New Releases & Staff Picks – 9/20/24
STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Lutalo and My Brightest Diamond
Dario – Dorothy Ashby
Kimber – Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers reissue
Jake – Tanukichan
Zach – Bright Eyes, Jamie XX, Photay
Ash – The Lijadu Sisters
Bright Eyes – Five Dice, All Threes CD/LP (Dead Oceans)
Five Dice, All Threes is a record of uncommon intensity and tenderness, communal exorcism and personal excavation. These are, of course, qualities that fans have come to expect from Bright Eyes, nearly three decades into their career. The tight-knit band of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott tends to operate in distinct sweeping movements: each unique in its sound and story but unified by a sense of ambition and ever-growing emotional stakes. Even with this rich history behind them, these new songs exude a visceral thrill like nothing they have attempted before. Oberst has always sung in a voice that conveys a sense of life-or-death gravity. At times throughout Five Dice, All Threes, you may feel worried for him; other times, he may seem like the only one with the clarity to get us out of this mess. On the self-produced album, Bright Eyes embrace the elusive quality that has made them so enduring and influential across generations and genres, bringing their homespun sound from an Omaha bedroom to devoted audiences around the world. [A red/orange color vinyl pressing is available.]
Jamie xx – In Waves CD/LP/2LP+12” (Young)
The long-awaited new album by Jamie xx In Waves is the next chapter in the career of one of the most in demand producers of his generation. With In Waves, Jamie replicates the emotional crescendos and thrilling volatility of an almost mystical night out- one where you return home in the cigarette ash dawn, the specifics of the last eight hours already blurring, but aware that these feelings will remain a crystalline memory. In Waves is a melancholy paradise of bliss, heartbreak, and introspection. The story of a journey where you merge into the divine pulse of shadows, light, and dancefloor rhythms. A strobelight epiphany about the illimitable possibilities and spiritual capacities of humanity. [An indie store exclusive white color vinyl pressing is available. A deluxe triple LP version pressed on white, black and black & white mix color vinyl features the album cut on two discs with a bonus 12” of exclusive tracks is also available.]
Hippo Campus – Flood CD/LP/Cassette (Psychic Hotline)
The sentiments on Flood are raw, real, and unguarded, a testament to Hippo Campus dropping preconceptions of how they had to sound after so many failed attempts to re-record these songs. They wiped the slate clean, starting over without beliefs about what Hippo Campus or this record needed to be. Still, sophistication lurks in subtle key and tempo changes, in the almost innate shifts that a band of longtime best friends can tap after so much time spent helping to shape one another’s musical language. Flood doesn’t need to tell you it’s important or interesting; it simply is, just by virtue of how it’s written, built, and rendered, a map of what it’s like to feel everything at once. [An indie store exclusive clear galaxy color vinyl pressing is available.]
The Airborne Toxic Event – Glory LP (Little Tokyo)
The Airborne Toxic Event returns with their seventh studio album and their first since the critically acclaimed 2020 Hollywood Park, the companion album to lead singer Mikel Jollett’s New York Times bestselling memoir Hollywood Park. [An indie store exclusive white colorway is available.]
Nubya Garcia – Odyssey CD/LP (Concord)
Multi-award-winning tenor saxophonist, bandleader and composer Nubya Garcia’s 2024 album, Odyssey follows her critically acclaimed debut album, Source. Odyssey is a majestic feat that blends orchestral arrangements with R&B, jazz and dub. Produced by Garcia and co-produced by kwes, Garcia returns with Joe Armon-Jones (keys), Daniel Casimir (bass), Sam Jones (drums). Featured guests include Esperanza Spalding, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Richie Seivwright.
With Always Happy To Explode, Sunset Rubdown have made something that captures their gratitude and the energy of their joyous (and sometimes difficult) reunion.
