Some great stuff in this week, and some more coming tomorrow or Monday, so Ieft em off the list but check the site tomorrow to see if they show up. Meanwhile check out the Enno Velthuys for some beautiful 80s ambient, Beach House has finally arrived as well as some black copies of the new Spoon (coloured next week), Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch is FINALLY in stock, along with Joe Henderson & Lee Morgan, Khruangbin & Leon Bridges. A repress of Fela Kuti w/ Ginger Baker and reissue of Jeff Phelps electro-funk masterpiece. And for the country inclined…. New Sarah Shook and Sturgill Simpson. Some real heavies showing up tomorrow or Monday too!
Also, they’ve announced the Record Store Day exclusives list. You can find the list HERE or the Canadian list HERE , but it’s also worth noting, that we deal with tons of suppliers so we also can sometimes get some of the UK & European releases. Needless to say we’ll be ordering all the stuff we would stock if it was just a regular release, but if there’s something on the list you hope to find in our shop on that day, be sure to let us know ASAP so we can be sure to order it for you. Don’t worry, we’ll order a ton of Viktor Vaughn, Art Pepper, Karen Dalton, Voivoid. As usual, unfortunately, just because we order 20 doesn’t mean we’ll get 20. So keep an eye out closer to the date to see what we’ll actually have in. Oh and it’s important to note as well, no more Remote RSD, this year, in store only.. good thing we’ve all been practicing standing in line for the last 2 years.
As previously mentioned, in line with current health restrictions we are operating as below..
– in-store shopping/pick ups – 11 – 6 pm Monday – Friday, 11 am – 4 pm Saturday
(if you don’t want to come into the store for a pick up, call and/or use the back door)
– Max 4 people in the store at a time
– Wear a mask (if you don’t have one, we’ll have some)
– Sanitize your hands(we’ll have some)
…..pick of the week…..
Enno Velthuys: Different Places (Dead Mind) LP
Continuing the reissue campaign of legendary synthesizer artist Enno Velthuys, we are proud to offer the Different Places LP. The original tape from 1987 was the second tape Enno produced for EXART and it was his last work before he disappeared into obscurity. By this time, he became disillusioned by the cassette network and his mental condition sadly deteriorated. With Hessel Veldman, label owner of EXART, getting more interested in experimental music, they were both moving into different places and eventually lost contact. Enno was a perfectionist, always looking for better equipment. When listening to the original master tape of Different Places it turned out it had a real nice, clean sound. Definitely an improvement over some of his earlier material. While mastering these songs for vinyl in 2021 we tried to stay as close as possible to Enno’s original intentions. Different Places is probably his most coherent work and includes some magical chord progressions. Shades of Erik Satie and Hiroshi Yoshimura mixed with immersive, spacious, cosmic ambient. Melancholic but less claustrophobic when compared to predecessors Glimpse of Light or Landscapes in Thin Air.
File Under: Ambient, Kris’s Picks
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…..new arrivals…..
Bad Brains: Rock for Light (ORG) LP
ORG Music presents the original mix of the album, for the first time in decades, as the band originally intended. Most fans will be more familiar with the 1991 reissue, which was remixed by The Cars’ Ric Ocasek and bass player Darryl Jenifer. That version used an altered track order, significantly different mixes and a speed increase of the master which results in a raising of the pitch by one-half step. This reissue marks the fourth 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.
File Under: Punk
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Beach House: Once Twice Melody (Sub Pop) LP
Once Twice Melody is the 8th studio album by Beach House. It is a double album, featuring 18 songs presented in 4 chapters. Across these songs, many types of style and song structures can be heard. Songs without drums, songs centered around acoustic guitar, mostly electronic songs with no guitar, wandering and repetitive melodies, songs built around the string sections. In addition to new sounds, many of the drum machines, organs, keyboards and tones that listeners may associate with previous Beach House records remain present throughout many of the compositions. Beach House is Victoria Legrand, lead singer and multi-instrumentalist, and Alex Scally, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. They write all of their songs together. Once Twice Melody is the first album produced entirely by the band. The live drums are by James Barone (same as their 2018 album, 7), and were recorded at Pachyderm studio in Minnesota and United Studio in Los Angeles. For the first time, a live string ensemble was used. Strings were arranged by David Campbell. The writing and recording of Once Twice Melody began in 2018 and was completed in July of 2021. Most of the songs were created during this time, though a few date back over the previous 10 years. Most of the recording was done at Apple Orchard Studio in Baltimore. Once Twice Melody was mixed largely by Alan Moulder but a few tracks were also mixed by Caesar Edmunds, Trevor Spencer, and Dave Fridmann.
