Staff Picks
Kimber – Joe Pernice
Lindsay – Will Johnson, Joe Pernice
Dario – Wooden Shjips, The Bongolian 
Eric – The Bongolian

Will Johnson – El Capitan CD/LP (Keeled Scales)
Will Johnson’s new album El Capitan features Will on acoustic guitar with contributions from Britton, Thor Harris, and Lindsey Verrill of Little Mazarn. “These things started years ago at a friend’s dining room table in Oregon,” Will shares. “They built up on desert drives, in hotel bathrooms, in casino bars, and on trail runs. They mortared together into something sensible (to me) over time. Some songs are quite old, and some are pandemic-new. It feels like we’re at the mercy of nature now more than ever, and the quiet of this time seemed right enough to make this record. [A limited indie store exclusive colored vinyl pressing is available.] 

Aaron Frazer – Introducing… CD/LP+MP3 (Easy Eye Sounds/Dead Oceans)
Soft-spoken with the look of a slightly disaffected 1950s matinee idol, Aaron Frazer possesses a unique voice that’s both contemporary and timeless. On Introducing… – his debut solo album produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach – Aaron melds mid-’60s soul with Auerbach’s particular sensibilities (‘Over You’), songs with a message in the key of Gil Scott-Heron (‘Bad News’), and uplifting tales of love told through a blend of disco, gospel, and doo-wop (‘Have Mercy’). The Brooklyn-based, Baltimore-raised songwriter first came into the international spotlight as multi-instrumentalist and co-lead singer of Durand Jones & The Indications.

Joe Pernice – Could It Be Magic CD/LP (Ashmont)
Could It Be Magic is Joe Pernice’s carefully curated re-imagination of a slice of the Barry Manilow oeuvre, offered with reverence and not a single bit of irony.

Viagra Boys – Welfare Jazz CD/LP (Year0001)
Since their founding in 2015, Swedish post-punk band Viagra Boys has made a name for themselves burning up stages around the world. There’s a little Iggy Pop spit and seethe, a David Yow drunken stumble, and a bite of Nick Cave’s haunted bark. Add a dash of motorik groove, a pinch of postpunk grime, and a dose of no wave howl.

Wooden Shjips ‎– West [Reissue/2011] LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)
Limited colored vinyl reissue. The overriding theme for the West (as indicated by the title) is the American West, and all of the mythology, romanticism, and idealism that it embodies. The band members grew up on the East Coast, so for a long time the history and literature of the West was an abstraction and a fascination for them. Part of the allure of the West, which is part of the myth, is the concept of Manifest Destiny, the vastness, and the possibilities for reinvention, which is not to say that is what each song is specifically about, but it was very much an undercurrent during the songwriting of the album.

The Bongolian – Harlem Hipshake LP (Blow Up)
Harlem Hipshake sees the welcome return of The Bongolian AKA multi-instrumentalist and Big Boss Man front man Nasser Bouzida. This, the sixth album under The Bongolian moniker, follows the highly acclaimed Moog Maximus. Harlem Hipshake finds The Bongolian deeply immersed in his lifelong love for the music of the sixties New York’s Latin Soul scene, particularly the music of Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria and Joe Bataan.  Principally a drummer, percussionist by trade, Nasser has once again delivered another set of heavy breaks and percussive grooves underpinning this brand-new collection of songs which he has written and produced.

COMING NEXT WEEK….!
SLEAFORD MODS – Spare Ribs CD/LP
MATTHEW SWEET – Catspaw CD/LP
JEFF TWEEDY – Love Is The King CD/LP
KURT VILE – Speed Sound Lonely KV CD/LP
DALE CROVER – Rat-Tat-Tat CD/LP
EMMA RUTH RUNDLE + THOU – Helm Of Sorrow CD/LP
MAYER HAWTHORNE – Rare Changes CD/LP
BUCK MEEK (BIG THIEF) – Two Saviors CD/LP
KATE DAVIS – Strange Boy LP
DOVES – Last Broadcast LP
DOVES – Lost Souls LP
DOVES – Some Cities LP
MARY TIMONY – Mountains LP
TYLER CHILDERS – Long Violent History LP