listen records

800 of these things! That means every Thursday for the last 15+ years I’ve been sitting here putting these lists together! Crazy! Thankfully this one is a short one as this heat has made me lazy today. So enjoy!

…..pick of the week…..

Ben Frost: Threshold of Faith (Mute) 12″
Not a whole lot of info on this new Ben Frost 12″ (I can’t even find you a track!) but it’s 7 new tracks and it’s awesome, so you should buy it! Frost, a native Australian currently living in Reykjavik, Iceland was chosen in 2010 by Brian Eno as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé program for a year of collaboration. Frost regularly collaborates with other musicians, artists, and choreographers and directors to produce original scores, including recent work on Richard Mosse’s The Enclave. These various collaborations and alliances underline Frost’s continuing fascination with finding ways of juxtaposing music, rhythm, technology, the body, performance, text, art, beauty and violence. Ben Frost is highly critically acclaimed as a sound experimentalist – his music sits both within and without the electronic, ambient, drone, noise, minimalist, avant-garde and post-rock genres.

File Under: Electronic, Ambient

…..new arrivals…..

Black Lips: Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art? (Vice) LP
Atlanta, GA flower punk pioneers Black Lips return with their first album in three years, Satan’s graffiti or God’s art? Produced by Sean Lennon at his studio compound in upstate New York throughout 2016, the album is the group’s most musically evolved to date, while still staying true to their original blistering take on fuzzy, dirty rock n’ roll. During the recording the band isolated themselves from the outside world, infusing the album with a focused liveliness similar to the spirit that brought them together in the first place. On Satan’s graffiti or God’s art? founding members Cole Alexander and Jared Swilley teamed with former guitarist Jack Hines (who played in the group from 2002-2004) and recent additions Oakley Munson on drums and Zumi Rosow on saxophone. The album also features contributions by Saul Adamczewski of Fat White Family and guest vocals by Yoko Ono. Black Lips were born of DIY ethic, working their way from sweaty basement shows in Georgia to huge crowds at international music festivals (including a performance at Fun Fun Fun Fest that appears in Terrence Malick’s forthcoming film Song to Song) to tours in such far flung locales as India, Jordan, Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraqi Kurdistan, the United Arab Emirates, and many more. Satan’s graffiti or God’s art? vindicates Black Lips for sticking it out through many years of shifting trends and buzz bands; a sonically captivating document that is as creatively unhinged as it is precisely executed, one of the rawest and most expansive albums in the band’s storied history.

File Under: Punk, Garage
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Broken Social Scene: Hug of Thunder (Arts & Crafts) LP
Hug Of Thunder marks the fifth studio album from Canadian alt-rock supergroup Broken Social Scene, their first in seven years. Founded in ‘99 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, the new album features 15 players including original members Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw of Metric, Amy Millan and Evan Cranley of Stars, Charles Spearin and Ohad Benchetrit of Do Make Say Think, and Grammy-nominated Leslie Feist. Hug Of Thunder is everything BSS fans love from the Canadian collective and then some, an album overflowing with glorious open chords, multi-voice harmonies, spacious psychedelia-tinted breakdowns, and more. It is a panoramic, expansive album that manages to be both epic and intimate; and like all things BSS, in troubled times, it offers a serotonin rush of positivity. Since their inception in the early Aughts, BSS have always pushed sonic boundaries while remaining reverent of a perfect chorus; almost twenty years down the line, Hug Of Thunder sharpens that balance and then some. The record’s twelve songs refract the band’s varying emotions, methods, and techniques in ways that not only reference their other albums, but surpass them. Hug Of Thunder is righteous but warm, angry but loving, melodic but uncompromising. And if you’ve ever fallen in love with Broken Social Scene – as many of us have – it is a perfect return that was truly worth the wait.

File Under: Indie Rock, CanCon
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The Cure: Greatest Hits (Elektra) LP
Originally a postpunk outfit with gothic leanings, The Cure evolved into one of the most visionary, creatively satisfying and influential groups to come of age in the 1980’s. From dreamy pop to moody expressionism, their signature sound is adventurous, hypnotic, and rich with texture. Curated and remastered by Robert Smith and now available on vinyl for the first time, this 2001 Greatest Hits package collects 16 of the band’s finest from their then 25-year history like “Just Like Heaven,” “Love Song,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” and “Friday I’m In Love” plus the two new tracks “Cut Here” and “Just Say Yes.”

 File Under: Post-Punk, Goth, Pop, Rock

The Cure: Acoustic Hits (Elektra) LP
Originally a postpunk outfit with gothic leanings, The Cure evolved into one of the most visionary, creatively satisfying and influential groups to come of age in the 1980’s. From dreamy pop to moody expressionism, their signature sound is adventurous, hypnotic, and rich with texture. Curated and remastered by Robert Smith and now available on vinyl for the first time, Acoustic Hits was issued in 2001 as the second disc of the Greatest Hits 2CD edition and features stripped-down versions of all the of the band’s finest from their then 25-year history like “Just Like Heaven,” “Love Song,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” and “Friday I’m In Love” plus the two new tracks “Cut Here” and “Just Say Yes.” “We wanted to do it to make the ‘hits’ package more special,” explained Smith. “This collection contains the songs that are sung with a smile – the Cure’s ‘lighter side.”