File Under: Dream Pop, Indie Rock
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Jerry Cantrell: Brighten (Jerry Cantrell) LP
Shortly after his December 2019 LA shows, Jerry Cantrell entered the studio to begin work on Brighten. The album was produced by Cantrell, Tyler Bates, and co-produced by engineer Paul Figueroa. The cast of players on Brighten is: Jerry Cantrell – Guitar, bass, vocals, keys, Greg Puciato – Background vocals, Duff McKagan – Bass, Gil Sharone – Drums, Abe Laboriel Jr. – Drums, Tyler Bates – Strings, percussion, guitar, Vincent Jones – Piano, keys, & strings, Jordan Lewis – Piano Michael, Rozon – Pedal steel, Lola Bates – Background vocals, Matias Ambrogi-Torres – Strings. “It was like an old school seventies record where a multitude of musicians played,” smiles Cantrell. “So it’s not a set band. I got to make music with a bunch of guys I never had before, along with friends like Duff & Tyler & Gil who I’ve worked with previously. I’ve always been a fan of bands that were heavy on harmony. I’ve been lucky enough to have that relationship with Layne Staley and now William DuVall. Greg and I worked together in a similar fashion and blended nicely. We were creating and changing this thing all the way up until the end. It took way longer than I wanted it to, but it became an even better record. This record offers cleaner glimpses of what I grew up on, listened to, and am still inspired by today,” he states. “I was raised by two country fans, so I think you can hear that energy in there as well. This album has prominent roles for keys, strings, and pedal steel, which I haven’t incorporated in such a heavy fashion before.”
File Under: Rock
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Eric Dolphy: Out To Lunch (Blue Note) LP
Blue Note Records is pleased to present the Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series, a continuation of their acclaimed Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series which was launched in celebration of the label’s 80th anniversary in 2019. The Classic Series will once again feature all-analog 180g vinyl pressings in standard packaging that are mastered by Kevin Gray directly from the original master tapes and manufactured at Optimal in Germany. The first 16 titles of the Classic Series will focus on the enduring classics of the Blue Note catalog. The Classic Series will be on-going, running alongside the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series which is produced by Joe Harley. In February 1964, Eric Dolphy assembled a formidable quintet of modern jazz visionaries with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone, Richard Davis on bass, and Tony Williams on drums, and headed into Rudy Van Gelder’s studio to record what would stand as his masterwork: Out to Lunch! A genius artist of startling originality, Dolphy managed to possess the revolutionary spirit of the avant-garde while keeping a foot firmly planted in the feeling of swing, a rare feat that the five original pieces here perfectly captured from the offbeat swagger of the opening Monk tribute “Hat and Beard” to the careening closer “Straight Up and Down.”
FIle Under: Jazz
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Nico Gomez: Soul of Samba (Mr. Bongo) LP
Nico Gomez, a Belgian orchestra leader of Dutch roots, has long been a favourite with Latin fans, record diggers, DJs, and collectors alike. His blend of bossanova, latin jazz, and easy listening always turns up a few choice nuggets and surprises; what is perhaps most remarkable is that it was recorded in Europe. Back in 2013, Mr Bongo re-issued Nico Gomez’s sought-after ‘Ritual’ album from 1971, and now we follow it up with another jewel from his catalogue his 1972 album ‘Soul Of Samba’. For this re-issue, we have opted to present it with the cover art originally used on the Trio Records version released in Japan. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the album was released with different cover art under the title ‘Bossa Nova’, on Omega International and International Bestseller Company records, respectively. We loved the beautiful psychedelic design of the Japanese version and wanted to use it for this re-issue. ‘Soul Of Samba’ features several euro-bossa-jazz favourites such as the catchy ‘Rio’; which was a firm DJ choice cut at jazz dance nights, including Brighton’s ‘Jazz Rooms’ in the 90s. It also featured in Rainer Trüby’s classic ‘Glücklich’ compilation series which explored European-Brazilian-inspired music. The beguiling ‘Aquarela’, with its engaging latin shuffle, entices feet to the dancefloor and is not one to miss. ‘Agua’ has a lazy-quirky latin-funk feel with breathy-stoned vocals floating in the background. The album additionally features numerous breezy latin, Brazilian, and easy listening joints, some of which are ripe for sampling.
