February 10, 2017 — Stinkweeds
This Week’s New Releases & Staff Picks – 2/10/17
STAFF PICKS
kimber – tinariwen
lindsay – the sadies, tinariwen
dario – tinariwen
jeff – black joe lewis
dominic – sinkane
THIS WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
David Bowie – Diamond Dogs [Reissue/1974] CD/LP (Rhino/Parlophone)
David Bowie – Young Americans [Reissue/1975] CD/LP (Rhino/Parlophone)
David Bowie – Station To Station [Reissue/1976] CD/LP (Rhino/Parlophone)
Albums included in the Who Can I Be Now? 1974-1976 boxset are now available individually. These are the 2016 remastered editions.
David Bowie – David Live (2005 Mix) 2xCD/3xLP (Rhino/Parlophone)
David Bowie – Live At Nassau Coliseum ‘76 2xCD/2xLP (Rhino/Parlophone)
David Live is David Bowie’s first official live album, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. The set was recorded over five days in July of that year, on the initial leg of Bowie’s US Diamond Dogs Tour, at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA (a suburb of Philadelphia). The album catches Bowie in transition from the Ziggy Stardust/Aladdin Sane glam-rock era of his career to the ‘plastic soul’ of Young Americans. Live At Nassau Coliseum was originally released as part of the 2010 Special Edition reissue of Station To Station, and was recorded in Uniondale, NY, March 23, 1976 during his Isolar Tour in support of Station To Station. (These albums were also included in the Who Can I Be Now? 1974-1976 boxset and are now available individually.)
Sallie Ford – Soul Sick CD (Vanguard)
The Portland singer/songwriter’s new album Soul Sick “is an open, honest and relatable one acting as what Ford refers to as a ‘confessional’ album. ‘It’s about struggling with my issues — some that I’ve overcome and some that I still carry around. I felt confused, down about life and unsure of myself,’ Ford explains. As someone dealing with anxiety and depression, Soul Sick was a way for the singer to dig into her past, battle her inner demons, and heal by pouring herself into her lyrics. In addition to the deeply relatable concept and lyrics of Soul Sick, the album perfectly displays Ford’s unfiltered vocals and retro rock sound. If you need a reason to fall in love with Sallie Ford, Soul Sick gives you eleven.
Jesca Hoop – Memories Are Now CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
Jesca Hoop’s new album Memories Are Now wastes no time in making clear its confidence, confrontation, and craftsmanship. The stark and reverberant title track opens the album with “a fighting spirit,” says Hoop, serving as an anthem to push through any obstacle and put forth your very best work. And she has unequivocally done that here, with an album of stunningly original songs — minimalist yet brimming with energy, emerging from a wealth of life experience, great emotional depth, and years of honing the craft of singing. As riveting as it is reflective, the album, produced by Blake Mills (Fiona Apple, Alabama Shakes), is a fresh debut of sorts for Hoop, as the first of her solo records made outside of Tony Berg’s Zeitgeist Studios where she and Mills were mentored. Memories Are Now covers a great deal of ground, showcasing every edge and curve of Hoop’s captivating voice, with sounds and themes ranging from the mythic to the deeply intimate. She sings of the religion that weighs heavily on her past and the world, of the imagination of myth, of the cruel nature of life and love.
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Backlash CD/LP+MP3 (Black Joe Lewis)
Fourth studio album from Austin Soul screamer Black Joe Lewis featuring the band The Honeybears. On Backlash, the band return to their celebrated classic soul and punked up R&B.
Noveller – A Pink Sunset For No One CD/LP (Fire)
Noveller is the moniker for L.A.-based guitar wizard and score composer Sarah Lipstate. Fresh off a tour supporting Iggy Pop, she releases her new album A Pink Sunset For No One. “Working as Noveller, Sarah Lipstate crafts cinematic guitar-focused instrumentals. Using alternatively-tuned guitar techniques fed through an assortment of pedals—which make it sound like she’s playing a synthesizer and not a string instrument—Noveller’s mesmerizing art has even soothed the grizzled ears of Iggy Pop. After reading a newspaper album review of Lipstate’s 2015 album Fantastic Planet, Iggy started spinning her tracks on his BBC radio show, and subsequently invited Noveller to support him on last year’s extensive Post Pop Depression tour. Noveller’s eighth studio album, A Pink Sunset For No One, is partly inspired by that experience, although Lipstate’s meditative sound differs wildly from Iggy Pop’s garage-punk racket.” – Bandcamp Daily
Old Crow Medicine Show – Best Of CD/LP+7”+MP3 (Nettwerk)
Two-time Grammy Award winners and Grand Ole Opry members Old Crow Medicine Show release select tracks from O.C.M.S. (2004), Big Iron World(2006), Tennessee Pusher (2008) as well as two previously unreleased tracks: “Black Haired Quebecoise” and “Heart Up In The Sky.” [180gm vinyl edition includes a bonus red color 7” featuring the two previously unreleased tracks.]
