STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Idaho
Dario – Cola and Coltrane reissues
Kimber – Idaho
Jake –  Idaho and Wayne Shorter reissue
Zach – Ana Frango Eletrico reissue and Idaho
Ash – Chicha Libre 

Idaho – Lapse LP (Arts and Crafts)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Idaho returns with their first new album in more than 13 years! Emerging in the early ‘90s, often linked to the seminal bands of the influential slowcore movement pioneered by Low, Songs: Ohia, Codeine, and others, Idaho is uniquely distinguished by the ragged elegance of frontman Jeff Martin’s powerful songcraft, the gentle angst of his poetry leading the airy, earthen synergy of his sonic desertscape. As ever, Lapse – which marks Idaho’s first full-length release since 2011’s You Were A Dick – is engraved with the painterly strains of four-string guitar feedback that has long been Idaho’s signature. Lush melancholia lavished by Martin with bittersweet delivery on ten heartrending, cinematic new songs, charged with the undying love of being a band.

Ana Frango Eletrico – Little Electric Chicken Heart [Reissue/2019] LP (Mr Bongo)
Ana Frango Elétrico’s petit cult classic masterpiece Little Electric Chicken Heart from 2019, which was only ever released on vinyl and CD in Brazil and Japan, has fast become a collector’s item; now widely available on LP for the first time via Mr. Bongo. 

Selena – Amor Prohibido LP (Universal Latino)
30th Anniversary Remaster. Three decades ago, Selena Quintanilla’s iconic and chart-topping album Amor Prohibido made history by being the first Tejano album to reach #1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Album Chart. This achievement gave Selena the recognition of becoming the second female Latin artist in history to top the chart, while simultaneously being the first female Latin artist in history to chart a “non-crossover” recording on the Billboard 200. To celebrate the anniversary, the album has been newly remixed and remastered. This marks the first time the album will be available on vinyl. The LP is pressed on transparent clear vinyl in a gatefold jacket.

Tipper – Forward Escape [Reissue/2014] LP (Tippermusic)
A decade after its initial release of only 300 copies, Tipper’s Forward Escape is being offered once more in vinyl format to the legions of fans who sought this vaunted platter for their collection. Blissfully naive the pressing would be so well received, the 300 copies Tipper self-funded was intended more a physical nod to the album artwork from Android Jones than as the highly sought after and rare collectible these became later. This 2024 ‘redux’ adds a bonus track (Gratis) and updated mixes of each track to separate it from the original release, and the artwork has also received a re-working from the original artist (thus preserving the valuation of those 300 rare copies that have received mythical status in the reselling market over time).

Chicha Libre – Tequila Y Aguardiente LP (Barbes)
Chicha Libre have been at the forefront of a global movement to revalorize Chicha – psychedelic cumbia from Peru. Chicha was first popularized outside of Peru by a compilation released by Chicha Libre’s own Olivier Conan via Barbes Records, entitled The Roots of Chicha. The band started out as a tribute to Peruvian pioneers but quickly evolved into one of the world’s preeminent Tropical Psychedelic bands. While the band remains true to its Chicha roots, the music has taken a more psychedelic turn, drawing from its members’ alternative background. Like its mentors, Chicha Libre uses surf guitar, organ sounds and Latin percussion to play a mixture of borrowed and homegrown sounds, but its music is a freeform reinvention, not an exercise in nostalgia. Synth sounds, treated guitars, French songs, classical music and pop debris from three continents contribute to Chicha Libre’s freeform approach to the tropical genre. The cumbia beats that form the basis of the music are both as inherent and as foreign to them as they are to many generations of South American musicians who embraced a style they rarely grew up with.

Van Morrison – Now Playing LP (Rhino)
Brick and Mortar exclusive, on colored vinyl. Rhino Records “Now Playing” Series – Van Morrison’s Now Playing tracklist features soulful ballads like “Sweet Thing” and introspective tunes like “Into the Mystic,” alongside energetic pieces like “Moondance” and “Domino.” With a blend of jazz, soul, and rock influences, Morrison’s music offers a diverse and captivating listening experience.