File Under: Latin Jazz
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Joe Henderson: Inner Urge (Blue Note) LP
Blue Note Records has announced the continuation of the Classic Vinyl Reissue Series which presents 180g vinyl LP reissues in standard packaging mastered by Kevin Gray and manufactured at Optimal. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes. While the first 16 titles of the series focused on the best-known Blue Note classics from the 1950s and 60s, the new run of titles curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman broadens its scope to span the many eras and styles of the legendary label’s eight-decade history presented by themes: Bebop, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz, Post-Bop, Avant-Garde, The 70s, The Rebirth, and Hidden Gems. Joe Henderson had fully hit his stride by the time he made Inner Urge, his fourth album for Blue Note, recorded in November 1964. After a series of quintet dates, this was the tenor saxophonist’s first quartet album, and it featured an extraordinary line-up with McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums.
File Under: Jazz
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Khruangbin & Leon Bridges: Texas Moon (Dead Oceans) LP
An extension of Khruangbin and Leon Bridges’ chart-topping four-song Texas Sun journey, Texas Moon is an introspective stroll through the dark. “Without joy, there can be no real perspective on sorrow,” says Khruangbin. “Without sunlight, all this rain keeps things from growing. How can you have the sun without the moon?” Crediting their mutual home state for inspiration, Texas Moon pensively examines Texas’ musical perception, while paying homage to the marriage of country and R&B that’s become synonymous with the lone star state. Propelled by rolling guitar licks, conga and bongo, lead single “B-Side” meditates on meeting in a dream and frolics across the nearing contemplative nighttime state with its longing’s joy. Elsewhere on Texas Moon, the artists channel a newly intimate musical scope that’s illustrated most dramatically when the spacy sensuality of the minimalistic “Chocolate Hills” leads into the stark spirituality addressed on “Father Father,” a reminder of both acts’ gospel roots. Over a simple rolling guitar figure, Bridges pleads with the heavens – “Look at the mess that I made/Just a man with unclean hands” – only to be reminded of God’s eternal love. For Khruangbin, one song in particular was indicative of the trust that Bridges put in them. “The song ‘Doris’ is about his grandmother making the transition from this world to the next realm,” says Johnson. “It’s a very somber, very deep record. And when someone places that kind of work into your hands, the last thing you want to do is junk it up, overproduce it, or do too much. We treated it with the respect it deserved, and treated Doris with the respect she deserves.” “It’s like a short story…,” Lee says of the music. “And it leaves room to continue having these stories together. It’s not Khruangbin, it’s not Leon, it’s this world we created together.” Upon its release, Texas Sun soared to the No. 1 slot on Billboard’s Emerging Artists Chart along with landing the No. 1 on spot on “Americana/Folk Albums,” No. 2 on “Vinyl Albums,” No. 4 on “Top Rock Albums” and No. 6 on “Top R&B Albums.” Significantly, both parties’ musical directions were deeply affected by their time working together on Texas Sun.
File Under: Funk, Soul, R&B
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Fela Kuti: Live! With Ginger Baker (Knitting Factory) LP
It’s impossible to go wrong with Fela Kuti’s work from the 1970s, and LIVE! With Ginger Baker, which features the Afrobeat innovator backed by his powerhouse band Africa ’70 and ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker, is no exception. Every cut crackles from beginning to end with its mixture of funk, jazz, and traditional Nigerian music, underscoring once again Fela’s revolutionary, indelible contribution to world music. This double LP 50th Anniversary Edition includes the original 4 album tracks plus 2 Ginger Baker & Tony Allen drum solos from 1978’s Berlin Jazz Festival – Part I of the duet has never been pressed on vinyl, and Part II is previously unreleased. The D side of the LP has an etching of Fela and Ginger.