File Under: Post-Punk, Goth, Pop, Rock

Laurel Halo: Dust (Hyperdub) LP
Laurel Halo returns to Hyperdub for her third LP with a fresh approach and a new sound. Routed out of the electronic abstraction of 2015’s In Situ – but with clear reference to 2012’s sleeper-hit Quarantine – Dust is an album revolving around loose and languid songs; warped, sun-filled, melted and at times, heavy-hearted and obscure. Recorded over a period of two years, the writing process began at EMPAC in upstate New York in January 2015. With access to microphones, percussion, keys and a wide range of routings, Laurel spent days alone in the cavernous space, later inviting musicians Eli Keszler and Lafawndah to join her there. Those sessions would eventually become this album: a collection of breezy, broken songs, based on woody instrumentation, sub bass and restless, intricate electronics. Earnest songwriting meets with modal cut-up strategies, improvisational playing with higrade digital dust. Tactile and fibrous throughout the record, the vocals and percussion coalesce and breathe life into each other. Swung grooves eddy and collapse; acoustic drums are warped into sensual, febrile melodies. The lyrics are themselves bricolage, without a specific narrator or place in time. In line with the album’s sound, Dust is ‘Laurel Halo’ as a flexible cast of characters. Filled with dialogue, the album helms an interchangeable ensemble of vocalists and musicians, featuring vocals from Klein, Lafawndah, and Michael Salu, as well as musicians such as Eli Keszler, Craig Clouse ($hit and $hine), Julia Holter, Max D, Michael Beharie and Diamond Terrifier. Laurel’s omnivorous influences play out in mutated fashion – coalesced, unfettered and inclusive – a broad musical palette free from entrenched modes, catalysed by digital production that could only happen in 2017.

File Under: Electronic, Synth Pop
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Hawkeyes/Radiation Flowers: split (Cardinal Fuzz/Sunmask) LP
Hawkeyes are a 6 piece instrumental heavy psychedelic space rock band from Kitchener Ontario. Their claustrophobic wall of sound flows from heavy, dark, and monolithic rock towards more spacious soundscapes and textured ambience that always worships at the altar of Pompeii. The band formed out of sheer boredom in 2012 after several previous bands stopped making music. The debut full length ‘Poison Slows You Down’ was recorded and initially self-released on cassette in 2013 and was picked up and given a vinyl release on Helmet Lady Records in 2015. Several compilation appearances followed and a split 12″ with like-minded friends Shooting Guns was released a few months later. And now on the new shared split LP from Sunmask and Cardinal Fuzz, Hawkeyes rock out, space out and pound away with nods to classic acid rock, krautrock, ambient and beyond. Saskatoons The Radiation Flowers revisit classic shoegaze and 4AD sound with a heavier guitar driven edge. Dark, smoky ambience with floating vocals play off against analog fuzz guitars and a solid low end. Since releasing their 2015 self-titled album they have toured across Canada and played several festivals with Canadian tour dates this summer. They have recorded and released a split-7” with Swedish band The Orange Revival and also have a new full length LP out on Sunmask/Cardinal Fuzz out in July. Three new tracks with a driving space rock instrumental, some beautiful, spacious psychedelic shoegaze and a cover of the always perfect psychrock band Sun Dial. 350 copies on eco colour vinyl with full colour printed inner sleeve. Limited CDr release in vinyl replica jacket.

File Under: Psych, Rock, Cancon
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Kraftwerk: 3-D: The Catalog (Parlophone) LP
Released to coincide with Kraftwerk’s June 2017 tour – their first UK dates since the breathtaking shows witnessed at the Tate Modern in 2013 – is Kraftwerk 3-D The Catalogue. This is the ground-breaking 3-D Kraftwerk Concert brought thrillingly to life, developed using high definition 3-D visuals, with Dolby Atmos surround sound and presented to the technological and audio standards one would associate and indeed come to expect from the pioneering Germans led by founder Ralf Hütter. For the very first time, every Kraftwerk fan can now experience a “Gesamtkunstwerk – a total work of art” in the comfort of their own home. 3-D The Catalogue features new recordings of Kraftwerk’s 8 classic albums performed/filmed at various locations around the world between 2012-2016 and mixed at the band’s own state-of-the-art, Kling Klang Studio, Düsseldorf. 3-D The Catalogue is released across a number of formats including this 77 minute (abridged) version of the full-length release containing music from all 8 albums on double heavyweight 180g vinyl plus download card. The abridged version is culled from the 8 albums Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour De France (2003).

File Under: Electronic, Krautrock
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Radiation Flowers: Summer Loop (Cardinal Fuzz/Sunmask) LP
Since releasing their 2015 self-titled album, Saskatoon space-rock dreamers The Radiation Flowers have toured across Canada (with shows from Vancouver to Ottawa, and festival dates at Levitation Vancouver and Sled Island in Calgary), they have recorded and released a split-7” with Swedish band The Orange Revival, and have recorded an EP entitled Summer Loop, set to be released on July 7, 2017. After mixing the mastering the album for a run of promo CDs, the band teamed up with Canadian analog label Sunmask and venerable UK label Cardinal Fuzz to get Summer Loop remixed and remastered for vinyl, shaking up the track listing and adding bonus track, “Colours.” Continuing with the softly heavy, brightly dark sounds they’ve come to be known for, Summer Loop takes on a noisier, guitar-ier edge. With the departure of their keyboardist after the release of their self-titled album, the full and textured guitar sounds of Shelby Gaudet and Christopher Laramee took an even more prominent role in band’s sound, with drummer Amber Ross and bassist Jay Allen continuing to provide the rhythm and backbeat of the band. New keyboardist Lucas Goetz added some Hammond organ to songs “Just Go Away” and “Walking Down The Street” just in time for the vinyl release of Summer Loop.

