New Releases & Staff Picks – 10/14/22
Staff Picks
Lindsay – Photay with Carlos Niño and Surprise Chef
Caleb – Carlos Niño and Sam Prekop
Dario – Cerberus Shoal reissue
Zach- Bill Callahan, Brian Eno, Fucked Up
Kimber – Sam Prekop and 45 Grave reissue
Niño’s influence is vast (who comes here with a network of regular collaborators including Iasos and Nate Mercereau), as is the presence of harpist Mikaela Davis, and the result on this collaborative album is to push Photay towards the sounds of the earth. And the water. And the spaces that exist, somewhere, probably. Mysteries unfold around each corner on every listen.
Bill Callahan – Ytilaer CD/Cassette (Drag City)
From the beautiful to the jarring, intrepid explorer Callahan charts a passage through all kinds of territory, pitting dreams of dreams against dreams of reality. When he makes it back to us, his old friends and acquaintances, we are reminded how much of a world it can be out there – and in here as well, where we live every day.
Can – Live In Cuxhaven 1976 CD/LP+MP3 (Mute)
Can’s line up for this legendary 1976 performance features all four original members- Irmin Schmidt on keys, Jaki Leibezeit on drums, Michel Karoli on guitar, and Holger Czukay on bass. Can’s powerful influence has never diminished, and their indelible mark is apparent in the bands who freely acknowledge their importance – from Portishead, James Murphy, Sonic Youth, New Order, Factory Floor, Public Image Ltd, Mogwai, Madlib and Radiohead – as well as across other disciplines such as visual art and literature. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]
Brian Eno – FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE CD/LP (Verve)
FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE is the 22nd solo studio album from Brian Eno and the first since 2017’s Reflection. The album was recorded and produced by him at his studio in West London and sees Eno singing on most tracks. It’s a sonically beguiling, ultimately optimistic exploration of the narrowing, precarious future of humanity and our planet. As Eno himself concludes, “Briefly, we need to fall in love again, but this time with Nature, with Civilization and with our hopes for the future.”
Surprise Chef – Education & Recreation LP (Big Crown)
Surprise Chef’s music is based on evoking mood; their vivid arrangements utilize time and space to build soundscapes that invite the listener into their world. The quintet’s distinct sound pulls from ‘70s film scores, the funkier side of jazz, and the samples that form the foundation of hip-hop. They push the boundaries of instrumental soul and funk with their own approach honed by countless hours in the studio, studying the masters, and perhaps most importantly, the “tyranny of distance” that dictates a unique perspective to their music. [An indie store exclusive red color pressing is available.]
Black Lips – Apocalypse Love CD/LP+MP3 (Fire)
The Black Lips return with their tenth studio effort Apocalypse Love, scorched with their trademark menace, it cryogenically mutates all recognized musical bases; it spins yarns about vintage Soviet synths, Benzedrine stupors, coup de’ tats, stolen valor and certified destruction, all set against a black setting sun. Since the turn of the decade the band have transformed from austere country pioneers, into a set of Lynchian surrealists, hellbent on recalibrating the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Apocalypse Love is an album that emanates from a dive bar jukebox in the back of your mind; with a playlist that bends between tub thumping doom-glam, Plastic Ono singalongs, cocktail-shaken space age pop, Morricone reverberations and lo-fi outsider acoustic-punk, with mariachi horns, theremins, drum machines and harmonies filtering through the infectious melodies. [A limited-edition violet color vinyl pressing is available.]
Plains – I Walked With You A Ways CD/LP+MP3 (ANTI-)
Hitting play on the debut album from Plains, the duo composed of Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson, we’re immediately teleported into a world of Southern sunsets, wide open spaces, and the unapologetic nature of Country music. Plains began out of Crutchfield’s and Williamson’s mutual love for each other’s music and after trading albums (Saint Cloud and Sorceress, respectively) in early 2020. Feeling that it was time to have a separate project that could reflect a different side of her creative inspirations, Katie felt that Jess was the perfect fit for a collaboration, and they set off to create I Walked With You A Ways. Written between Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Marfa, the album was recorded in Durham, NC with collaborator and producer Brad Cook. The creative magic of only a few vocal takes, tracking with a band comprised of Spencer Tweedy and Phil Cook, gives the album a feel of fresh, on-the-spot conception. [An indie store exclusive translucent pink color vinyl pressing is available.]