File Under: Afrobeat, Funk
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Curtis Mayfield: The Very Best of… (Rhino) LP
Curtis Mayfield recorded a string of hits with The Impressions before leaving the influential soul-gospel group to embark upon a solo career that produced some of his finest work. Known as the “Gentle Genius,” Mayfield has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – first as a member of The Impressions and later as a solo artist. Mayfield managed to combine some of the greatest soul ever recorded with thought provoking lyrics tackling the key social political issues of the time. Rhino Records presents the definitive collection of Mayfield’s reflective, soul moving, evocative hits with the 16-track vinyl 2LP-set, The Very Best of Curtis Mayfield. Includes everything from the political to the romantic, from cuts from his genre-defining Superfly (“Freddie’s Dead”) to statement makers like “(Don’t Worry) If There Is a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go.”
File Under: Funk, Soul
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Lee Morgan: Caramba (Blue Note) LP
Blue Note Records has announced the continuation of the Classic Vinyl Reissue Series which presents 180g vinyl LP reissues in standard packaging mastered by Kevin Gray and manufactured at Optimal. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes. While the first 16 titles of the series focused on the best-known Blue Note classics from the 1950s and 60s, the new run of titles curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman broadens its scope to span the many eras and styles of the legendary label’s eight-decade history presented by themes: Bebop, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz, Post-Bop, Avant-Garde, The 70s, The Rebirth, and Hidden Gems. When Lee Morgan recorded his album Caramba, he was only months away from his 30th birthday, making the fact that this was his twenty-third Blue Note recording even more astounding. A full-fledged master, his technical prowess on the horn matched by the emotional depth of his playing, and a composer who could conjure different moods and styles with his writing.
File Under: Jazz
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Jeff Phelps: Magnetic Eyes (Numero) LP
A silken, minimalistic stream of electrified soul, Magnetic Eyes is Jeff Phelps’ peerless contribution to the tapestry of analog drum machine music that graffiti’d the mid-‘80s. Tracked in his Missouri City, Texas, bedroom studio in 1985, Phelps effortlessly steeps together the electro stylings of Afrika Bambaataa with the matured caress of Anita Baker’s soulful R&B. This 2021 edition presents fresh remasters of the album’s second mix, completed after discovering flaws in the initial 1985 pressing, all housed in replica tip-on jacket with artwork that remains just as evocative as the music it represents. Enjoy this technically perfect, artist-approved version of a visionary techno-adjacent masterwork.
File Under: Electronic, Funk
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Sarah Shook & The Disarmers: Nightroamer (Thirty Tigers) LP
Produced by multi-platinum, Grammy-winning producer and groundbreaking guitarist Pete Anderson (most widely known as the musical partner to Dwight Yoakam from 1986-2003, and collaborator with Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, Michelle Shocked and Rosie Flores), Nightroamer is the third album from the North Carolina band Sarah Shook & The Disarmers who merges raw country with punk grit and pop sensibilities. “Straightforward, undiluted songs about shared hardships and unlikely victories that can bring even the most polarized people together,” Sarah reveals. “We are not responsible for other people’s behavior and sometimes we have more say in our own lives than we believe. The moment we realize this we start awkwardly constructing this cerebral bridge that’s somewhat clunky and weird but it’s finally taking us in the direction we want to go. The songs on Nightroamer are beautiful, agonizing, magnetic, mischievous, indomitable pieces of the clunky and weird brain bridge to personal autonomy.”
File Under: Country, Folk
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Sturgill Simpson: The Ballad of Dood & Juanita (High Top Mountain) LP
Inspired by such classic concept albums as Willie Nelson’s Red-Headed Stranger, Sturgill Simpson’s The Ballad of Dood & Juanita is the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter’s third album in twelve months, and his most ambitious project to date. Written and recorded in less than a week, and featuring the same ace musicians who played on 2020’s Cuttin’ Grass albums, the record tells a classic American story of a Civil War-era couple torn apart by violence and reunited by love – what Sturgill calls “a simple tale of either redemption or revenge.” The Ballad of Dood & Juanita is Simpson’s first album of all new original music since the release of 2019’s Grammy-nominated Sound & Fury. This new collection of songs was produced by Sturgill and David Ferguson and was recorded in Nashville at the Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa. Special guest Willie Nelson is the featured lead guitarist on the track “Juanita.”
