New Releases & Staff Picks – 1/31/25
STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Natalia Lafourcade and Ebo Taylor
Dario – Ebo Taylor
Kimber – Big Thief reissue
Jake – Penny & Sparrow
Zach – The Gits, Natalia Lafourcade, and L.S. Dunes
Ash – Madvillain
MADVILLAIN – Madvillainy Demos LP (Stones Throw)
In 2002, the first demo sequence of Madvillainy leaked online. The tracks contained early vocal cuts from MF DOOM, recorded and quickly mixed in Los Angeles at Madlib’s Bomb Shelter studio. The demos may have been unfinished, but fans understood that this was a hip-hop album unlike any other. DOOM re-recorded vocals – alluding to the leak on “Rhinestone Cowboy” – and Madlib added new beats and changed up the sequence. Leaks could kill an album’s momentum in the early 2000s, but the demos only whetted fans’ appetites; when Madvillainy came out in 2004 it was “one of the most anticipated releases in underground rap history,” according to Pitchfork. Madvillainy is now regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.
THE GITS – Frenching The Bully CD/LP [Reissue/1992] (Sub Pop)
Silver Vinyl. Mia Zapata was the greatest rock singer of her time. She may well have been the greatest blues singer in punk rock history, the woman who married the 78 and the ’78. Tragedy did not make this true. Mia Zapata made this true, and the ferocious, spring-loaded shrapnel frame that was built around her by Andy Kessler (guitar: metronomic and furious), Matt Dresdner (bass: fluid, punching, beat-addicted and melodic), and Steve Moriarty (drums: martial and explosive) – who, with Mia, combined to form The Gits – made it true.
SLUM VILLAGE – F.U.N. LP (Ne’astra)
Limited colored vinyl edition. On their first studio album in almost a decade, the Detroit veterans sound as calm, cool, and horny as always. With a batch of fresh ideas in tow, they avoid retreading old territory.
L.S. DUNES – Violet CD/LP (Fantasy)
L.S. Dunes is a dynamic supergroup formed by members from prominent bands within the punk and alternative rock scenes. The lineup features Anthony Green (Circa Survive, Saosin) on vocals, Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) on guitar, Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria) on guitar, Tim Payne (Thursday) on bass, and Tucker Rule (Thursday) on drums. Known for their high-energy performances and unique blend of post-hardcore and punk influences, L.S. Dunes brings together a powerhouse of talent and experience, creating a sound that is both fresh and familiar to fans of their respective bands.
PORTER ROBINSON – Worlds LP (10th Anniv) (Astralwerks)
Double pearl colored vinyl LP pressing. PORTER ROBINSON’s debut studio album, Worlds, took the electronic music landscape by storm in 2014. Inspired by themes of fantasy, escapism, fiction, and nostalgia, Worlds continues to transport listeners to new realms a decade later. Worlds (10th Anniversary Edition) comes with holographic cover art and a brand-new bonus song, “Hollowheart (ft. Amy Millan),” originally recorded during the Worlds sessions but never released until now. Enjoy and escape with this electronic classic ten years later.
Artist Leon Ivey Jr., better known as Coolio, was one of the most influential rappers of the 90s. With his slick flow, witty wordplay, and ability to tell stories in his music, he is often credited for changing the course of hip hop by bringing it to a wider audience. Arguably his best-known track, the 11 x platinum single “Gangsta’s Paradise” reached No. 1 in 14 countries and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. In addition to “Gangsta’s Paradise,” this 10-track greatest hits collection also includes the hip hop classics “Fantastic Voyage,” “C U When U Get There,” and “Rollin’ with My Homies” from the Clueless soundtrack.
NATALIA LAFOURCADE – De Todas Las Flores LP (Sony US Latin)
First US pressing! De Todas Las Flores is Natalia’s first release of all new original material since her breakthrough 2015 album Hasta La Raiz. The result of this search is a dazzling and deeply sophisticated collection of original songs that feature Natalia’s trademark compositional virtues – the unusual melodic turns, the affecting poetry, her lightness of touch – while also revealing a musical maturity that hints at a new step in her career. De Todas Las Flores was inspired by themes of vulnerability, life and death, the feminine, nature, the mystical, love and heartbreak.
THE WEEKND – Hurry Up Tomorrow CD/LP (XO)
Hurry Up Tomorrow is the sixth studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. It is the final part of an album trilogy that began with After Hours (2020) and continued with Dawn FM (2022). The Weeknd announced the new album saying “This album represents the creative apex of the project, serving as the third and final chapter crafted with existential and self-referential themes as seen with the latest visionary teasers that have set fans ablaze with anticipation for this concluding installment.”
