Various Artists – When In AZ Vol. 2
A passion project compiled by Stinkweeds and Yab Yum Music for 2018’s Record Store Day. This 20 track CD compiles a sampling of the larger When In AZ Vol. 2 download project consisting of 100 tracks!! All Arizona bands covering Arizona bands, all proceeds benefit The Ryan House. The CD features tracks from Fatigo, No Volcano, Jim Bachmann, Blood Feud Family Singers, Lana Del Rabies, Mr Mudd & Mr Gold, The Sunpunchers, Father Figures, Treasure Mammal, Robin Vining and many more! This is a limited release, available exclusively at Stinkweeds.

Exitmusic – The Recognitions CD/LP (Felte)
While many couples can trace the real time rise and fall of their relationship back to social media feeds and harried phone calls, Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church have channeled the highs and lows of their storybook courtship into something else entirely: the explosive, discomforting confessionals of Exitmusic. The mercurial project started the year they got married (2004) and all-but-imploded during their recent divorce, but not before the duo wrapped its most fully realized collection of beautifully damaged music yet titled The Recognitions.

Flaming Lips – Scratching The Door: The First Recordings Of The Flaming Lips CD (Rhino)
A compilation of tracks recorded by The Flaming Lips’ original line-up, which featured Wayne Coyne’s brother Mark on vocals. Scratching The Door includes the band’s first and second cassette demos, in addition to The Flaming Lips first self-released EP, and marks the first time all of these recordings have been collected together on a single release.

Joshua Hedley – Mr. Jukebox CD/LP (Third Man)
With the release of his highly anticipated debut album Mr. Jukebox via Third Man Records, Joshua Hedley embraces the role he was born to play: this generation’s classic country champion. The heartbreaking, distilled, defiantly classic country he plays is a beacon for ‘60s honky-tonk devotees everywhere. Album opener “Counting All My Tears” carves out the collection’s gloriously tear-jerking territory from the jump. As “oooooohhhs” and “aaaaahhhs” serve as spine-tingling harmonies – a classic-country flourish carried throughout Mr. Jukebox – lonely piano is joined by a familiar cast including steel and of course, fiddle. Title track “Mr. Jukebox” is a swinging nod to those beloved machines – both inanimate and breathing – that dependably play a lot of songs for a little money. It’s impossible to listen to the tune and not smile thinking of Hedley’s years logged in cover bands on Nashville’s Lower Broad. When asked what he hopes listeners get out of Mr. Jukebox, Hedley doesn’t hesitate. “I just want people to remember they have feelings, and that they’re valid,” he says. “Not everything is Coors Light and tailgates.”

Kimbra – Primal Heart CD/LP (WB)
As humans, we inherently seek, crave, and thrive on love. We just chase it like a predator or dawn on the heels of darkness. The primordial bond between instinct and passion drives Kimbra’s third full-length album, Primal Heart. Co-produced with Grammy winning producer John Congleton (Lana Del Rey, St. Vincent), the music represents a leap in confidence for the singer. Lead single, “Everybody Knows” elegantly stiches together metronomic xylophone, woozy synths, and an unpredictable bass thud as her voice takes center stage, blossoming from delicate verses into a definitive hook. Elsewhere on the record, a tribal stomp, finger-snaps, and video game-style flourishes warble under Kimbra’s spellbinding delivery during “The Good War.” The ebullient and energetic “Black Sky” slips into a noir-ish croon for “Past Love.” She also teams up with Skrillex on the world music-induced global spiral of “Top Of The World.” The album seamlessly tempers moments of bass-heavy empowerment and strength with intimate vulnerability, covering a gamut of emotions and moods.

Lord Huron – Vide Noir CD/2xLP (Republic)
Vide Noir was written and recorded over the past two years at Lord Huron’s Los Angeles studio and informal clubhouse, Whispering Pines, and was mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips/MGMT). Singer, songwriter and producer Ben Schneider found inspiration wandering restlessly through his adopted home of L.A. at night. A true multi-media artist, Schneider has once again created an adorned world to inhabit within Vide Noir: the album is accompanied by a wealth of imagery, films and immersive experiences crafted to expand upon its narratives and themes.

