October 7, 2016 — Stinkweeds
This Week’s New Releases & Staff Picks – 10/7/16
STAFF PICKS
kimber – hiss golden messenger
lindsay – goat, hiss golden messenger
dario – xylouris white
jeff – goat
THIS WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
Apoptygma Berzerk – Exit Popularity Contest CD (The End)
On Exit Popularity Contest, APOP founder Stephan Groth distills the essence of carefully selected pioneers to construct a classic yet refreshingly contemporary sound. Always a musical chameleon, Groth pays homage to his roots through emulating the analogue soundscapes of innovators like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis and Klaus Schulze, and the driving motorik Krautrock rhythms of Neu!, Cluster and La Düsseldorf, all filtered through his own unique Scandinavian sensibility. In doing so he has created a vibrant, colorful 21st century palette on which to blend these classic influences from the Golden Age of electronic music. Exit Popularity Contest demonstrates an admirable musical purity and sincerity, channeling the best of the past to forge a path into the future.
Balance And Composure – Light We Made CD/LP+MP3 (Vagrant)
Light We Made, which was produced by Will Yip (Nothing, Pity Sex), marks a milestone for the band, as this time around they’ve toned down their hardcore and punk-rock roots, to present a body of work that is dominated by soothing, harmonic tracks.The album’s transcendent mood is driven by new sonic elements –as the band weaves in dreamy synth chords, melodic guitar riffs, and atmospheric bass grooves and drumbeats.
Melissa Etheridge – Memphis Rock And Soul CD/LP (Stax)
Melissa is paying her respect to the music of Stax Records, a significant source of influence and inspiration for her. She pays homage to the legacy of Stax by covering classic repertoire from its historic catalog. Wanting to be as respectful and true to the tradition as possible, Melissa made the pilgrimage to Memphis to record her new album in Willie Mitchell’s historic Royal Studios. Her experience included recording with Willie’s son, Lawrence ‘Boo’ Mitchell and the Hi Records Rhythm section, comprised of Rev. Charles and Leroy Hodges, Archie ‘Hubbie’ Turner, Michael Toles, James ‘JRob’ Robertson. Melissa also added some new lyrics of her own, as well as incorporated an assortment of iconic Stax samples in the production of the album.
GOAT – Requiem CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Sub Pop)
Western exports may have dominated the consciousness of international rock fans for the entirety of the 20th century, but our increasing global awareness has unearthed a treasure trove of transcendental grooves and spellbinding riffage from exotic and remote corners of the planet. WithRequiem, GOAT continue to rock and writhe to a beat beholden to no nation, no state. GOAT’s only outright declaration for Requiem is that it is their “folk” album, and the album is focused more on their subdued bucolic ritualism than psilocybin freakouts. Tracks like “All-Seeing Eye” and “Goatfuzz” conjure the sultry heathen pulsations that ensnared us on their previous albums. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of Requiem comes with the closing track “Ubuntu.” The song is little more than a melodic delay-driven electric piano line, until we hear the refrain from “Diarabi”—the first song on their first album—sneak into the mix. It creates a kind of musical ouroboros—an infinite cycle of reflection and rejuvenation, death and rebirth.
Green Day – Revolution Radio CD/LP (Reprise)
Revolution Radio is Green Day’s twelfth album. Billie Joe Armstrong spoke to Rolling Stone about it, which the band self-produced for the first time since 2000’s Warning, and digressed on how “Bang Bang” was the first track conceived. Eerily enough, it’s from the prospective of a shooter. “It’s about the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media,” Armstrong explains. “There’s this sort of rage happening, but it’s also now being filmed and we all have ourselves under surveillance.”He extrapolated further on the album, adding that he plays “a lot of bow guitar on the record, sort of like Jimmy Page”, that the title track was inspired by a protest he witnessed in New York, and that he gets deep on “Too Dumb to Die”. Naturally, politics factored into the songwriting, as he argues: “I can only go from my own personal life, but this is the most chaos I’ve ever seen in an election. It’s just so freaky. I don’t want to add more of the outrage or anger. I’d just try to reflect it.”“Everybody’s freaked out,” he adds. “Nobody can rationalize with each other because everybody is stuck in fear and in anger, and there’s nothing in between. In a nutshell, that is what the record reflects.”
