STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Bonny Light Horseman, Goat Girl, Colin Stetson reissue
Dario – Eric Chenaux Trio and Colin Stetson reissue
Kimber – Eccentric Soul comp
Jake – Charli XCX and Alice Coltrane reissue
Zach – Eric Chenaux Trio, NxWorries and Pedro the Lion
Ash – Israel Vibration reissue

Bonny Light Horseman – Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free CD/LP (Jagjaguwar)
At the center of Bonny Light Horseman is, always, the singular combination of three powerful and tender artists (Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson, and Josh Kaufman), artists who expertly dodge superlatives but are quick to acknowledge that their bond makes each one better, braver and more vulnerable than they’d be on their own. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the force of their voices together, which work with complete trust in one another through the gentlest moments and the most ruthless wails. Bonny Light Horseman’s new album, Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free, is an ode to the blessed mess of our humanity. Confident and generous, it is an unvarnished offering that puts every feeling and supposed flaw out in the open. The themes are stacked high and staked even higher: love and loss, hope and sorrow, community and family, change and time all permeate Bonny Light Horseman’s most vulnerable and bounteous offering to date.

Bonnie “Prince” Billy,  Nathan Salsburg, & Tyler Trotter – Hear The Children Sing The Evidence CD/LP (No Quarter)
When Nathan Salsburg’s daughter was a baby, he often sang her to sleep in a rocking chair. At one point, he remembered a song he had taught himself as a teenager: “The Evidence” by Lungfish, the Maryland band who coined a singular brand of post-punk in the 90s and 00s. Salsburg realized he could play the guitar part with one hand, singing while holding Talya in his other arm. Though the original version of “The Evidence” is only five minutes long, it’s essentially a repetitive mantra, so Salsburg could extend it as long as he wanted–10 minutes, 20 minutes, even an hour. “It was therapeutic and calming and just lovely for me,” he says. “And it worked on her.” Eventually Nathan and Talya moved on from their ritual, but his lullaby cover stayed in his head. So he proposed to his fellow Louisville collaborators Bonnie “Prince” Billy (aka Will Oldham) and Tyler Trotter that they record a version with Salsburg on guitar, Oldham singing, and Trotter adding drum machines and synths. They decided to pair it with a rendition of another Lungfish song, “Hear the Children Sing,” playing each tune for more than enough time to fill two sides of an album. The result is the beguiling Hear the Children Sing the Evidence, an album that displays the strengths and visions of the participants while showcasing how richly powerful Lungfish’s songs are.

NxWorries – Why Lawd? CD/LP (Stones Throw)
The long-awaited second album from NxWorries – the iconic duo of superstar vocalist Anderson .Paak and Grammy Award-winning beatmaker and producer Knxwledge. Eight years after their breakthrough debut Yes Lawd!, NxWorries return with Why Lawd? – a winning combination of Knx’s unmistakable beats and .Paak’s instantly recognizable vocals. This time, special guests are invited along for the ride. Featured artists include H.E.R., Snoop Dogg, Thundercat, Earl Sweatshirt, Rae Khalil and more. [An indie store exclusive smoke brown w/ blue splatter color vinyl pressing is available.]

Pedro The Lion – Santa Cruz CD/LP/Cassette (Polyvinyl)
On Pedro The Lion’s new album Santa Cruz, critically acclaimed musician David Bazan returns with a new chapter in his ambitious and ongoing recording project – five albums devoted to places he lived in throughout his life. Santa Cruz is Bazan’s third album in the series and follows up where 2022’s Havasu and 2019’s Phoenix left off. Tracks like “Modesto” and “Little Help” foreshadow Bazan’s exposure and ultimate love of classic rock ‘n’ roll records, while songs like “It’ll All Work Out” showcase his unique approach to synthesizers, something he introduced with the 2005 self-titled Headphones album. The stories on Santa Cruz highlight Bazan’s teenage years and solidifies what he sees as an exposition in a traditional three-act structure. [A green color vinyl pressing is available.]