File Under: Psych, CanCon
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Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (BPG) LP
A compilation of Gil Scott-Heron’s best-known works for the Flying Dutchman label on CD and LP. Originally released to capitalise on the success of Scott-Heron’s then-current hit ‘The Bottle’ and his subsequent signing to Arista, this 1974 compilation has since become the definitive distillation of his early work. Contained within the original 11-track selection were the title track, ‘Whitey On The Moon’, ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ plus eight more. . Replicating the original 11-track running order and packaged in a heavy duty sleeve, the vinyl reissue features the original LP’s inner gatefold artwork on the inner bag.

File Under: Funk, Soul
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Shakey Graves: And The Horse He Rode In On (Dualtone) LP
After years of fan requests, Shakey Graves will officially release two EPs from his collection of rarities and early home recordings – Nobody’s Fool and Donor Blues as the gatefold colored 180g 2LP package Shakey Graves and the Horse He Road In On courtesy of Dualtone Records. Donor Blues is currently available digitally only via Bandcamp and Nobody’s Fool is even harder to find, passed around as an online bootleg by fans. The vinyl also comes with a download card for the entire double-album.

File Under: Folk, Country
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Swans: The Great Annihilator (Young God) LP
The Great Annihilator, originally released in 1995, will be released on double vinyl – the album’s first release on vinyl for decades – and as a 2CD set. Both the vinyl (in the form of a download code) and CD will feature Drainland, Michael Gira’s debut solo album recorded at the same time as The Great Annihilator. “I have long been uneasy with the sound of the mastered version of The Great Annihilator (and it’s companion, contemporaneous solo album, Drainland, included here in this new release). For whatever reason things drifted out of hand at the time, and there was never enough time or money to untangle the sonic knots created by the original unsatisfactory mastering that took place until now. It was with the utmost alacrity that I received the news recently from my friend Bill Rieflin that he had discovered the original (after much digging), unmastered mixes for both albums in his archives. We were able to proceed now with lovingly mastering both Great Annihilator and Drainland from these virgin sources, with our right hand mastering man Doug Henderson in Berlin, Germany. I have to say I’m rather pleased with the result. It’s one of those instances where it’s like hearing the thing for the first time again. I hope you enjoy the experience. – Drainland is a 1995 obscure solo album by me, co-produced by the lovely Bill Rieflin and myself, with musical contributions from Bill and Jarboe. Mostly featuring spare arrangements, it was recorded in Bill’s living room. Some of this is pretty damn good. Some of it isn’t! In all modesty, I think the good outweighs the bad. It was recorded immediately after the recording of GA. ” – M. Gira 2017

File Under: Rock, Industrial
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Toro Y Moi: Boo Boo (Carpark) LP
Limited edition (indie-store-only) blue and white marble-colored vinyl. Includes download. “By the time I felt ready to begin working on a new record, I knew that this idea of space within music would be something that propelled my new work forward. The artists that were influencing what I was making included everyone from Travis Scott to Daft Punk, Frank Ocean to Oneohtrix Point Never, Kashif and Gigi Masin. I recognized that the common thread between these artists was their attention to a feeling of space, or lack thereof. I decided that I wanted to make a Pop record with these ideas in mind. That idea for a record is what eventually became Boo Boo.”

File Under: Soul, Funk, Synth Pop
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Arthur Verocai: Encore (Far Out) LP
Far Out Recordings present the ten-year anniversary of Arthur Verocai’s Encore, originally released in 2007. Encore features 11 original compositions from Arthur Verocai with guest musicians including Azymuth, Ivan Lins, and a nine-piece string section. The highly anticipated follow-up to Arthur’s eponymous debut album from 1972, Encore saw Arthur joining the dots over 35 years to create a modern classic of Brazilian music that, like his debut, combines Brazilian influences with his take on American soul and cinematic experimentation, and shows that Arthur’s sound is as poignant as it ever was. In the mid-2000s, following on from Marcos Valle, Joyce, and of course Azymuth, Arthur Verocai joined the long-line of Brazilian musicians whose music was to be introduced to a whole new legion of fans by Far Out Recordings. The story of Encore begins with Joe Davis, Far Out Recordings’ head honcho who stumbled upon Arthur’s debut in a dusty record store in downtown Rio in the late ’80s. At the time of its release in 1972, critics panned Arthur’s debut and both the album and artist subsequently vanished into obscurity. Fast forward to winter 2004 and Joe’s at the studio of Far Out Recording artists Harmonic 313 — aka production duo Mark “Troubleman” Pritchard and Dave Brinkworth — playing them some of his favorite Brazilian albums. Dave recalls the moment Joe put on Arthur’s debut, “As soon as the needle hit the record and we heard the fantastic arrangements, songs and sounds, Arthur completely blew our minds.” Three months later and Dave was in Brazil with Arthur Verocai, and the plans for what was to become Encore were being laid down. Produced by Dave, Encore sees Arthur on incredible form, the 35 plus years between the recording of his debut and this the follow-up just melting away as Arthur picked up the (conductor’s) baton once again to create 11 epic tracks of stirring samba-soul and experimental cinematic movements that sees him creating a record to rival his debut.

