The National – First Two Pages Of Frankenstein CD/LP+MP3 (4AD)
Anchored by evocative melodies and an enthralling lyrical narrative, First Two Pages Of Frankenstein signals a new chapter in the band’s beloved discography. The album features guest appearances by Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens. First Two Pages Of Frankenstein channels the group’s revitalized chemistry into a body of work that beautifully balances elegant musicality with The National’s more idiosyncratic impulses. “To me the power of this record has to do with the intentionality and structure of the music meeting with a lot of accidental magic,” says Aaron Dessner. [An indie store exclusive red color vinyl pressing is available.]

Yves Tumor – Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume (Or Simply Hot Between Worlds) CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Warp)
Yves Tumor reveals a complex intimacy with each album: offering glimpses in familiarizing with Sean Lee Bowie, while simultaneously elevating the beautiful myths and fantasies that embolden our connections to art and music. Praise A Lord… offers the widest narrative shot yet, opening with a literal breath and a naked voice that’s spoken to you from a dark nightmarish depth and ending in an almost spiritual church-like celebration; uniquely different songs struck cohesively as album that begs to be reopened and re-experienced. The listener is empowered in that spectrum between moody darkness and bright excitement with songs that carry a wild variety of exalting emotion from highs to lows, making for a radical artistic statement redefining pop experience in that authentic engagement. Yves Tumor’s sound is clear and unmistaken yet unpredictable, with an identity that is universally charismatic through an androgynous presentation that is sexual, poetic, and honest: an overall presence that will never need to conform because it is continuously shifting and redefining what the pop world begins to emulate. [A limited-edition yellow color vinyl pressing is available.]

Jessie Ware – That! Feels! Good! CD/LP (Interscope)
Ware’s fifth album, That! Feels Good!, is the follow-up to 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure? which proved her status as one of the UK’s most influential artists. Last year saw Jessie support Harry Styles in the US on tour as part of a fantastic run of live shows, including career-defining sets at Glastonbury and Primavera Sound. Jessie Ware continues to cement herself as a formidable force at the forefront of pop.

Indigo De Souza – All Of This Will End CD/LP+MP3 (Saddle Creek)
“I was finally able to trust myself fully,” says Indigo de Souza of making her masterful third album All Of This Will End. Across eleven songs, the LP is a raw and radically optimistic work that grapples with mortality, the rejuvenation that community brings, and the importance of centering yourself now. These tracks come from the most resonant moments of her life: childhood memories, collecting herself in parking lots, the ecstatic trips spent wandering Appalachian Mountains and southern swamps with friends, and the times she had to stand up for herself. Like the hues of reds and oranges that her mother painted on the LP cover, All Of This Will End marks a warmer and unmistakably audacious era for her. It’s a statement about fearlessly moving forward from the past into a gratitude-filled present, feeling it all every step of the way, and choosing to embody loving awareness. [A limited-edition red color vinyl pressing is available. Cassette version due May 5.]

Josh Ritter – Spectral Lines CD/LP (Pytheas Recordings)
Josh Ritter has been thinking a lot about space exploration. It has nothing to do with his new album, Spectral Lines, except that in a way, it really does. “The Voyager spacecraft went up in ’77 and now it’s out there in a place that no one’s ever been before, and it’s sending back all these messages,” Ritter says. “I feel like songs do that in their own little way. They’re probes: they go out into the world, and sometimes you hear stories back from them, but really, they go off on their own.” Ritter, too, is sending back messages, in the form of twn new songs that are atmospheric and impressionistic. [An indie store exclusive orange cream color vinyl pressing is available.]

