Froth – Duress CD/LP+MP3 (Wichita)
After a two-year hiatus, Froth is back with their most fully realized work to date, Duress. Co-produced with longtime friend and collaborator Tomas Dolas (Oh Sees, Mr. Elevator) at his analog-focused Studio 22 in Cypress Park, CA, the record is unapologetically experimental yet undeniably accessible – combining some of the band’s strongest hooks with left-field sounds and unexpected flourishes of electronica. Joo Joo Ashworth has matured into a talented producer in his own right, communicating his singular vision through studio technique as much as his angular, Verlaine-inspired guitar sound. As always, the rhythm section of Jeremy Katz and Cameron Allen displays a tightness and sense of mutual understanding only achieved through years of friendship and extensive touring. Duress sees the band stepping outside the shadow of their influences and into something wholly their own. It’s an impressive and self-assured statement from a group only just entering their prime.

Mattson 2 – Paradise CD/LP (Company Records)
Paradise is the Mattson 2’s second release on Chaz Bear’s (fka Chaz Bundick, aka Toro y Moi) Company Records. It’s the first album they’ve written and recorded in their home, which is a wooden cabin in the hills of San Diego. You can hear the sun in the keyboards, in the ‘80s-inflected jazz.

Pelican – Nighttime Stories CD/2xLP (Southern Lord)
Pelican, the instrumental quartet whose singular vision of heavy music eschews classification, presents their first full-length in six years with Nighttime Stories. The eight-song set marks Pelican’s first release written front to back with guitarist Dallas Thomas, who took over guitar duties upon founding member Laurent Schroeder-Lebec’s departure in 2012. In the process of writing the album the quartet endured a slew of realizations, tragedies, and glimmers of optimism that guided the creative process to the most potent work of their 19-year career. Though the new material veers towards the darker tone characteristic of Pelican’s early songwriting, it’s hard to imagine a previous incarnation of the band writing songs as meticulously crafted and detail-oriented as those within Nighttime Stories, where the compositions recall everything from the triumphant call-to-arms of classic Dischord, to the vicious troglodyte battery of the Melvins, to the dynamic interwoven melodies of bottom-heavy indie cult heroes Chavez. Nowhere is this evinced as clearly as on initial album single “Midnight And Mescaline”, the album’s lead single.

AURORA – A Different Kind Of Human (Step II) CD/LP (Glassnote)
The latest album by Norwegian synth-pop musician AURORA follows the release of her sophomore release, Infections Of A Different Kind (Step I), which was named one of A Bit Of Pop Music’s 20 Best Pop Albums of 2018. “Though still part of the Different Kind series, Step II finds AURORA traversing more experimental territory. The location where the LP was recorded helped to inform this new, unconventional sound; the artist set up shop ‘in a more lo-fi space than before,’ one described as a French chateau that’s ‘beautiful and dreamy’ and ‘far away.’ Much of Step II is said to focus on the ecological crisis plaguing society. – Consequence Of Sound

Chon – Chon CD (Sumerian)
On their self-titled third album, Chon find themselves at the confluence of a great push and pull. Their debut full-length, 2015’s Grow, established their mathy, forward-thinking take on the genre, while 2017’s Homey furthered that sound while incorporating brand-new influences like effect-pedal-heavy elements of electronic music and trip-hop. Now, with Chon, the trio once again have kicked down their musical guardrails – but in a way that balances their more eccentric impulses with a steadying dose of clarity and restraint.

Perry Farrell – Kind Heaven CD/LP (BMG)
Kind Heaven, the first solo album from Perry Ferrell in over 18 years, draws heavily from a wide variety of sources, from the tumultuous political situation in the United States to ancient Messianic prophecies. Wrapping these themes in a soundscape that veers between the alt rock that made the former Jane’s Addiction and Porno For Pyros frontman a legend and experiments with electronica, the record was co-produced with David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti and features contributions from Tommy Lee, Dhani Harrison, Taylor Hawkins and more.

Stef Chura – Midnight CD/LP (Saddle Creek)
“For most people who create art I would assume there is some kind of deep unanswerable hole in your soul as to why you’re making it…” So says Stef Chura upon the release of Midnight, her gritty, vehement new album. Illuminating that search for answers with a fevered sense of exploration, Midnight is a bold leap forward from Messes, Chura’s contagious debut album, with every aspect of her new work finding bold ways to express itself as it rips through 12 restless and relentless new tracks. If its predecessor was a raw, somewhat unadorned document, then Midnight is the muscular, swaggering evolution. “This album has a depth to it and a particular sound because of Will,” Stef states regarding producer Will Toledo’s (Car Seat Headrest) input, whose spiky nuances can be found across the length and breadth of Midnight, the record presenting an exhilarating rush of sound and color as Stef’s spirited vocal finds and signature guitar sounds unravel alongside in a thrilling meeting of ideas and influences.

