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This Week’s New Releases & Staff Picks – 7/26/2019
STAFF PICKS
Kimber – Of Monsters And Men
Lindsay – B Boys, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
Dario – Solange
Paula – Caamp
JUST ANNOUNCED PRE-ORDERS
Bon Iver – i,i (pre-order)
THIS WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Bandana CD/LP (RCA)
The second collaborative studio album by rapper Freddie Gibbs and record producer Madlib. Entirely produced by Madlib, Bandana is the follow up to their critically acclaimed 2014 album Piñata, and their sixth project as MadGibbs overall. The album features guest appearances from Pusha T, Killer Mike, Anderson Paak, Yasiin Bey, and Black Thought.
B Boys – Dudu CD/LP (Captured Tracks)
New York’s B Boys find inspiration in the chaos that surrounds them: the aggressive attitude and sonic lawlessness of the city they live, work, and breathe in every day. Their raw, yet meticulous style is characterized by rhythmic complexity, commanding riffs, and introspective lyrics that are as playful and self-aware as they are cutting. Influenced by The Clash, Wire, and Talking Heads, Dudu finds B Boys picking up where they left off, pondering quotidien grievances while examining the bigger picture.
Body Of Light – Time To Kill CD/LP (Dais)
Birthed from Arizona’s regaled Ascetic House collective, Body Of Light is a dark synth-pop outfit comprised of young brothers Andrew and Alexander Jarson. What began as a vehicle for their exploration of noise and sound during their early teens has evolved into an established production over the last decade, as Body Of Light continues to carve out their own style of complex, structured, and moving dancefloor electronics.
CAAMP – By And By CD/LP (Mom + Pop Music)
“We’re in a hammock state of mind with CAAMP. The band was formed in Athens, Ohio by old friends Taylor Meier, who sings and plays guitar, and banjo player Evan Westfall. They later added bass player Matt Vinson. Since the band’s humble beginnings playing for ‘free beer and a couple folks who would enjoy a guitar-banjo tune,’ as Meir says, CAAMP has managed to charm festival-goers and captivate late night crowds across the country.” – NPR
Chats – Get This In Ya !! [Reissue/2017] CDEP/12” (Burger)
Self-proclaimed shed-rock band the Chats were thrust into the spotlight when their song “Smoko” and its accompanying video went viral. Josh Price (guitar), Matt Boggis (drums), and Eamon Sandwith (bass, vocals) founded the band in 2016 on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, Queensland, in high school. The trio cited the Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Black Flag as early influences, and the classically scrappy D.I.Y. sound of punk could be heard across their self-titled debut EP, which appeared in 2016. But it would be their follow-up EP, Get This in Ya !!, that garnered the band attention with the catchy lead single “Smoko” in 2017. [Limited green colored vinyl pressing also available.]
Lloyd Cole – Guesswork CD/LP (earMUSIC)
Recorded (mostly) in his attic studio in Massachusetts, Guesswork was produced by Lloyd Cole and mixed by maverick German producer Olaf Opal, with executive production from Chris Hughes. Lloyd collaborated with three other musicians on Guesswork, most notable of whom are two former bandmates – guitarist Neil Clark and keyboard player Blair Cowan – who found themselves working together on an album with Lloyd for the first time since The Commotions’ swansong Mainstream in 1987. However, anyone expecting a Commotions sound will be on the wrong tack: Guesswork is predominantly an ‘electronic’ album.
Soundgarden – Live From The Artists Den 2xCD/4xLP (UMe)
On February 17, 2013, Soundgarden concluded a sold-out US Winter tour in support of King Animal, their first studio album in over sixteen years, with a special Live From The Artists Den taping at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. Soundgarden mixed new songs with classic radio hits and rarities performed live for the first time, in front of a rapturous crowd.
Suicide – Suicide [Reissue/1977] CD/LP (Dangerous Minds/Mute)
The definitive reissue of Suicide’s genuinely classic and highly influential eponymous debut album. The hardback CD and 140gm red vinyl packages include exclusive photographs and extensive sleeve notes by The Quietus’ John Doran exploring the impact of the band.
George Benson – The Other Side Of Abbey Road [Reissue/1969] LP (Friday Music)
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. George Benson, influenced by Wes Montgomery, had only just gone from being a well-kept secret to a bright star in the celestial jazz firmament at the time of The Other Side of Abbey Road. His youthful, happy-go-lucky ways may well have led him and his producer Creed Taylor to turn to this important 1970 Beatles covers album and – without great pathos or standing in awe – they put the music through a mincer as it were, adding a large pinch of jazz spice and a good portion of strings and Latin percussion on the way.