Alice Coltrane – A Monastic Trio [Reissue/1968] LP (Impulse!)
Recorded in 1968 and intended as a tribute to her late husband, Alice Coltrane is supported in her first solo outing by Pharoah Sanders, Jimmy Garrison and Rashied Ali – all members of John Coltrane’s last quintet. While initial reviews to the album were lukewarm upon release, looking at it in the context of her larger body of work, A Monastic Trio serves as a delightful foreshadowing of what was to come.

The Cure – Japanese Whispers [Reissue/1983] LP (Rhino)
Limited clear vinyl LP pressing. Remastered by Robert Smith and cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London. Japanese Whispers is a compilation of Cure singles and B-sides released between November 1982 and November 1983 and charted in the UK Album charts on December 24th, 1983.

 

Richard Edwards – Sings The Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s Songbook LP (Profound Discomfort)
Richard Edwards, Dave Palmer, Jay Bellerose, Perla Batalla, and Erin Rae perform Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s classics. 

 

 

Charli XCX – Brat CD/LP/Cassette (Atlantic)
Charli XCX’s sixth studio album Brat is the eagerly awaited follow up to 2022’s Crash, which reached number 1 on the UK’s official album chart. Brat is an exhilarating club record built around high art references and social commentary. Avant-pop and electronic superstar Charli XCX has become an iconic figure in the arts, having helped expand the landscape of popular music over the last decade by seamlessly traversing the underground and mainstream with her artistic output. Over the course of a trailblazing career, the multi-hyphenate creative has earned critical acclaim for her innovative style and entrepreneurial spirit and seen her forward-thinking approach reshape pop culture in the process. [An indie store exclusive clear w/ pink splatter color vinyl pressing is available.]

Goat Girl – Below The Waste CD/LP (Rough Trade)
Progressing from their angst-fueled self-titled debut (2018) to the escapist world of sophomore LP On All Fours (2021), South London trio Goat girl – consisting of Rosy Bones, Lottie Pendlebury and Holly Mullineaux – enter their most self-assured era in 2024, with third album Below The Waste. Co-produced by the band and John Spud Murphy (Lankum/black midi), the album takes the band’s distinctive sound to new extremes, as they delve fearlessly into expansive noise-rock, delicate folk, and synth-driven pop.

Peggy Gou – I Hear You CD/LP (XL Recordings)
Peggy Gou has ascended from underground sensation to global icon by sticking to her own unwavering vision, becoming one of the most in-demand electronic musicians and DJs in the world. Having performed to over a million people worldwide in 2023, the self-managed South Korean-born, Berlin-based producer and artist has blazed her own trail as the first Korean DJ to play Berghain, the first female DJ to headline Ushuaïa Ibiza, and the first woman in over 20 years to appear within the Top 10 of DJ Mag’s annual Top 100 lists. Since 2016, she’s forged a singular blend of club music that’s as forward-thinking as it is nostalgic. [An indie store exclusive blue color vinyl pressing is available.]

Man Man – Carrot On Strings CD/LP (Sub Pop)
When Man Man released its last album, Dream Hunting In The Valley Of The In Between, frontman Honus Honus (née Ryan Kattner) was in a state of unrest, oscillating between hope and cynicism. Perhaps fittingly, the album dropped during the pandemic, a time at which we could all relate. But much like that bizarre turn of events, the ennui now seems so distant to Man Man. A revived sense of purpose washes through Man Man’s new album, Carrot On Strings, radiating a mix of calm and confidence. Kattner always embodied a wild-man pied-piper vibe: his melodic, unhinged art-rock was at once intriguing and angsty. He was so alluringly creative that you went along with it, even if you were never sure where Man Man would take you. Carrot On Strings is no less inventive, but its ethos is radical in context of the band’s two-decade career. [An orange color vinyl pressing is available.]

Eels – Eels Time! CD/LP (E Works)
Eels, the ever-changing critically acclaimed project of principal singer/songwriter E (Mark Oliver Everett), have released 14 studio albums since their 1996 debut, Beautiful Freak. The new album, Eels Time!, was recorded between Los Feliz, California and Dublin, Ireland. It consists of twelve brand new tracks with some of E’s most introspective and personal material in recent years, and features collaborations with American musician and actor Tyson Ritter.