Fucked Up – Oberon LP (Tank Crimes)
Pummeling curveball from Fucked Up channeling the world of HC that birthed them – despotic and horrendously sludgy riffs exploding in octaves lower than Hades, crashing against hellish bellowing all while the rhythm section heaves at a pace that only Noothgrush, Crossed Out, Kiss it Goodbye, and Bloodlet would tread upon. Topped off with an absolutely despicable cover of Saint-Saens “The Aquarium” this is the mythologically psychedelic sludge record you never thought Fucked Up would make. 4 tracks of pure audio excretion.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Return Of The Dream Canteen CD/2xLP/Cassette (WB)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new surprise release Return Of The Dream Canteen marks the band’s second album of 2022, hot on the heels of the platinum-selling chart topper Unlimited Love which was released in April. It is also the band’s second Rick Rubin produced record of 2022 and reinforces their reputation as a band at their absolute peak, riding the crest of an undeniable creative wave. “We went in search of ourselves as the band that we have somehow always been,” notes the group. “Just for the fun of it we jammed and learned some old songs. Before long we started the mysterious process of building new songs. A beautiful bit of chemistry meddling that had befriended us hundreds of times along the way. Once we found that slip stream of sound and vision, we just kept mining. With time turned into an elastic waist band of oversized underwear, we had no reason to stop writing and rocking.” [A deluxe vinyl gatefold vinyl edition featuring a poster is available. An indie store exclusive pressing features a bonus track.]
Gentle Sinners – These Actions Cannot Be Undone LP (Rock Action)
Two of Rock Action Record’s renowned singer/songwriters have joined forces to create Gentle Sinners – a one-off project by James Graham of The Twilight Sad and Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap and a superstar in his own right. Ultimately, different to their day job bands, Gentle Sinners brings James’ trademark Scottish singing voice with Aidan on the music and production side to create a more experimental electronic sound then we are used to hearing from them. The album was recorded remotely from each other during the recent pandemic lock downs as they now live on different sides of Scotland and having been friends for years, it was a way for them to keep in touch after having no idea when they would be able to see each other, play live again or what both their bands would be able to do next. Gentle Sinners is named after a phrase “gentle sin” in Romeo & Juliet, where the rules of etiquette are broken with a cheeky wink of the eye. Hardcore fans of The Twilight Sad and Arab Strap will be keen to hear what these gentlemen have been up to so we expect this to appeal to their fanbase.
Tove Lo – Dirt Femme CD (Pretty Swede)
Multi-platinum selling, Grammy-nominated artist Tove Lo releases her fifth studio album, Dirt Femme. The album boasts an impressive lineup of special guests, including SG Lewis (appearing on two tracks), Channel Tres and First Aid Kit. “Tove Lo’s songbook is filled with tracks about using drugs and sex to escape harsher realities and Dirt Femme laces that work with a newfound sense of maturity. [Vinyl edition due March 3.]
Sam Prekop – The Sparrow LP (Tal)
2022 release from the singer/songwriter and The Sea and Cake member. On The Sparrow, Sam Prekop expands his electronic cosmos with a remarkable expression of timeless simplicity and coherent execution. It’s deceptively simple music that feels accessible without abandoning the experimental legacy of the Modular hardware system which serves, besides a polyphonic Prophet 5 synthesizer, as the centerpiece of this production.
Various Artists – Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen CD (Blue Note)
Blue Note Records presents Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen, a remarkable new album produced by Larry Klein that offers up stunning renditions of the legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen’s profound songs performed by an extraordinary line-up of guest vocalists: Norah Jones, Peter Gabriel, Gregory Porter, Sarah McLachlan, Luciana Souza, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples, David Gray, and Nathaniel Rateliff. The album’s 12 tracks offer a range of Cohen’s compositions, with songs drawn from his beloved 1967 debut Songs Of Leonard Cohen all the way up to selections from his final album, You Want It Darker, released just days before his death in 2016. The set covers some of his best-known classics and less familiar deep cuts, all given new life through thoughtful and unexpected arrangements and performances. [Vinyl edition due November 4.]