Lutalo – The Academy LP (Winspear)
Lutalo’s highly visceral folk goes electric on The Academy, the Vermont multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer’s debut LP. On The Academy, Lutalo embraces a literary approach to self-referential songwriting, turning memories from their adolescence into impressionistic folk and rock compositions that are equal parts searing and vulnerable. With their unique baritone and finesse for lyrical world building, Lutalo cuts to the bone-while only just beginning to reveal the depth of their artistry and vision.
My Brightest Diamond – 
A classically trained vocalist with a self-taught instrumentalist’s spirit, Shara Nova has been releasing spellbinding music as My Brightest Diamond since 2006. Over the years, the band has released five groundbreaking albums, each showcasing a different musical landscape while always centering on Nova’s distinctive voice. Fight The Real Terror was written and recorded in four days during a power outage immediately after the death of Sinead O’Connor. It’s as deep, thought provoking and compelling as its inspiration – a direct call, full of protest music and emotion, stripped back to the raw basics of guitar and vocals. [An orange color vinyl pressing is available.]
Dorothy Ashby – Afro-Harping [Reissue/1968] CD/2xLP (Decca)
Deluxe edition features eight bonus tracks – alternate takes from the surviving four-track session reels, including an explosive rendition of the single, “Soul Vibrations,” extended versions of the title track and “Little Sunflower,” plus two fantastic jazzy readings of “Theme from Valley of the Dolls.” Afro-Harping is the first of a rarefied and outstanding trilogy of soul-jazz albums by Dorothy Ashby. Remastered from the original tapes, Afro-Harping is filled front-to-back with sumptuous and hypnotic grooves. It’s African percussion, soulful orchestrations, in-the-pocket rhythms and Dorothy’s virtuosity take it beyond jazzy mood music and made it a favorite of beat heads and producers.
Joan As Police Woman – Lemons, Limes and Orchids CD/LP (PIAS America)
Joan As Police Woman’s 12th studio album, Lemons, Limes, and Orchids is a crowning showcase of her voice in all its metamorphic splendor. “I was ready to make an album that truly featured my voice. The basics were recorded like they used to be- with me singing live along with the band. My good friend told me this is the sexiest album I’ve ever made. Honestly, I think she’s right.” The record is a nocturne about love and loss – what else is there? – and a reckoning with our collective disorientation, part hymn to holding on and part benediction of letting go.
Blue Hawaii – Under 1 House LP (Arbutus)
Blue Hawaii’s standout 2020 mixtape – is now available on vinyl for the first time. A six track tour-de-force, Under 1 House features their breakout single ‘I Felt Love’, and showcases the duo’s trademark blend of liquid beats, dance-floor euphoria, and soaring diva-vocals. Pressed on limited edition white vinyl, the LP includes two bonus tracks – Berlin producer Salzbauer’s rave-ready rework of ‘I Felt Love’, and a Blue Hawaii original edit of recent deep cut ‘Where Is the Sun?’. Blue Hawaii has spent over a decade perfecting their craft. The two met in 2009, at the heart of Montreal’s burgeoning underground party scene. Finding their start with lo-fi bedroom recordings, they gradually evolved towards a more uplifting and dance forward sound. The essence of their work is threaded through the confident sanguine vocals and songwriting of Raphaelle “Ra” Standell-Preston, and the distinctive production of Agor “DJ Kirby”. They uniquely assemble every aspect of their music together amidst an ocean of separation, with Agor in Berlin, and Ra in Montreal.
The Lijadu Sisters – Horizon Unlimited [Reissue/1979] LP (Numero)
The Lijadu Sisters’ Horizon Unlimited is the insurgent Afrofunk their second cousin Fela strived to create. Soulful, psychedelic, feminist, and revolutionary music already known worldwide, finally available again after a decade with The Lijadus’ approval and deep involvement. “The Nigerian twins who fought the elite with funk” – The Guardian [A green color vinyl pressing is available.]