George Benson – Now Playing LP (Rhino)
Brick and Mortar exclusive, on colored vinyl. Rhino Records “Now Playing” Series – Introducing George Benson Now Playing on sea blue vinyl – This tracklist features a mix of soulful jazz, R&B, and funky tunes that speak to Benson’s versatility as a musician and entertainer. Includes hit single “This Masquerade,” which reached the top of the charts and earned Benson a Grammy Award in 1977.

John Coltrane – Ole Coltrane [Reissue/1969] LP (Atlantic)
AAA Cut From The Original Stereo Master Tapes By Kevin Gray. The final album recorded by Coltrane under his own supervision for Atlantic Records, Ole Coltrane features several of the players from Africa / Brass, which was recorded two days earlier, and is widely considered one of the premiere statements of Avant Garde jazz as well as the moment that Coltrane moved from an accessible artist to a more daring and complicated one. 

Cola – Deep In View [Reissue/2022] LP (Fire Talk)
Limited black in red colored vinyl pressing. Deep in View is the debut album from former Ought members Tim Darcy (vocals, guitar) and Ben Stidworthy (bass) alongside Evan Cartwright (drums). Titled after philosopher Alan Watts’ anthology of the same name, the record is built on a foundation of elegant guitar grooves and knotty rhythms, offering commentary on modern life and technology through curious lyrical vignettes, where quotidian objects and scenes are never just as they seem. Deep In View is equally a product of introspective songwriting as it is a consideration of the abstract landmarks of an increasingly media-mediated society. It also presents the most concise and melodic songs Darcy and Stidworthy have written to date.

Miles Davis – TUTU [Reissue/1986] LP (Rhino)
Cut From The Original Stereo Master Tapes By Kevin Gray. TUTU is an album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, released in 1986 by Warner Bros. Records. It was recorded primarily at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles and Clinton Recording in New York, except the song “Backyard Ritual”, which was recorded at Le Gonks in West Hollywood.[5] Davis received the 1986 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist Grammy Award for his performance on the album.

Vince Guaraldi – It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown LP (LMFP)
Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) is thrilled to announce the release – for the first time ever – from recently rediscovered tapes – the complete Vince Guaraldi soundtrack to “It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, ” the timeless 6th animated Peanuts special. The album includes the original recordings that comprise the cues from the special across twenty-six tracks, plus another 6 alternative tracks that have never been released or heard before.

Redd Kross – Redd Kross CD/LP (In The Red)
In 1979, two school-kids all hopped-up on punk-rock started their own group in their hometown of Hawthorne, Los Angeles (birthplace of the Beach Boys) and soon found themselves opening shows for notorious scene pioneers Black Flag. Jeff McDonald was fifteen, his brother Steven McDonald only eleven. But that didn’t stop their group from becoming one of the most remarkable, enduring and unique outfits punk-rock ever belched up. 2024, then, marks Redd Kross’s forty-fifth birthday and the brothers are celebrating the event with a veritable multimedia extravaganza. 

Camila Cabello – C,XOXO CD/LP (Interscope)
C,XOXO is written by Camila and brought to life with executive producer El Guincho (Rosalia, FKA twigs, Frank Ocean) and co-producer Jasper Harris (Lil Nas X, Baby Keem, Jack Harlow). Camila describes C,XOXO as having “an emotional immediacy and rawness” and goes on to proclaim C,XOXO as her “boldest solo album.” C,XOXO is a full on modern pop album. There are ballads, upbeat songs, cool songs with great features throughout.  It’s a fun album, perfectly timed for summer, about being free, dealing with heartbreak, etc. [A limited blue color vinyl pressing is available.]

Wayne Shorter – Odyssey Of Iska [Reissue/1971] LP (Blue Note)
The winds of change were blowing through Wayne Shorter’s life and career in 1970. The saxophonist had just left Miles Davis’ group and was soon to form his collective fusion band Weather Report. His music was evolving too as he began to delve into his own unique fusion explorations on his previous two Blue Note recordings Super Nova and Moto Grosso Feio. Recorded in August 1970, the mesmerizing Odyssey Of Iska would be the last release of Shorter’s early Blue Note period. The album was a tribute to his daughter Iska-who had been born the year before with severe brain damage-with four immersive Shorter compositions portraying a variety of moods: “Wind,” “Storm,” “Calm,” and “Joy.” 

