Atlas Genius – Inanimate Objects CD (WB)

Produced by Atlas Genius and Frederik Thaae, Inanimate Objects is the follow-up to the band’s 2013 full-length debut, When It Was Now, which was hailed by Rolling Stone as a “spritely, melodic debut album.”

 

Beach House – Depression Cherry CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)

Fifth album from the Baltimore, MD duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. “If you view a band as a long-term artistic project, then Beach House have always been perfect. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have done everything right: They’ve found the ideal balance of dim, lush tones; their sound progresses at a graceful, even clip; they leave just the right amount of time between albums. Even their name is perfect: Beach houses are rickety, inviting spaces that, by nature of their existence, live outside of time. If a beach house were to change noticeably—if that paperback you left there last May isn’t still sitting upside-down and open to the same page, gathering dust on the same shelf you left it—you’d be upset.” [BNM/8.4] — Pitchfork

 

Willis Earl Beal – Noctunes CD/2xLP+MP3 (Tender Loving Empire)

“Enigmatic experimenter Willis Earl Beal has had a bit of a rough lead-up to his album Noctunes, as he recently spent a couple of weeks in jail on charges of criminal mischief and harassment. Now, he’s putting that behind him by streaming his album in full. The album makes good on the nocturnal implications of its title, as it begins with the ambient sprawl of the softly crooned opener ‘Under You.’ From there, the synth textures throughout the LP are pillowy and Beal’s crooning is warm and soothing, while a few electronic beats slightly spice up the soundscape from time to time.” – Exclaim

 

 

Destroyer – Poison Season CD (Merge)

Poison Season opens with Vancouver native Dan Bejar swathed in Hunky Dory strings. He’s a dashboard Bowie surveying four wracked characters—Jesus, Jacob, Judy, Jack—simultaneously Biblical and musical theatre. This bittersweet, Times Square-set fanfare is reprised twice more on the record—first as swaying, saxophone-stoked “street-rock” and then finally as a curtain-closing reverie. Mr. Bejar has long displayed a chameleonic instinct for change while maintaining a unified aesthetic (rather than just pinballing between reference points). No two records sound the same, but they’re always uniquely Destroyer. His latest incarnation often appears to take sonic cues from a distinctly British (usually Scottish, to be precise) strain of sophisti-pop: you might hear traces of Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, Orange Juice, or The Blow Monkeys. These songs merge a casual literary brilliance with intense melodic verve, nimble arrangements, and a certain blue-eyed soul sadness. Vinyl version due September 11.

 

Foals – What Went Down CD/CD+DVD/LP+MP3 (WB)

All of the truly transformative and era-defining albums have grappled with questions that are a world away from the bland bleatings of homogenized pop. Permanence and impermanence, life and death, solitude, vulnerability, intimacy, passion, rage, humanity – weighty issues that make demands of the people creating that music, and of all those who listen to it, too. What Went Down confronts these issues head-on. “The band have characterizedWhat Went Down as their heaviest album yet, and it certainly rages with a fresh fire: the title track’s descending chord-sequence is the closest they’ll get to ‘I Want To Be Your Dog.’ But by the same token, the nibbly little guitar and hi-hat of ‘Birch Tree’ is the closest they’ll come to disco, an indication of their ambitions” – The Independent. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds a four track DVD featuring the making-of-the-album documentary entitled “Crème Anglaise,” the video for title track “What Went Down,” and two Poolside Sessions.

 

 

Frog Eyes – Pickpocket’s Locket CD/LP (Paper Bag)

New album from the BC art-rock institution. A press release notes that the 10 songs from the set were written by bandleader Carey Mercer on an acoustic guitar that was left to him in his father’s will. As explained by Mercer, “It was all he had to give, because he wasn’t a rich man. I wrote 10 songs on it, and I think that was the real gift he gave me: a love of music, not just the way you all love it (music lovers), but also a love of creating it, sowing myself, in some small way, into the story of music.”