EBO TAYLOR– Jazz Is Dead 22 CD/LP (Jazz Is Dead)
At 88 years of age, the Ghanian highlife and afrobeat pioneer Ebo Taylor traveled to the US for the very first time to perform at the now iconic Jazz Is Dead concert series, selling out venues across the country. It was during this time that Ebo recorded a psychedelic afrobeat album alongside Jazz Is Dead producers Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The swirling horns and gritty guitars heard on Ebo Taylor JID022 are reminiscent of his seminal seventies recordings that made him one of Africa’s most prolific and revolutionary artists of all time. Recorded inside of Younge’s Linear Labs studio, this album captures polyrhythmic percussion and twangy, fuzzed out guitars that prove that rhythm is key. The ensemble of Ghanian background vocalists emanates a uniquely spiritual sound that takes the listener back to Ebo’s prime.
10,000 MANIACS – Playing Favorites LP (Omnivore)
Double Vinyl edition of their 2016 live album – 15 tracks – including two performances not on CD (one featuring Robert Buck) Their greatest hits and more – performed live! For over 40 years, 10,000 Maniacs have been doing what they do best – Playing Favorites! Originally released on CD and Digital in 2016, Playing Favorites documented their dynamic live shows. Recorded before an adoring crowd in Jamestown, NY, Playing Favorites included hits and fan favorites from the group’s storied and influential career. The 6 piece band (Jerome Augustyniak, Dennis Drew, Jeff Erickson, Steven Gustafson, John Lombardo, and Mary Ramsey) was augmented by strings, horns, and backing vocalists, making their lush sound even fuller and more engaging.
After collaborating on dozens of records over the years, Curren$y and MonstaBeatz teamed up for Radioactive, their second ever full-length project. Both hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana, the Jet Life lyricist and producer duo have built a steady catalog including their first acclaimed collaborative effort This Ain’t No Mixtape released in 2009. Radioactive features 12 new tracks with additional guest appearances by Jay Worthy, Fiend and DeeLow Diamond Man.
BIG THIEF – Capacity CD/LP/CASS (4AD)
The trails that Brooklyn’s Big Thief — Adrianne Lenker (guitar, vocals), Buck Meek (guitar), Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums) — take us down on 2017’s Capacity, the band’s highly critically acclaimed sophomore album, are overgrown with the wilderness of pumping souls. This is a reissue, vinyl repressed on eco-recycled vinyl.
Surviving The Dream is FIDLAR’s long-awaited fourth studio LP and first in over five years. Previewing the 13-song album’s arrival, the group has released their brand new double-single “Get Off My Wave” and “Fix Me” – a pair of red-hot tracks bristling with frenzied, cranked-to-the-max sonics. Self-produced and self-recorded at Balboa Recording Studio in East LA, Surviving The Dream is many things for the Southern California trio comprised of Zac Carper, Max Kuehn, and Brandon Schwartzel. An embrace of their DIY roots. A reaction to the youthful kinetic energy packed into rooms at their recent live shows.
PENNY & SPARROW – Lefty CD/LP (I Love You)
Lefty is a cross-genre double-album from critically acclaimed indie band Penny & Sparrow. Of the album, they said, “We wanted to record a double album for the challenge of it, and also for the chance to be sonically rangy and eccentric. The idea of offering all sorts of sounds, structures, melodies, and lyrical approaches in 20 songs was creatively exciting to us, so we did it. Lefty is a long collection of both real and made up things. We wrote poetry, true stories, literary fan fiction, horror, erotica, slice-of-life vignettes, dream scenarios, saloon conversations, elegies, a toast, a few confessions and at least two love letters. All of them belong together because each one is an extension of us, of the things we love. We are the ties that bind Lefty. “
ALL THAT REMAINS – Antifragile LP (Fuga)
ANTIFRAGILE marks All That Remains’ first full length release since 2018. All That Remains have built an unbreakable axis between pit-splitting metal and anthemic melodies. This signature balance has defined the platinum-certified band’s output since day one.
PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND – For Fat Man LP (Sub Pop)
This album was guided from inception to completion by Preservation Hall cornet player Kevin Louis, He wanted to capture what was going on at the Hall on Monday nights, and from the beginning, Kerry “Fat Man” Hunter was key to the recording. Equal parts remembrance, document, and party, For Fat Man wasn’t meant to bear that title. Kerry’s untimely passing during Mardi Gras is sadly but irrevocably now a part of the story of this record, which began as a celebration of where the brass band tradition at Preservation Hall was at and where it’s going. And thank goodness, the story doesn’t end. Life, like any good brass band, keeps moving. This record is a joyous link in the chain that is the story of New Orleans and its music. It’s for the ancestors, for the culture, for the people in the street, for those that mourn and those that celebrate and everybody somewhere in between. This record is the sound of that chain, that heartbeat, that rhythm.
This 9 song album represents the last recordings by Fitz of Depression (each LP copy includes a sticker and download card.).Fitz of Depression hold a sacred place in the lexicon of Olympia folklore: the crossroads of all things Hessian, everything hardcore, punk, pop, new wave, metal, heavy and hopeful. This album is their last full length collection, recorded just months before the death of founding guitarist/singer Mikey Dees, it shows off their every side.
ADRIAN YOUNGE – Linear Labs: São Paulo LP (Linear Labs)
São Paulo sparks a new golden era of musical genius defined by the maestro Adrian Younge. Step into an extraordinary psychedelic and soulful experience with Adrian Younge presents Linear Labs: Sao Paulo: a compilation of new songs showcasing the musical brilliance of Adrian Younge with artists from around the world. Essentially, the album features one unreleased song from an array of forthcoming albums Younge has produced for Linear Labs, including Something About April Ill, the tertiary installment of Younge’s masterwork trilogy, and a new blaxploitation adventure from hip hop legend Snoop Dogg, entitled Don’t Cry For the Devil.
BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY – The Purple Bird CD/LP (No Quarter)
The Purple Bird finds Bonnie “Prince” Billy working with a “producer” for only the second time in his illustrious catalog. This time it’s David “Ferg” Ferguson (Johnny Cash, Sturgill Simpson) who guides the songs backed by “the best band you can get in Nashville right now”, country singer John Anderson and Bluegrass legend Tim O’Brien. The Purple Bird is simultaneously like and unlike other BPB records. Many of the songs are a product of multiple composers’ voices, making the shape-shifting aspect of the BPB persona more fluid than ever before.
Venomous Tex-Mex R&B and early rock n’ roll from San Antonio’s West Side scene. From 1961-67, Bexar county kingmaker Abe Epstein cut every teen combo to grace the Patio Andaluz stage, launching the careers of Doug Sahm, The Royal Jesters, Sonny Ace, The Dreamliners, and hundreds more throughout the decade. Spread across two luxurious slabs of vinyl, The Cobra Label compiles 28 neurotoxic sides from Epstein’s first bite in the biz.
EYEDEA & ABILITIES – E&A LP (Rhymesayers)
Celebrate two decades of lyrical genius with the re-press of Eyedea & Abilities’ seminal album, E&A. Originally released in 2004, this album is a masterclass in expressive ingenuity and sonic experimentation. Eyedea’s profound storytelling and introspective themes invite listeners on a journey through identity and the human experience. Paired with DJ Abilities’ exceptional production and turntablism, E&A creates a rich and original soundscape, making it a standout in the genre.
2025 release. The highly anticipated, final Juice Wrld album has arrived. The Party Never Ends as Juice rounds out his legacy with a final gift. The Party Never Ends finds Juice diving down different alleyways of his colorful, complex psyche.
COMING NEXT WEEK!
MADVILLAIN – Madvillainy LP audiophile edition
WILCO – A Ghost Is Born CD/LP reissue
KENDRICK LAMAR – GNX CD/LP
SQUID – Coward CD/LP
LEATHER STRIP – Tribute To The Cure – Pornography CD/LP
FACS – Wish Defense CD/LP
HER SPACE HOLIDAY – Home Is Where You Hang Yourself LP reissue
LINA TULLGREN – Decide Which Ways The Eyes Are Looking CD/LP
SHARON VAN ETTEN – And The Attachment Theory CD/LP
CONNIE PRICE + THE KEYSTONES – Uptown Rulers LP
HTRK – Marry Me Tonight LP
WILLIAM HOOKER – Jubilation LP
MICHIGANDER – Self Titled LP
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS – Applecores CD/LP
ADRIAN YOUNGE – Something About April LP
CAMERA OBSCURA – To Change The Shape…. LP reissue
DONNAS – Gold Medal LP