File Under: Country
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Spoon: Lucifer on the Sofa (Matador) LP
Spoon’s tenth album, Lucifer on the Sofa, is the band’s purest rock ‘n roll record to date. Texas-made, it is the first set of songs that the quintet has put to tape in its hometown of Austin in more than a decade. Written and recorded over the last two years – both in and out of lockdown – these songs mark a shift toward something louder, wilder, and more full-color. Lucifer on the Sofa was co-produced by Spoon and Mark Rankin (Adele, Queens of the Stone Age), with contributions from Dave Fridmann and Justin Raisen. Britt Daniel describes the album as, “the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton…I spent a lot of 2018 and 2019 listening to ZZ Top.” Angular lead single “The Hardest Cut” was the first song written for the album. The Lucifer on the Sofa artwork was created by renowned artist Edel Rodriguez.
File Under: Indie Rock
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Superchunk: Wild Loneliness (Merge) LP
Like every record Superchunk has made over the last thirty-some years, Wild Loneliness is unskippably excellent and infectious. It’s a blend of stripped-down and lush, electric and acoustic, highs and lows. On Wild Loneliness you’ll hear echoes of Come Pick Me Up, Here’s to Shutting Up, and Majesty Shredding. After the justifiable anger of What a Time to Be Alive, this new record is less about what we’ve lost in these harrowing times and more about what we have to be thankful for. It feels like the band is refocusing on possibility here, and possibility is built into the songs themselves, in the sweet surprises tucked inside them. The “secret ingredient” – is always surprise. Perhaps the same is true of songs. Like when the sax comes in on the title track, played by Wye Oak’s Andy Stack, adding a completely new texture to the song. Or when Owen Pallett’s strings come in on “This Night.” One of the best surprises on Wild Loneliness is when the harmonies of Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley of Teenage Fanclub kick in on “Endless Summer.” It’s as perfect a pop song as you’ll ever hear sweet, bright, flat-out gorgeous and yet it grapples with the depressing reality of climate change. Because of COVID, Mac, Laura, Jim, and Jon each recorded separately, but a silver lining is that this method made other long-distance contributions possible, from R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Sharon Van Etten, Franklin Bruno, and Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura, among others. Some of the songs for the record were written before the pandemic hit, but others, like “Wild Loneliness,” were written from and about isolation.
File Under: Indie Rock
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Thee Sacred Souls: Trade of Hearts (Penrose) 7″
Let ’s trade… love,” or so propositions Josh Lane into the waiting ears of a lover on the whispering intro of Thee Sacred Souls‘ latest offering. “ Trade of Hearts” is a perfectly coquettish hand-held stroll in the vein of an early Marvin and Tammy duet, on which hearts are traded like so many kings and queens in a playful hand of lovers’ bridge. On the flip, Jensine Benitez dips in with a soaring refrain for the hook of a mid-tempo groover, calling upon a wanted one to let their charm be felt and heard. Without mercy, an infectious rhythm erases any space that might have remained between two dancing souls. The Souls have already captured the hearts of Southern California and beyond with their unique soul sound, at once raw and honey sweet, yet this freshest platter can only tighten that embrace. Hold your cards close, cause they ’re playing for keeps!
…..restocks…..
13th Floor Elevators: Psychedelic Sound of (Charly) LP
13th Floor Elevators: Easter Everywhere (Charly) LP
Animal Collective: Time Skiffs (Domino) LP
Arctic Monkeys: Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (Domino) LP
Matt Berry: Gather Up (Acid Jazz) BOX
Big Black: Atomizer (Touch & Go) LP
Big Thief: Capacity (Saddle Creek) LP
Big Thief: Two Hands (4AD) LP
Broadcast: Future Crayon (Warp) LP
Broadcast: Tender Buttons (Warp) LP
Broadcast: Work & Non-Work (Warp) LP
Budos Band: s/t (Daptone) LP
Bill Charlap Trio: Street of Dreams (Blue Note) LP
Elevator: August Extra (Blue Fog) LP
Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma (Warp) LP
Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Lift Your Skinny Fists (Constellation) LP
Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage (Blue Note) LP
Idles: A Beautiful Thing (Partisan) LP
King Crimson: In The Wake of Poseidon (Panegyric) LP
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: Flying Microtonal Banana (ATO) LP
Cate Le Bon: Mug Museum (Wichita) LP
Love Apple: s/t (Numero) LP
Jackie McLean: Destination Out! (Blue Note) LP
Mitski: Laurel Hell (Dead Oceans) LP
Nirvana: Nevermind (Geffen) LP
Arlo Parks: Collapsed in Sunbeams (Transgressive) LP