Donald Byrd – Byrd Blows On Beacon Hill [Reissue/1957] LP (Blue Note)
Recorded in 1956 for producer Tom Wilson’s short-lived Boston-based label Transition Records, Byrd Blows On Beacon Hill presented trumpeter Donald Byrd in a relaxed and intimate quartet setting with his frequent collaborator Doug Watkins on bass along with Boston area musicians Ray Santisi on piano and Jim Zitano on drums. This heavy set was captured on a rainy Spring afternoon in the Beacon Hill home of engineer Steve Fassett which provided a casual atmosphere that gave the album both its title and its easy-going charm.

Grateful Dead – Reckoning [Reissue/1981] 2xLP (Grateful Dead)
Grateful Dead – Dead Set [Reissue/1981] 2xLP (Grateful Dead)
Reckoning is the 1981 live double album by The Grateful Dead. It consists of acoustic material recorded live in September and October 1980. The Dead’s sixth live album was released in April 1981 and contains live material recorded from between September and October 1980 at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco and Radio City Music Hall in New York. Reckoning is essentially an acoustic companion release to Dead Set, a 1981 live album of electric material – both albums were recorded at the same run of concerts. 

Lightnin’ Hopkins – Mojo Hand [Reissue/1962] 2xLP (Sunset Blvd.)
Lightnin’ Hopkins is widely considered one of the most popular architects of the blues style that came to be known as “country blues” and which proved to be a huge influence on the future development of rock ‘n’ roll. Mojo Hand was one of Hopkins’ signature tunes. Mixing his own style with Louisiana Creole and voodoo culture, the song ripples with an occult energy. This album, recorded for Fire Records, is especially interesting because it casts Hopkins in a more R&B-flavored environment. This obvious effort to get a hit takes for some excellent blues; moody and powerful performances play throughout.

Fastball – Sonic Ranch LP (Sunset Blvd.)
Limited blue color vinyl pressing. Multi Platinum hitmakers Fastball are remembering it’s okay to have hits. Reflecting on their meteoric rise with chart-topping debut The Way, guitarist/vocalist Miles Zuniga wryly remarks, “I like to say that The Way gave us the freedom to continue doing what we do.” And what Fastball does is write hits. Their latest, Sonic Ranch, produced by David Garza (Fiona Apple) and John Fields (Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus), is ten sing-along gems, combining pop smarts and the wisdom of 30 years together.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
CIGARETTES AFTER SEX – X’s CD/LP/CASS (Listening Party w/giveaways 7/11 6PM)
CLAIRO – Charm CD/LP
THOM YORKE – Confidenza OST LP
ORQUESTA AKOKAN – Caracoles LP  
PHISH – Evolve CD/LP
BILLY STRINGS – Live Vol 1 CD/LP
BRIAN ENO – Eno O.S.T. CD/LP
COLOR GREEN – Fool’s Parade CD/LP
TRAVIS – L.A.Times CD/LP
ODESZA – Last Goodbye Tour Live CD/LP
ANI DIFRANCO – Unprecedented Shit CD/LP
JAKE XERXES FUSSELL – When I’m Called CD/LP
JOHNNY BLUE SKIES (Sturgill Simpson) – Passage Du Desir CD/LP
BRIJEAN – Macro CD/LP
CHRIS COHEN – Paint A Room CD/LP
DIP – Love Direction CD/LP
FRUIT BATS – Ruminant Band CD/LP
PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG – Psychology LP
LUKE TEMPLE + CASCADING MOMS – Certain Limitations LP
LARAAJI – Glimpses Of Infinity LP
VARIOUS – I SAW THE TV GLOW SOUNDTRACK LP
BOLSHOI – Friends LP
DEER TICK – Contractual Obligations LP
SUGARCUBES – Stick Around For Joy LP reissue
TOM VERLAINE – Around LP
JULIA HOLTER – Never Rarely Sometimes Always LP
GATECREEPER – Deserted LP