Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath [Reissue/1970] CD/LP (red) (Rhino)

Black Sabbath – Paranoid [Reissue/1970] CD/LP (blue) (Rhino)

Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality [Reissue/1971] CD/LP (green) (Rhino)

Black Sabbath – Vol. 4 [Reissue/1972] CD/LP (orange) (Rhino)

Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath [Reissue/1973] CD/LP (blue) (Rhino)

Black Sabbath – Sabotage [Reissue/1975] CD/LP (purple) (Rhino)

Black Sabbath – Technical Ecstasy [Reissue/1976] CD/LP (white) (Rhino)

Black Sabbath – Never Say Die [Reissue/1978] CD/LP (gray) (Rhino)

Digitally remastered reissues now available. [Limited color vinyl editions are also available.]

Haley Bonar – Impossible Dream CD/LP+MP3 (Gndwire)

Bonar’s new self-produced sixth album was tracked live-to-tape with her five piece band at the legendary Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN and mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah YeahYeahs, TVOTR) and Robbie Lackritz (Feist, Bahamas). The songs on Impossible Dream tell stories within stories, sitting side each other like Russian nesting dolls, of sexuality, lost youth, teenage parenthood, the lines of social disorder for women, and the terror of jealousy and suspicion.

Cheena– Spend The Night With… CD/LP (Sacred Bones)

Cheena testify to a long history of New York nights, trading insults and borrowing beer at rooftop parties that began years ago. There’s plenty of New York in this band — Lou Reed’s better glam punches found a jawline or two among them, the heavy handed playing of the Dolls, and that particular manner of NY glam you can hear in Kiss — that’s all in Cheena. Spend The Night With… is a soundtrack to nights where revelry and lust are never isolated from poor decisions and vanity, where the grave sincerity of a bathroom confession explodes into cruelty and hysteria, nights on busy streets or crowded subway cars colored with elegant ambition and constrained by the practicality of street smarts.

J Dilla – The King Of Beats 2xCD (Yancey Media Group)

J Dilla – The King Of Beats 2 LP (Yancey Media Group)

The E-Mu Systems SP-1200 drum machine and sampler was the first electronic instrument Jay Dee worked with while crafting the incomparable styles and sounds which defined the early stages of his legendary production. The SP-1200 was his primary tool of choice at the inception of his career. During this period, he created classics for early Slum Village, The Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, among many others. After careful study and curation, this collection compiles the well-deserved documentation of Jay Dee’s early musical masterpiece — 40 tracks from Jay Dee’s Beats Batch series created using his SP-1200.

Dinosaur Jr – Give Me A Glimpse Of What Yer Not CD/LP+MP3 (Jagjaguwar)

“In an American political climate fraught with chaos and uncertainty, Dinosaur Jr.’s Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not is the warm, comforting blanket of Marshall-stack fuzz we need. The band has become the alt-rock equivalent of AC/DC or Motörhead: Their sound is formulaic, but frontman J. Mascis’s guitar tone, his effectively no-frills songwriting, and the rhythm section’s synergy is irresistibly familiar. The album barely even bothers tinkering with this familiar template; it has the least distinctive musical identity of any of the four albums that Dinosaur Jr. has released since the long-awaited reformation of their classic power-trio lineup in 2005. Not given over entirely to the atmospherics of Beyond, the heavy jammy-ness of Farm, or the poppy-ness of I Bet On Sky, Give A Glimpse instead combines all those stylistic elements into a package that is replete with all the welcome signatures of the band’s sound” – Slant Magazine. [Limited purple color vinyl edition also available.]