Rickie Lee Jones – Pieces Of Treasure CD (Modern Recordings/BMG)
Pieces Of Treasure, Rickie Lee Jones’ newest album, has been a long time coming. In a career that has spanned more than four decades, the renowned singer songwriter has interpreted an extraordinarily wide range of songs from writers and artists she loves, often collected on the same album – showtunes, blues, folk, rock (David Bowie publicly praised her take on “Rebel Rebel”). Pieces Of Treasure – the title a callback to Jones’ seminal album Pirates – is a reunion with legendary producer Russ Titelman, who had, with former Warner Bros. Records head Lenny Waronker, co-produced her star-making 1980 debut LP Rickie Lee Jones and the follow up, Pirates. Titelman had followed Jones’ career over the many years since they’d last collaborated, faithfully going to hear her play whenever she came through New York City. They recently started having phone conversations and then meeting up for lunch; each time Titleman would tell her the same thing: “We’re going to make a jazz record. We’re going to make a jazz record.”

Joseph – The Sun CD/LP+MP3 (ATO)
The Sun is the fourth studio record from Joseph (sisters Natalie, Meegan and Allison Closner) and the follow-up to Good Luck, Kid (2019). It builds on its predecessor’s cinematic pop, bringing a thrilling new energy into each of the album’s ten elegantly sculpted tracks. Joseph worked with acclaimed producers Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, First Aid Kit) and Christian “Leggy” Langdon (Amos Lee, BANKS) to build an irresistibly vibrant sound ranging from moody grandeur to pure anthemic glory. [A limited-edition translucent orange vinyl pressing is available.]

The Orb – Prism CD/2xLP (Cooking Vinyl)
The Orb’s pulsating discography grows ever huger, with their 18th album, and third helmed by the core duo of Alex Paterson and Michael Rendall. Despite the connotations of its title, here they continue to rollick freely without inhibition across ambient, house and dub, but also tangent into poetry, pop, full-blown drum ‘n’ bass and reggae. The release features electronic musicians David Harrow (whose cv includes Anne Clarke, Psychic TV, Razormaid, Adrian Sherwood and Andy Weatherall) and Gaudi (whose credits include Max Romeo, Capleton, Johnny Clarke and Desmond Dekker). Other guests include Orb regular Youth, violinist Violeta Vicci, Kompakt records alumnus Leonardo Fresco, Metamono man Jono Podmore, guitarist and Alex’s old schoolchum David Lofts, plus vocalists Eric Von Skywalker, Andy Cain and Rachel D’arcy. [A limited-edition color vinyl pressing is available.]

Fever Ray – Radical Romantics LP+MP3 (Mute)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Radical Romantics documents Fever Ray’s struggle with love, relationships, identity, and self-preservation. Featuring collaborations with Olof Dreijer (The Knife), Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Vessel, Aasthma and more, this album feels like the apex of their career, incorporating elements of The Knife and early Fever Ray, while looking steadfastly into the future. Includes the single “What They Call Us” which Pitchfork awarded with Best New Track. [A limited-edition red colorway is available.]

Love And Rockets – Earth Sun Moon [Reissue/1987] LP (Beggars Banquet)
Love And Rockets – Love And Rockets [Reissue/1989] LP (Beggars Banquet)
Love And Rockets is the seminal, groundbreaking trio of Daniel Ash (vocals and guitar), David J (vocals and bass) and Kevin Haskins (drums). Formed in 1985 after the first split of their band Bauhaus, Love And Rockets provided a clean slate and an opportunity to plumb the depths of imagination and influences.

Mono – Vol. 1 10”+MP3 (Temporary Residence)
Limited ice-blue colorway. Recorded by Takaakira ‘Taka’ Goto at his home studio in Japan (with drums recorded by Amak Golden at Golden Hive Studio in Prague) – and mixed by Rafael Anton Irisarri and Jeremy deVine at Black Knoll Studio in New York – Heaven Vol. 1 finds Mono at their most hopeful and cinematic.

The Church – The Hypnogogue LP (Communicating Vessel)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Australian psych-rock legends The Church emerge with their first new studio album in six years. The band’s 26th album gleams with potential hits every bit as chiming and charming as their definitive early work. The Church is anchored by long-time collaborator Tim Powles, drummer and producer across 17 albums since ’94 and buttressed by the newly invigorated triple-guitar threat of Jeffery Cain (Remy Zero), Ashley Naylor (Even, The Stems), and ex-Powderfinger stylist Ian Haug.

