audience discovered the band via TikTok, resulting in rapid growth across all platforms and a Rolling Stone feature on this unique artist development story. In November of 2020, the band’s 10-year-old song “Hayloft” was the most searched set of lyrics in the US, and second most searched in the world, and the band have made several appearances on Billboard’s Top 10 Emerging Artists chart. The band currently have over 1M followers on TiKTok and Spotify and counting.
File Under: Indie Rock
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My Bloody Valentine: MBV (Domino) LP
Domino are immensely proud to announce the signing of My Bloody Valentine to the label. A fully analog cut of M B V will also be available on deluxe and standard LPs globally for the first time. My Bloody Valentine, the quartet of Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields, Deb Googe and Colm Ó Cíosóig, are widely revered as one of the most ground-breaking and influential groups of the past forty years. During an era in which guitar bands denoted, at best, a retro-classicism, not only did My Bloody Valentine sound unlike any of their contemporaries, the band achieved the rare feat of sounding like the future. Finally re-emerging in 2013 after two full decades in relative hiding, their third album M B V is by turns their most experimental record but also their most melodic and immediate; proof real of their unerring desire for re-invention. Continuing to push boundaries of both music and genre, M B V is an album of astonishing music, some of which could lay claim to being of a type never been made before. Otherworldly, intimate and a visceral listen, M B V is a startling and beautiful metamorphosis of what was known of the My Bloody Valentine sound, pushing the boundaries of genre unlike any other band. The album’s closer, “Wonder 2” is an example of this, seeing Shields meld hypnotic guitar with drum’n’bass to astonishing result.
File Under: Indie Rock, Shoegaze
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Orgone: Connection (3 Palm) LP
Connection is the new ten song LP from Los Angeles powerhouse Orgone featuring collaborations with Cyril Neville, Kelly Finnigan, Pimps of Joytime, and more. A spiritual follow up to fan favorite Bacano, Connection is gritty, lean, and tight soul and funk at its best. It explores the invisible threads that bind us all, spiritually, emotionally, and artistically. Much like the collage that adorns the cover, this hard hitting collection of songs illuminates the essence of Orgone: a musical pastiche of different vocalists, heavy riffs, vintage production, and a core rhythm section that never disappoints. Orgone’s tenth studio album, the synergy created in these songs demonstrates that the whole is truly greater than the sum of all the individual parts and players.
File Under: Funk, Soul
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Roy: Roy’s Garage (Idee Fixee) LP
On April 17th of 2020, ROY released “Peace, Love and Outer Space”, a conceptual LP based on an alien visitation where the enlightened from beyond come to earth to spread the idea of world peace through disarmament and love for one another. The release was eerily prescient as 10 days later the Pentagon released classified footage of alien aircraft being tracked by navy jets, once again trying to reinforce their agenda that advanced life forms “not of this earth” are a threat to humankind. ROY knows the truth is out there and so should you. We wouldn’t be surprised if “Peace, Love And Outer Space” is on repeat in Dr. Steven Greer’s car rides to ce5 sessions because it is not only prophetic, it is a downright psych jammer. This spring of 2021 ROY returns, not with stories of alien enlightenment, but with tales of personal vision. We now know the man behind ROY is Patrick Lefler, a psychedelic scholar whose deep musical knowledge is run through a panoply of archaic and homespun devices to create the sound of ROY. Welcome to “Roy’s Garage”, where both wow and flutter rule and all must observe the law of diminishing track widths. The LP’s side A opens with “In The Garden Defeated”, a sly nod to one of the sixties most renowned singles and what follows is a succession of 8 quick hits of succinct psych pop, ranging from the cold fact garage stomp of “Let Me Tell Ya” to the Wilson-esque pocket symphony of “Where Did My Mind Go?” Side B offers a more expansive vision within the ROY universe with its sprawling modal jams filled with free fuzz riffing and cascading acoustic leads, all culminating in the sage advice of a knowing guide in album closer “As Long As You’re Feeling”. Projecting forth from his mind’s eye, ROY declares he is “not afraid to be a freak” and “it’s time to love myself” and in doing so “Roy’s Garage” acts as his de facto manifesto, seemingly shunning any remaining vestiges of straight society, his fuck the man flag flying high, while his sky brother and sister no doubt peer through time and space smiling.