 

Halsey – Badlands CD/LP (Astralwerks)

Rising indie pop ingénue Halsey was one of the most buzzed-about performers at SXSW 2015. She delivers her lush vocals with clarity, precision, and a combination of classic elegance and punk edge that makes her dynamic songs all the more powerful. Whether her voice is soaring above the sizzling synths and skittering electronic beats of ‘Hurricane’ or propelling the syncopated rhythms of “Ghost,” Halsey possesses a cutting-edge style within these sonically adventurous arrangements.

 

Mike Krol – Turkey CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)

In bowling’s hallowed alleys, a strike is the minor miracle of all ten pins falling at once. Back-to-back strikes make a double. Do it a third time and you’ve got yourself a turkey. History will decide which sports metaphor to apply to Mike Krol’s first two records, I Hate Jazz (2011) and Trust Fund (2013). But as needle meets groove onTurkey—Krol’s first record for Merge—there is no ambiguity. A shiny black ball tumbles past the suburban strip malls of a polyestered Wisconsin and veers precariously close to an East Coast gutter before gathering momentum in a physics-defying sprint for the Pacific. California is where the headpin falls—the right velocity, the perfect geometry, the bowler’s intent beautifully realized in a noisy moment of awesome destruction. Mike Krol got his bike stolen and his heart broken. He bailed on graphic-design-as-career. He kept playing drums and guitars, and he kept writing songs about the stuff he hated and the stuff he loved. Plug the vocal mic into a guitar amp. Plug the guitar into an overheating box of vacuum tubes. Put the computer in the closet. Roll the tape.

 

 

Royal Trux – Hand Of Glory [Reissue/2002] CD/LP (Drag City)

Remember first hearing Royal Trux and feeling it was some weird dirty exhilarating secret you only shared with a few people, like some creepy addiction? The missing piece of the Royal Trux puzzle, circa 1989-1990, right around they recorded some early singles for Drag City. Neil Michael Hagerty literally found these tapes in a trunk in his dad’s basement in 2000. The largest cache of unheard Royal Trux since 1997’s Singles, Live, Unreleased.

 

Silicon – Personal Computer CD/LP (Weird World)

Silicon is the new project from New Zealand via Hawaii multi-instrumentalist Kody Nielson. Personal Computer, the debut album, is a seductive electronic pop record that pits Nielson’s brilliant soul, funk and disco influenced songwriting against a backdrop of extra-terrestrial noir sonics, calling to mind the varied likes of Flying Lotus, Panda Bear and Portishead in the process, as well as that of Unknown Mortal Orchestra — the project of Nielson’s brother and former bandmate in The Mint Chicks.

 

Tamaryn – Cranekiss CD/LP+MP3 (Mexican Summer)

With Cranekiss, Tamaryn emerges from her past efforts in a way that’s inviting, warm-blooded, and shockingly direct. She’s made a big record, loaded with samples, synth triggers and processing that was missing from her previous efforts, pressed into service of a post-adolescent love letter to all the music that she and her collaborators (Jorge Elbrecht of Violens and Lansing-Dreiden, Shaun Durkan of Weekend) hold dear.

 

Taste – I’ll Remember: A Box Of Taste 4xCD (Republic/Polydor)

An archival box set featuring the music of Taste, the Irish rock/blues band formed in the mid-‘60s that featured Rory Gallagher on guitar and vocals. The four-disc set features both studio albums (1969’s Taste and the 1970 follow-up On The Boards) expanded with many alternate versions of album tracks. The third CD is full of live audio from 1970 culled from concerts in Stockholm and London while the final disc adds demos, rare single cuts and more live material.

 

Tijuana Panthers – Poster CD (Innovative Leisure)

Live and on record, the Tijuana Panthers are a great band. You could say garage, punk or surf while describing their sound, but they’re harder to pin than that. The truth is that they write classic songs that don’t depend on tropes from any genre. They craft perfect pop and deliver it with energy and immediacy. However, the real magic of this band is in their weirdness. Vinyl version due September 11.