Braids – Euphoric Recall CD/LP+MP3 (Secret City)
For their fifth full-length, Euphoric Recall, Braids intuitively pursued the playful joy and spontaneity they’d been craving in the absence of live performances – the “kinetic and exciting” (The New York Times) energy that’s become their superpower. Self-produced and for the first time composing and arranging string parts, the band welcomed the guiding flourishes of an ensemble on cello, viola, and violins. The sound is lush and sprawling yet captured with in-the-room clarity; it grooves viscerally, freer, and wholly anew.

Lonnie Liston Smith – Jazz Is Dead 17  CD/LP (Jazz Is Dead)
Coursing through the cosmic pulse of Jazz-Funk is the inimitable influence of Lonnie Liston Smith. For over five decades, the legendary keyboardist and bandleader has been a driving force in shaping the genre’s sound. Smith made his recording debut as a sideman for heavyweights Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Gato Barbieri and Leon Thomas. He later formed his own ensemble, Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes which delivered an incredible run of classic albums through the 1970s. His music has served as the foundation for immortal hip-hop samples and ecstatic dancefloor revelry. In late February 2020, Smith headlined Jazz Is Dead’s Black History Month series, giving many jazz fans what would be their last taste of live music before the nightmare of COVID-19 that took over in the weeks that followed. Now, he reunites with Jazz Is Dead to deliver Lonnie Liston Smith JID017 – a full-bloom tribute to the multitude of sonic strains that all lead back to the fingertips of the maestro himself.

Brian Blade – Mama Rosa CD/LP (Stoner Hill)
Brian Blade has delivered a singer/songwriter album that is compelling, different in nature, introspective and deeply spiritual.Blade has grown in the spirit of Joni Mitchell with whom Blade toured and recorded. Her influence looms, especially on the opening title track, where his guitar sound alludes to Mitchell’s own harmonies. The subject is religious in nature and his faith is personal and far from proselytizing.Mama Rosa may come as unexpected for some, but no surprise to his core fans.

Left Lane Cruiser – Bring Yo Ass To The Table LP (Alive)
The long out of print LEFT LANE CRUISER debut for Alive “Bring Yo’ Ass To the Table” back on CD, remastered and including 4 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS. The Indiana duo featuring Freddy J IV (guitar/vocals) and Brenn “Sausage Paw” Beck (drums/washboard/trash kit) process the Mississippi Delta blues sound through their country punk ‘n’ blues mixer and deliver a gutbucket garage classic.

Great Lake Swimmers – Uncertain Country CD (Fontana North)
Doubt, followed by discovery. Demos that ended up as finished tracks. New beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time. Great Lake Swimmers’ new album, Uncertain Country, captures these feelings and so much more, featuring singer/songwriter Tony Dekker’s first new music in nearly five years.

Tim Hecker – No Highs CD/2xLP (Kranky)
The latest by Canadian composer Tim Hecker serves as a beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive corporate ambient currently in vogue. Whether taken as warning or promise, No Highs delivers-this is music of austerity and ambiguity, purgatorial and seasick. A jagged anti-relaxant for our medicated age, rough-hewn and undefined. Morse code pulse programming flickers like distress signals while a gathering storm of strings, noise, and low-end looms in the distance. Processed electronics shiver and shudder against pitch-shifting assemblages of crackling voltage, mantric horns (including exquisite modal sax by Colin Stetson), and cathedral keys. Throughout, the pieces both accrue and avoid drama, more attuned to undertow than crescendo.

