Darkside – Spiral CD/2xLP+MP3 (Matador)
Darkside is an American rock band formed in Providence, Rhode Island in 2011. The group consists of Chilean electronic musician/vocalist Nicolás Jaar and American multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington. In the summer of 2018, Jaar and Harrington rented a small house on Lenni-Lenape territory, which is present-day Flemington, New Jersey. The group spent a week there, making a song a day. While it would take another year and a half to complete their second album, six songs from the band’s new record Spiral were written and recorded during this initial session. “From the beginning, Darkside has been our jam band. Something we did on days off. When we reconvened, it was because we really couldn’t wait to jam together again,” says Jaar. Harrington echoes this, “It felt like it was time again,” he said. “We do things in this band that we would never do on our own. Darkside is the third being in the room that just kind of occurs when we make music together.”

Descendents – 9th & Walnut CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Named for their Long Beach practice space back in the day, 9th & Walnut features the Descendents’ earliest material written from 1977 through 1980. Begun in 2002 and finished in the pandemic, the 18-track collection also includes the band’s debut tracks “Ride The Wild” and “It’s a Hectic World” (heard here for the first time with vocals by Milo Aukerman), and the Dave Clark Five’s “Glad All Over” with the full Descendents treatment. [An indie-store exclusive vinyl pressing is available.]

Mudhoney – Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) 2xCD/2xLP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
In the spring of 1991, Mudhoney recorded Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge – a whirlwind of the band’s influences at the time: the fierce ‘60s garage rock of their Pacific Northwest predecessors The Sonics and The Lollipop Shoppe, the gnashing post-hardcore of Drunks With Guns, the heavy guitar moods of Neil Young, the lysergic workouts of Spacemen 3 and Hawkwind, the gloomy existentialism of Zounds, and the satirical ferocity of ‘80s hardcore punk. This 30th anniversary edition, remastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, stands as testimony to the creative surge that drove them in this period. The album sessions yielded a clutch of material that would subsequently appear on B-sides, compilations, and split singles. This edition includes all those tracks, and a slew of previously unreleased songs, including the entire five-track Music Source session.

Molly Burch – Romantic Images CD/LP (Captured Tracks)
Romantic Images marks a distinct evolution for Molly Burch, both emotionally and sonically. Recorded in Denver with Tennis’ Alaina Moore and Pat Riley producing, the collection celebrates the timeless delights of a well-crafted pop song, flirting with Blondie, Madonna, and even Mariah Carey as it forges a joyful soundtrack to liberation and self-discovery. Burch deliberately worked with more women collaborators than ever before on the album, and the results are transcendent, reveling in the passion and the power of the divine feminine. Written with the live show in mind, the collection prioritizes ecstasy and escape, and it’s easy to hear Burch’s commitment to collective catharsis in her lifted, airy delivery, which manages to exude both thoughtful introspection and carefree abandon all at once. [An indie-store exclusive color vinyl pressing is available.]

PJ Harvey & John Parish ‎– A Woman A Man Walked By [Reissue/2009] LP (Island)
Limited 180gm vinyl pressing. A Woman A Man Walked By is the second collaboration between PJ Harvey and John Parish. Produced by Parish and Harvey, and originally released in March 2009, the album features the single “Black Hearted Love”. This reissue is faithful to the original recording with vinyl cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering, overseen by John Parish.

Anika – Change CD/LP/Cassette (Sacred Bones)
When asked to describe the circumstances that influenced her beautifully fraught new work, Berlin-based musician Annika Henderson – better known simply as Anika – quickly articulates a set of feelings and unpredictable circumstances that are familiar to anyone who tried to make art – or simply tried to live through – the recent global pandemic. “It’s a moment caught in time,” she says of Change, her much-anticipated new record. Given that it has been 11 years since the release of her last solo album, 2010 cult-favorite Anika, the artist suddenly found herself with a lot to say. The intimacy of its creation and a palpable sense of global anxiety are seemingly baked into the DNA of Change. Spread across nine tracks, the central feeling of the record is one of heightened frustration buoyed by guarded optimism. The songs offer skittering, austere electronic backdrops reminiscent of classic Broadcast records or High Scores-era Boards Of Canada, playing them against Anika’s remarkable voice – Nico-esque, beautifully plaintive, and – in regards to the record’s subject matter – totally resolute. [An indie-store exclusive red & silver ‘galaxy’ color vinyl pressing is available.]

Jackson Browne – Downhill From Everywhere CD (Inside Recordings)
Jackson Browne’s latest studio album, Downhill from Everywhere finds the lauded 72-year-old singer/songwriter tackling a variety of topical and emotional themes, including the plight of illegal immigrants, prejudice against same-sex relationships, environmental pollution, racial justice and his own mortality. “I see the writing on the wall,” says Browne. “I know there’s only so much time left in my life. But I now have an amazing, beautiful grandson, and I feel more acutely than ever the responsibility to leave him a world that’s inhabitable.” [Vinyl edition due August 6.]