STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Fred Again, Wand, and Cults
Dario – Bill Callahan and Talking Heads reissue
Kimber – The Softies reissue
Jake – Bill Callahan, Talking Heads, and Wand
Zach – Wand and Cults
Ash – Grateful Dead reissues and Beastie Boys 

Blur – Live At Wembley Stadium 2xCD/2xLP (WB/Parlophone)
Blur celebrate the one-year anniversary of their Live At Wembley Stadium show with the release of the concert. Live At Wembley Stadium is a collection of songs captured across two unforgettable nights last summer – the biggest shows of the band’s 30+ year career to date – which saw Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree perform to over 150,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Blur’s first time ever to play the iconic London venue. 

Wand – Vertigo LP (Drag City)
Sliding between the bodies in the street, cutting across the contrails that bisect our sky, Wand find melody and the anxiety beats as they hum the soundtrack for a new gravitational center. Seeking connections against the plan of niche interest and anonymity, Vertigo is the sound of slippage, rocks of contradiction (in soft focus); feet lost, regained, lost again, a multi-chromatic swaying, more automatic, associative, directed, in time.

Empire Of The Sun – Ask That God CD/LP (Astralwerks)
Alongside the release of the new single “Music On The Radio,” the astral wizards of electro-pop announce their long awaited fourth studio album titled, Ask That God. Empire Of The Sun is an Australian electronic music duo formed in 2007, consisting of Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson and Nick Littlemore of Pnau. Known for their elaborate stage performances and distinctive visual style, the band achieved international acclaim with their debut album, Walking On A Dream (2008), which featured hit singles like “Walking On A Dream” and “We Are the People”. The album’s success established them as significant figures in the synth-pop and electronic music scenes. [A clear vinyl pressing is available.]

Cults – To The Ghosts LP (Imperial)
Adored alt-pop duo Cults release their fifth studio album To The Ghosts. The NY-based duo comprised of multi-instrumentalists Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, confidently and clearly perfect their vision with the cinematic new album.  To The Ghosts was meticulously crafted; the earliest ideas dated back to the pandemic when they wrote music on weekdays from 10am-5pm with no deadlines or distractions.

Fred Again – USB: Volume 1 2xLP (Atlantic)
Fred Again has released USB Volume 1 – the first volume of his “Infinite” album project, which is now available as a vinyl drop. USB is an infinite, ever-evolving album that includes recent releases Baby Again, “Rubmle” with Skrillex & Flowdan, “Jungle,” “leavemealone” with Baby Keem and “stayinit” with Lil Yachty. It also features two new songs; “BerwynGesaffNeighbours” and “ItsNotREEAALLLLLLLL.”

Ghost – Rite Here Rite Now (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 2xCD/2xLP (Loma Vista Recordings)
Ghost is a Swedish rock band known for its distinctive blend of theatricality, heavy metal, and arena rock. Formed in Linköping in 2006, the band first gained attention with their 2010 three-track demo, followed by the 7-inch vinyl “Elizabeth” and their debut album, Opus Eponymous. Rite Here Rite Now is Ghost’s debut feature film; a unique phantasmagorical blend of mesmerizing live performance and intriguing narrative, started haunting cinemas (nearly 2000 across 50 countries) on June 20. Rite Here Rite Now: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a fitting 18-song complement to the film, captured at their now-legendary sold-out two-night stand at the Forum, and includes a new single “The Future Is A Foreign Land”. [An opaque silver color vinyl pressing is available.]

Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera (Deluxe Edition) LP (New West)
Southern Rock Opera is the third studio album by the American rock band Drive-By Truckers, released in 2001. Originally released as a double album covering an ambitious range of subject matter from the politics of race to 1970s stadium rock, Southern Rock Opera either imagines, or filters, every topic through the context of legendary Southern band Lynyrd Skynyrd. New West Records is proud to present a remixed and remastered deluxe edition LP featuring a re-sequenced record as well as a third disc with multiple bonus tracks including a song “Mystery Song” that was recorded one night in Birmingham. [An indie store exclusive clear vinyl pressing is available.]

Fleetwood Mac – Best Of 1969-1974 CD/2xLP (Rhino)
A brand-new compilation celebrating the early years of Fleetwood Mac (1969-74). The release features selections from Then Play On (1969), Kiln House (1970), Future Games (1971), Bare Trees (1972), Penguin (1973), Mystery To Me (1973) and Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974). Including the tracks “Oh Well (Pt. 1),” “Jewel Eyed Judy,” “Future Games,” “Hypnotized,” “Prove Your Love” & many more. [A limited-edition turquoise blue color vinyl pressing is available.]

