Atmosphere – Fishing Blues CD/3xLP+MP3 (Rhymesayers)

“Fishing Blues has an inspired feeling to it, with elements of blues, gospel and funk all taking part in creating the overall sound. Boasting an 18-song track list with nothing under two minutes long, Atmosphere have offered enough music to satisfy after the two-year break following their previous album.” – Slug Magazine

Blind Pilot – And Then Like Lions CD/LP (ATO)

“It’s been nearly five years since the charming Portland folk-pop band Blind Pilot released its second and most recent album, We Are The Tide, and that record’s roiling title track has only recently begun popping up in beer commercials. Given that the band used to tour up and down the West Coast via bicycle, it should come as no surprise that Blind Pilot is accustomed to taking its time. And Then Like Lions is band’s third album and first new release for a big label. Its grower of an opening track, ‘Umpqua Rushing,’ points to a softer, dreamier direction for Blind Pilot. It’s a hazy, quiet beauty that builds slowly but persistently — appropriate for a band that’s long balanced rising-star status with the subtlety of a lifer with little to prove.” – WHRO/Virginia

Brendan Canning – Home Wrecking Years CD/LP (Arts & Crafts)

New album from the co-founder of the Toronto supergroup Broken Social Scene – a backyard barbecue-ready indie affair with heavy summertime vibes. Smart and breezy four-minute pop tunes that run the gamut from ‘90s-era college rock to tropical baroque pop.

Dead C – Trouble 2xCD/2xLP (Ba Da Bing!)

New album from the legendary lo-fi art rock trio. Previous albums like Harsh 70s Realityand Trapdoor Fucking Exit, which date back more than 25 years, are paradigms of experimental, technically wonky rock. The Dead C abandon conventional song structure in favor of epic length, relentless guitar feedback, waves of fuzz, and disturbingly inhuman moaning. Their droning, crumbling soundscapes and long improvisational pieces turn each new album into a dark, engrossing experience. Trouble is no different: meticulously crafted but dirty as hell.

Hockey Dad – Boronia CD/LP+MP3 (Kanine)

Australian duo and Leisure Coast legends Hockey Dad release their debut album. Their story is simple: best mates first, band second, and their music flows from their surroundings: sunny and jangly guitar driven rock complete with anthemic choruses. Yet please do not mistake their laid-back vibes for anything but tight execution and a drive to share their good times with the world. [Limited blue color vinyl edition also available.]

JEFF The Brotherhood – Zone CD/LP (Dine Alone)

The third and final installment of their ‘spiritual trilogy,’ Zone is a van-rocking, bong-rattling slab that authentically captures a fiery mixture of ‘70s hard rock, ‘80s punk, ‘90’s grunge and indelible pop melodies. The album’s lead single, ‘Punishment,’“highlights the band’s signature intensity with a wicked guitar solo soaked in synth and distortion, as heavy drumming pulses in the background. ‘I am irrelevant,’ Jake Orrall sings before the song suddenly ends — but a track that hits this hard proves otherwise” (Consequence Of Sound).“People like to lump us in with the garage thing, because there aren’t any other heavy rock bands that are playing the circuit that we’re playing,” says Jake Orrall. “But we’re not interested in playing three-chord punk or blues songs; we play hard rock, and we’re all about the pop hook.”

of Montreal – Innocence Reaches CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Polyvinyl)

Innocence Reaches begins with a query. “How do you identify?” coos a robotic voice over a strikingly modern mix of bright synthpop and surging rave. The question too feels very of its time—as outdated ideas about gender and attraction are being overturned—but it’s also a fair ask whenever of Montreal debuts an album. The project’s 14th LP follows two full decades of mercurial creative mania: swallowing up ’60s psych-pop, Prince-ly funk, and glammy prog in turn; morphing freely between full-band affair and cloistered confessional booth; comprising lyrics both painfully personal and absurdly fantastical; and recently drawing site-specific inspiration from culture capitals like San Francisco or New York City. The thread that runs through it all is Athens, GA’s Kevin Barnes, and Innocence Reaches finds him at his most light-hearted in years, working a Parisian stint, Top 40 sounds, and his newfound single status into the kaleidoscopic swirl. Even as he continues to sift the sonic and emotional detritus of his past, Barnes sums up his current mood in the opener’s title: “let’s relate.” [Limited color vinyl also available.]