Jad and David Fair – Shake Cackle And Squall CD/LP (Joyful Noise)

Jad and David Fair have made a lot of records — like, a whole lot — over the last 40+ years with cult band Half Japanese and other projects. [New album Shake Cackle And Squall] is back to basics for the Fairs, just drums, guitar and vocals. Still they manage to coax a lot of craziness from those building blocks (the LP title is fitting)…” – Brooklyn Vegan

Gov’t Mule – The Tel-Star Sessions CD/2xLP (Evil Teen)

The Tel-Star Sessions is a new archival album from legendary rock torchbearers Gov’t Mule. In early summer of 1994, while on break from Allman Brothers work, the original Mule line-up of Warren Haynes, Allen Woody, and Matt Abts assembled at Tel-Star Studios outside Sarasota, Florida, to lay down on tape their vision to exhume the rock power trio – their influences ranging from Cream and Jimi Hendrix Experience to Blue Cheer and ZZ Top. Says Warren, ‘Allen Woody had plenty of ideas in that department — starting with simultaneously bringing back the ‘rock bass’ sound. Along with our discussions about the ‘power trio’ being missing from the current musical landscape were the discussions of how the sound of the bass guitar had gotten progressively ‘cleaner’ since the ’80s (or late ’70s), and how that affected the overall feeling of the music. So, when we went in to the studio to do our first recording sessions, part of our mission was to capture an old familiar sound as well.” What resulted from those sessions was the key soundscape of the band’s rawness and excitement that Mule fans will love: straight-ahead rock- and blues-based song structures, explorative but tight and tough as a clenched fist.

Tig Notaro – Boyish Girl Interrupted CD/LP (Secretly Canadian)

The crowd at the Wilbur Theatre gives Tig Notaro the standing ovation she both intimates and deserves. The audience’s roaring laughter ends Tig’s one-hour set in Boston as it’s taped and recorded for her HBO special, and, sure enough, concertgoers rise and applaud, an example of Tig’s ability to connect to her fans through a sharp, dry wit and the hilarious payoff of her deadpan jokes. The special, now available as Boyish Girl Interrupted is the follow up to her Grammy nominated second album, Live. Over the course of the show, Notaro tells stories about a number of subjects, including: performing in Las Vegas; the search for the perfect Santa Claus; her favorite laugh noises; bringing her wife to meet her Mississippi family; TSA screening; flying in small planes; unusual public signs; and – again – standing ovations; and much more.

O.A.R. – XX CD/3xLP (Vanguard)

In celebration of their 20th anniversary, XX is a career-spanning collection of O.A.R.’s biggest hits and incredible live shows plus new studio material.O.A.R. (an acronym for the band’s full moniker, Of A Revolution) transformed itself from an independent college band to a Billboard chart-topper over the course of a long, varied career. First, two of the band’s demo recordings were hawked on university campuses. Then, news spread about the band’s roots rock and reggae-inflected songs, which owed much to the jam band genre. Before long the group gradually left the college scene for the bright lights of national stardom.

Russian Circles – Guidance CD/LP+MP3 (Sargent House)

“For five albums now, the Chicago-based trio Russian Circles have made great use of post-rock most familiar’s dynamic tricks—loud and quiet; stop and start, swell and subside. But they’ve never had qualms about splicing elements of everything from metal and noise-rock to krautrock and post-hardcore into their darkly dramatic, instrumental compositions.There’s always been a sense of flow to Russian Circles, but on Guidance, it’s far more striking.” — Pitchfork

Wild Beasts – Boy King CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)

Where 2014’s Present Tense album found Wild Beasts in reflective mood, absorbing a fascination with online culture and electronic music, Boy King has them, as Tom Fleming puts it, “back to being pissed off.” The quartet’s ever-present knack for sensual melody via Hayden Thorpe and Fleming’s dueting vocals, Ben Little’s sinuous guitar groove and Chris Talbot’s potent rhythm section carries in Boy King an aggressive, snarling and priapic beast that delves into the darker side of masculinity and Thorpe’s own psyche. As Hayden himself says, “After five records there had to be an element of ‘what the fuck?’” A newfound creative friction between Thorpe and Fleming proved key to unleashing the unique pop sensibility of Boy King — Fleming’s more visceral experimentation unlocking new dimensions in Thorpe’s own writing. Between the slide of prowling aggression and interior darkness, there are glorious, gorgeous moments. It is yet another incomparable Wild Beasts record; a visceral, sensual and jolting body of work that acts as a remarkable soundtrack to the early 21st century male malaise.