Dude York – Falling CD/LP (Hardly Art)
“There are two ways things can fall,” says Dude York’s Claire England. “They can fall and be ruined, or they can fall gently like a feather and be fine.” On Falling, the Seattle trio explores that sentiment – evoked by the broken cake on the album cover and the soft confetti on the inside sleeve – through impossibly catchy and emotive songs that investigate the ways you can fall in and out of relationships, and sometimes fall back together. Recorded at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco with producer Patrick Brown, Falling finds Dude York sounding bigger and more fully-realized than ever with hits that would feel perfectly at home sandwiched between Jimmy Eat World and Third Eye Blind in early 2000s alt-rock radio rotation, while somehow still sounding utterly their own.
Violent Femmes – Hotel Last Resort CD/LP (PIAS America)
Violent Femmes’ tenth studio album, Hotel Last Resort resides among the groundbreaking band’s finest work, simultaneously refining and redefining their one-of-a-kind take on American music, mingling front porch folk, post punk, spiritual jazz, country blues, avant garde minimalism and golden age rock ‘n’ roll into something still altogether their own. Founded and fronted of course by singer/ guitarist Gordon Gano and acoustic bass guitarist Brian Ritchie, the Milwaukee-born combo remains as warm, wise and weird as ever before, with such new favorites as “Another Chorus” and “Everlasting You” continuing to mine the vast range of ideas, melodic complexity and organic sonic craftsmanship that has characterized the band’s body of work since their landmark self-titled 1983 debut. [Limited indie-store exclusive vinyl pressing also available.]
Of Monsters And Men – Fever Dream CD/LP (Republic)
You think you know the Icelandic band Of Monsters And Men, but you have no idea. Within the first minute of their single “Alligator” you’ll be wondering if this huge anthem is the brainchild of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs fronting Arcade Fire – all thumping drums, brimming guitars and a call-to-arms chorus about taking control. During a day of final mixing at the L.A. studio of their co-producer Rich Costey (Muse, Vampire Weekend, Chvrches), the five-piece gather in stages.
Pere Ubu – The Long Goodbye CD/LP (Cherry Red)
Pere Ubu unveil their new album, The Long Goodbye, nearly two years after their previous record for Cherry Red, 20 Years In A Montana Missile Silo. The Long Goodbye is the end of a road. Frontman David Thomas has long talked of their journey to Satisfied City: This wraps up every song and story that Pere Ubu has been telling in different ways for the past forty plus years.
Janet Jackson – Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 [Reissue/1989] 2xLP (Virgin)
Janet Jackson – Janet. [Reissue/1993] 2xLP (Virgin)
Janet Jackson – Janet. [Reissue/1997] 2xLP (Virgin)
Slightly expanded double-vinyl reissues of Janet Jackson’s fourth, fifth and sixth albums.
Ingrid Michaelson – Stranger Songs LP (Cabin 24)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Following seven albums, two platinum singles, countless TV and film syncs and millions of downloads and streams – all released independently on her own Cabin 24 Records – Michaelson found herself at a bit of creative standstill, adrift and seeking inspiration. The pop singer-songwriter found it again in an unexpected place, the throwback sci-fi/horror drama Stranger Things.
The Runaways – The Runaways [Reissue/1976] LP (Modern Harmonic)
The Runaways – Queens Of Noise [Reissue/1977] LP (Modern Harmonic)
After snatching a record deal due to the brute strength of a single rehearsal, The Runaways proceeded to change the face (and gender) of rock and roll with the release of their 1976 eponymous debut. Full of tough, snarling tales of misbehavior and anthems of offbeat adolescence, the album established these juvenile idols and remains a source of inspiration for the next generation of rebels. Arriving mere months after their initial assault, The Runaways cranked up the intensity on their dominant second album Queens Of Noise, painting stark pictures of teenage rebellion across a stunning set of originals. [CD reissues due August 9.]
Solange – When I Get Home LP (Sony)
Limited clear vinyl pressing. When I Get Home is the latest album from Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and visual artist Solange Knowles. This release represents the next phase in Solange’s evolution as an artist, and is the follow up to her critically acclaimed 2016 album A Seat At The Table.
Various Artists – Stranger Things: Soundtrack From The Netflix Original Series, Season 3 2xLP+7” (Sony)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. This soundtrack of the series’ Season 3 features 15 classic tracks on two LP’s and the debut of an original cast recording, featured on the 7″ bonus single.