The Mary Onettes – Cola Falls 12″ (Wellfare Sounds)
The Mary Onettes return with an LP containing the celebrated single ‘Cola Falls’ along with the b-side ‘Wait Out A Ghost’ and last years single “What I Feel In Some Places”. These songs return the dreamy, overcast pop that we’ve come to love from The Mary Onettes while being framed around a simple, lyrical storyline. Ekström says that ‘Cola Falls’ conjures the “high, relentless sound of running water” bubbling forth from a waterfall in his hometown – a waterfall that, as a kid, he imagined flowing with soda.

Kero Kero Bonito – Intro Bonito CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Polyvinyl)
Originally released in 2013, Kero Kero Bonito’s debut mixtape, Intro Bonito, was a monumental success in the underground hyperpop scene bubbling up throughout the band’s hometown of South London. The trio, featuring Gus Lobban, Jamie Bulled, and Sarah Midori Perry, started crafting their unique blend of electronic pop music after school friends Gus & Jamie met Sarah on the internet. [A limited-edition hot pink vinyl colorway is available.]

Taj Mahal – Savoy CD/LP (Stony Plain)
Taj Mahal can rightfully be called a living legend for his contributions to popular music. With a voice as instantly recognizable as Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, or Dr John, Taj Mahal has throughout his career pushed the envelope of American music forward by incorporating sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, traditional blues, and jazz. With Savoy, Taj takes a new direction in his musical journey, exploring classics from the American songbook with his good friend and acclaimed record producer John Simon, whose resume includes producing classic albums by The Band, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Simon & Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot, Mama Cass Elliot, David Sanborn, and Michael Franks.

Hidden Cameras – The Smell Of Our Own – 20th Anniv LP (Rough Trade)
Yellow vinyl featuring bonus demos and live session recordings.The Hidden Cameras burst onto the Toronto music scene in the early 2000’s boasting an irresistible combination of pop and queer sensibilities. Playing self-proclaimed ‘Gay Church Folk Music’ a new genre of their own making and songs ranging from haunted, aching ballads to foot-stomping anthems, the band’s outrageous stage shows packed such disparate venues as sweaty dance bars, art museums, working porn cinemas as well as many churches. Fronted by lead singer-songwriter Joel Gibb, the ensemble continues its musical provocations to this day, with Berlin now as its centre of gravity.

Joy Oladokun – Proof Of Life CD (Republic)
Nigerian-American musician/songwriter/producer Joy Oladokun, one of music’s most unique and vulnerable voices, returns with her third full-length album, Proof Of Life. The album captures the human experience with a profound simplicity. Across thirteen tracks, Oladokun celebrates the little details and simple pleasures of being alive, while also giving voice to some of life’s most complex experiences in a way only she can. In addition to “Changes” – a reflection on Oladokun’s own growth as well as the changing world around her – the new record includes the previously released songs “Keeping The Light On” and the instant-classic duet, “Sweet Symphony” featuring Chris Stapleton, as well as collaborations with Manchester Orchestra, Mt. Joy, Maxo Kream, and Noah Kahan. [Indie store exclusive autographed CD and vinyl editions are available.]

Aesop Rock & Blockhead – Garbology (Instrumental Version) 2xLP (Rhymesayers)
Multicolor yellow w/ green & black pressing. As Aesop explains, “Garbology is defined as the study of the material discarded by a society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns. I find a lot of parallels between that and the idea of picking up the pieces after a loss or period of intense unrest and seeing what’s really there. Furthermore – the idea of digging through old, often neglected music from another time – with an ear tuned to taking in that data in a different way than your average listener – is exactly what Blockhead does.” Following the success of the full Garbology album, it’s only right to offer the instrumentals for further examination and repurposing efforts.