Chuck Prophet – Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins CD/LP (Yep Roc)
Chuck Prophet describes his new disc Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins as California noir. The state has always represented the Golden Dream, and it’s the tension between romance and reality that lurks underneath the surface in all noir films and paperbacks, and that connects these songs. Doomed love, inconsolable loneliness, rags to riches to rags again, and fast-paced violence are always on the menu on the Left Coast. [Vinyl LP pressing housed in a gatefold sleeve with die-cut cover and collectible button.]
The Sadies – Northern Passages CD/LP (Yep Roc)
“The Sadies are a band that fans cling to like a closely guarded secret, with each new release fulfilling the promise to reach further, for all of our sakes, not just their own. With Northern Passages, the time has come to make room for more on this wild acid-folk-country-punk trip, and trust me, we’ll be better off because of it.” Recorded in the basement of Dallas and Travis’ parents’ home north of Toronto over the winter of 2015, the familiar surroundings and lack of distractions resulted in a consistent feel, despite the eclecticism at the heart of The Sadies’ sound. The psych-folk flourishes on tracks such as “Riverview Fog” are no mere homage; this is the sound of our inscrutable world, and how we manage to survive in it. Kurt Vile appears on “Easy (Like Walking).”
Sinkane – Life & Livin’ It CD/LP+MP3 (City Slang)
Produced by founder and frontman Ahmed Gallab, Life & Livin’ It draws from the best elements of Sinkane’s previous records: the slinky funk and soul grooves are there, so are the sparkling melodies with roots in sub-Saharan Africa. Life & Livin’ It is true to its name: it’s an album about all kinds of experiences, an uplifting album about a universal feeling of soul. “My family emigrated to the United States from Sudan,’ Ahmed explains, “and I grew up around a lot of folks who weren’t like me, as an outsider. That’s influenced me and my music immensely, and ultimately, this entire project is my way of connecting with all kinds of people – what better way to start a conversation with someone than by telling them a story about yourself that they can relate to?’ [Limited edition yellow color vinyl pressing also available.]
Thievery Corporation – The Temple Of I & I CD/2xLP+MP3 (Eighteenth Street Lounge)
Temple Of I & I is the tenth studio album from the Washington DC duo. The 15 tracks, recorded on location in Port Antonio JA, finds Thievery Corporation deftly blending their signature style with the classic dub, dance hall, and roots vibes that have inspired them over an illustrious 20-year career. Includes guest vocal contributions from Mr Lif, Racquel Jones, Lou Lou Ghelichkhani, Shana Halligan, Puma and others.
Tinariwen – Elwan CD/2xLP+MP3 (ANTI-)
For the last five years, Tinariwen have been busy crisscrossing the globe bringing their triumphant tours to all five continents and expanding their audience. During this time their beloved homeland in the Adrar des Ifoghas, a Saharan mountain range that straddles the border between northeastern Mali and southern Algeria has, in effect, been transformed into a conflict zone, a place where nobody can venture without putting themselves in danger. These conflicts have forced the band into exile to record their eighth album, Elwan. Elwan means “the elephants” — an animal metaphor to describe those “beasts,” whether militias or multinational consortiums, who have trampled everything in their path: in the desert, where both the human and ecological equilibriums are extremely fragile. The album was recorded in several locations around the world, and features guest contributions from Kurt Vile (electric guitar), Mark Lanegan (vocals on “Nànnuflày”), Matt Sweeney (electric guitar) and producer/guitarist, Alain Johannes (cigarbox guitar).
Tosca – Going Going Going CD/2xLP+CD (!K7)
Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber return to the kind of instrumental tracks full of deep beats and dubbed out textures that made Tosca’s name.Hitting the ground running, opening track “Import Export” sounds like a Lee Scratch Perry version of a Ennio Morricone soundtrack, a motif reoccurs throughout the album, most notably on “Dr. Dings,” their reinterpretation of America’s classic “Horse With No Name.”