Bad Bunny – Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana 2xLP (Rimas Entertainment)
Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana is the fifth solo studio album by Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny, originally released in 2023. It features guest appearances from Arcángel, Bryant Myers, de la Ghetto, Eladio Carrión, Feid, Luar la L, Mora, Ñengo Flow, Young Miko, and Yovngchimi.

Jesse Daniel – Countin’ The Miles CD/LP (Lightning Rod)
For singer/songwriter Jesse Daniel, country music is nothing short of a life force. Hailing from a rural mountain town on California’s Central Coast, the Austin-based artist first explored his innate passion for music by playing drums in punk bands, then drifted down a troubled path that included years of battling addiction and spending time in and out of jail and rehab. As he took his first steps toward getting clean, Daniel immersed himself in the pure joy of writing country songs, fully embracing the unbridled vitality of California country and bringing a lived-in honesty to his lyrical storytelling. [An indie store exclusive autographed color vinyl pressing is available.]

Blossom Dearie – Great Women Of Song: Blossom Dearie CD/LP (Verve)
Noted for a distinctive voice, a tender way with a ballad and a fierce sense of swing, singer-pianist Blossom Dearie invested even the most familiar standards with her delightful, one-of-a-kind wit and charm. The selections included here are from the iconic series of albums Dearie made for Verve Records beginning in 1956.

 

Future & Metro Boomin – We Don’t Trust You CD (Epic)
Future & Metro Boomin – We Still Don’t Trust You 2xCD (Epic)
We Don’t Trust You arrives as a celebration of the historic partnership of two culture-shifting legends at the peak of their powers. Future and Metro Boomin’s latest collaborations are a continuation of a musical legacy that dates to “Karate Chop”, an electric 2013 single that birthed the most dynastic hip-hop duo of the 2010s. They’d fortify their connection with tracks like 2015’s “Jumpman” (with Drake) and 2017’s “Mask Off”, singles that have combined to be certified 14-times Platinum by the RIAA. We Don’t Trust You features the track “Like That” feat. Kendrick Lamar as well as other “A list” guest features. The expanded double-CD We Still Don’t Trust You includes guest appearances by the Weeknd, Chris Brown, Brownstone, Ty Dolla Sign, J. Cole, Lil Baby, and ASAP Rocky. [Vinyl versions due July 26.]

L’Imperatrice – Pulsar CD/LP (Microqlima)
With two successful albums and a sold-out world tour under their belt, Paris-based L’Impératrice have matriculated from a good-times instrumental act created by music critic Charles de Boisseguin to a six-piece powerhouse whose sashaying mixes of funk and French Touch, disco and deep house now include the fetching vocals of singer Flore Benguigui. Their new album Pulsar is a focused but far-reaching record, the jubilant testament of a band with plenty to say and the skills to say it themselves. Across 10 tracks, L’Impératrice move freely and authoritatively among the sounds they love, bridging hip-hop, kosmische, and modern pop with their most unabashed embraces of French Touch and international house ever. Benguigui, meanwhile, boldly sings of self-empowerment by shirking beauty standards, ageism, and drab normalcy, with a little help from an exciting set of new friends.

Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats – Nell’ Ora Blu CD (Rise Above)
Plainly the most radical album of their career to date, Nell’ Ora Blu stands out from the sterile desert of rock ‘n’ roll in 2024 like a gore-drenched beacon. What this scintillating detour tells us about the future of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats remains a mystery, but after enjoying such rich and fruitful artistic indulgence, Starrs’ notoriety as one of heavy music’s most distinctive voices can only increase. Nell’ Ora Blu is an epic tribute to Italian crime cinema from the late ‘60s/early ‘70s.

Doug Watkins – Watkins At Large [Reissue/1957] LP (Blue Note)
Recorded in 1956 for producer Tom Wilson’s short-lived Boston-based label Transition Records, Watkins At Large was the first of only two albums that the great bassist Doug Watkins would make as a leader. The Detroit native had moved to New York and begun to garner recognition for his contributions to the Art Blakey-Horace Silver co-led iteration of the Jazz Messengers as well as Bud Powell’s trio when Wilson decided to give him the opportunity to front his own recording date. Along with a first-rate ensemble featuring trumpeter Donald Byrd, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Duke Jordan, and drummer Art Taylor, Watkins swings through a stellar set of blues, ballads, and more including originals written by Jordan, Burrell, and Thad Jones.