Hiss Golden Messenger – Heart Like A Levee CD/LP+MP3/2xLP+MP3 (Merge)
“The writing of the songs that became Heart Like A Levee started in a hotel room in Washington DC in January of 2015 during a powerful storm that darkened the East Coast. At that I was feeling—more acutely than I had ever felt before—wrenched apart by my responsibilities to my family and to my music. Forgetting, momentarily, that for me, each exists only with the other. How could I forget? Though maybe my lapse was reasonable: I had just quit my job, the most recent and last, in a series of dead-end gigs stretching back 20 years, with the vow that my children would understand their father as a man in love with his world and the inventor of his own days. They would be rare in that regard. And then—driven by monthly bills and pure fear— I left for another tour, carrying a load of guilt that I could just barely lift. But in that snowy hotel room I found the refrain that became my compass: I was a dreamer, babe, when I set out on the road; but did I say I could find my way home?” –M.C. Taylor. [Deluxe vinyl edition includes the bonus Vestopol LP, gatefold package, and a poster.]
Norah Jones – Day Breaks CD/LP (Blue Note)
Norah Jones’ sixth solo album Day Breaks is a kindred spirit to the singer’s breakout debut Come Away With Me, and finds the 9-time Grammy-winner returning to the piano and her roots. The album features jazz luminaries including her Blue Note labelmates– saxophonist Wayne Shorter, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, and drummer Brian Blade — on a 12-song set that presents nine new originals alongside covers of songs by Horace Silver, Duke Ellington and Neil Young.“ Day Breaks feels full circle because I’m going back to my early influences,” says Norah. “After the first record, I drifted away from the piano a little bit. I still played it, but was more inspired to write on guitar. I really loved playing piano on this record.”
Joyce Manor – Cody CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Cody isn’t an album that changed everything for Joyce Manor, but Joyce Manor had to change a bit to make their album Cody. Since the release of their 2014 Epitaph debut Never Hungover Again, guitarist and singer Barry Johnson has taught himself the meditation techniques championed by the Beatles and director David Lynch, and he found he was suddenly wide open. Before, songs were labor; now they were revelations, appearing almost fully formed in his head before he had time to even catch them on a voicemail to himself. For Cody, the band camped out in the studio for two months with producer Rob Schnapf, credited on classics by Elliott Smith, Guided By Voices, Saves The Day and Rancid, all in the Joyce Manor record collections, of course. With Schnapf’s help, they’d explore deeper arrangements, new pre-production techniques, and different ways of working both together and with someone else. “Joyce Manor is one of the country’s best rock bands, a fact long obvious to their teenage fans and band peers. With their expansive fourth album Cody, maybe the rest of the world will finally notice too” – SPIN. [Limited pink color vinyl edition also available.]
NOFX – First Ditch Effort CD/LP (Fat Wreck Chords)
The veteran punk band returns with their 13th album. First Ditch Effort busts out of the gate with the amped up “Six Years On Dope” and never looks back. From the ultra-melodic wordplay of “Oxy Moronic” to the charging desperation of “I Don’t Like Me Anymore,” the album flexes the broad spectrum of NOFX’s abilities and delivers on the musicianship, wit, and element of surprise that fans have come to expect. [Limited Pink vinyl edition also available — Part of the Ten Bands One Cause benefit for Gilda’s Club NYC, an organization that provides community support for both those diagnosed with cancer and their caretakers.]
Oasis – Be Here Now [Reissue/1997] 3xCD+3xLP+7”+MP3 (Big Brother Recordings Ltd.)
This Super Deluxe box set package of the third studio album from the iconic English rock band includes: the Be Here Now Deluxe edition triple-CD set containing B-sides, rarities and a full disc of the Mustique demos (due as stand-alone on CD and vinyl October 14); a copy of Be Here Now on heavyweight vinyl including download card containing two additional volumes of content;the Mustique Demo white label LP containing six tracks from the infamous recording session; an exclusive 7” single containing two early demos of “Stand By Me” and “Going Nowhere”; a 12×12, 52-page coffee table photography book with exclusive sleeve notes and rare photos; A Be Here Now embossed enamel key ring; and a set of four postcards.
Phantogram – Three CD/LP (Republic)
The third album from the duo of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel “moves gracefully from scorn-fueled breakup music to angsty and lustful power-pop, both darkly raw and high-class glam, making this an album worthy of a deeper emotional investment” – Under The Radar. “Phantogram are at their best when blasting out gritty, heavy choruses – Three has them in spades.” –DIY Magazine
Phish – Big Boat CD (Jemp)
Phish’s 13th album Big Boat was produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Kiss), making this the producer’s second collaboration with Phish following 2014’s Fuego, and was recorded between Nashville, New York, and their home state of Vermont. Big Boat takes its title from the Jon Fishman-penned “Friends” and the line “We’re on a big boat, like the ones our forefathers sailed.”“Big Boat features frequent references to religion and darkness that evoke a sense of feeling overwhelmed and lost; along the way, allusions to water suggest spiritual searching and emotional rebirth. ‘Breath And Burning,’ with its soulful horns and breezy Latin vibe, combats looming end times with a celebration of life: ‘And what does it matter that the end’s in sight / We’re not going gently, we’re gonna rage with Page at the dying of the light.’” – NPR. [Vinyl edition due November 18.]