File Under: Brazil, Bossanova, Soul, Funk
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Various: Seafaring Strangers: Private Yacht (Numero) LP
The Numero Group’s dive into the deep end of America’s private press continues. Having battled the witches and wizards of Darkscorch, the outlaws of Cosmic Americana, and traveled alongside Ladies From the Canyon and their Lonesome Heroes, it’s time to take it easy. With pop music’s volume knob adjusted for deflation in the early ‘70s, softness begat smoothness. Crewmen arrived from the worlds of jazz, folk, rock, and soul, all peddling a product that was sincere, leisurely, and lofty. A sound that was buoyant, crisp, defined. Sometimes classified as West Coast—and, later, Yacht Rock—the compass points of our Private Yacht expedition are the blue-eyed harmonies of Hall and Oates, the cocaine-dusted Fender Rhodes of Michael McDonald, and the combover strums of James Taylor. Here, at the glassy apex of rock’s softer side, 20 strong swimmers are gathered together. An album for both relaxation and reflection, where listeners can enjoy the present, a cool breeze, and a taste of the good life.

File Under: Yacht Rock

…..restocks…..

Aphex Twin: Syro (Warp) LP
Avalanches: Since I Left You (Astralwerks) LP
David Bowie: Hunky Dory (RCA) LP
Vic Chesnut: Silver Lake (New West) LP
Sam  Cooke: Night Beat (Music on Vinyl) LP
Danzig: Skeletons (Sony) LP
J Dilla: Donut (Stones Throw) LP
El Michel’s Affair: Return to the 37th Chamber (Big Crown) LP
Full Of Hell: Roots of Earth Are Consuming My Home (A389) LP
Full Of Hell: Trumpting Ecstasy (Profound Lore) LP
Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly (Aftermath) LP
Nirvana: Unplugged in New York (Geffen) LP
Nirvana: Nevermind (Geffen) LP
Sam & Dave: Soul Men (Rhino) LP
Seeds: s/t (GNP) 2LP
Slayer: Reign in Blood (Universal) LP
Slayer: Seasons in the Abyss (Universal) LP
Talking Heads: Speaking in Tongues (Rhino) LP

Well, I’m back, and the jet lag is catching up with me. There isn’t a ton in this week, but I’m a little out of practice, so this isn’t the BEST news letter i’ve ever put together. But there’s some sweet stuff, and even more so, there’s sweet stuff in the bins. The gang priced up lots of good used stuff while I was away as well, so get on down for a dig.

Much like the rest of the world, we’ll be taking a short day on Monday for Canada Day, we’ll just be open 12-5.

…..pick of the week…..

Radiophonic Worshop: Burials in Several Earths
(Room 13) 4×10″ Box
In tomorrow… Burials In Several Earths is a brand new work by the legendary Radiophonic Workshop, the soundtrack architects behind classic British TV music such as Doctor Who and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. An evocative suite of synth improvisations, Burials In Several Earths evokes the haunting qualities of their classic work whilst exploring fresh new vistas of sound. Conjuring up atmospheric, immersive textures that mix tried-and-trusted analogue techniques and leading edge digital technologies, the release connects the dots between the work of pioneering British electronic composers such as Delia Derbyshire and artists whose work bares the unmistakable genetic footprint of the Radiophonic Workshop: the likes of Cavern Of Anti-Matter, Pye Corner Audio and Children Of Alice. Features guest appearances from Martyn Ware (The Human League, Heaven 17) and Steve ‘Dub’ Jones (Grammy-award winning mixing engineer for The Chemical Brothers, UNKLE, and New Order). The vinyl edition is a deluxe quadruple 10″ boxset (including fold-out double-sided poster and download card) featuring edits of the tracks unique to this edition, and an alternate mix that does not appear on the CD and digital versions. The formatting is a subtle nod to the retrospective 4 x 10″ set the Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label put out in 2003. Burials In Several Earths was designed by David Chatton Barker, founder of the acclaimed Folklore Tapes label. The titling of the album and individual tracks were inspired by Francis Bacon’s incomplete 1627 literary work New Atlantis, previously used by one of the founders of the Workshop, Daphne Oram, as a manifesto for the original sound sorcery they famously produced in room 13 of the BBC Maida Vale studio complex in London. Room 13 is also the name of the Workshop’s newly minted label!

File Under: Electronic, Radiophonic, Experimental, Library
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…..new arrivals…..

Greg Ashley: Pictures of Saint Street (Trouble In Mind) LP
Greg Ashley has been a fixture on the underground music scene since the late-90s while strafing eardrums as a teenager in Houston in garage-punk band The Strate-Coats. Since then he’s proven himself not only as a songwriter, singer and guitar player in bands like The Mirrors and The Gris-Gris, but also as a producer/sound engineer via his Oakland-based Creamery Studio. His career as a solo artist is vast and varied, spanning the gamut between fried and beautiful psychedelia, gorgeous and cathartic symphonic suites and gentle, damaged folk music, beginning with 2003’s Medicine Fuck Dream and last leaving us with 2014’s Another Generation of Slaves. His latest, Pictures of Saint Paul Street carries forward that album’s musical palette (a rootsy amalgam of tortured, Cohen-esque folk tinged with the beer soaked recklessness of a West Texas honky-tonk). The songs are lush and beautiful autopsies of society’s underbelly, with stark and brutally honest ruminations on humanity. Tracks like “A Sea of Suckers” and “Pursue The Nightlife” pull no punches, while “Jailbirds & Vagabonds” and “Blues For A Pecan Tree” carouse on a more abstract, human (almost romantic) level. By the time you’ve hit the album’s centerpiece; “Bullshit Society,” Ashley’s songs move from ballads of hopeless misery to rallying anthems for the dispossessed. Pictures of Saint Paul Street isn’t always an easy listen, but that’s the point; the journey to salvation isn’t easy or pretty. The protagonist in many of Ashley’s songs may be Ashley himself – a true artist willing to admit he’s nowhere near perfect, and honest enough to document his sunrises & sunsets no matter if they occur in his own backyard, or on a barroom floor.