Decemberists – Castaways and Cutouts [Reissue/2009] LP (Kill Rock Stars)
As its title would suggest, Castaways and Cutouts is a record populated with an eclectic array of unlikely characters in various states of abandonment and revelry. While the likes of Spanish gypsies, infant specters, and Turkish prostitutes are not common elements to be found within modern pop music, these figures find ample footing within the songcraft of Mr. Meloy, supported comfortably by the band’s lush and orchestral instrumentation. Recorded over a two month period in a warehouse in Portland, Oregon’s Industrial Southeast, the record swims gracefully between heart-rending, deftly arranged pop and scrappy off-the-cuff dirge.

Actress – Statik LP (Smalltown Supersound)
For Actress, who wrote most of his subtly majestic new record Statik in an extensive deep flow state, the project serves as a cohesive testament to artistic liberation. Resultantly, the contemplative new album is imbued with a sense of freedom, while belying its creator’s expertise through forensic attention to textural detail and signature Actress resonances. Listening closely, influential visions of aquatic realms, such as the mythic Atlantis, and evocations of flying birds (and, perhaps, humans) may reveal themselves. 

Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane – Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane [Reissue/1958] LP (Craft Recordings)
Two jazz greats join forces on this historic recording from 1958.

 

 

 

Kenny Dorham & Jackie McLean – Inta Somethin’ [Reissue/1961] LP (Blue Note)
This spirited 1961 live date for Pacific Jazz captured Kenny Dorham leading a quintet with Jackie McLean, Walter Bishop Jr., Leroy Vinnegar, and Art Taylor at The Jazz Workshop in San Francisco. The band is firing on all cylinders throughout this set featuring four standards bookended by two Dorham originals. 

 

Charlie Haden – The Golden Number [Reissue/1977] LP (Verve)
In this collection of bass-led duets, Charlie Haden enlists Don Cherry (trumpet/flute), Archie Shepp (tenor), Hampton Hawes (piano) and a trumpet playing Ornette Coleman on the four tracks. Hawes’ playing on the Ornette-penned “Turnaround” is the clear straight-ahead highlight of this generally exploratory album.

John Lee Hooker – Burning Hell [Reissue/1964] LP (Craft Recordings)
Burning Hell was recorded in 1959 in Detroit, but the album wasn’t released until 1964. Even then, it was only available in the UK. This 180gm vinyl pressing marks the first official single LP worldwide release the album has seen. Pressed at QRP in partnership with Acoustic Sounds, the album features John Lee Hooker solo as he plays originals and classics. AllMusic states that, on this album, “Hooker shows himself to be an excellent interpreter who could have held his own with Delta bluesmen of any era.”

Israel Vibration – Strength Of My Life [Reissue/1988] LP (Real Gone Music)
One of the best reggae albums of the ’80s and one of the real highlights in the Real Authentic Sound label catalog finally gets an LP reissue.

 

 

The Murlocs – Young Blindness [Reissue/2016] LP (ATO)
The Murlocs – Live At The Teragram Ballroom [Reissue/2016] LP (ATO)
Red w/ yellow & green and green splatter (respectively) vinyl pressings. Young Blindness followed The Murlocs’ 2014 debut album, Loopholes, and built upon a foundation of distorted licks and melodic intuition. The hearty compositions are emboldened by the distinct vocal tremolo of singer Ambrose Kenny-Smith. Lyrically, themes of young paranoia and self-doubt are viewed through a lens of experience, exploring the blurred meeting point with an air of blues-borne world-weariness. The first live release from The Murlocs, Live At The Teragram Ballroom is a career-spanning 22-song set recorded at The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. The show capped off a busy 2022 for the Melbourne-based band, which saw the release of their 6th album, Rapscallion, as well as a performance at Red Rocks (supporting King Gizzard, with whom the band shares two members) and their biggest U.S. headlining tour to date.

