kimber – la luz

lindsay – iris dement, la luz

dario – heather woods broderick

jeff – mac demarco, mewithoutyou

Deaf Wish – Pain CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)

Pain is a miraculously dissonant, wonderfully immediate display of Deaf Wish at their mightiest, alive with the same wild chemistry and sense of possibility that made their first recordings so vital. With more time together than they’ve ever had before, they’re found themselves confronted with ideal (yet foreign) conditions. Two-minute freakouts like “Eyes Closed” share airspace with the meditate squall of “On” and the guitar-born majesty of “Calypso.” Everything was captured in three takes or less, in a bleak, nondescript studio on the lifeless outskirts of Melbourne. Pain was mastered by Mikey Young (Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Total Control). “It’s a simple thing,” guitarist Jensen Tjhung says of their approach. “Simple takes the worry out of it. If we try to step it up and go sideways, it just doesn’t seem to work. But we’ve grown up and been through some shit. To get to this point you have to bust through a few walls. It’s easy to be new, and I think, in the end, this is what it is. When you put these people in the room, it’s Deaf Wish.” Loser Edition colored vinyl in stock now. Get a free ltd edition Deaf Wish puzzle with purchase!!

Mac DeMarco – Another One CD/LP+MP3/CASS (Captured Tracks)

Like the days of Steely Dan or Harry Nilsson releasing a classic album every year (or less) comes Mac DeMarco’s Another One, a mini-LP announced one year after the release of the meteorically successful Salad Days. Written and recorded during the downtime between a relentless touring schedule, Another One is an eight-track release that expands the arsenal of Mac’s already impressive catalog, showing the maturity of Mac’s progression as songwriter: it’s a bit more refined, a bit more sophisticated, but nonetheless retains the guts and soul of classic Mac.

Iris DeMent – The Trackless Woods CD (FlariElla)

Featuring original music and melodies by Iris, The Trackless Woods sets 18 poems by acclaimed 20th century Russian poet Anna Akhmatova to life. Hailed as one of Russia’s finest poets, Akhmatova survived the Bolshevik Revolution, both World Wars and Stalin. She lost family, friends and fellow writers to political killings and labor in the gulags. When Iris randomly stumbled upon Akhmatova’s work in a book of poetry a friend sent as a gift, she was immediately taken by the sorrow and burden of the poems, juxtaposed with Akhmatova’s lightness and transcendence in the face of inhumanity.

Georgia – Georgia CD (Domino)

Georgia is the eponymous debut album by multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter Georgia Barnes. Born and raised in north west London, the last few years have seen Georgia steadily establish herself as an important fixture in the city’s most singular and imaginative artistic circles, playing drums for Kwes and Kate Tempest among others before emerging as an irresistible creative force in her own right with last year’s Come In EP. Written, performed and produced by Barnes in its entirety, Georgia is the product of a young lifetime of voracious music listening — a bold, boundless 21st century amalgam that marks her out as an intuitive curator, distinctive songwriter of real spirit and self-taught producer of soulful, progressive and highly-defined electronic pop. Vinyl version due September 4.

Syl Johnson – Complete Twinight Singles CD/2xLP (Numero)

“There are many great soul singers, but few have inspired hip-hop from its early beginning to now. Syl Johnson is a unsung pioneer of musical fusion.” – RZA. Syl Johnson began the ’60s a blues singer and session guitarist and concluded it having synthesized his own brand of gritty Chicago soul. Their first signee, Syl Johnson set the tone at Twinight Records, writing and producing fifteen 45s during his four-year tenure with the label. This double LP neatly bundles each side of each of Johnson’s Twinight 45s, from the heavily-sampled grunts on “Different Strokes,” to the ghetto-conscious “Concrete Reservation.”

Chelsea Wolfe – Abyss CD/LP+MP3 (Sargent House)

Abyss opens with the disorienting lurch of “Carrion Flowers,” where Wolfe weaves a hypnotic vocal melody over monotonic industrial thuds, much as an Indian raga is constructed around a lone note or swara. On “Iron Moon,” the band pushes for extremes in its loud-quiet-loud strategy, alternating between hushed balladry and gargantuan doom. On “Dragged Out,” glacial-paced fuzz riffs underscore Wolfe’s sultry verses, until a howling wail of distortion dominates the chorus. But there are certainly moments when the brutish elements are reigned in ”Maw” could serve as a lullaby and ”Crazy Love” harkens back to the humble acoustic compositions of her Unknown Rooms album. But between them we have ”After the Fall”, the centerpiece of the album, where the abrupt tonal shifts, descending chord progressions, and climactic vocals illustrate Wolfe’s fascination with Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung.