File Under: Indie Rock, Folk
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Beach House: B-Sides & Rarities (Sub Pop) LP
In tomorrow… “When we announced that we were releasing a B-sides and rarities album, someone on Twitter asked, “B-sides record? Why would Beach House put out a B-sides record? Their A-sides are like B-sides.” This random person has a point. Our goal has never been to make music that is explicitly commercial. Over the years, as we have worked on our 6 LPs, it wasn’t the “best” or most catchy songs that made the records, just the ones that fit together to make a cohesive work. “Accordingly, our B-sides are not songs that we didn’t like as much, just ones that didn’t have a place on the records we were making. The oldest song is “Rain in Numbers” and was recorded in 2005, during the summer when we formed the band. We didn’t have a piano, so we asked our friend if we could use his, which was pretty out of tune. We used the mic that was on the four-track machine to record the piano and vocals. It was originally the secret song on our self-titled debut. The next couple of songs are from late 2008. We were so excited about “Used to Be” that we quickly recorded it and put it on a 7″ for our fall tour with the Baltimore Round Robin. “The same session begat our cover of Queen’s “Play the Game” for a charity compilation benefiting AIDS research; we will continue to donate all profits from the song to that charity. As fans of Queen, we thought it would be fun and ridiculous to try to adapt their high-powered pop song into our realm. These songs were recorded at the same studio where we made Devotion. There are a bunch of songs written and recorded in the 2009-2010 window. “Baby” was written and recorded in October 2009 with our friend Jason Quever. “10 Mile Stereo” was recorded during the Teen Dream session in July 2009. Since we used tape, we often slowed the tape way down to create effects while recording, which led to “10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix).” “”White Moon” and “The Arrangement” were both songs that we didn’t believe fit on Teen Dream. “White Moon” originally appeared on our iTunes live session. Since that was recorded and mixed very hastily, we have remixed it to better match our current aesthetics. We have also remixed and included the version of “Norway” we did at that same session. We wrote and recorded “I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun” during a break between tours and released it on the internet for free, unmastered. Well, it’s finally been mastered…” – Beach House

File Under: Indie Rock, Pop
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Carter Family: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country.  The Carter Family, a family vocal group from Appalachian Virginia, were the most impactful discovery of talent scout Ralph Peer and the first vocal group to become country music stars. Apart from the beautiful harmonies that can only come from kin, Mother Maybelle Carter pioneered “scratch” style guitar picking, a clever synthesis of autoharp, banjo and guitar picking, and for years served as a matriarchal figure in the Grand Ole Opry. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.

File Under: Country, Folk

Evan Dando: Baby I’m Bored (Fire) LP
Yellow vinyl LP, single sleeve, printed inners. 2CD Book-back with 24 page book. Emerging after The Lemonheads disbanded ‘Baby I’m Bored’ is a stellar record that stripped Dando of his grunge label. At the time of recording, he was without the band which saw him lean more to-wards an achingly melodic alt-country rock sound. Self-deprecating, these are songs of de-cline and coming back from that. The record includes “Hard Drive” and “All My Life” two tracks penned by Ben Lee and features contributions from producer/composer Jon Brion, producer Bryce Goggin, Tom Morgan, Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb, Calexico’s John Convertino and Joey Burns, ex-Spacehog frontman Royston Langdon, Come’s Chris Brokaw and Arthur Johnson.

File Under: Indie Rock
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Death & Vanilla: To Where the Wild Things Are (Fire) LP
Formed in Malmö, Sweden by Marleen Nilsson and Anders Hansson, Death and Vanilla utilize vintage musical equipment such as vibraphone, organ, mellotron, tremolo guitar and moog, to emulate the sounds of 60s/70s soundtracks, library music, German Krautrock, French Ye-ye pop and 60s psych. They revel in the warmth of older analogue instruments to create a more organic sound, each loose wire and off-kilter noise adding to the rich atmosphere. After a handful of successful releases including a debut EP in 2010, their self-titled LP in 2012 – which sold out on pre-order – and a beautifully designed 7″ single, the experimental pop duo were invited to compose a live soundtrack for the classic horror film, Vampyr (1932), for the Lund Fantastisk Film festival in Lund. Now, newly signed to Fire, the band return with To Where The Wild Things Are. Named after the Maurice Sendak children’s book, the album is comprised of pop music with a wild, dreamy and experimental edge, celebrating imagination and the ability to travel to stranger recesses of the mind. Where the Wild Things Are starts off with some of the most “pop” songs they’ve ever recorded, typified in the sweet and melodramatic “Arcana,” and the classic pop inspired “Time Travel.” Like Sendak’s book of the same name, the album then proceeds into stranger and stranger territory, resulting in some of the most experimental material Death and Vanilla have produced, such as the six minute “Something Unknown You Need to Know” and the machine-like, surf-guitar track “The Hidden Reverse.” The band recorded the new album themselves in their rehearsal space, using just one microphone – a 70’s Sennheiser – which they bought at a flea market for a tenner. It is this unconventional recording process that gives Death and Vanilla their unique personality; using a trial and error approach to recording has rewarded the album with a strangeness that would not have otherwise been achievable. Creating deliciously enticing soundscapes, full of moody moogs, swirling melodies and breathless vocals, their influences on To Where the Wild Things Are are apparent and diverse, ranging from Ennio Morricone to Scott Walker, Tom Dissevelt to Norman Whitfield, The Zombies to Sun Ra, and Bo Hansson to The BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