File Under: Psych
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Seefeel: (Ch-Vox) Redux (Warp) LP
Seefeel’s third studio album was recorded for Richard D James and Grant Wilson-Claridge’s Rephlex label, as a return favor for two remixes Aphex Twin (a huge fan of the group) did in their Too Pure period. This is the first time it has been available on vinyl since 1996 and adds an extra LP of bonus material, mastered from original DAT transfers by Stefan Betke aka Pole. Comes housed in a new gatefold sleeve by the Designers Republic.
File Under: Electronic
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Seefeel: St/Fr/Sp (Warp) LP
St / Fr / Sp compiles two non-album EPs that Seefeel recorded for Warp in 1994, Starethrough and Fracture/Tied, alongside a rare Autechre remix of “Spangle” and the unreleased Transition Mix of “Starethrough.” Housed in a gatefold sleeve conceived by The Designers Republic. “Seefeel’s output on Warp delved more into abstraction; often containing a pervading dark and oppressive atmosphere. Although featuring these menacing sensibilities, 1994’s ‘Starethrough EP’ retained some of the astral lightheartedness of ‘Quique’; a track like ‘Spangle’ could be called anything but menacing with it’s twinkling coruscations of melody and Sarah’s ethereal vocal contribution. The EP to follow, ‘Fracture / Tied’, was almost entirely beat-driven with only rudimentary hints of melody” (Resident Advisor).
File Under: Electronic
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Seefeel: Succour Redux (Warp) LP
Seefeel’s second studio album and their debut for Warp. This expanded 3LP edition is the first time it has been available on vinyl since original release and adds an extra LP of bonus material, mastered from original DAT transfers by Stefan Betke aka Pole. On Seefeel’s 1993 debut album, Quique, the British quartet navigated a course between shoegaze and ambient dub – but by 1995, the electronic undercurrents of their sound had carried them to a very different place. Maybe it was the influence of Aphex Twin, whose remixes had honed in on the clean-lined rhythmic skeleton lurking beneath the group’s atmospheric swirl: The rolling, distorted drums of Succour’s “Fracture” and “Vex” are straight out of his playbook, and the beatless, bookending tracks “Meol” and “Utreat” both evoke Selected Ambient Works Vol. II at its most ethereal.
File Under: Electronic
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Sons of Kemet: Black to the Future (Impulse) LP
Sons of Kemet return in 2021 with their new album Black To The Future. This release finds the UK-based quartet at their most dynamic – showcasing harmonically elegant arrangements and compositions, coupled with fierce, driving material that will be familiar to initiated fans. This album features prominent UK vocalists and a strong emphasis on lush compositions and arrangements. Guest artists include Kojey Radical, Moor Mother, and more. Black To The Future is issued as part of Impulse! Records’ “Impulse 60!” 2021 campaign.
File Under: Jazz
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St. Vincent: Daddy’s Home (Loma Vista)
Coloured vinyl! Daddy’s Home, the sixth album from St. Vincent, is the latest facet of an ever-evolving artist regarded by many as the most consistently innovative and intriguing presence in modern music. Warm Wurlitzers and wit, glistening guitars and grit, with sleaze and style for days. Taking you from uptown to downtown with the artist who makes you expect the unexpected. “Daddy’s Home collects stories of being down and out in downtown NYC,” Clark notes. “Last night’s heels on the morning train. Glamour that’s been up for three days straight.” The album was first teased in late 2020 when Clark completed an interview with Mojo. “I felt I had gone as far as I could possibly go with angularity,” she said of the album’s creation process, which she mentioned represents a “tectonic shift.” She continued with: “I was interested in going back to the music I’ve listened to more than any other – Stevie Wonder records from the early 70s, Sly And The Family Stone. I studied at the feet of those masters.” Following up 2017’s Grammy-nominated Masseduction, the collection was produced by Annie Clark and Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde), recorded by Laura Sisk, mixed by Cian Riordan, and mastered by Chris Gehringer. The music was performed by Annie, Jack, Cian, Thomas, Evan Smith, Sam KS, Greg Leisz, Daniel Hart, Michael Leonhard, Lynne Fiddmont and Kenya Hathaway. Gatefold vinyl LP with 11 x 22 poster insert.