Thee Oh Sees – A Weird Exits CD/2xLP (Castle Face)

New release from John Dwyer’s Thee Oh Sees – the first studio recordings to capture the muscular rhythm section of twin drummers Ryan Moutinho and Dan Rincon with ringer bassist Tim Hellman cracking spines. The groove and bludgeon one has come to expect from the band’s live shows is captured seamlessly here-they go from zero to head-splitter, and on the rare occasions they do let up on the gas a bit, you’re treated to some locked-in hypnotizers, too. The guitar sounds more colossal and ethereal at the same time, riding roughshod over the vacuum-sealed rhythm section, spiraling skywards, and diving into the emerald depths so quick your guts tingle. Synths, strings and smoke-soaked things crawl behind the scenes to make an extra far-out party platter.

Ruby TheRabbitFoot – Divorce Party CD/LP+MP3 (Normaltown)

Divorce Party is the third full-length release by the enigmatic Los Angeles-based songstress, Ruby Kendrick aka Ruby TheRabbitFoot. Following 2014’s critically laudedNew As Dew, the new collection of songs finds Ruby further evolving and focusing the pop sensibilities that permeated her earlier releases. Co-produced by Andy LeMaster (R.E.M., Bright Eyes, The Faint) and Nicolas Dobbratz (Yip Deceiver, of Montreal), the lean grooves, razor-sharp lyrics and glittering melodies that have become synonymous with Ruby remain intact, but with exciting new explorations into the electro-pop realm.“I want this to be a soundtrack for anyone going through a transition,” Ruby says ofDivorce Party. “Even though there’s this connotation of disruption and heartbreak, divorce parties have a celebratory energy. Every person that we love teaches us, so when it’s time to part ways I think it’s beautiful to appreciate everything we’ve gained from the experience. I wrote these songs in a period of separation from a love. I want to release them into the world as a celebration of all that I learned during that time.”

Young The Giant – Home Of The Strange CD/LP+MP3 (Fueled By Ramen)

Los Angeles quintet Young the Giant continue to brave new sonic landscapes with their wildly adventurous third album Home Of The Strange. On this new release, the band explores their expansive musicianship with boldly eclectic arrangements anchored by a keen melodic presence. Thematically, Home Of The Strange builds from the opening track “Amerika,” a song inspired by Franz Kafka’s posthumously published and unfinished novel of the same name. The members of Young The Giant are all the sons of immigrants, with a majority of the band being first generation Americans. They can relate to Kafka’s story of Karl, a sixteen year old who flees Germany under uncertain circumstances. He becomes a stowaway on a ship headed to NY and the book tells the tale of a bizarre coming of age story of a boy caught between the cultures of two worlds, struggling to belong.To direct the band’s continued evolution, they collaborated with producer Alex Salibian (Elle King, Mikky Ekko) and Executive Producer Jeff Bhaskar, 2016 Grammy winner for Producer of the Year.

John Frusciante – Foregrow 12” (Acid Test)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Frusciante uses elements of John Carpenter’s eternal scores, the drum programming DNA of jungle and footwork, and a Roland TB-303 to craft a lurching, lysergic beauty.

Guru – Jazzmatazz Volume 1 [Reissue/1993] LP (Virgin)

Guru’s Jazzmatazz, Volume 1 is a jazz rap album from Guru, one-half of the duo, Gang Starr. This album is one of the first albums to combine a live jazz band with hip-hop production and rapping. The set brought together a diverse group of jazz cats both old-school and new, including Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, Lonnie Liston Smith, Ronny Jordan, and Courtney Pine. Part of UMe’s ongoing Respect The Classics vinyl reissue campaign.

Vetiver/Wolf People – Live At Pickathon LP (Easy Sound)

Woods/The Men – Live At Pickathon LP (Easy Sound)

A limited one-time pressings on black 150 gm vinyl featuring each artist on their own side. Original cover artwork by long-time Pickathon artist Travis Bone of Furturtle. These are the third and fourth releases of the ongoing Live At Pickathon vinyl-only series.

Neil Young – Earth 3xLP (Reprise)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl.Earth features performances of songs from a range of Young’s albums, including last year’s The Monsanto Years, 1990’sRagged Glory, and 1970’s After The Gold Rush. The audio was captured during Young’s 2015 tour with The Promise Of The Real, fronted by Lukas Nelson (vocals/guitar) and Micah Nelson (guitar, vocals) — Willie Nelson’s sons. A new take on some of Young’s most beloved songs, Earth features the live recordings, along with added musical overdubs, as well as sounds of the earth, such as city sounds like car horns, sounds of insects, and animal sounds from bears, birds, crickets, bees, horses, cows — creating a very strange, yet beautiful atmosphere.