Heather Woods Broderick – Glider LP+MP3 (Western Vinyl)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Heather Woods Broderick excels at distilling her experiences into a soulful melancholy that’s enduring both for its intimate relatable moments and its persistent sense of mystery. Her uncanny ear for evocative production and gorgeous vocal harmonies serves her well on her new album Glider. Throughout the album, the rich dreamlike atmospheres she creates hint at a darkness looming on the horizon, while the singularity of her ethereal voice always seems to linger long after the music has stopped. As a talented multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Heather has had the opportunity to record and tour with plenty of incredible artists including Horse Feathers, Efterklang, and Sharon Van Etten, which has kept her moving house and traveling around the world for much of the past decade.

Built In Sun – Built In Sun LP (Joyful Noise)

Built In Sun is a new project from Joe Plummer; drummer for The Shins, Cold War Kids and Mister Heavenly. Joe has also toured and recorded with Modest Mouse and The Black Heart Procession on drums and percussion over the last 10 years. Built In Sun was created during touring breaks between The Shins and Cold War Kids releases, originally as an instrumental idea, with inspirations landing somewhere between John Cales’ Fear, the punk vibe of the Wipers and John Reis, and his favorite soundtrack composers; John Brion and Clint Mansell.

Hauschka – A ndo C y LP+MP3 (Temporary Residence)

Side A features five tracks conceived during the Abandoned City sessions, a suite of songs that together form an exceptionally resonant whole. As with Abandoned City, these songs owe as much to minimalist techno as modern composition, which makes them particularly conducive to remixes. On Side B, experimental folk icon Devendra Banhart distills Abandoned City standout, “Agdam,” to barely-there, fractured clusters of solitary piano strikes and swelling synths. By comparison, Eluvium’s transformation of “Stromness” sounds almost shockingly euphoric, all cascading waves of distortion washed over a plethora of plucked piano pings.

HEALTH – Death Magic LP (Loma Vista)

HEALTH formed in Los Angeles in 2006, playing their first shows at now-legendary DIY club The Smell. They have gone on to release four critically acclaimed albums, including two remix projects that featured diverse artists from Crystal Castles to Pictureplane, Tobacco to Nosaj Thing, reflecting the band’s wide taste and reach between the rock, electronic and experimental music worlds. Their new album epitomizes their idiosyncratic blend of electronic, rock and pop styles. Having worked with outside producers and engineers for the first time, the final result is somehow bombastic yet accessible, heartbreaking and head-banging, all steeped in classic album sensibilities of songwriting and production. CD version due August 14.

mewithoutYou – Pale Horses LP (Run For Cover)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. mewithoutYou’s sixth studio album hearkens boldly to the raw intensity of 2004’s Catch For Us The Foxes, while building on the rich imagery of 2006’s Brother, Sister. Epic in scope, Pale Horses is mewithoutYou at their best, breathing fresh life into the end times, gloriously terrifying and hauntingly iconic.

Nick Diamonds – City Of Quartz LP (Manque)

Nick Diamonds’ second LP, City Of Quartz, is a giant leap forward from his 2011 debut. Blending synthesizers, drum machines and his signature Spaghetti Western guitar licks, he has forged a sound that tips a hat to perennial favorites like Eno and ELP, looks ahead to more contemporary artists like ESG and EMF, but still has two feet firmly planted in his own entirely unique world, which he’s been creating with Islands, Mister Heavenly and The Unicorns since 2003.

Prefuse 73 – Every Color Of Darkness LP (Temporary Residence)

The conclusion of a triptych of new recordings, Every Color Of Darkness basks in the darkest corners of Prefuse 73’s world, finding an eerie romanticism in manic beats and damaged jazz. It’s a record that showcases his uncanny ability to excavate and exploit a source of light buried in pitch black.