The Waeve – City Lights CD/LP (Transgressive)
Folk-rock post-punk duo, The Waeve, return with their latest guitar driven romp, City Lights. Graham Coxon (Blur) and Rose Elinor Dougall return with the follow-up to last year’s acclaimed eponymous debut. Produced by James Ford (Fontaines DC, Arctic Monkeys), the record features both artists on vocal duties in addition to playing a host of instruments including saxophone, keyboards and drums. The Waeve have established themselves as a songwriting partnership to watch and with City Lights they further push the boundaries of their collaborative creativity, using this album to chronicle the evolution of their relationship and forays into parenthood. [An indie store exclusive orange color vinyl pressing is available.]
Sade – Love Deluxe [Reissue/1992] LP (Sony Legacy)
Sade – Lover’s Rock [Reissue/2000] LP (Sony Legacy)
Sade – Soldier Of Love [Reissue/2010] LP (Sony Legacy)
Sade’s fourth, fifth and sixth albums, half-speed mastered at Abbey Road Studios.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – With Thelonious Monk [Reissue/1958] LP (20th Century Jazz Masters)
Limited 180-gram red colored vinyl with two bonus tracks. This album marks Thelonious Monk’s sole recording as a member of Art Blakey’s celebrated Jazz Messengers. The pianist and drummer were very close friends who understood each other well on both a personal and musical level. In fact, Blakey was present on both Monk’s first and last studio sessions, spanning a period of 24 years from the 1947 quintet and trio recordings to the last sets taped in London in 1971, when Blakey and Monk were touring with the group called the “Giants of Jazz” (which also included Sonny Stitt, Dizzy Gillespie, Kai Winding and Al McKibbon).
Tanukichan – Circles LP (Carpark)
Tanukichan, the musical project of Oakland, CA’s Hannah van Loon, has been a prominent figure in modern shoegaze music since 2016, when she first collaborated with Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi. Together, they released an EP and two full-length albums under Bear’s Company Records, culminating in 2023’s GIZMO. With her new EP Circles, van Loon ventures into new territory by teaming up with a new producer for the first time – Franco Reid.
Karen O & Danger Mouse – Lux Prima [Reissue/2019] LP (30th Century)
Icons Karen O and Danger Mouse released their debut album as a duo, Lux Prima five years ago. “Title track ‘Lux Prima’ is the first song we wrote for the record,” says O. “After making music for the past twenty years and embarking on making this record with Danger Mouse I knew a couple things: one was that the spirit of collaboration between us was going to be a pure one, and two was that the more I live the less is clear to me. When you create from a blurry place you can go places further than you’ve ever been. I think we both were excited to go far out.”
Photay – Windswept LP+MP3 (Mexican Summer)
Photay is the alias of L.A.-based composer, drummer, DJ, producer, and musical polymath Evan Shornstein. His compositions have the feeling of handmade electronica, fashioned from organic material and powered by positive intention. On his latest album, Windswept, he again creates textural, beat-driven sound collages inspired as much by tech-house, downtempo, and IDM as they are inspired by the natural world.
Phish – Hoist [Reissue/1992] LP (Jemp)
Limited edition 2024 repress Phish’s fifth studio album, originally released in 1994. Lacquers Cut From The Original 1/2” Flat Masters By Chris Bellman At Bernie Grundman Mastering.
Power Trip – Nightmare Logic [Reissue/2017] (Southern Lord)
SUPER Limited blue and red splatter colored vinyl LP pressing – only 500 units made!
Chappell Roan – The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess [Anniversary Edition] LP (Island)
Peach color vinyl pressing. Bold pop hooks, sex positivity, honest songwriting and a heavy dose of glitter make up the world of Chappell Roan, the next multi-faceted force in pop music. A technicolor celebration of self-discovery and transformation, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess tracks Chappell’s cinematic journey of falling in queer love for the first time, while embracing all the messy and imperfect moments in-between.