Mustard Plug – Pray For Mojo [Reissue/1999] LP (Hopeless)
Released in 1999, the twelve upbeat tracks on Pray For Mojo, were produced by punk legends Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton of the Descendents and All. For the 25th Anniversary Mustard Plug adds their surprise radio hit, an upbeat-singalong rendition of “The Freshman” written by fellow Grand Rapids band Verve Pipe. Mustard Plug’s ska is infused with enough punk to keep you skankin’ all night long.

Smoking Popes – Born To Quit [Reissue/1994] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited pink and white sunburn color vinyl pressing. You remember this 1994 album… it’s the one with the hit song “Need You Around,” which was “around” pretty much everywhere back then, including in the movie Clueless (for that matter, “Lucky Day” from this album was in Tommy Boy, “Mrs. You & Me” was in Angus, and “Gotta Know Right Now” in Boys). That led to the Popes opening for acts like Morrissey, whose voice lead singer and songwriter Josh Caterer-one of three Caterer brothers in the band-rather echoes (Moz himself proclaimed this album “extraordinary, the most lovable thing I’d heard in years”). If you like power pop hooks with heart, look no further.

Colin Stetson – All This I Do For The Glory [Reissue/2017] LP (52HZ)
Blue colorway. With this, his (then) first solo outing since 2013’s To See More Light, Colin Stetson ventures into territory both familiar and strange. Here still, is the dogmatically stripped down approach to performance and capture (all songs recorded live with no overdubs or loops) but there is an immediacy to the album that belies a more invasive and thorough mic’ing of the various instruments being utilized and a seeming influence drawn from the early nineties electronica of artists like Aphex Twin and Autechre, evident in the more pointed role played by the instruments’ many percussive elements. There are ancestries, motivic and timbral, woven through these six songs that plainly anchor them within the shared universe of his Trilogy, though the overall experience is one of extreme intimacy, the sounds and imagery more tangible and immersive than previous offerings.

Tom Verlaine – Warm And Cool [Reissue/1992] LP (Real Gone Music)
Limited pink colorway. Tom Verlain’s (Television) self-taught, jazz-influenced style, largely devoid of effects, and vibrato tone (oh, that tone) makes any Verlaine solo unmistakably a Verlaine solo. Simultaneously avant-garde and familiar-sounding, Warm And Cool is as contemporary and forward-thinking as any music coming out today, but-as the new liner notes by Verlaine’s life partner Jutta Koether point out-the album fits into a larger modern art and philosophical context.

Chris Isaak – Heart Shaped World LP reissue (Virgin)
Heart Shaped World is the third album by Chris Isaak. Released in 1989, it became his breakthrough album and featured the Top 10 hit “Wicked Game.” It is Isaak’s best-selling album, being certified double platinum-selling by the RIAA.

 

TOPS – Picture You Staring (10th Anniversary Deluxe) LP (Arbutus)
A cornerstone of the Arbutus catalog, this deluxe LP features a multi-page photo zine, huge party poster, and sky blue color vinyl. TOPS are a four-piece band from Montreal, equal parts girls and guys, delivering a raw punk take on AM studio pop. Picture You Staring is a lush array of timelessly crafted songs. TOPS’ subtle arrangements are delivered with a cool restraint that blend with the individuality and self-assured desire of their female lead. Picture You Staring gathers strength through intimacy. Self-written, recorded and produced at Arbutus Records’ studio in Montreal over the course of a year, this album contains 12 impeccable examples of pop craftsmanship that will reward repeat listeners.

Eric Chenaux Trio – Delights of My Life CD/LP (Constellation)
Following the release of Eric Chenaux’s last album Say Laura (2022), The Guardian wrote “the Canadian songwriter has one of the all-time great singing voices in popular music, an intensely romantic Chet Baker-ish instrument that seems to float with piercing direction, like a paper aeroplane thrown hard through mist.” With Uncut describing his songcraft “as delicate and lovely as a rare orchid” and Record Collector praising the album’s “sublime alien balladry” such are the accolades that have accrued to Chenaux’s unique and consummately uncompromising solo music for well over a decade now. Delights Of My Life opens a new chapter for the singer/guitarist and formally introduces the Eric Chenaux Trio, with Toronto-based musicians Ryan Driver on Wurlitzer organ and Phillipe Melanson on electronic percussion.