Field Medic – grow your hair long if you’re wanting to see something change LP (Run For Cover)
Limited-edition color vinyl. Few songwriters can pinpoint difficult emotions and address them with such devastating clarity and disarming humor quite like Field Medic. The long-running musical project of Los Angeles-based musician Kevin Patrick Sullivan, he makes music that’s so startlingly honest that it can cut the tension in any room. He’s excelled at self-reflection and making deceptively simple folk songs about loneliness, sobriety, and growing up. But for grow your hair long if you’re wanting to see something you can change, he decided to completely reinvent his approach to recording. The result is his most ambitious, fully formed, and emotionally resonant collection of tracks yet.
The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Country CD/LP (Dirty Hit)
The 1975 return with their new album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language. The band’s 5th studio album was written by Matthew Healy and George Daniel and recorded at Real World Studios in the UK and Electric Lady Studios in NYC. Formed in Manchester in 2002, The 1975 have established themselves as one of the defining bands of their generation with their distinctive aesthetic, ardent fanbase and unique sonic approach. The band was named NME’s Band of The Decade and Best Group at the BRIT Awards.
Daniel Lanois – Player, Piano CD (Modern Recordings)
Press play on Lanois’ captivating new instrumental collection, Player, Piano, and you’ll be transported, too. Each song here is a portal, an invitation to lose yourself in the moment and disappear into a world of imagination and memory. Lanois recorded the entire collection himself, capturing a series of gentle, exotic piano performances at his studio in Toronto with the help of co-producer Dangerous Wayne Lorenz, and the results are both intimate and expansive all at once. Melodies unfold slowly with patience and grace; ethereal arrangements drift around them like fog rolling through the mountains. More than just an album, Player, Piano is a gateway into a cinematic sonic universe full of mystery and wonder, a place where the lines between reality and fantasy blur and deep truths and desires reveal themselves in profound and unexpected ways. [Vinyl edition due November 18.]
Roy Orbison – King Of Hearts [Reissue/1992] CD/LP (Sony Legacy)
30th anniversary edition of the posthumous 1992 from the legendary singer-songwriter-rock ‘n’ roll pioneer. Features the Grammy-winning duet “Crying” with k.d. lang. Producers of the record include T-Bone Burnett, Jeff Lynne, Robbie Robertson, and Don Was. [An indie store exclusive red color vinyl pressing is available.]
The Pyramids – Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings 4xCD (Strut)
Now available on CD. Strut present the first box set release to bring together the 1970s recordings of The Pyramids, led by Idris Ackamoor. As students at Antioch College, Ohio, alto saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, flautist Margaux Simmons and bass player Kimathi Asante created three lasting monuments in sound – Lalibela, King Of Kings, and Birth / Speed / Merging, a trio of albums produced without any label backing or distribution between 1972 and 1976. Their music is unique among the varied canon of avant-garde and experimental music of 1970s America: high intensity African-styled percussion topped with songs, chants, and horns, laced with African instruments, and arranged into long, flowing suites that surge and roll.
Sparta – Sparta CD/LP (Dine Alone)
Sparta is the powerful fifth studio album from the El Paso, TX band, following their 2020 comeback Trust The River and Jim Ward’s 2021 solo record, the blistering Daggers.”This new record is a starting point for the band, with absolute love and respect for the last 20 years – it was time to scrap some things, release some baggage and forge a new path,” shares Ward. “Matt and I have a clear vision for the future, and it starts now. We recorded a Sparta record with an ensemble of friends, new and old alike, and couldn’t be happier – there is so much love on this thing and I can’t wait for people to hear it.” All of the drums on the record were performed by Tucker Rule (Thursday/Frank Iero) while Geoff Rickly (Thursday), Kayleigh Goldsworthy, and Angelica Garcia also appear. [Two vinyl colorways are available: indie store exclusive white and limited edition green.]
45 Grave – Sleep In Safety [Reissue/1983] LP (Real Gone Music)
Multi-color vinyl pressing. Formed from putrefying remnants of The Germs, The Consumers, The Bags, The Gun Club, and The Screamers among other L.A. punk outfits, 45 Grave was arguably the first American goth/deathrock band and inarguably one of the best.
Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman – Lice [Reissue/2015] 12” (Rhymesayers)
Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman – Lice Two: Still Buggin’ [Reissue/2016] 12” (Rhymesayers)
Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman – Triple Fat Lice [Reissue/2017] 12” (Rhymesayers)
Both Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman are regarded as top tier lyricists known for pushing the envelope of creativity in their writing, while covering a wide range of topics and moods. However, sometimes things are inherently simple. Take for example, the origin of their collaboration, born from a mutual appreciation for each other as artists which became fully realized when Aesop Rock invited Homeboy Sandman to join him on tour in 2015. Traveling the country together, they built a connection beyond the music, resulting in a friendship that led to recording a few songs together, and before they knew it, there was an infestation… Lice.
The Black Heart Procession – The Spell [Reissue/2006] LP (Touch & Go)
Translucent red color vinyl pressing. Theirs is the sound of driving at night across the West. Like the wide-open landscape, this is music that knows how to be both desolate and lush. And it knows that while sadness pulls you down, discontent pushes you forward. So, the Procession never stops. Here, a song’s 6/8 beat will pull you into a moody seductive waltz and next, the violin and piano evoke the house band of a lonesome cabaret with the lights turned low. Then the strings stop their mournful crying and shift into a propulsive thrum, and now we’ve got the pedal to the metal and we’re heading straight down the open road into a cinematic twilight.
John Carpenter – Firestarter LP+MP3 (Sacred Bones)
The horror master John Carpenter is back with his Halloween franchise collaborators Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter for their infectious new soundtrack to the 2022 adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter. This marks the first official soundtrack that the team has composed together outside of the Halloween franchise and their inspiration and evolution as a creative team is on full display. Multiple vinyl colorways are available, including limited-edition yellow w/ white.
Cerberus Shoal – …And Farewell To Hightide [Reissue/1996] 2xLP (Psychic Hotline)
Blue color vinyl pressing. The long out-of-print sophomore album by the pioneering, creatively restless troupe, Cerberus Shoal, highlights the earliest phase of their transition from experimental hardcore band to transcendent exploratory collective. Originally released in 1996, ...And Farewell To Hightide combined the group’s unique command of patient anticipation with a significantly expanded musical palette and a refined musicianship.
Mac Demarco – 2 [Reissue/2012] 2xLP (Captured Tracks)
This 10th Anniversary pressing includes the album 2 along with the companion album 2 Demos. Also includes 8-page booklet containing new liner notes written by Mac. 2 is the debut full-length studio album by Canadian musician Mac DeMarco, originally released in 2012.
El-P – Fantastic Damage [Reissue/2002] 2xLP (Fat Possum)
El-P – I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Fat Possum)
EL-P – Cancer 4 Cure [Reissue] LP (Fat Possum)
Fantastic Damage marked the beginning of El-P’s career as a solo artist, following a groundbreaking career as frontman and producer of legendary NYC underground hip hop crew, Company Flow. Fan Dam was a foundational release for his fledgling record label Definitive Jux, which would soon establish itself as an iconic juggernaut of independent rap in the wake of trailblazing solo records by El-P and label mates Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, RJD2, Murs, and more. After nearly four years of work, El-P released his second proper production album, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, featuring contributions from the Mars Volta, Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, and Cat Power.
Pearl Jam – Rearview-Mirror Vol. 1 (Up Side) 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Pearl Jam – Rearview-Mirror Vol. 2 (Down Side) 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991-2003) is a two-part compilation album by Pearl Jam, originally released on November 16, 2004. The album’s two discs are both devoted to different sides of the band’s catalogue: Volume 1, the “Up” side, contains the band’s heavier rock songs. Volume 2, the “Down” side, consists of slower songs and ballads.
The Promise Ring – Nothing Feels Good [Reissue/1997] LP (Jade Tree)
25th Anniversary Edition pressed on blue & white galaxy vinyl. If there was ever a straw that broke a camel’s back, this was it. The kids had their say and, for once, they agreed on something. Everyone from SPIN Magazine to MTV’s Matt Pinfield was marveling over this record. The Promise Ring themselves were catapulted from the tiny basement scene into the, erm, bigger basement and club scene.
Snarky Puppy – Empire Central 3xLP+MP3 (Groundup Music)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. On Empire Central, the eclectic 19-piece electric jazz ensemble is big and bold, chill and laid back, rooted in its native culture while reaching outward, forward-bound.