Vic Chesnutt – Drunk [Reissue/1993] 2xLP+MP3 (New West)
Faithfully remastered and complete with 13 bonus tracks, New West Records is proud to present Vic Chesnutt’s influential third full-length Drunk. Recorded over five total days, Drunk is marked by sparse instrumentation and minimal studio trickery that accent the depth of Chesnutt’s idiosyncratic lyrics and storytelling style. Bonus tracks feature B-sides, selections from an Inner Ear session and from a 1994 Radio Holland performance.
Kid Koala featuring Emilíana Torrini – Music To Draw To: Satellite 2xLP (Arts & Crafts)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. An uncharted journey for the legendary scratch DJ, producer, and composer, Kid Koala’s fifth studio album is an emotional work of expansive instrumental soundscapes and chilling vocal ballads. A record of many firsts for Eric San, the inaugural volume in the Music To Draw To series finds Kid Koala collaborating with a singer, writing lyrics, and producing and performing all instruments. Satellite is the renowned audio-collagist’s first non-sample-based record, using an array of synthesizers, keys, guitars, basses, strings, turntables, noisemakers, and inventive recording techniques to create its celestial atmosphere. Written during the gelid Montreal winter, Music To Draw To: Satellite tells a heartrending tale of discovery and loss through the lens of lovers separated by a one-way space mission to Mars. The album’s eighteen spacious movements are threaded with eight lyrical songs written by Kid Koala in collaboration with Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini.
Sleep – The Clarity [Reissue/2014] 12” (Southern Lord)
Recorded by Neurosis’ Noah Landis and mastered by John Golden, the near 10-minute track “The Clarity” has been re-cut for this new pressing on 180gm red vinyl. The B-side of the platter features a special etching of the artwork by David V. D’Andrea (Samaritan Press). The record is housed in a heavyweight picture disc-style sleeve, silkscreened with the Sleep logo.
Sun Ra – Spaceways LP (ORG Music)
Spaceways features live performances by Sun Ra and his Arkestra from New York City in 1966 and 1968. Free and “spacey” as ever, the recordings capture Sun Ra in his element with over a dozen Arkestra members backing him up. The recordings were remastered for vinyl and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany.
Various Artists – The Hamilton Mix Tape 2xLP+MP3 (Atlantic)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Hamilton Mix Tape is a musical companion to the landmark Broadway musical by Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda. Executive produced by The Roots’ Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tarik “Black Thought” Trotter, The Hamilton Mixtape sees songs from the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical covered and remixed by a remarkable cast of contemporary artists. Superstars contributing to the one of its kind collection include Sia, Usher, Kelly Clarkson, The Roots, Alicia Keys, Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Chance The Rapper, John Legend, Regina Spektor, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Miguel, Queen Latifah, Common, Ben Folds, Andra Day, Jill Scott, Jimmy Fallon and more. The Hamilton Mixtape also includes three previously unreleased Hamilton demos.
The Weeknd – Starboy 2xLP (Republic)
Released last November on CD – now available on vinyl. The Weeknd’s third studio album features guest contributions from Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey, Future and Kendrick Lamar.
NEXT WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
RYAN ADAMS – Prisoner CD/LP (ltd edition red vinyl)
ORWELLS – Terrible Human Beings CD/LP
ROBERT RANDOLPH FAMILY BAND – Got Soul CD/LP
ALISON KRAUSS – Windy City CD/Deluxe CD/LP
BING & RUTH – No Home Of The Mind CD/LP
MOLLY BURCH – Please Be Mine CD/LP
TIM DARCY (Ought) – Saturday Night CD/LP
EISLEY – I’m Only Dreaming CD/LP
HANNI EL KHATIB – Savage Times CD/LP\
GRAILS – Chalice Hymnal CD/LP
NIKKI LANE – Highway Queen CD/LP
JENS LEKMAN – Life Will See You Now CD/LP
MIND OVER MIRRORS – Undying Color CD/LP
STRAND OF OAKS – Hard Love CD/LP
SON VOLT – Notes Of Blue CD/LP
NEW ORDER – Be Music CD/LP
LIFE TO EXPERIENCE – Texas Jerusalem Crossroads LP
MAJEURE – Apex LP
PARQUET COURTS – Captive Of The Sun LP