STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Clientele and Still Corners
Dario – Daniel Rossen
Kimber –  Budos Band
Caleb – Half Japanese, Locate S,1, Clientele
Zach – Madeline Kenney and Brian Lopez

Aphex Twin – Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In A Room7 F760CDEP/12”+MP3 (Warp)
Featuring four new tracks, Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In A Room7 F760 marks Richard D. James’ first new music in five years, following on from 2018’s Collapse EP.

The Budos Band – Frontier’s Edge CDEP/12” (Diamond West)
Frontier’s Edge is the new EP by the fiery, energetic, genre-defying group The Budos Band. Their first release after departing their two-decade-long home of Daptone Records and joining Diamond West Records – founded by the Budos’ own Thomas Brenneck and Jared Tankel – Frontier’s Edge finds the group hungry, passionate, and primed to charge into their next epoch. [A limited-edition lime color vinyl pressing is available.]

The Clientele – I Am Am Not There Anymore CD/2xLP (Merge)
The Clientele’s I Am Not There Anymore regularly evokes what singer-guitarist Alasdair MacLean calls “the feeling of not being real.” Recording for the album began in 2019 and continued piecemeal until 2022 – in part because of the pandemic, but also because the band wanted to experiment. “We’d always been interested in music other than guitar music, like for donkey’s years,” MacLean says. This time out, he and bassist James Hornsey and drummer Mark Keen incorporated elements of post-bop jazz, contemporary classical, and electronic music. [An indie store exclusive red w/ black color vinyl pressing is available.]

Daniel Rossen – Live in Pioneertown & Santa Fe LP (Warp)
Daniel Rossen presents 12 live recordings from Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown and his hometown of Santa Fe. Keeping with the DIY approach to the album, the You Belong There tour consisted of Daniel Rossen playing alone and with no crew, just a few acoustic guitars and a small amp. The Santa Fe show took place after the tour was over on a small community farm on the outskirts of town. Live in Pioneertown and Santa Fe includes several tracks pulled from across Rossen’s discography, including 4 from his 2022 debut solo record, You Belong There, and covers of Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Kathleen’ and Bill Monroe’s ‘Kentucky Waltz.’

Mac Krol – For Some Other Reason / Fair Warning / What Would You Say 7”+MP3 (Merge)
Mac Krol is Mac McCaughan (of Superchunk) and Mike Krol. The collaboration began in 2015, when Krol and bandmates decamped to San Francisco’s Tiny Telephone after recording Turkey.

Georgia – Euphoric CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
Euphoric is the new album by Georgia. Co-produced by Rostam (Haim, Carly Rae Jepsen, Clairo), it marks the first time that Georgia has worked with another producer on her own material. Euphoricsees Georgia stepping out from behind the recording desk and establishing herself as a unique left-field pop artist. It’s the sound of life and of living in the now rather than escaping it. [An indie store exclusive color vinyl pressing is available.]

Damon Locks & Rob Mazurek – New Future City Radio CD/LP (International Anthem)
A new duo collaboration between Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra) and Damon Locks (Black Monument Ensemble), contemplating community, transformation, and the future through the lens of imagining a pirate radio station for the people. Together they share electronic duties but each take the lead when needed with their specialties: Mazurek on trumpet and Locks on vocals. The music sounds overtly bombastic one moment and gently transportive the next, and often somewhere between.

Bethany Cosentino – Natural Disaster CD/LP (Concord)
On Natural Disaster, the debut solo album from Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter takes close account of the endless catastrophes and upheavals of modern life, offering a high-minded and open-hearted response that makes room for compassion, imagination, and a radical sense of possibility. The new record, produced by Butch Walker, was written in Nashville and Los Angeles, and is described as a departure from the understated indie-pop that Best Coast are known for. The new set was mainly recorded during a series of trips to Walker’s Nashville studio, and puts her voice front and center, both literally and metaphorically, for the first time. [An indie store exclusive orange ‘dreamsicle’ color vinyl pressing is available.]