File Under: Rock, Pop
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Tragically Hip: Saskadelphia (Universal) LP
‘Saskadelphia’ was the working title for an intended Tragically Hip double album release of Road Apples. It spoke the amount of live shows the band were doing at the time – they never knew if they were going to be in Saskatchewan or Philadelphia. ‘Road Apples’ became the album title which was the band’s first #1 album in Canada and has since achieved Diamond status. ‘Saskadelphia’ features all previously unreleased tracks recorded at Kingsway Studios in New Orleans in the Fall of 1990 & was produced by Don Smith. The band were then at a creative peak both in the studio and with their performances. The first single & video is ‘Ouch’. The Tragically Hip will be honoured at this year’s 50th Anniversary Junos with the Humanitarian Award. ‘Saskadelphia’ will be pressed on 180 gram virgin silver coloured vinyl.
File Under: Rock
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Wasted Cathedral/Deadmalls: split (Cardinal Fuzz) LP
This my friends is the sound of your Spring/Summer (or Autumn / Winter for Southern Hemisphere Dwellers) – Free Your Mind to the ecstatic waves of joy on these drone-based voyages created by sonic gurus Kees Dekker (Deadmalls) and Chris Laramee (Wasted Cathedral). Even now listening to this as I type – All I want to do is just STOP EVERYTHING – Take myself outside into the early morning sun – close my eyes and let this music seep into my soul – I hope you all get to experience it as i do. Yet again Brett Savage has come up with the perfect sleeve concept for the music contained inside and Chris Hardman as always on mastering duties makes everything sound incredible.
File Under: Ambient, Electronic, Psych
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Weezer: Van Weezer (Atlantic) LP
Coloured vinyl! Van Weezer, the band’s fifteenth studio album and second of 2021, was produced by Suzy Shinn (Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy). The inspiration for the record derives from the deepest roots of Weezer – metal! What has metal got to do with Weezer, you ask? In his earliest years, Rivers Cuomo was a huge Kiss fan; Brian Bell was a big Black Sabbath fan; Patrick Wilson worshipped at the altar of Van Halen and Rush; Scott Shriner loved Slayer and Metallica. The last time this vein of harder rock was mined by Weezer was on their much-loved 2002 album Maladroit; Van Weezer is primed to take that album’s sonics many steps further. Rivers told Entertainment Weekly that Van Weezer goes “back to big guitars” and is “Blue Album-ish, but a little more riffy.” And he added to NME that, “This is probably the best possible time for this album. It’s about feeling isolated and alienated and secluded, so it’s the perfect album for now.”
File Under: Rock
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…..Restocks….
Clash: Combat Rock (Epic) LP
Gal Costa: Legal (Elemental) LP
Miles Davis: On The Corner (Music on Vinyl) LP
Miles Davis: Big Fun (Music on Vinyl) LP
Death Grips: Money Store (Legacy) LPLana Del Rey: Chemtrails Over the Country Club (Interscope) LP
Dinosaur Jr: Green Mind (Cherry Red) LP
Dinosaur Jr: Where You Been (Cherry Red) LP
Gil Evans: Out of the Cool (Acoustic Sounds) (Verve) LP
Herbie Hancock: Thrust (Music on Vinyl) LP
Herbie Hancock: Headhunters (Music on Vinyl) LP
Craig Kupka: New Music for Relaxation (Folkways) LP
Led Zeppelin: III (Atlantic) LP
Mission of Burma: Signals, Calls & Marches (Matador) LP
Mission of Burma: Vs (Matador) LP
Mythic Sunship: Ouroboros (El Paraiso) LP
Pink Floyd: Animals (Pink Floyd) LP
Power Trip: Opening Fire (Dark Operative) LP
Gil Scott-Heron: I’m New Here (XL) LP
Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man (BGP) LP
Joseph Shabason: The Fellowship (Western Vinyl) LP
SQRL & Jozef Van Wissem: Only Lovers Left Alive OST (Sacred Bones) LP
Waxahatchee: Saint Cloud (Merge) LP
Ween: Quebec (Schnitzel) LP