 

 

The Weeknd –Beauty Behind The Madness CD (Republic)

Beauty Behind The Madness is the second studio album by The Weeknd, and features guest appearances from Labrinth, Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey. “Beauty Behind The Madness is the moment Tesfaye takes all the free-floating anxiety and fear and cold, clammy darkness that’s been in his music since day one and turns it into pure big-tent pop gold. I never would’ve imagined that the guy singing vaporous sex jams over Beach House samples a few years ago would become one of the world’s biggest and greatest pop stars in a very short time, but here we are. BBTM is a total and unabashed sellout move, and that’s one of the best things about it. It shows what happens when an artist gives in to his commercial instincts and, in the process, finds his voice.” – Stereogum

 

The Weeknd – Echoes Of Silence [Reissue/2011] CD/2xLP (Republic)

Echoes Of Silence is the third mixtape and last in a trilogy of albums by the Canadian recording artist. It followed his Polaris Music Prize-nominated debut release House Of Balloons and his second mixtape Thursday, both released earlier the same year (and recently reissued as well).

 

Gin Wigmore – Blood To Bone CD (Island)

Gin Wigmore crafts emotional, intelligent folk-pop in the vein of contemporaries like Feist, Fiona Apple, and Brandi Carlile.

 

Yo La Tengo – Stuff Like That There CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)

This 14 song collection of covers (The Cure, Hank Williams, The Lovin’ Spoonful and more), originals and reworking(s) happens to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Yo La Tengo’s landmark 1990 album,Fakebook. Recorded with Gene Holder (The Feelies), Stuff Like That There, the trio of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew is augmented by guitarist and former Yo La Tengo member Dave Schramm, with James negotiating the wonders of the upright bass for the first time.

 

Dope Body – Kunk LP/Cassette (Drag City)

Dope Body are in a four-way conversation here, with drums, guitar, bass and vocals all pushing it around. Leaning into the future, mindlessly, just reacting, the jams of Kunk are shimmering, alive with a simmering sizzle. Swirling jams that pound and float, cloud-like, associating segmentally like a naturally growing train of thought. Kunk rolls forth with funk and flutter, plenty of riffs, stuttering and structure gleaming in the air. It’s a juggling act, and no balls hit the ground.

 

Johnny Marr – Candidate b/w Exit Connection 7” (New Voodoo)

New single from last year’s Playland LP featuring the non-album B-side “Exit Connection” which is “a swaggering Britrock song that gets in and out in under three minutes.” — Stereogum

 

 

Mynabirds – Lovers Know 2xLP+MP3 (Saddle Creek)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Lovers Know is definitely new territory for songwriter Laura Burhenn, forging into ‘80s, ‘90s and futuristic soundscapes, recalling Kate Bush, Sinead O’Connor, The Jesus And Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and even ‘90s hip-hop and R&B. The album may be loaded with a fresh palette of new sounds (swarms of synths, gauzy electric guitars, and electronic drums), but her brooding, unmistakable voice leads the way. Lyrically this is her most personal and confessional work to date, and also her most accessible. Whereas her last album, Generals, watched from a wide angle to understand the world at a distance, Lovers Know pulls in close. “There’s something about wandering the world over,” Laura says, “that makes you realize how similar we all are – everyone searching for something, so often the same thing: love. It may sound trite, but it’s true. Love – or the lack of it – is the thing we all have in common. It can destroy us. It can break us open and let the light in. And it’s also the thing that can make us sing.”

 

Natural Information Society & Bitchin Bajas – Autoimaginary LP/Cassette (Drag City)

Natural Information Society, like their partners in time Bitchin Bajas, live their days in flow motion. Rhythms come and go, instruments sound as a means to a greater end. Music is the way of their life. Their debut convergence, Automaginary, feels as natural as it does inevitable. It is psychedelic and ambient and jazz — yet none of it either, the whole being more than the sum of former parts. This is music of unique variance.