Plaid – Polymer CD/2xLP+MP3 (Warp)
The innovative duo of Ed Handley and Andy Turner have been expanding the realm of electronic music as Plaid since they diverged from trio The Black Dog in the early ‘90s. In 2019, Plaid stand alongside the likes of Aphex Twin, Autechre and Nightmares On Wax as mainstays of the Warp label as it reaches its 30th anniversary. Their adventurous and playful approach has taken them to working with Björk and drawing comparisons to fellow collaborators Mark Bell, Arca, Haxan Cloak and more recent releases by Skee Mask and Daniel Avery. They’ve worked with the London Sinfonietta, the Southbank Gamelan Players, composed for Felix’s Machines robotic sculptures, and soundtracked events as diverse as reindeer migration in northern Europe to a level in popular platformer Little Big Planet 3. Forging ever bolder and emotive paths through electronic music, Plaid offer up their tenth studio effort, Polymer. The album’s 13 tracks cover energetic bangers, bright melodic visceral rhythms and hypnotic womb-like textures.

Yeasayer – Erotic Reruns CD/LP (Yeasayer/Park The Van)
Yeasayer’s latest LP is perhaps their greatest. Erotic Reruns captures what it’s like to be alive in 2019 with wide-eyed clarity. The songs veer from the intensely personal and romantic to the fervently political-an eminently danceable record that challenges their audience and makes them think a bit more slowly to ponder issues so germane to our maddening, speed of light era of content consumption.

Neil Young + Stray Gators – Tuscaloosa: Live CD/2xLP (WB)
Neil Young’s Tuscaloosa: Live features 11 previously unreleased tracks culled from a February 5, 1973 performance at the University of Alabama with his band the Stray Gators – bassist Tim Drummond, drummer Kenny Buttrey, pianist Jack Nitzsche and steel guitarist Ben Keith – who backed the iconic singer-songwriter on his landmark efforts Harvest and Time Fades Away. Tuscaloosa: Live features live versions of songs from Young’s eponymous 1968 debut (“Here We Are In The Years”) plus classics from his two biggest selling albums, 1970’s After The Gold Rush (“After The Gold Rush”) and 1972’s Harvest (“Harvest”, “Heart Of Gold”, “Old Man”, “Out On The Weekend”, “Alabama”). Also included are cuts from Neil’s live album Time Fades Away (“Time Fades Away”, “Don’t Be Denied”) which would be released later in 1973 and songs from fellow catalog favorite Tonight’s The Night (“Lookout Joe”, “New Mama”) which wouldn’t be issued until 1975.

Mountain Man – Sings John Denver 7” (Nonesuch)
Mountain Man releases a single featuring its take on two John Denver tunes: “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “Around And Around”.

Sonic Youth – Battery Park, NYC: July 4th 2008 LP+MP3 (Matador)
Initially released as a bonus Buy Early Get Now addition to the 2009 release of their final album The Eternal, Battery Park, NYC: July 4th 2008 features material culled from their show at Battery Park’s River to River Festival. The tracks found on this live release span the group’s 30-year career, available to retailers as a stand-alone package for the first time.

NEXT WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
BARONESS – Gold and Grey CD/LP
CALEXICO / IRON AND WINE – Years To Burn CD/LP
BILL CALLAHAN – Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest CD/LP/CASS
MNDSGN – Snaxx CD/LP
BUZZCOCKS – Different Kind Of Tension CD/LP
BUZZCOCKS – Singles Going Steady CD/LP
LUKAS NELSON + PROMISE OF THE REAL – Turn Off The News CD/LP
DRESSY BESSY – Fast Faster Disaster CD/LP
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Western Stars CD/LP
TWIN PEAKS – Season Two Music And More LP
BASTILLE – Doom Days CD/LP
KEB MO – Oklahoma CD
CHRIS ROBINSON – Servants Of The Sun CD/LP
JULIA SHAPIRO – Perfect Vision CD/LP
CHRIS SHIFLETT – Hard Lessons CD/LP
CRUMB – Jinx CD/LP
DUSTER – Contemporary Movement LP
DUSTER – Stratosphere LP
MONO – Hymn To The Immortal Wind CD/LP 10 year anniversary
SADGIRL – Water CD/LP
SHELLAC – End Of Radio CD/LP
BAD RELIGION – Age Of Unreason LP indie exclusive
JAMES BLAKE – Assume Form LP
BRIAN ENO – Ambient 1 LP
BRIAN ENO – Ambient 4 LP
BRIAN ENO – Discreet Music LP
BRIAN ENO – Music For Films LP
JOY DIVISION – Atrocity Exhibition LP
JOY DIVISION – Live At The Paradiso Club LP
JOY DIVISION – Unknown Pleasures LP
DAVE RAWLINGS – Nashville Obsolete reissue LP