Wye Oak – Tween CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)

“Wye Oak is a band that never seem to reveal too much. Despite the angelic vocals of Jenn Wasner, their music and its atmosphere do most of the talking. The Baltimore-bred duo of Andy Stack (drums, keyboards, vocals) and Wasner (vocals, guitar, bass) allow moody keyboards, slashing guitar riffs and tumbling drum fills to really paint the picture. Their last full-length album, Shriek, was released two years ago, and if I’m to correctly decipher a recent cryptic press release, Tween is more of a stopgap than a ‘proper’ album. Wye Oak’s label made references to albums like R.E.M.’s Dead Letter Office and the The Who’s Odds & Sods for comparison, so with that in mind, this is obviously some sort of an outtakes/rarities collection. For a collection such as this, it holds together remarkably well. Wye Oak are in many ways a forward-thinking band, but their influences are definitely steeped in ‘80s bands like the Cocteau Twins, the Sundays, the Jesus and Mary Chain and, on a less abrasive scale, shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine. ‘On Luxury’ is one of their more blatant nods to the ‘80s, as vocal figures are casually tossed off while a robotic keyboard bed provides a retro guilty pleasure. A highly syncopated, unanticipated percussion breakdown is a small, unexpected delight, building up to the song’s finale.” – Pop Matters

The Avett Brothers – True Sadness 2xLP (Republic)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl.Seth Avett says that True Sadness is a patchwork quilt, both thematically and stylistically. Wherein a myriad of contrasting fabrics make perfect sense on the same plane, the album draws upon countless resources from its writers and performers. He cites pervasive and cornerstone influences such as Queen, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jimmie Rodgers, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, Gillian Welch, Aretha Franklin, Walt Disney, Pink Floyd, Kings Of Convenience, calypso of the 1950s and country of the 1930s. Most importantly, he assures, “Throughout the album, we stitched together the boldest red and the calmest green, polka dots and stripes, the roughest denim and the smoothest velveteen. They came together because they are the best patterns we have and because each of us brought our own fabric to the quilting frame.”

John Holt – Memories By The Score 2xLP (VP)

Vinyl companion to the recently released five-CD box set.The historic career of John Holt (1947-2014) spanned three decades, charting classic hits in multiple genres within Jamaican music. As a member of the Paragons, John Holt was featured on multiple rock-steady classics. Later partnering with legendary producer Bunny Lee, Holt helped to define what would become ‘lover’s rock.’ In the 1980s Holt returned to prominence with producers ‘Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes and King Jammy with roots reggae and early dancehall hits.

Damien Jurado– Rehearsals For Departure [1999] LP+MP3/Cassette (Sub Pop)

Damien Jurado – Ghost Of David [2000] LP+MP3/Cassette (Sub Pop)

A couple full-length albums from singer/songwriter Damien Jurado have been reissued on vinyl and cassette: Rehearsals For Departure gets its first US vinyl pressing, whileGhost Of Davidg ets its first vinyl and cassette releases.

Pelican – City Of Echoes [Reissue/2007] LP (Hydra Head)

Vinyl reissue of the post-metal band’s third album.

 

Pharaoh Overlord – #1 [Reissue/2001] 2xLP (Full Contact/Hydra Head)

Vinyl reissue of the Finnish experimental rock band’s debut album. Pharaoh Overlord’s stoner rock klangon #1 is down-to-earth due to sheer weight of the riffs.

Rival Consoles – Night Melody LP+MP3 (Erased Tapes)

Returning with a mini album to the lauded label Erased Tapes, Rival Consoles has progressed enough to keep things exciting, while still maintaining all the elements that made his music great in the first place. The album began taking shape last year, shortly after his previous work came, Howl, came out and, more poignantly after the breakup of a thirteen-year relationship. Proclaiming he’s not interested in simply making happy or sad music, but rather something closer to bittersweet, more real and lifelike. The music presented here certainly tows that line in a gloriously epic manner.

Sonna – Keep It Together 2xLP+MP3 (Temporary Residence)

Sonna were an experimental rock band from Baltimore, MD. Formed in 1998 and disbanded in 2003, they recorded a handful of EPs and singles, as well as two full-length albums — both recorded with Steve Albini. They often toured with friends and collaborators, including Explosions In The Sky, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, and Tarentel — and their live shows were known for their uncanny precision as much as their alarming quietude. Keep It Together collects every Sonna song that did not appear on their two studio albums.