Various Artists – Studio One Soul 2 [Reissue/2016] CD/2xLP+MP3 (Soul Jazz)
New 18th anniversary edition of the long-out-of-print Studio One Soul 2, the long-awaited second volume of one of the largest selling Soul Jazz Records’ Studio One collections. Studio One Soul 2 takes us deep into Jamaica’s long-standing fascination with American Soul and Funk music. Featuring a host of seminal reggae artists who all first established their careers at Studio One before finding worldwide success. [A yellow color vinyl pressing is available.]
Having lent his talents both on stage and in the studio to artists like Amy Winehouse, Lizzo, Pharrell, and Sharon Jones to currently playing every night on The Tonight Show as a member of The Roots, Dave steps out on his own with a jazz record that is both unique and modern. [An indie store exclusive blue smoke color vinyl pressing is available.]
Butthole Surfers – Cream Corn From The Socket Of Davis [Reissue/1985] 12” (Matador)
Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician [Reissue/1987] 12” (Matador)
Butthole Surfers – Hairway To Steven [Reissue/1987] 12” (Matador)
Vinyl reissues of the experimental rock band’s third EP and third and fourth LPs.
Perfume Genius – Too Bright [Reissue/2014] LP (Matador)
Crystal clear vinyl pressing. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Perfume Genius’ critically acclaimed album Too Bright, originally released by Matador on September 23, 2014. The third record by Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas) marked a significant departure from the artist’s earlier work with its bold, avant-garde sound and introspective lyrics.
Terry Gross – Huge Improvement LP (Thrill Jockey)
The potency of the fellowship formed by drummer Phil Becker (Lower Forty-Eight, Peace Creeps, Pins of Light), bassist Donny Newenhouse, and guitarist Phil Manley (Trans Am, Oneida, Life Coach) lies in their ability to utilize their prowess as both players and record engineers to translate feeling with immaculate clarity. On Huge Improvement, Terry Gross embody a complex web of emotion with songs as ferocious and precise as they are agile and care-free, delighting in the catharsis of excising tension alongside one’s most trusted peers.
JP Harris – Is A Trash Fire CD/LP (Bloodshot)
Harris has been steadily elbowing the definitive boundaries of “country music” wider with every album, both sonically and lyrically, and his latest piece of self-described “avant-country” is no exception. [A coke bottle clear vinyl pressing is available.]
Pearl and the Oysters – Planet Pearl LP (Stones Throw)
Pearl & the Oysters’ new album Planet Pearl – the duo’s second record for Stones Throw and the culmination of nearly two decades of connection and collaboration.
COMING NEXT WEEK!
ALAN SPARHAWK – White Roses My God CD/LP
BILLY STRINGS – Highway Prayers CD/LP
COMMON AND PETE ROCK – Auditorium CD/LP
SOPHIE – Self Titled CD/LP
EZRA COLLECTIVE – Dance, No One’s Watching CD/LP
JD MCPHERSON – Nite Owls CD/LP
SOUL ASYLUM – Slowly But Shirley CD/LP
HAYES CARLL – Flowers and Liquor CD/LP
NAIMA BOCK – Below A Massive Dark Land CD/LP
KATE BOLLINGER – Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind CD/LP
CHRISTIAN LEE HUTSON – Paradise Pop CD/LP
LUMINEERS – Live From Wrigley Field LP
SACRED REICH – Heal LP
XIU XIU – 13 Frank Belframe Italian Stiletto LP
WILLIAM BASINSKI – September 23rd CD/LP
COLIN STETSON – Love It Took To Leave You CD/LP
HELLA – Devil Isn’t Red LP reissue
HELLA – Hold Your Horse Is LP reissue
BRANDI CARLILE – Give Up The Ghost LP reissue
BRYCE DESSNER – Solos LP
BORIS – Amplifier Worship LP reissue
BLOCKHEAD – Music By Cavelight LP reissue
DANGERMOUSE – Selex.Xxion 12″ (Remixes by Danger Mouse, Boards of Canada, DJ Premier, and Kevin Shields)