File Under: Electronic, Psych, Experimental
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Demen: Nektyr (Kranky) LP
A few years ago Kranky received an anonymous email with a link to three tracks and a simple message: “Hi, maybe you would be interested in this music.” The songs were instantly striking: extraordinarily slow, somber, and spacious, each vaulted cathedral chord reverberating poetically into the distance, the melodies rolling out like fog across a cemetery. Captivated, they requested more, receiving a single word in response: “Yes.” Then, nothing. Eventually, 3 months later, another email with slightly more information was received: a name (Irma Orm), a location (Stockholm), and a bit of context (she worked alone, and progress on music was slow but steady ).Fast-forward to mid-2016: the album is complete: Nektyr, by Demen, and it is breathtaking. Hermetic gothic swan songs conjured from funereal piano, twilit ambience, minimalist percussion, and spellbinding vocals. The mood is lulling and lush but lost in sorrow, stark grey structures looming in the night. Majestic open spaces between notes heighten the melancholic grandeur of Orm’s arrangements, blurring the line between lament and lullaby. The songs don’t end so much as ebb away, succumbing to their own downcast beauty.

File Under: Ambient, Electronic, Folk
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Mississippi John Hurt: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Blues fingerpicking guitarist, singer and sharecropper Mississippi John Hurt was born in the heart of Mississippi Hill Country, along the veiny tributaries of the great American river. His moving renditions of “Frankie” and “Spike Driver Blues” were included in Harry Smith’s American Anthology of Folk Music in 1952 and were vitally influential on the Greenwich Village folk music revival of the 1960s as well as John Fahey’s development of the American Primitive Guitar genre. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.

File Under: Blues

Blind Willie Johnson: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Texas slide guitarist and gospel bluesman Blind Willie Johnson recorded only 30 songs over the course of his life as a preacher and street performer. Even so, the savvy combination of his gritty and powerful “chest voice” singing style coupled with his mastery of slide guitar (some report he regularly used a knife as a slide) has given him a notably influential legacy, specifically with later bluesmen Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson. His tune “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” was selected for Carl Sagan’s Voyager probe Golden Record, the Library of Congress as well as the National Recording Registry. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish

File Under: Blues

Lead Belly: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Louisiana delta native Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter is the master of 12-string blues guitar. His story is one of high-highs and low-lows, from serving stints in prison after killing a man in a fight for a woman’s heart, but then eventually earning early release by entertaining his fellow prison-mates and penning a song for the governor, thus cementing his reputation of singing his way out of prison. Folklorists John and Alan Lomax were early supporters that brought Lead Belly to the attention of Ivy Leaguers as well as a European audience. His songs have been widely covered by artists such as Elvis, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, and the Grateful Dead. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.

File Under: Blues

Memphis Jug Band: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. The Memphis Jug Band, most active from 1926 into the 1950s, revolved around guitarist, harmonica player and singer Will Shade and featured a wide variety of instrumentation including harmonica, kazoo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, piano, washboard and, of course, jug. They recorded more songs than any pre-war jug band and as a result, were key in developing the jug band tradition and format. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.

File Under: Blues, Jug Band

John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid (Drag City) LP
John Mulaney has performed standup comedy on stages around the world, written for such shows as Saturday Night Live and Documentary, Now!, and starred in his very own cancelled sitcom. If all that isn’t enough, his dog is a viral sensation on Instagram. Mulaney’s Emmy-nominated 2015 comedy special The Comeback Kid was recorded live at the Chicago Theatre and is issued here on vinyl courtesy of Drag City. Armed with boyish charm and a sharp wit, Mulaney offers sly takes on marriage, his beef with babies and the time he met Bill Clinton.

File Under: Comedy

Needles//Pins: Good Night Tomorrow (Mint) LP
Vancouver power-trash trio Needles//Pins began in 2009 as an excuse for three friends to hang out. Two LPs and a handful of 7 inch singles later the band has come a long way but are still, at their core, a few friends having fun. 2017 sees the band set to release their 3rd LP Good Night, Tomorrow on Mint Records. The record is a progression both musically and lyrically from their older material while still maintaining the hook-centric philosophy of their previous releases. The band has become legendary in Vancouver for wild shows and gruff but catchy punk rock melodies. They draw from classic punk roots like the wiry pop of The Buzzcocks and the gravely anthems of Stiff Little Fingers, but have a unique West Coast approach that would align them with the catchiest of the Lookout! or Dirtnap Records catalog. Though none of the band’s songs overstay their welcome, you’ll find yourself humming one of their hooks days after seeing them play or hearing the record. Recorded with Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung) in Vancouver at Rain City Recorders, the record shows an organic growth from the power pop of their previous two albums. Guitarist and singer Adam Solomonian’s voice is gruffer from playing hundreds of shows, and you can see a richer appreciation of the group’s influences such as Jawbreaker and the Replacements at play in the song writing. Tony Dubroy’s solid bass lines and Macey Budgell’s heavy drumming combine to form a powerful rhythm section that perfectly complement Solomonian’s simple-but-pointed guitar playing.

