September 1, 2017 — Stinkweeds
New Releases & Staff Picks – 9/1/17
STAFF PICKS
Kimber – Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Lindsay – LCD Soundsystem, Penny Sparrow
Dario – Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
THIS WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
The Babe Rainbow – The Babe Rainbow CD/LP+MP3 (30th Century/Columbia)
Australia’s The Babe Rainbow have signed to 30th Century Records, the label spearheaded by Danger Mouse, for the release of their debut self-titled album. Recorded in “magicland” Byron Bay where the band is based, and produced by Stu Mackenzie of King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, The Babe Rainbow’s first LP is The album is a psychedelic feel-good romp that occasionally crosses over into strangeness and then back into a generally uplifting vibe.
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Wind River [OST] CD (Lakeshore)
Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, Wind River is a chilling thriller that follows a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) who teams up with a local game tracker with deep community ties and a haunted past (Jeremy Renner) to investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of solving her mysterious death. The film features a sublime original motion picture soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (Hell Or High Water, Lawless, The Assassination Of Jesse James). [Vinyl edition due September 8.]
Dälek – Endangered Philosophies CD/2xLP (Ipecac)
Pioneers of alt hip-hop, Dälek (pronounced “die-a-lek”) features rapper/producer MC Dälek, producer/live electronics Mike Manteca, and turntabilist DJ Rek. With roots in the mid-’90s DIY scene, Dälek has been delivering groundbreaking albums for over 20 years. “Endangered Philosophies is Dälek’s signature sound pushed in new directions. Re-sculpted to say all that needs to be said today. It is no one element, but rather an amalgamation of the lyrics, sonics, drums, noise, melody, bass, and turntablism,” explains MC Dälek of their newest work.
Inheaven – Inheaven CD/LP (PIAS America)
Produced by Tom Dalgety (Royal Blood, Pixies, The Maccabees) and recorded at Rockfield Studios, Inheaven kicks off with the thunderous “Baby’s Alright,” and includes “Regeneration” and “Vultures,” the band’s doomy, metallic new single. Interview Magazine writes, “it’s shoegaze-y British punk rock with ’90s American influences: Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Hole, to name a few. Little and Taylor both lend genuinely powerful voices to already amped up tracks.”
LCD Soundsystem – American Dream CD/2xLP+MP3 (Columbia)
“American Dream is a gorgeous record. Compared to the other three LCD albums, I expect that it’ll be a slow-bloomer; there’s very little of the sharp, immediate urgency that you could hear in some of those older records. The frenetic clatter of ‘Movement’ or ‘Us V Them’ is almost entirely gone. Instead, it’s an album of textures and sighs. It’s not a slow or pretentious or boring album; Murphy wouldn’t allow himself to make one of those. Murphy’s control-freak tendencies are well-documented; his whole career is almost a fascinating thought-experiment about what might happen if a bandleader as stubborn and dictatorial as, say, James Brown applied himself fully to making record-nerd esoterica. So he makes good and certain that every sound on American Dream is fully on-point. Every drum kicks hard, every synth hums with physical electricity, every guitar twitches just so. But American Dream is still a heady, expansive album. No song is shorter than five minutes. And it sounds like he’s pursuing infinity on some of these tracks — like he’s actually setting controls for the heart of the sun, not just singing about it.” – Stereogum
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – The Punishment Of Luxury CD/LP (White Noise)
“OK, let’s get this out of the way: anyone expecting a new Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark full-length filled back to front with songs tailor-made for radio are going to be sorely disappointed. However, if you are looking for a classic OMD album that blends commercial pop smarts with their darker experimental side are going to be over the moon. The Punishment Of Luxury is that album and so much more! While their 1983 release Dazzle Ships may have pushed the experimental envelope too far for some of their fanbase, TPOL strikes the perfect balance between synthpop maestros and electronic music pioneers. Leaders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys are smart chaps, and on TPOL they go full-frontal experimental on nearly half the album without losing any of their knack for a keen melody. For a band that hit their commercial peak some 30 years ago, OMD remains one of the most vital pop bands of our time. As I said in my review of English Electric, ‘This is not a band trying to break away from their past – OMD are a band embracing everything that came before and reminding us why they mattered then… and now.’ Still taking chances nearly 40 years into their career, one can only hope OMD continues to make music for 40 more.” – Discussions Magazine
Penny And Sparrow – Wendigo CD/LP (I Love You)
FOR FANS OF BON IVER! Texas-born duo Penny And Sparrow have a musical maturity that has been honed over half a decade and hundreds of live shows. Kyle Jahnke and Andy Baxter are presenting their most ambitious album yet in their new album Wendigo. Penny And Sparrow delve into numerous new and diverse soundscapes throughout Wendigo, without sacrificing the sharp honesty that’s accompanied their career thus far. They expand their musical palette both poetically and sonically via their hypnotic arrangements, as Baxter delves into themes of love, darkness, urban legends (“Wendigo”) and an ambitious trilogy of songs featuring an unusual take on humanizing the Grim Reaper (“Part 1 Visiting,” “Part 2 Smitten” and “Part 2 Moniker”). Throughout the album is an underlying theme of unearthing fear, and discovering the unexpected beauty, strength and hope that lies within.