Melvins – Pinkus Abortion Technician CD (Ipecac)
The Melvins return with the new album featuring both ongoing Melvins’ bass player Steven McDonald (Redd Kross, Off!) and Butthole Surfers’ (and occasional Melvins) bottom ender Jeff Pinkus on bass. “It’s an experiment in the low end of the aural spectrum where we asked ourselves, ‘would it work?’ ‘could it work??’ ‘should it work???’ The answers were yes, yes and YES!” “Stop Moving To Florida” is a medley of the James Gang’s “Stop” and Butthole Surfers’ “Moving To Florida.” The band also covers the Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and Butthole Surfers’ “Graveyard” on the eight-song release.

Mien – Mien CD/LP (Rocket Recordings)
Debut album by the exciting new four piece band comprised of The Black Angels’ Alex Maas, The Horrors’ Tom Furse, Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir and The Earlies’ John-Mark Lapham. “It would be impossible to imagine a better line-up than these four veterans of psych and indie-rock, and the product of their hard work is every bit as brilliant as you’d imagine. Fuzzy-headed psychedelic swirls, thumping percussion and chugging, kosmische riffs.” — Picadilly [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Old Crow Medicine Show – Volunteer CD/LP+MP3 (SME Nashville)
Roots band Old Crow Medicine Show return with their first album of original material since 2014’s Grammy-winning Remedy. The songs on Volunteer illustrate themes that resonate far beyond Old Crow Medicine Show’s diverse fan base, while also showcasing the depth in the group’s songwriting. An album highlight “Look Away” inspired by The Rolling Stones, is Ketch Secor’s homage to his love for the history, both sorrowful and joyful, of the South. “A World Away” is an upbeat homage to refugees, an extremely relevant subject matter that Secor has been writing about since he was young. “Dixie Avenue” pays a playful tribute to the Virginia location where Secor and bandmate Critter Fuqua fell in love with music. The album’s final track, the bittersweet love song “Whirlwind,” could easily tell the tale of how Old Crow Medicine Show built a successful career from the ground up. While trends in music have come and gone, Old Crow Medicine Show has maintained their sense of integrity, continuing to share their infectious hybrid of traditional mountain music across the country.

A Perfect Circle – Eat The Elephant CD/2xLP+MP3 (BMG)
A Perfect Circle make their anxiously awaited return with Eat The Elephant, the band’s fourth full-length effort and first since 2004’s eMOTIVe. [Limited edition white colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Post Animal – When I Think Of You In A Castle CD/LP+MP3 (Polyvinyl)
Like most band’s in Chicago’s inclusive music community, Post Animal got their start playing DIY basements and small rock clubs. With their wavy and warped first project 2015’s Post Animal Perform The Most Curious Water Activities EP and then 2016’s memorable singles collection The Garden Series, the band showcased mesmerizing and infectious pop melodies. Between their impressive early releases and their wild live shows which feature the band members sharing lead vocal duties, Post Animal have unquestionably solidified themselves as one of Chicago’s most exciting up-and-coming acts. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Alexis Taylor – Beautiful Thing CD/LP (Domino)
Beautiful Thing is the fourth solo album from Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor and his first with an outside producer (Tim Goldsworthy). It’s a very new, very individualist and – yes – very beautiful reflection of a life that’s changed immeasurably since Alexis first started out in music. It has electronic thrills, dark spaces, memories of dancefloors, heartfelt writing; it’s composed, it’s improvised, it’s accidental, it’s strange, but it’s also very immediate.

TesseracT – Sonder CD/2xCD/2xLP (Kscope)
TesseracT, a band that sits outside the bounds of any genre specificity, pioneers of the ever-evolving metal scene and unstoppable force of off-kilter riffs, soaring melodies and disorientating atmospherics release their fourth studio effort Sonder. [Deluxe double-CD edition features a bonus disc containing the 3D Binaural Mix of the album. Limited 180gm heavyweight white vinyl LP pressing complete with a four-page booklet featuring original artwork from Amos Williams is also available.]

Thievery Corporation – Treasures From The Temple CD/2xLP+MP3 (Eighteenth Street Lounge)
11th studio album from D.C. based electronic duo featuring artists: Mr. Lif, Sitali, Racquel Jones, Notch, Natalia Clavier, and Lou Lou Ghelichkhani. The 12 track Treasures From The Temple is a continuation from their last album Temple Of I & I, recorded in Port Antonio. Blending their signature sound with classic dub, dancehall, and roots vibes.