Air Miami – Me. Me. Me. LP [Reissue/1995] (4AD)
Born from the ashes of celebrated D.C. band Unrest, Air Miami are the duo of Bridget Cross and Mark Robinson. A transatlantic joint production between record label’s 4AD and Mark’s own Teenbeat, their 1995 debut album Me. Me. Me. was recorded at the famed Criteria Studios in Miami, FL and produced by Guy Fixsen (The Breeders, My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab). Having grown somewhat of a cult status since its release, this new deluxe edition sees all 16 tracks from the album sessions remastered from their original analogue tapes. This edition is a limited pressing and likely to sell out quickly.

THE PRODIGY – The Fat Of The Land 25th Anniversary – Remixes 12″ (XL)
Silver vinyl. Continuing the celebrations around the 25th anniversary of The Prodigy’s game-changing third studio album The Fat Of The Land, XL Recordings today announce a stacked new remix package. Remixes will feature exclusive new remixes from Mefjus and Camo & Krooked, Gydra and René LaVice alongside Andy C’s iconic “Firestarter” remix from last year. To mark the news, dj/producer Rene LaVice – well known for his years hosting Radio Ones Drum and Bass show – has remixed “Mindfields.”

Mutoid Man – Mutants CD/LP (Sargent House)
Mutoid Man excel at crafting their own unique brand of frenzied, hyper-focused, dynamic, and deliciously excessive fretboard-savvy metal. [An indie store exclusive vinyl colorway is available.]

Still Corners – Strange Pleasures LP (10th Anniv) [Reissue/2013] (Wrecking Light)
In celebration of Strange Pleasures turning 10, Still Corners are releasing a very special remastered 10-year anniversary edition on transparent green vinyl. The album has been remastered by John Davis at Metropolis London.  The anniversary edition includes all the album’s lyrics (for the first time) on a gatefold album sleeve, Strange Pleasures poster and digital download including a bonus track ‘We Have the Future on Tape’.Originally released on Sub Pop.

Post Malone – Austin CD/2xLP (Republic)
Grammy-nominated 8x RIAA diamond-certified global superstar Post Malone unveils his anxiously awaited fifth full-length offering and one of the most anticipated albums of 2023. [A limited-edition forest green color vinyl pressing is available.]

Locate S, 1 – Wicked Jaw LP (Captured Tracks)
Sky blue color vinyl. From teddy grahams to pussy hats, California forest fires to cash cabs, the stuff of American nostalgia and horror adorns a personal reckoning on Christina Schneider’s triumphant third album as Locate S, 1. With a name culled from a Daschel Hammitt noir novel, Wicked Jaw pulls from wildly disparate references and textures to survey the history of American pop music. The Athens, Georgia based songwriter, producer, and virtuosic pop connoisseur authored the album over two years while beginning treatment for childhood sexual abuse by a relative. “I was using these songs as an expression valve for all of these different parts (of myself) that I was trying to integrate,” she explained. The result is a surprisingly tender and often jubilant set of conversations with the ghosts of painful memories, Schneider transforming her metaphysical scars into gleaming armor as she redefines herself on her own terms.

Jessy Lanza – Love Hallucination LP (Hyperdub)
On Love Hallucination Jessy Lanza is in control as a songwriter and producer, flexing her skills in the studio and rebuilding her sound, taking chances with production and energy in all directions, from club-ready, to downbeat and sultry, with the theme of trusting yourself in the moment and using intuition as a compass driving the record forward. Love Hallucination is the sound of an artist in bloom, an album of big emotions and big songs, with direct, personal lyrics, such as the upbeat but panicked opener ‘Don’t Leave Me Now’ and the 2-step drama of ‘Midnight Ontario’, or ‘Limbo’, an ear worm disco stomper about produced with Marco ‘Tensnake’ Niermeski.

Madeline Kenney – A New Reality Mind CD/LP (Carpark)
In the quiet surrounding the pandemic, Madeline Kenney made sonic sketches in the basement studio she shared with her then-partner. She arranged phrases that called her—the sharp knife of a synth cutting a path along a blooming arpeggio, drums stuttering firm and tight. Working this way, she amassed a collection of songs she had no particular aims for. Some formed her 2021 EP Summer Quarter, others languished. But in 2022, Kenney’s partner left suddenly and without warning, plunging her into the solitary act of untangling what happened. In the wake of her ensuing depression, she revisited these songs and found in them something prescient. She’d already laid the foundation for A New Reality Mind.

