Dinosaur Jr – Sweep It Into Space CD/LP (Jagjaguwar)
Sweep It Into Space is Dinosaur Jr.’s first new collection of music since 2016’s Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not, continuing what is perhaps the greatest “second act” of any band ever. Originally scheduled for mid-2020, this record’s temporal trajectory was thwarted by the coming of the Plague. But it would take more than a mere Plague to tamp down the exquisite fury of this trio when they are fully dialed-in. And Sweep It Into Space is a masterpiece of zoned dialing. Dinosaur Jr. has a signature sound as sure as the Stooges or Sonic Youth or Discharge ever did. They continue to expand their personal universe with Sweep It Into Space, without ever losing their central core. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]

Spiritualized ‎– Lazer Guided Melodies [Reissue/1992] CD/2xLP (Fat Possum)
The Jason Pierce-led space-rock group, Spiritualized, will take you on a voyage into the unknown with this aptly titled 1992 debut. All the sounds on Lazer Guided Melodies are perfectly placed in space making it a masterpiece of economy and expression. It is authentically emotional as silence and simplicity are as crucial as the more complex instrumentation. An album to be heard with a set of headphones in a dark room and, above all, in its entirety. A pinnacle of the dream pop genre. The Spaceman Reissue Program edition of Lazer Guided Melodies promises to give these recordings the fullest spectrum audio and physical treatment they’ve deserved since 1992.

Field Music – Flat White Moon CD/LP+MP3 (Memphis Industries)
“We want to make people feel good about things that we feel terrible about,” says David Brewis, who has co-led the band Field Music with his brother Peter since 2004. It’s a statement which seems particularly fitting to their latest album, Flat White Moon. Sporadic sessions for the album began in late 2019 at the pair’s studio in Sunderland, slotted between rehearsals and touring. The initial recordings pushed a looser performance aspect to the fore, inspired by some of their very first musical loves; Free, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles; old tapes and LPs pilfered from their parents’ shelves. But a balance between performance and construction has always been an essential part of Field Music. The playfulness that’s evident in much of Flat White Moon’s music became a way to offset the darkness and the sadness of many of the lyrics. Much of the album is plainly about loss and grief, and also about the guilt and isolation which comes with that. [A limited-edition clear vinyl pressing is also available.]

Gang Of Four – Entertainment! [Reissue/1979] CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Gang Of Four – Solid Gold [Reissue/1981] CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Two of Gang Of Four’s critical early works, Entertainment! (1979) and Solid Gold (1981) have been remastered from the original analog tapes. Propelled by a political mission and some wicked bass playing, the Gang Of Four released Entertainment in 1979. Entertainment! is – without question – one of the most important records from the post punk era. The group’s second album, Solid Gold, celebrated its 40th anniversary on March 1st. It boasts a much deeper, bass heavy sound than Entertainment! and contains the singles “Outside The Trains Don’t Run On Time” and “He’d Send In The Army”.

Kaleo – Surface Sounds CD/2xLP (Elektra)
In three short years, Kaleo scored a trifecta of global hits, received a Grammy nomination, watched their first album, 2016’s A/B, go Gold and toured incessantly. Every bit of that lived experience is packed into their sophomore album Surface Sounds. Frontman/songwriter JJ Julius Son has been in the studio off-and-on for two years, allowing for a combination of globe-trotting and meticulous tinkering, resulting in a spectrum of sounds recorded around the world – in North America, South America and across Europe. The final product is refreshingly free of calculation, with Julius Son allowing each tune to dictate its path while simultaneously leaning-in to his blues, folk and rock inclinations. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is also available.]

Lost Horizons – In Quiet Moments CD/2xLP+MP3 (Bella Union)
Lost Horizons is a collaboration between Simon Raymonde, former bassist of the Cocteau Twins, and drummer Richard Thomas, whose past resume includes Dif Juz and The Jesus And Mary Chain. Their haunting, low-key indie pop combines elements of dance-rock and Bowie-esque singer songwriter folk. In Quiet Moments features a distinguished cast of guest singers and a handful of supporting instrumentalists embellishing the core duo’s gorgeously free-flowing and loose-limbed blueprint. While the album has its pockets of loss, they are aligned to the concept of hope, and the result is more about rebirth than death. [A limited deluxe vinyl pressing is also available.]

Todd Snider – First Agnostic Church Of Hope And Wonder CD/LP (Aimless)
First Agnostic Church Of Hope And Wonder is a folk record with funk elements and street singer and psychedelic elements which Todd Snider calls it “P-Folk” or “Folkadelic.” “With this album I had the idea for the sound first, I think. I wanted to do what I was calling funk in back and busking up front with [Beatles’] White Album-y shit scattered about. I had done a lot of listening to and looking into Parliament and James Brown and lots of reggae music, too,” Snider says. The album was borne from Snider’s popular weekly live stream series from The Purple Building in East Nashville (pictured on the album cover).

Unsane – Improvised Munitions & Demo CD (Lamb Unlimited)
Improvised Munitions is the unreleased first Unsane album originally slated to be released in 1989 by Circuit Records. Following the band’s approval of the test pressings, Circuit folded. A huge letdown at the time, Unsane managed to use a couple of tracks for singles and re-recorded some of the tracks to put on the first full length for Matador. [Vinyl edition due May 7.]

Alan Vega – Mutator CD/LP (Sacred Bones)
Alan Vega’s name is synonymous with unfettered, tireless creativity. Beginning in the late 1950s, when he was a fine art student at Brooklyn College, through his years playing in Suicide, and all the way up until his death in 2016, Vega was constantly creating. That process naturally led to a wealth of material that didn’t see the light of day immediately when it was recorded, which came to be known as the Vega Vault. Mutator is the first in a series of archival releases from the Vault.

Hypnosonics – Drums Were Beating: Fort Apache Studios 1996 LP (Modern Harmonic)
Prior to founding the band Morphine, Mark Sandman launched Hypnosonics, built around a stripped-down drum kit with no toms and a piece of plywood in place of cymbals, played by Jay Hilt. With funk in its heart, Hypnosonics was originally a five piece with Sandman on guitar and organ, Tom Halter and Russ Gershon of the Either/Orchestra on trumpet and sax, and Mike Rivard, who later founded Club d’Elf, on bass. After Morphine took off, Dana Colley joined Hypnosonics, Hilt added hi-hat cymbals to his kit, and the horn section started singing.

Sleep – Iommic Life 2×12” (Third Man)
Surprise 4/20 release. Iommic Life is a collection of the stoner metal band’s post-reunion singles “The Clarity” and “Leagues Beneath”, packaged together in a gatefold LP jacket, along with a repress of “The Clarity” 12” single, and all-new merch. The double 12” single contains stunning all new artwork and B-side etchings by Dave Kloc and was entirely remastered by Bob Weston of Chicago Mastering Service. Limited color vinyl variants are available.

Elliott Smith – Roman Candle [Reissue/1994] LP+MP3 (Kill Rock Stars)
Elliott Smith – An Introduction To Elliott Smith [Reissue/2010] LP+MP3 (Kill Rock Stars)
Vinyl reissues of the singer-songwriter’s first and third albums, as well as the posthumous compilation An Introduction To Elliott Smith.

Unwound ‎– Challenge For A Civilized Society [Reissue/1998] LP (Numero)
Dead-eyed post-punk from Olympia’s reigning noise-niks – back in-print on vinyl.