The Black Lips – The Black Lips [Reissue/2002] LP (Bomp!)
Limited edition ‘starburst’ colored vinyl reissue. The Black Lips came screaming out of Atlanta, Georgia with this their self-titled debut album. Their eponymous debut album is heavy on ‘60s psychedelia and garage rock and they show glimpses here of the niche they would expand upon on future releases.

Charlie XCX – Number 1 Angel / Pop2 2xLP (Atlantic)
Double colored vinyl featuring the mixtapes Number 1 Angel on red vinyl and Pop 2 on clear vinyl. The Number 1 Angel mixtape was recorded in 2016 at Charli XCX’s LA residence and in the UK, alongside A.G. Cook, with further production from SOPHIE, Easy FX (A.G. Cook + EASYFUN), John Hill, Life Sim and Danny L Harle. Issued in March 2017, the mixtape is a further example of Charli’s genre-defying vision and forward-thinking approach to pop culture, drawing inspiration from an array of life experiences and underground sounds. Pop2 marks Charli’s second mixtape of 2017, another affirmation of the artist’s trailblazing flare. Teaming-up with previous collaborators A.G Cook, SOPHIE and EASYFUN plus King Henry (Beyoncé, Justin Bieber) and David Gamson, Pop2 also boasts an all-star cast of writers and vocalists including Caroline Polachek (Chairlift), MØ, Tove Lo, ALMA, Carly Rae Jepsen, Pabllo Vittar and Jay Park.

The Creation – We Are Paintermen [Reissue/1967] LP (Numero)
The Creation’s only LP, cut from the original mono masters for the first time since 1967. Producer Shel Talmy masterfully captured every bow scrape, tom rattle, and mod growl before the UK quartet imploded after two brilliant, but short years. Originally issued only in Germany, We Are Paintermen collects the Creation’s first three singles and adds a handful of period covers culled from the band’s raucous stage show. Pressed on heavy-weight colored vinyl to make even the most seasoned collector sweat. Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.

Mike Donovan – How To Get Your Record Played In Shops LP/Cassette (Drag City)
The Peacers / Sic Alps lead singer Mike Donovan steps out from behind the ash-stained curtain for his second solo album in the past five years. The Donovan oeuvre is not something you’re meant to think about—instead, enjoy the soupy soak, sliding beneath its opaque and filmy surface to discover the sensual world in the moat below. But if you had time to think, you might reflect that this music blooms from ’neath the gritty carpet of the USA herself, sighted psycho-acoustically via SF futures and pasts, through rose-colored lenses shoved in and now cracking at the edges, amid hoots and cries from mystery pursuers in the historical, but now-less-than-fully-existent boho jungle.

Erasure – World Beyond LP (Mute)
Following on from the release of World Be Gone in May 2017, Erasure present its companion piece, World Beyond, a completely re-recorded version of the album featuring classical interpretations of the tracks.

Jonny Greenwood – Phantom Thread [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] 2xLP (Nonesuch)
“Greenwood is a student who revels in homework. Like [Paul Thomas] Anderson during the early conception of a film, there is allowance for open channels of influence from sources of curiosity. For this tale, Anderson studied the lives, if not the styles, of famous fashion designers Cristóbal Balenciaga and Christian Dior and the obscure gothic fairytales of M. R. James and Beatrix Potter’s The Tailor of Gloucester. In coordination close and far, Greenwood absorbed the musical trends of the 1950s, gleaning from Nelson Riddle and the full string-section jazz arrangements of Ben Webster, as well as Glenn Gould’s Bach recordings. The outcome rolls though accentuation of the haunting, beguiling and exhilarating, the delicate and intensifying, the fanciful and ominous, sewn with the discretion of a tailor to accompany the precise tone of every scene.” – Under The Radar 

Tim Heidecker – Too Dumb for Suicide: Tim Heidecker’s Trump Songs LP (Jagjaguwar)
“Well here it is. About one year in the making, all my Trump songs in one place. Most of these songs were written and recorded quickly, with the blood still boiling from whatever indignity or absurdity had popped up on my newsfeed that day.”

The Promise Ring – Nothing Feels Good [Reissue/1997] LP (Epitaph)
Vinyl reissue of the Milwaukee emo band’s second album. [Limited clear pressing also available.]

Sufjan Stevens – Tonya Harding 7” (Asthmatic Kitty)
This 7” features two variations of a song by Sufjan Stevens celebrating the career and person of Tonya Harding, the Olympic figure skater from Portland Oregon. Marbled blue vinyl.