The National – I Am Easy To Find CD/2xLP+MP3/3xLP”+MP3 (4AD)
In September 2017, director Mike Mills emailed Matt Berninger to introduce himself and in very short order, the most ambitious project of the National’s nearly 20-year career was born and plans for a hard-earned vacation died. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker was coming off his third feature, 20th Century Women, and was interested in working with the band on…something. A video maybe. Berninger, already a fan of Mills’ films, not only agreed to collaborate, he essentially handed over the keys to the band’s creative process. The result is I Am Easy To Find, a 24-minute film by Mills starring Alicia Vikander, and I Am Easy To Find, a 68-minute album by The National. The former is not the video for the latter; the latter is not the soundtrack to the former. The two projects are, as Mills calls them, “Playfully hostile siblings that love to steal from each other.”

The Head And The Heart – Living Mirage CD/LP (WB)
Living Mirage is the fourth studio album from five-piece indie-folk act The Head And The Heart and follow-up to 2016’s Signs Of Light. After the release of their third LP, co-founder Josiah Johnson amicably left the group, with the band replacing the guitarist/vocalist with Charity Rose Thielen‘s husband, Matt Gervais. In the time since, longtime keyboardist Kenny Hensley has also returned to the fold. Appropriately, Living Mirage touches on these major changes, with bassist Chris Zasche describing the collection as a “rebirth, a spirit quest of sorts.” For lead single, “Missed Connection”, the group focuses in on the “anxiety that reasoned that growth spurt” following their recent lineup changes. Initially created as a tribute to Russell’s girlfriend and how they met, the song shifted to a reflection on the group’s history, meeting for an open-mic in Seattle ten years ago. Musically, the song infuses tastes of hip-hop and pop production. Elaborated drummer Tyler Williams, “A lot of the beats on this song are quicker, and there are high hats that were never in our music before.”

Endless Boogie – Vol. I II CD/2xLP (No Quarter)
CD and vinyl reissues of the long out-of-print debut albums by the ’60s influenced garage act. Volume I and Volume II were self-released in 2005 before the band’s inaugural trip overseas (to play the Slint-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties) – and for that matter, their first trip outside of New York.

Epic Beard Men – This Was Supposed To Be Fun CD/LP+MP3 (Strange Famous)
An indie-rap tour de force by two of the underground’s best: Sage Francis and B. Dolan. This Was Supposed To Be Fun blends the classic sounds of breakbeats and timeless drum machines with soul grooves and sub bass.

The Heavy – Sons CD/LP/LP+7” (BMG)
Welcome back to The Heavy, Britain’s most incendiary party-starters and reliably impossible to pigeonhole funk/soul/hip-hop/rock/dance gang.

Holly Herndon – Proto CD/LP (4AD)
Holly’s third full-length album Proto isn’t about A.I., but much of it was created in collaboration with her own A.I. ‘baby’, Spawn. For the record, she assembled a contemporary ensemble of vocalists, developers and an inhuman intelligence housed in a DIY souped-up gaming PC to create a record that encompasses live vocal processing and timeless folk singing and places an emphasis on alien song craft and new forms of communion.

Interpol – A Fine Mess CDEP12”+MP3 (Matador)
Released on the heels of last year’s Maruader and recorded during time Interpol spent in upstate New York with Dave Fridmann, the five songs that make up A Fine Mess gradually emerged as a body of work with a narrative and flow unto itself. The resulting set is a living, breathing postcard from the band to their fans as they tour the world throughout 2019.

Institute – Readjusting The Locks CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
Third album from the NYC-via- Austin punks. Readjusting The Locks is the first Institute album written across the country, with half the band relocating from Texas to NYC. The band has seamlessly incorporates more ’77 rock ‘n’ roll into their sound, with some songs feeling like they could’ve been a Stiff Records single. This sound is emphasized by Ben Greenberg’s (Uniform) expert production – crisp but still blown out and dirty.

Alex Lahey – The Best Of Luck Club CD/LP (Dead Oceans)
On her sophomore LP, 26-year-old Melbourne, Australia native Alex Lahey navigates the pangs of generational ennui with the pint half-full and a spot cleared on the bar stool next to her. Self-doubt, burn out, break-ups, mental health, moving in with her girlfriend, vibrators: The Best Of Luck Club showcases the universal language of Lahey’s sharp songwriting, her propensity for taking the minute details of the personal and flipping it public through anthemic pop-punk.

Umphrey’s Mcgee ‎– Anchor Drops [Reissue/2004] 2xCD/4xLP (Nothing Too Fancy)
Commemorating its 15th anniversary, Umphrey’s McGee present an expanded edition of Anchor Drops (including its first ever-vinyl pressing). This redux edition features two distinct versions of the record: a remastered version of the original mix and a completely remixed version from the original master tapes.