Various Artists – Eccentric Soul: Minibus LP (Numero)
A double album of Numero’s 2012 45 x 45RPM art object Eccentric Soul: Omnibus. Gathering 25 loose remnants from across the American soul diaspora, Minibus connects the dots between group harmony, funk, disco, and modern soul, 1966-1980.

 

Thou – Umbilical LP (Sacred Bones)
Thou has always been a force of raw energy and unapologetic dissent, defying easy categorization and challenging listeners to confront the complexities of existence. Though often lumped in with New Orleans sludge bands like Eyehategod and Crowbar, Thou transcends genre boundaries, drawing inspiration from a diverse array of influences spanning from ’90s proto-grunge icons like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden (all of whom they’ve covered extensively) to the raw intensity of obscure ’90s DIY hardcore punk found on labels like Ebullition, Vermiform, and Crimethinc. Their latest record Umbilical, Thou’s first full-length release of original music since their 2018 Sacred Bones debut Magus, is their firmest nod to the latter – a record filled with mosh-ready riffs, heavy breakdowns and scathing vocals. The band’s aesthetic and political impulses have always been punk and like anyone embroiled in the subculture Thou have been exploring what it means to exist within and without a rigid morality. That exploration takes thematic center on Umbilical and their self-assessment is as harsh as that of the world around them.

Strand of Oaks – Miracle Focus CD/LP (Western Vinyl)
Hello! Tim here. My band is called Strand of Oaks. This is my eighth record and it’s called Miracle Focus. I spent over three years building Miracle Focus. In the midst of writing, I became a painter and spent two seasons acting on a television show (Mayans MC). The dichotomy of painting for days in my garage and then flying out to LA to play a villainous biker on TV was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. The idea of Miracle Focus was born out of one simple concept: to make people feel good. Throw in a healthy mix of Ram Dass, yoga, Freddie Mercury, Alice Coltrane, and Beastie Boys, plus over a year of writing and building the extremely dense architecture of the songs, and Miracle Focus was born. The result is FUN, wild, rhythmic music filled with synth layering and mantra-like lyrics intended to uplift and hopefully bring some light to whoever listens. In many ways, this record is a love letter to bliss. Through meditation, I found a way to connect with something greater, a positive force that allowed me to write music as a manual towards a more love-focused life.

DJ MUGGS – Silver Cloud LP (Madlib Invazion)
DJ Muggs takes the Soul Assassins approach to source music – Deep, Dark, Dank. 12th in a series of Music Library releases. 

 

 

 

 

COMING NEXT WEEK!
HERMANOS GUTIERREZ – Sonido Cosmico CD/LP
CRUMB – Amama CD/LP
MONSTERS OF FOLK – Self Titled CD/LP reissue
PAUL MCCARTNEY – One Hand Clapping CD/LP
JERRY GARCIA – Garcialive CD
CAROLINE SHAW + SO PERCUSSION – Rectangles and Circumstance CD/LP
JOHN CALE – Poptical Illusion CD/LP
DECEMBERISTS – As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again CD/LP
JOHN GRANT – Art Of The Lie CD/LP
MONO – Oath CD/LP
SHUDDER TO THINK – 1987 LP
MEAT PUPPETS – Mirage CD/LP reissue
MEAT PUPPETS – Monsters CD/LP reissue
$UICIDEBOY$ – New World Depression CD/LP
RJD2 – Visions Out Of Limelight CD/LP
MOBY – Always Centered At Night CD/LP
SELENA – Amor Prohibido CD
PHAROAH MONCHE – PTSD LP 10 year anniversary LP
FOUR TET – Three CD
JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW – Wide Open, Horses CD/LP
DAVID BOWIE – Rock N Roll Star LP
BRITISH SEA POWER – Decline of British Sea Power LP
COLA – Gloss CD/LP
GOSSIP – Standing In The Way Of Control LP reissue
GOSSIP – That’s Not What I Heard LP reissue
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Born In The USA LP clear reissue
WORST CASE SCENARIO – Studies In Pessimism LP
ROCKPILE – Seconds Of Pleasure LP