Brian Lopez – Tidal LP (Fort Lowell)
Indie rocker Brian Lopez, known for his cinematic melodies and soaring vocals, has been called “the missing link between Devendra Banhart and Roy Orbison.” Born and based in Tucson, Lopez is a classically-trained guitarist and songwriter who merges his desert roots with soul, pop and rock’n’roll to transport his listeners on an ethereal journey. Tidal, builds upon his songwriting prowess while returning to his origins in indie rock. Aside from his solo project, Lopez is also frontman of the psych/cumbia band XIXA and has worked with an expansive range of artists, including Calexico, Amos Lee, Nouvelle Vague, KT Tunstall, Giant Sand, and Mexican Institute of Sound.

Bad Religion – Recipe For Hate [Reissue/1993] LP (Epitaph)
Translucent ‘tiger’s eye’ color vinyl reissue. From the opening strains of the politico title-track to the countrified pedal steel guitar on “Man With A Mission”, from the anti-establishment anthem “American Jesus”, to the heart rending ballad “Struck A Nerve,” Bad Religion’s Recipe For Hate is by far their most eclectic album, and one that never ceases to stir up controversy among fans.

Half Japanese – Jump Into Love LP (Fire)
Jump Into Love is the new album from Half Japanese, true DIY noise-rock royalty, led by the ever-effervescent Jad Fair. It’s a meeting of minds, a coming together from the world’s favourite indie-alt-rock outsiders. Atypically out there and off-kilter, the album wears its heart on its sleeve through a cascade of new, dark and brooding songs from the band who would be king.

Chuck Berry – Chuck Berry In Memphis [Reissue/1967] LP (Elemental Music)
Chuck Berry In Memphis is his 11th studio album. This was Berry’s first album for Mercury after leaving Chess Records. Recorded over a three-day period in Memphis in March of 1967, the record features Berry mixing blues and pop with rock & roll. It features saxophonists Andrew Love and James Mitchell from The Memphis Horns.

Brad – Shame [Reissue/1993] LP (Loosegroove)
Limited opaque blue reissue of Brad’s 1993 debut LP Shame. 

Bush Tetras – They Live In My Head LP (Wharf Cat)
Bush Tetras have made punk music at the fringes for over four decades. Flashes of reggae, bursts of noise, guitars that rattle, shake and snake, born out of a gutter behind CBGBs. Over the years they have respawned time and time again, contorting their sound, tweaking the vision, remaining singular and indispensable. [A limited-edition red colorway is available.]

Avail – 4am Friday [Reissue/1996] 2xLP (Jade Tree)
4am Friday is the sound of Avail hitting their stride – plain and simple. The collection of sing-along anthems for the everyman solidified their place as the kings of the Southern punk underground. This reissue of the 1996 classic is now completed by the addition of the 15 songs from Live At The Bottom Of The Hill In San Franciscorecorded in 1997, this smoldering live set showcases the band at their absolute peak and is testament to the unforgettable, high-octane shows that are Avail’s hallmark.

The Used – Toxic Positivity CD/2xLP (Big Noise Music Group)
The Used are back with their newest studio album, Toxic Positivity. When Bert McCracken says that the songs that comprise Toxic Positivity are some of the most sincere he has ever written, you know he doesn’t speak those words lightly.

Prince – Lovesexy [Reissue/1988] LP (Sony Legacy)
Prince – Come [Reissue/1994] LP (Sony Legacy)
Vinyl reissues of Prince’s tenth and fifteenth studio albums.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
Atmosphere – Sad Clown Bad Dub 2 CD/LP
Panda Bear – Tomboy LP reissue
Morgan Lee – Infinity LP
Madlib – Rock Konducta Pt 2 LP
Guster – Keep It Together LP
Trippie Redd – Love Letter To You LP
Front Bottoms – You Are Who You Hang Out With LP