William S. Burroughs – Nothing Here Now But The Recordings LP (Dais)
In 1980, Genesis P-Orridge and Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson of (then-)Throbbing Gristle travelled to New York City to meet up at the fortified apartment, known as The Bunker, of famed beat writer and cultural pioneer William S. Burroughs and his executor James Grauerholz. Genesis and Sleazy started the daunting task of compiling the experimental sound works of Burroughs, which, up until that point, had never been widely heard. Inspired by the original Industrial Records release of William S. Burroughs’s Nothing Here Now But The Recordings, Belgian record label Sub Rosa worked with Burroughs to release another album: Break Through In Grey Room. Originally compiled in 1986 by producer Bill Rich, the album features Burroughs’s experimental recordings from 1961 to 1976, featuring field recordings by Burroughs of the Master Musicians of Jajouka, experimental collaborations with mathematician Ian Sommerville and painter/cut-up originator Brion Gysin. [Limited-edition clear vinyl pressings are available.]

Danava – Nothing But Nothing LP (Tee Pee)
Rising from the depths of hell with fury and rage, Danava return new album Nothing But Nothing, a devastating soundtrack for the inevitable decline of western civilization. Formed in 2003, Danava has delivered a sound that incorporates hard rock, heavy metal and a fire forged in the spirit of Iommi and Schenker. Their scorched earth approach has blazed brightly over psychedelic metal solos, glam-rock flair, fretboard wizardry and a white line fever reminiscent of Lemmy at his most lethal.

The Damned – Darkadelic CD (earMUSIC)
46 years after releasing the groundbreaking debut Damned Damned Damned, The Damned return with Darkadelic, their twelfth studio album and their first one since 2018’s Evil Spirits. The album catches the band that launched punk and invented goth once again innovating and expanding upon their unique universe. The lead single and video for “The Invisible Man” is a showcase for Captain Sensible’s riffadelic guitar work and David Vanian’s snarling baritone vocals. Darkadelic barrels along from there and features some of The Damned’s sharpest songwriting and genre-bending performances reaching peaks with “You’re Gonna Realise” and “Beware Of The Clowns” drenched in classic horror movie references, nods to swinging ‘60s London, and a refined palette of musical influences.

Samiam – Samiam [Reissue/1990] LP (New Red Archives)
Clear vinyl pressing of the 1990 debut album from Berkeley CA punk rock heroes.

$uicide Boy$ – Sing Me A Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation LP (G59)
Limited green color vinyl pressing. We choose life or death. No third option exists. $uicideboy$ rap like their lives depend on it because they do. Hip-hop lifted the New Orleans duo of cousins-Scott Arcenaux, Jr. aka $lick Sloth and Aristos Petrou a.k.a. Ruby da Cherry-out of a violent drug-riddled hood nightmare and into an underground phenomenon.

Sure Fire Soul Ensemble – Live At Panama 66 LP (All-Town Sound)
The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble is a nine-piece heavy, instrumental funk band from San Diego, CA. Their influences are vast and include hip-hop groups like Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest, as well as funk and soul masters like Isaac Hayes, The Meters, and James Brown. [A limited-edition clear w/ orange swirl pressing is available.]

The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site [Reissue/2003] LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Apple & black half-and-half color vinyl pressing of the Canadian emo punk band’s third album.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
DURAND JONES – Wait Til I Get Over CD/LP
DE LA SOUL – Buhloone Mindstate CD/LP 
RODNEY CROWELL – Chicago Sessions CD/LP
EILEN JEWELL – Get Behind The Wheel CD/LP
KARATE – Unsolved LP reissue
LEMON TWIGS – Everything Harmony CD/LP
CIAN NUGENT – She Brings Me Back To The Land Of Living CD/LP
SMASHING PUMPKINS – Atum CD/LP
WIZ KHALIFA – Multiverse LP
TOUCHE AMORE – Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me LP
TOUCHE AMORE – Is Survived By LP
ED SHEERAN – CD/LP
SQURL – Silver Haze CD/LP
THERAPY? – Hard Cold Fire LP
TREEPEOPLE – Guilt, Regret & Embarrassment LP reissue
WACO BROTHERS – The Men That God Forgot LP
ATMOSPHERE – So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously CD/LP
YOUNG THE GIANT – American Bollywood LP