Placebo – A Place For Us To Dream – 20 Years Of Placebo 2xCD (Rise)
This expansive 36-track collection ranges from early singles like “Bruise Pristine,” “Come Home,” and “Teenage Angst,” to the career defining “Nancy Boy,” “Every You Every Me,” “Pure Morning” and “The Bitter End” right up to “Meds,” “For What It’s Worth” and “Too Many Friends.” The set also includes the new single “Jesus’ Son.”[Vinyl edition November 4.]
Otis Redding – Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul [Reissue/1966 2xCD/2xLP+7” (Rhino)
New double-disc reissue of the soul legend’s 1966 album includes remastered mono and stereo mixes of the album, plus eight bonus tracks. 180gm vinyl edition includes a bonus 7” reissue of the single “Try A Little Tenderness” b/w “I’m Sick Y’all.”
Seasick Steve – Keepin’ The Horse Between Me & The Ground 2xCD/2xLP (There’s A Dead Skunk)
Eighth studio album from Seasick Steve, a blues musician from Oakland, CA — a great mix of boogie, blues, rock, Americana folk music. It’s been 10 years since he first appeared on the BBC as part of Jools Holland’s Hootenanny, a legendary performance which turned him into a household name overnight with his debut solo album, Dog House Music.
Shovels & Rope – Little Seeds CD/2xLP+MP3 (New West)
Charleston, South Carolina-based indie folk duo Shovels & Rope consist of married singer/songwriters Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst. “Little Seedsis as loud as we’ve ever been and it’s as quiet as we’ve ever been. It’s our most personal record and reflects some of those extremes we’ve experienced both sonically and lyrically. It has been nothing short of a harrowing couple of years, full of beauty and sorrow. We got served an adult portion. We grew up. From raw and primal electric guitar feedback slammers to mandolin led ballads, it’s just us being ourselves…and stretching” — Shovels & Rope. [Limited translucent red color vinyl edition also available.]
Todd Snider – Eastside Bulldog CD (Aimless)
“Eastside Bulldog finds the singer/songwriter telling tales of his identical twin/nemesis, Elmo Buzz, the hard-partying, Hank Williams Jr.-obsessed character he developed several years ago.
Snider came up with ‘Elmo’ out of frustration over concert rules: ‘You can’t play anywhere within 75 miles of the place you just played in for 90 days prior to the show… and another 90 days after the show,’ he explains of common concert promoters’ contract stipulations. ‘I am home about 100 nights a year. That’s 98 nights without music. Unacceptable. To work around this complicated botheration I came up with the name Elmo Buzz.’Eastside Bulldog is actually a collection of original, fast-paced bar-band tunes with locally-inspired lyrics like ‘Hey pretty boy/Go back to Franklin’ (on lead single, ‘Hey Pretty Boy’). ‘[It’s] songs about East Nashville, chicks, cars, fighting, partying and Bocephus and that’s it. No bullshit… just the good stuff,’ jokes Snider in the album’s liner notes.” – Rolling Stone
Springtime Carnivore – Midnight Room CD (Autumn Tone)
Greta Morgan is Springtime Carnivore. Midnight Room is a continuation of the strain of melodic psychedelic pop found on her self-titled debut.[Vinyl edition due October 21.]
Thor & Friends – Thor & Friends CD/LP (Lm Dupli-Cation)
Eponymous full-length debut from the avant-chamber ensemble formed by polymath percussionist Thor Harris.The three core members of the band are Peggy Ghorbani on marimba, Sarah “Goat” Gautier on marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, organ, voice, mellotron and piano, and Harris on sundry percussion and wind instruments including some of his own devising. They are joined by Jeremy Barnes on accordion, drum, and mellotron; Heather Trost on violin, voice and marimba; John Dieterich on guitar, bass, castanets and special effects; and Raven on bone flute, and electronic sounds.