Various Artists – Sad About The Times CD/2xLP (Mexican Summer)
A follow up collaboration between Mikey Young (Total Control/Eddy Suppression Ring) and Keith Abrahamsson (Head of A&R at Anthology Recordings) to their 2017 compilation Follow The Sun, Sad About The Times, at its core, is a set of North American ‘70s jammers. With a hint (at times) of West Coast jangle, these tracks traverse the border between the power pop of the times and a late-night coke jam. You can also hear echoes of folk rock, soft rock, and even detect some psychedelic flashbacks.

David Bowie with John ‘Hutch’ Huchinson – Clareville Grove Demos 3×7” (Rhino/Parlophone)
Recorded in January of 1969 in David’s flat in Clareville Grove, London, this live to tape demo session features David performing as a duo with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson following the end of the Feathers trio which featured David’s then girlfriend Hermione Farthingale.

Com Truise – Persuasion System LP+MP3 (Ghostly Int’l)
For nearly a decade the story of Com Truise has relied on science fiction and abstract fact. Seth Haley’s singular style of melodic beat music subsists as hazy machinist nostalgia, a mainframe downloaded cosmology. Yet with each release, alongside sonic refinement, comes an increasingly visible vapor trail to Haley’s own ontology.

Death Valley Girls – Glow In The Dark [Reissue/2016] LP (Burger)
Limited green colored vinyl LP pressing. At the core of Death Valley Girls, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Bonnie Bloomgarden and guitarist Larry Schemel channel a modern spin on Funhouse’s sonic exorcisms, ZZ Top’s desert-blasted riffage, and Sabbath’s occult menace. On their third album Darkness Rains, Death Valley Girls churn out the hyper-charged scuzzy rock every generation yearns for, but there is a more subversive force percolating beneath the surface that imbues the band with an exhilarating cosmic energy.

The Juan Maclean – What Do You Feel Free About b/w Zone Nonlinear 12” (DFA)
The Juan Maclean returns to DFA with a new 12” – last June’s electro-disco “What Do You Feel Free About?” backed with “Zone Non Linear”, which evokes early Pet Shop Boys.

Nick Lowe – Love Starvation/Trombone 12”+MP3 (Yep Roc)
As he approaches his 70th birthday, it’s incredible that Nick Lowe hasn’t lost a step in his unrivaled songwriting and rockin’ abilities. His new four song EP, Love Starvation/Trombone, features the razor-sharp lyricism that he’s made so famous and is complemented by the returning dulcet tones of his backing band and tour mates Los Straitjackets.

Siskiyou – Not Somewhere LP+MP3 (Constellation)
A return to form by band leader Colin Huebert (ex-Great Lake Swimmers), his first new work since 2015’s Polaris-nominated Nervous, harkening back to the whispered, textural, bedroom indie-folk of Siskiyou’s acclaimed 2010 debut. Huebert self-recorded and played almost everything himself, with contributions from guest musicians including cellist and labelmate Rebecca Foon (Saltland, Esmerine) and Destroyer regulars Joseph Shabason and JP Carter on horns and woodwinds.

Weezer – Weezer (The Teal Album) LP (Crush Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. On the heels of their latest studio album Weezer (The Black Album) the veteran alt-rock band delivers a covers album. “As anyone could have gathered after a first listen of ‘Africa’ or ‘Rosanna’, the latter of which is sorely missing on this compilation, the band doesn’t just half-ass the cover; they meticulously replicate each song with Fincher-like obsession. Sure, they’re not exactly offering their own spin on it, but that’s also kind of the point. The fact that these covers are so reverent to the source materials kind of plays into the joke that Cuomo is literally givin’ em what they want with no room for error. It’s like live band karaoke, and everyone is invited, which is all this really boils down to at the end of the day. They’re not reinventing the wheel; they’re using it.” – Consequence Of Sound

NEXT WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
AMYL & THE SNIFFERS – Self Titled CD/LP
CATE LE BON – Reward CD/LP
EARTH – Full Upon Her Burning Lips CD/LP
JOAN AS POLICEWOMAN – Joanthology CD
L’ECLAIR – Sauropoda CD/LP
MIDDLE KIDS – New Songs For Old Problems CDEP/12″
MORRISSEY – California Son CD/LP
SEBADOH – Act Surprised CD/LP
STRAY CATS – 40 CD/LP
MAVIS STAPLES – We Get By CD/LP
FLYING LOTUS – Flamagra CD/LP
JOSEPHINE WIGGS – We Fall CD/LP
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE – Saint Of Lost Causes CD/LP
BLACK MOUNTAIN – Destroyer CD/LP
STEVE MARINO – Fluff CD/LP
THEE OH SEES – Hounds Of Foggy Notion CD/LP
MARLON WILLIAMS – Live at Auckland Town Hall CD/LP
BLU + EXILE – True & Livin CD/LP
DIPLO – Europa LP
TIM HECKER – Anoyo LP
KING KHAN EXPERIENCE – Turkey Ride LP
SONICS – Introducing The Sonics LP
J E T S – Zoospa LP
ROYKSOPP – Senior LP reissue