Starsailor – All This Life CD/LP (Cooking Vinyl)
Ushered in by triumphant opener “Listen To Your Heart,” All This Life finds Starsailor re-energized and in outstanding form, having recently played a packed Big Top Stage at 2016’s Isle Of Wight Festival. Lead singer and guitarist James Walsh says of the album and recording process – “Recording the album was an intense and rewarding experience and we’re excited to get it out there. There’s a good mix of the aspects of the band people know and love, and a few changes in direction.”
Sisters Of Mercy – Some Girls Wander By Mistake [Reissue/1992] 4xLP (Elektra)
The Sisters Of Mercy continue to spotlight different eras of its acclaimed discography with this expanded quadruple 180gm vinyl box set edition of 1992’sSome Girls Wander By Mistake, which focuses on the band’s early years, as well as includes their last officially released studio recordings.
Slits – Return Of The Giant Slits [Reissue/1981] LP (Real Gone Music)
Recently reissued on CD – now available on vinyl. Already far removed from the male-dominated, louder-faster ethos of punk rock, The Slits, with new drummer Bruce Smith of The Pop Group and multi-instrumentalist Steve Beresford in tow, added world music and free jazz to Ari Up’s Ono-esque ululations, Viv Albertine’s skittering guitar, and Tessa Pollitt’s dubwise bass riddims. Predictably, Sony dropped the record like a hot potato, not even bothering to release it in the U.S., and it has only been intermittently available on CD in the 35-plus years since. Limited fluorescent yellow colored vinyl edition.
NEXT WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
THE NATIONAL – Sleep Well Beast CD/LP/indie excl LP
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Sung Tongs reissue CD/LP
DEERHOOF – Mountain Moves CD/LP
ODESZA – Moment Apart CD/LP
MUTEMATH – Play Dead CD/LP/Deluxe LP
ALVVAYS – Antisocialites CD/LP
NOTHING BUT THIEVES – Broken Machine CD/LP
TORI AMOS – Native Invader CD/LP
DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 – Outrage is Now CD/LP
JACK JOHNSON – All The Light Above It Too CD/LP
NEIL YOUNG – Hitchhiker CD/LP
BASH AND POP – Friday Night Is Killing Me CD
DREAM SYNDICATE – How Did I Find Myself Here CD
MOGWAI – Every Country’s Sun CD
SPARKS – Hippopotamus CD/LP
TOADIES – Lower Side Of Uptown CD
CHAD VANGAALEN – Light Information CD/LP
ZOLA JESUS – Okovi CD/LP
MOUNT KIMBIE – Love What Survives CD/LP
NOSAJ THING – Parallels CD/LP
ORNETTE COLEMAN – Ornette At 12/Crisis CD
HANK WILLIAMS – Alone and Forsaken: The Demos CD
BLOCKHEAD – Funeral Balloons CD/LP
JOLIE HOLLAND + SAMANTHA PARTON – Wildflower Blues CD/LP
CATHERINE WHEEL – Chrome LP
CAVE IN – Perfect Pitch Black LP