Xylouris White – Black Peak CD/LP+MP3 (Bella Union)
Xylouris White is an experimental duo comprised of lutist George Xylouris and Dirty Three drummer Jim White. “Mutual admiration shapes the way the duo operate on Black Peak, always listening, encouraging, accommodating. ‘Each one has different roles at the same time, accompaniment and lead role,’ explains Xylouris. ‘It’s very fluid.’This fluidity is clear from the rolling explosion of the title-track, where White’s thunderous rhythm seems to urge, and be urged along in turn, by Xylouris’s chugging lute-rock riff, pirouetting melody and soaring vocal. ‘Forging’ maintains the momentum, Xylouris’s thrashing, thrilling lute melody circling the rock of White’s pulsing drum. Elsewhere, Xylouris White re-write their route map. ‘Hey, Musicians’ is rich and sonorous. The skin-tingling crawl of ‘Erotokritos (Opening)’ draws on romantic renaissance verse; ‘Short Rhapsody’ is a joyous jam of slashinglaouto and coiled percussion; ‘Pretty Kondilies’ is dancing and declamatory. Finally, ‘The Feast’ sprawls gorgeously between tradition and invention, its sombre, sighing spaces shared with guest star Psarandonis’s stunning lyra and voice.” –Billetto
James Blake – The Colour In Anything 2xLP (Republic)
Released last July on CD – now available on vinyl. New album from the UK singer/songwriter/producer with co-writing help from Frank Ocean and additional production by Rick Rubin. 17 tracks including “I Need A Forest Fire” featuring Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver.
Erasure – Other People’s Songs [Reissue/2003] LP (Mute)
Erasure – Nightbird [Reissue/2005] LP (Mute)
Erasure – Light At The End Of The World [Reissue/2007] LP (Mute)
Erasure – Union Street [Reissue/2006] LP (Mute)
The celebration of Erasure’s (Andy Bell and Vince Clarke) 30th anniversary continues with this latest installment of 180gm vinyl catalog reissues.
Shonen Knife – Burning Farm [Reissue/1983] LP (Oglio)
Shonen Knife – Yama-no Attchan [Reissue/1984] LP (Oglio)
Shonen Knife – Pretty Little Baka Guy [Reissue/1986] LP (Oglio)
Shonen Knife – 712 [Reissue/1991] LP (Oglio)
Heavily influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, The Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands, such as the Ramones, Shonen Knife crafts stripped-down songs with simplistic lyrics sung both in Japanese and English. Despite their pop-oriented nature, the trio maintains a distinctly underground garage rock sound rooted in edgy instrumentation and D.I.Y. aesthetics.
Silver Apples – Clinging To A Dream 2xLP (ChickenCoop Recordings)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Clinging To A Dream is the Silver Apples first album since 1998. It features 11 new songs recorded at the Chicken Coop studios in Fairhope, Alabama. The new songs carry on the band’s tradition begun in 1967 of merging pure, raw electronic sounds with melodic poetic content; it represents 40 years of polishing and refining this experiment.
Sonic Youth – Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star [Reissue/1994] LP (Geffen)
Sonic Youth – A Thousand Leaves [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Geffen)
Sonic Youth – NYC Ghosts & Flowers [Reissue/2000] LP (Geffen)
Vinyl reissues of Sonic Youth’s eighth, tenth, and eleventh albums. Murray Street due October 21.
NEXT WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
KINGS OF LEON – Walls CD/LP
CONOR OBERST – Ruminations CD/LP
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB – Game Show CD/LP
DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN – Dissociation CD/LP
BIG STAR – Complete Third CD
BLACKBERRY SMOKE – Like An Arrow CD/LP
JOSIENNE CLARKE + BEN WALKER – Overnight CD/LP
MOBY – These Symptoms Are Failing CD/LP
D.D. DUMBO – Utopia Defeated CD/LP
MIKE DOUGHTY – Heart Watches White The Brain Burns CD/LP
C. DUNCAN – Midnight Sun CD/LP
FROM INDIAN LAKES – Everything Feels Better Now CD/LP
JAGWAR MA – Every Now and Then CD/LP
LEMON TWIGS – Do Hollywood CD/LP
MAVERICKS – All Night Love CD
PURLING HISS – High Bias CD.KO
NICOLAS JAAR – Sirens CD/LP
RADIOHEAD – TKOL RMX CD
RED FANG – Only Ghosts CD/LP
ORB – Cow / Chill Out World CD/LP
POWELL – Sport CD/LP
SYBARITE – Waver Of The Absolute CD/LP
WAX TAILOR – By Any Beats Necessary CD/LP
SUZANNE VEGA – Lover Beloved CD?LP
BOTANY – Deepak Verbera CD/LP
LEON REDBONE – Long Way From Home CD/LP
TERRY ALLEN – Lubbock (On Everything) CD/LP
GROWLERS – City Club LP
JAMIE LIDELL – Building A Beginning CD/LP
FELA KUTI – LP reissues
NAKED AND FAMOUS – Simple Forms CD/LP
BENOIT PIOULARD – Listening Matter CD/LP
BUSMAN’S HOLIDAY – Popular Cycles CD/LP
JONNY FRITZ – Sweet Creep CD
OOZING WOUND – Whatever Forever CD/LP
JOHN PRINE – For Better Of Worse LP
BEASTIE BOYS – Licensed To Ill LP
CALIFONE – Roomsound LP reissue