File Under: Punk
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OST: Baby Driver (Sony) LP
The soundtrack for Edgar Wright’s music laden film Baby Driver features gems from almost every musical genre and spans across multiple decades. The movie tells the story of Baby, a talented, young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) who relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. When he meets the girl of his dreams (Lily James), Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom. Includes music from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, The Beach Boys, Dave Brubeck, The Damned, The Commodores, Martha & The Vandellas, Sam & Dave, Blur, Golden Earring, Barry White, Young MC, Queen, Sky Ferreira, Simon & Garfunkel and Koala Kid among others.

File Under: OST

OST: Eraserhead (Sacred Bones) LP
Pressed on Silver Vinyl exclusively for the 10th Anniversary of Sacred Bones Records. Comes with deluxe 16-page book, three 11″x11″ prints, and a silver vinyl 7″ featuring Peter Ivers’ “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” b/w “Pete’s Boogie.” Limited edition of 1000. It is with great pride that Sacred Bones Records present its official, expanded, re-release of the soundtrack to David Lynch’s landmark 1977 film, Eraserhead. The bonus song “Pete’s Boogie” is a newly discovered Peter Ivers recording taken from the original audio tapes and mixed by Lynch himself. It was previously only available on the long out of print limited edition LP.

File Under: OST, Industrial, Ambient
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OST: Labyrinth (Universal) LP
In Tomorrow… An enchanting fantasy classic that has mesmerized fans for generations, 1986’s Labyrinth was directed by Jim Henson (The Muppets) and produced by the master of myth George Lucas (Star Wars, Indiana Jones). It also happens to feature the one and only David Bowie in the cast as well as several of his original songs on the soundtrack, his second motion picture to feature both his name and Jim Henson’s in the credits. “I’d always wanted to be involved in the music-writing aspect of a movie that would appeal to children of all ages, as well as everyone else, and I must say that Jim gave me a completely free hand with it,” explained Bowie. “The script itself was terribly amusing without being vicious or spiteful or bloody, and it had a lot more heart in it than many other special effects movies. So I was pretty hooked from the beginning.” As both a film and a soundtrack, Labyrinth ended up as far more of a cult classic than a full-fledged smash, but it nonetheless has a substantial fanbase, thanks to decades of the film being aired on various cable networks. And standout numbers from its soundtrack like “Magic Dance,” “As the World Falls Down,” “Within You,” and “Underground” are still beloved to this day.

File Under: OST, Rock

Iggy Pop: The Idiot (Virgin) LP
Iggy Pop is one of music’s genuine iconoclasts, a walking embodiment of all that is risky and dangerous about rock ‘n’ roll. He’s also an artist of considerable depth, and the creator of a diverse body of work that demonstrates his uncanny ability to defy expectations and explore uncharted creative territory. The Idiot, Lust for Life and TV Eye Live, originally released between 1977 and 1978, marked Iggy’s surprise rebirth as a solo artist after the dissolution of his pioneering protopunk band The Stooges. They also marked a timely collaboration between Iggy and longtime admirer David Bowie, then at the peak of his cultural influence. Bowie produced, co-wrote and played on The Idiot and Lust for Life, and plays keyboards on TV Eye Live. The three albums form a trilogy that remains a cornerstone of Iggy’s album catalog. On The Idiot, such standout tunes as “Nightclubbing,” “Funtime,” “Dum Dum Boys” and the original version of “China Girl” (later an ’80s hit for Bowie) introduced listeners to a more cerebral, introspective Iggy, often substituting an understated sense of unease for The Stooges’ raw aural assault.

File Under: Rock

Iggy Pop: Lust for Life (Virgin) LP
Iggy Pop is one of music’s genuine iconoclasts, a walking embodiment of all that is risky and dangerous about rock ‘n’ roll. He’s also an artist of considerable depth, and the creator of a diverse body of work that demonstrates his uncanny ability to defy expectations and explore uncharted creative territory. The Idiot, Lust for Life and TV Eye Live, originally released between 1977 and 1978, marked Iggy’s surprise rebirth as a solo artist after the dissolution of his pioneering protopunk band The Stooges. They also marked a timely collaboration between Iggy and longtime admirer David Bowie, then at the peak of his cultural influence. Bowie produced, co-wrote and played on The Idiot and Lust for Life, and plays keyboards on TV Eye Live. The three albums form a trilogy that remains a cornerstone of Iggy’s album catalog. Iggy’s smiling face on the front cover of Lust for Life signals the album’s more upbeat vibe than its predecessor, with such numbers as “The Passenger,” “Success,” “Tonight” and the anthemic title track embodying the album’s swaggering essence and Iggy’s reenergized creative vision.