Morrissey – Beethoven Was Deaf (Live) [Reissue/1993] CD/LP (WB)
Morrissey’s live album, Beethoven Was Deaf, has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios and will be reissued for the first time since its original release in 1993. Recorded during the Your Arsenal tour in Paris ’93, the remastered album will be available on black biovinyl, CD and digitally. Morrissey has created new artwork for this release.

Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense [Reissue/19XX] 2xLP (WB)
Stop Making Sense is widely regarded as the best concert film of all time. A live “best-of,” Stop Making Sense starts strong with the band’s hit off their debut album “Psycho Killer,” and dives into favorites and deep cuts from “Burning Down the House” and “This Must Be The Place” to “Girlfriend Is Better” and “Heaven.” The band also performs the Tom Tom Club’s “Genius Of Love.”

Bad Brains – I Against I [Reissue/1986] LP (Org Music)
I Against I is the third studio album from Bad Brains, originally released in 1986 on SST Records. It remains the best-selling album in the band’s catalog, showcasing Bad Brains’ unique fusion of punk rock, hardcore punk, reggae, and heavy metal influences. It remains influential to this day, inspiring countless punk, ska, reggae, and hardcore bands with its innovative sound and uncompromising attitude. This reissue marks the eighth release in the remaster campaign, re-launching the Bad Brains Records label imprint. [Multiple colorways are available.]

Beastie Boys – Ill Communication [Reissue/1994] 3xLP/Cassette (Capitol)
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Beastie Boys’ multi platinum album, III Communication, this limited-edition deluxe reissue is a rare version of the album that was originally released as a limited run in 2009. Long out-of-print and sought after by fans and collectors, this 3xLP set is pressed on 180gm vinyl, features lenticular cover art and includes a bonus LP with 12 tracks of remixes, B-sides and rarities, all housed in a rigid slipcase.

Bill Callahan – Resuscitate LP (Drag City)
Callahan comes alive in Chicago, with Jim White, Matt Kinsey and special guests Nick Mazzarella, Pascal Kerong ‘A, Nathaniel Ballinger and Natural Information Society’s Joshua Abrams & Lisa Alvarado. Why, Bill? “Songs tend to mutate after they’ve been recorded. These songs were mutating faster than usual. Like whatever happened to Bruce Banner in the lab – I knew these songs were about to get superpowers… this change needed to be documented.”

Coheed & Cambria – In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Coheed and Cambria’s second studio album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2023. Revisit the complex arrangements, haunting vocals, and dark imagery on this 2xLP black vinyl reissue.

Future & Metro Boomin – We Don’t Trust You LP (Epic)
Future & Metro Boomin – We Still Don’t Trust You 2xLP (Epic)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. 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.

Grateful Dead –Shakedown Street [ Reissue/1978] LP (Grateful Dead/WEA)
Reissued on colored vinyl. Shakedown Street is the tenth studio album by The Grateful Dead, originally released in 1978. The album came just over a year after the previous studio album Terrapin Station. It was the final album for Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux, who left the band a few months after its release.

Grateful Dead – Go To Heaven [Reissue/1980] LP (Grateful Dead/WEA)
Reissued on colored vinyl. Go to Heaven is the eleventh studio album by The Grateful Dead, originally released in 1980. It is the band’s first album with keyboardist Brent Mydland. Go To Heaven was both the third Grateful Dead studio album in a row to use an outside producer, this time Gary Lyons, and the last for over seven years.

King Buzzo – This Machine Kills Artists + Gift Of Sacrifice [Reissue/2014/2020] LP (Ipecac)
The two out-of-print solo acoustic albums from Melvins frontman, King Buzzo, packaged together in a 2xLP gatefold vinyl. Includes an expanded 12-pg booklet and bonus flexi-disc. Silver marbled colorway.

Pierced Arrows – Straight To The Heart [Reissue/2008] LP (Mississippi)
Pierced Arrow’s first record! Fred And Toody Cole’s post Dead Moon band with Legendary rocker Kelly Haliburton on drums. Most musicians get softer with age, but Fred and Toody brought a harder edge to Pierced Arrow’s than their earlier bands. A legendary record back in print for the first time since it initially came out in 2008. A killer!