File Under: Rock

Ride: Weather Diaries (Domino) LP
Ride’s first album in over 20 years was produced by legendary DJ, producer and remixer Erol Alkan, and is packed with all the classic elements that made Ride one of the defining bands of the early-90s. Trembling distortion, beautiful harmonies, pounding rhythms, shimmering soundscapes and great songwriting all combine to make an album that’s ambitious in scope, timeless and thoroughly addictive. Weather Diaries will be released through Wichita Recordings and sees the band reunited with label co-founders Mark Bowen and Dick Green, who worked with Ride during the band’s early years on Creation Records. It also brings the band back together with mixer Alan Moulder (Arctic Monkeys, Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers) who mixed their seminal 1990 album Nowhere and produced its follow up Going Blank Again.

File Under: Indie Rock, Shoe Gaze

Soul Wax: From DeeWee (Sony) LP
A brand new Soulwax album, the first studio effort from the indie dance luminaries in 12 years! After a period of extensive rehearsals and a level of planning to befit such a huge feat, From Deewee was recorded with the full touring band in one take at the Dewaele brother’s Deewee Studio in Ghent, Belgium in February 2017. Based on the Transient Program For Drums and Machinery which began touring in the summer of 2016, they set out to record these songs live with the exact same setup, machines and musicians as they had on the road. Playing on this record are Stephen and David Dewaele, Stefaan Van Leuven, Iggor Cavalera, Victoria Smith, Blake Davies and Laima Leyton. The instruments used are two Staccato drumkits, one clear crystalline Meazzi Wooding drumkit, one set of Rototoms, various Hofner bass guitars, a Macbeth M5n, an Oberheim Two-Voice Pro, a Two Thousand Six Hundred copy built by The Human Comparator, one Oberheim OB-Mx, an EMS Synthi AKS, an Arp Odyssey, a TB-303 clone, a Mellotron M4000D, a Sequential Prophet 6, a Waldorf Streichfett, a Burns Sonic guitar, a Vox Phantom guitar, one Syncussion clone built by Loudestwarning, various solid state Roland, Peavey and Acoustic amplifiers and a wide range of effects, all going through three Trident Fleximix consoles, straight into Pro Tools.

File Under: Electronic, Dance
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White Hills: Stop Mute Defeat (Thrill Jockey) LP
The dismal realities, political or otherwise, that are part of our modern world naturally influence our creative voices. It is in this context that White Hills re-evaluated their approach to creating a new album. Having continually refined their sound, pushing the boundaries of psychedelic music, White Hills flipped the script on Stop Mute Defeat. Dave W. and Ego Sensation have brazenly produced an industrially-charged record that pulsates unlike anything they’ve released before. Hard-line, gritty, and intellectually engaged, Stop Mute Defeat is a New York record through and through. With this in mind, White Hills drafted Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Brian Eno, Afrika Bambaataa) to mix. White Hills recorded with Bisi on two of their previous releases, Frying On This Rock in 2012 and its follow-up So You Are…So You’ll Be, however Stop Mute Defeat is the first time they worked with Martin “The Beast” Bisi in control of the mixing board. A native New Yorker who made his name in the city’s early hip-hop and no-wave scenes, Bisi was attracted to White Hills’ new material for its distinct early-80s Mudd Club feel. A dance hall, drug den, and bar, the Mudd Club was one of New York’s legendary haunts in the late 1970’s. As a center of a distinct art scene the club served as a major influence for White Hills and Stop Mute Defeat’s sound. Following similar techniques to those propagated by William S. Burroughs (a regular at Mudd Club), Stop Mute Defeat sees White Hills break free from the guitar-driven structure of their earlier releases. Reassigning William Burroughs’ word “cut-up” technique to music, Dave W. and Ego Sensation deconstruct sound clips to create minimalist but rhythmically complex phrases. Title track “Stop Mute Defeat” layers turbocharged bass loops with squalling guitar samples, to create a sound that calls to mind Xtrmntr-era Primal Scream. “If… 1… 2” goes even further down the rabbit hole, oscillating into the experimental electro-sound of early 80s Sheffield, UK band Cabaret Voltaire. Meanwhile the taut brawny grind of “Attack Mode” industrially hardens White Hills’ rock boundaries to tribal densities. Appalled by the rampant consumerism and the proliferation of ‘post-truth’ mythology, White Hills’ defiant lyricism is at their most philosophically scathing. Condemning doublespeak as “Subliminal seduction…a serenade with a grenade,” the song “Overlord” laments political and economic opportunism, where “In travesty, [there’s always] another dollar to be made.” On “Attack Mode” meanwhile, a clenched-jawed Dave W. channels the perverse cynicism of Throbbing Gristle, throwing scorn on “societies where misogyny leads and the objectification of young girls runs free.” Exposing Western vulgarity in bright light, Stop Mute Defeat is a fearless and necessary denunciation of the political and economic powers that be.

File Under: Psych, Rock

Various: American Epic: The Best of the Blues (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Early geniuses of Delta Blues – Robert Johnson, Geeshie Wiley & Elvie Thomas, Son House, Charley Patton and many more have been painstakingly remastered using a mix of analog and digital technology for a hybrid sound that is simultaneously contemporary, immediate but still completely true-to-form. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.

File Under: Blues

Various: American Epic: The Best of the Country (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Early champions of Country Music – The Carter Family, Uncle Dave Macon, the Massey Family, Jimmie Rodgers and many more – have been painstakingly remastered using a mix of analog and digital technology for a hybrid sound that is simultaneously contemporary, immediate but still completely true-to-form. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.

File Under: Country