Rainer Maria – Look Now Again (25th Anniversary Edition) LP (Polyvinyl)
The guitar is tuned open and sings through a cranked old Fender amp, the melodic bass rolls, drums pound and the lyrical trade-off between Kaia and Caithlin is capable of puncturing a grapefruit size hole through the heart. Without a doubt, 1999’s Look Now Look Again is the definitive Rainer Maria album to own. With the aid of Smart Studios’ Mark Haines (Poster Children, Son Volt) and Elliot Dicks (Joan of Arc), Rainer Maria’s second album has become a Polyvinyl classic and set the standard against which the band will always be judged. To celebrate 25 years of Rainer Maria’s Look Now Look Again, the essential title is now available on a fresh pressing on pink stripe w/ brown splatter vinyl – matching the iconic cover.

The Softies – Winter Pageant [Reissue/1997] LP (K.)
On their second album, Winter Pageant, The Softies move forward with focused delight. It’s the combination of Jen Sbragia (All Girl Summer Fun Band) and Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, Gaze, Go Sailor) that molds The Softies’ panoply: feathers and thorns, fawn and fearlessness, fable and friction. Originally released in 1997, Winter Pageant is the drama of utter melancholia documenting broken promises, missed phone calls, conversations stalled, love lost. Colossal tasks recorded two guitars deep, forming a new Iliad, chapters on brave deeds and the power of love on the move. You can live for love, or you could live for the splendid cascade of guitar on guitar, voice over voice: The Softies.

Various Artists – Stop Making Sense: Everyone’s Getting Involved LP
Limited edition. Silver LP. Spanning the tracklist of the original album, the fresh, exciting, and utterly surprising reinterpretations create new content for longtime Talking Heads fans and introduce a new generation to the magic of the music. The brilliant selection of artists recontextualizes STOP MAKING SENSE in popular music and culture, with a focus on generational and stylistic breadth.

Ebbb – All At Once 12” (Ninja Tune)
Newly signed to Ninja Tune without having released a single track. This five-track EP marks Ebbb’s first output. Emerging from the vibrant, avant-garde London live scene that spawned black midi and Black Country, New Road – and despite being together for barely a year – the band have already landed on something truly singular. Fusing pulsing rhythms, immersive electronic production, sparkling melodies, layered vocal harmonies and beats that veer from ambient to industrial, the result is an idiosyncratic hybrid of sounds. One that the group describes as “Brian Wilson meets Death Grips”. But while the EP might be experimental, loose and unpredictable, it’s also deeply considered, taut, and absolutely flab-free.

Misfits – Earth A.D./Wolf’s Blood LP (Plan 9)
Limited edition purple swirl vinyl. Earth A.D./Wolf’s Blood is the last album released by American horror punk band Misfits to feature founding member and lead vocalist, Glenn Danzig. Danzig released it on his Plan 9 label in December 1983, two months after he played his last concert with the band. It was noticeably harder and faster than their previous releases, showing more of a hardcore punk sound. Since its release, it has often been referred to as simply “Earth A.D.” amongst fans. Glenn Danzig has said that the tracks “Bloodfeast” and “Death Comes Ripping” were originally intended for Samhain’s first release but were added to what would be the Misfits’ final record in a last-ditch effort to save the band.

Gandalf – Gandalf LP (Jackpot)

COMING NEXT WEEK!
ORVILLE PECK – Stampede CD/LP
X – Smoke & Fiction CD/LP
WEEN – Chocolate and Cheese LP reissue
BRIGITTE CALLS ME BABY – Future Is Our Way Out CD/LP
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO – No More Water CD/LP
SKINNY PUPPY – Too Dark Park LP
DROP NINETEENS – Delaware LP
JRCG – Grim Iconic CD/LP
WHY – Well I Fell Into CD/LP
CLIPPING – Clppng LP 10th anniversary reissue
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART – Now Playing LP
GOLDFINGER – Hello Destiny LP reissue
LOVE – Now Playing LP
STOOGES – Now Playing LP
VELVET UNDERGROUND – Now Playing LP
KEVIN ABSTRACT – Arizona Baby LP
DIANA KRALL – Book Of Love LP
LEE MORGAN – Taru LP
BOBBY HUTCHERSON – Medina LP
SWAMI JOHN REIS – All This Awaits You LP
LOS LONELY BOYS – Resurrection LP