STAFF PICKS
Kimber – Steve Gunn, Twilight Sad
Lindsay – Sharon Van Etten, Deerhunter, Steve Gunn
Dario – Deerhunter
Paula – M. Ward, Pedro the Lion

JUST ANNOUNCED PRE-ORDERS

Durand Jones & The Indications – American Love Call (pre-order)
Cherry Glazer – Stuffed And Ready (pre-order)
Piroshka – Brickbat (pre-order)
Ex Hex – It’s Real (pre-order)

THIS WEEK’S NEW RELEASES

Deerhunter – Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? CD/LP+MP3 (4AD)
Deerhunter’s eighth LP forgets the questions and makes up unrelated answers. It gets up, walks around, it records itself in several strategic geographic points across North America. It comes home, restructures itself and goes back to bed to avoid the bad news. From the opening harpsichord and piano figures of “Death in Midsummer”, it is impossible to tell where the record came from. Is “No One’s Sleeping” an outtake of an aborted Kinks recording session in 1977 Berlin with Eno producing? No. That is nostalgia. If there is one thing Deerhunter are making clear it is that they have exhausted themselves with that toxic concept.

The Flesh Eaters – I Used To Be Pretty CD/LP+MP3 (Yep Roc)
One of Los Angeles punk rock’s most widely admired yet little-heard bands makes a striking return with a new album. On I Used To Be Pretty, Flesh Eaters founding vocalist/songwriter Chris Desjardins is backed by the legendary all-star edition of the band, originally heard on the 1981 set A Minute To Pray, A Second to Die: Dave Alvin (guitar) and Bill Bateman (drums) of the Blasters; John Doe (bass) and D.J. Bonebrake (marimba and percussion) of X; and Steve Berlin (saxophones) of the Plugz (and later the Blasters and Los Lobos).

Steve Gunn – The Unseen In Between CD/LP+MP (Matador)
Getting to The Unseen In Between itself was not easy for Steve Gunn. In the summer of 2016, Gunn released Eyes On The Lines, his winning and elliptical debut for Matador. It should have been a triumphant moment, but exactly two weeks later, Gunn’s father and namesake died following a two-year struggle with cancer. This experience yielded the emotional centerpiece of the album. “Stonehurst Cowboy” is a duet for Gunn’s raw acoustic guitar and spare basslines by Bob Dylan’s musical director Tony Garnier, who’s featured throughout the album. The song distills the lessons Gunn learned from his father and it is a solemn but tender remembrance, a tribute to his father’s reputation as a tough, wise, and witty guy from far west Philadelphia.

Guster – Look Alive CD (Nettwerk)
Guster’s first new album in four years opens with a stark, haunting synth refrain and veers in unexpected directions from there. Despite having access to room after room of well-maintained analog keys, producer Leo Abrahams (Regina Spektor, Brian Eno/David Byrne, Belle and Sebastian) gravitated to a cheap Ensoniq Mirage synth from the 1980s.

Juliana Hatfield – Weird CD/LP/Cassette (American Laundromat)
Fast on the heels of 2018’s acclaimed Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John comes Juliana Hatfield’s self-produced all-originals album, Weird. Freda Love Smith (Blake Babies, Sunshine Boys) and Todd Philips (Lemonheads, The Juliana Hatfield Three) each played drums on multiple songs while Hatfield played all of the other instruments (and some additional drums). Weird is an album about disconnection and discomfort. ”I often feel cut-off from other people, from my feelings, from technology, from popular culture,” says Hatfield.

Joe Jackson – Fool CD/LP/LP+7” (earMUSIC)
Fool once again showcases Joe Jackson’s incredible musical diversity and unique artistic vision. If the album had a theme, it would be Comedy and Tragedy and the way they’re intertwined in our lives. Despite what the title may suggest, none of Jackson’s remarkable songwriting, although multi-faceted, does in any way sound foolish. It is rather a sense of masterful craftsmanship and intent that defines Fool. The listener will find jazz, classic and – of course – pop influences that fuse to make an artistically valuable experience.

Machinefabriek – With Voices CD/LP (Western Vinyl)
With Voices is the newest recording by Dutch composer Rutger Zuydervelt under the moniker Machinefabriek. True to its title, the album’s eight pieces exhibit Zuydervelt’s use of tone generators, radios, synths, and other hi-fi curio to construct bewildering aural architecture around vocal contributions from Marissa Nadler, Peter Broderick, Richard Youngs, and others.

Malibu Ken (Aesop Rock and Tobacco) – Malibu Ken CD/LP (Rhymesayers)
Aesop Rock has been credited as one of the most verbose MC’s in hip-hop today. Known for his dense and abstract wordplay, he manipulates language to illustrate elaborate stories and difficult concepts with sharp clarity. Tobacco is a member of psych-electronic band Black Moth Super Rainbow. Known for working with pre-digital electronic instruments like analog synths and tape machines, he crafts distorted, experimentalist beats that intertwine feelings of tension and anxiety with sensations of bemusement and pleasure. Together, Aesop Rock and Tobacco are Malibu Ken.

John Medeski – John Medeski’s Mad Skillet CD/LP (Indirecto)
Led by the hugely influential keyboardist and featuring guitarist Will Bernard and the legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band rhythm section of sousaphonist Kirk Joseph and drummer Terence Higgins, Mad Skillet is first and foremost a product of New Orleans.

Orgōne – Reasons CD/LP (Killion Sound)
Orgōne delivers dirty, organic, California soul with heart; music that grabs you by the collar, pulls you to your feet and shoves you wantingly onto the dance floor.

Pedro The Lion – Phoenix CD/2xLP+MP3 (Polyvinyl)
Capping off a fruitful 12-year long solo career, singer/songwriter David Bazan resurrects and reunites with both the moniker and mindset of his profoundly influential indie rock outfit, Pedro The Lion, with the follow up to their 2004 opus, Achilles Heel. The band’s new album, Phoenix, marks a return to form for the beloved group, while mapping out the emotional intricacies and childhood experiences of growing up in Phoenix, AZ – a process that would ultimately shape Bazan’s adult life.

Maggie Rogers – Heard It In A Past Life CD/LP (Capitol)
Acclaimed producer/songwriter/performer Maggie Rogers’ new album, Heard It In A Past Life, includes the Pharrell Williams endorsed song that introduced Rogers to the world, “Alaska”, as well as follow-up singles “Fallingwater”, praised by NPR as “a celebration of the terrifying yet thrilling process of change” and “Give A Little”, which Pitchfork hailed as a “cathartic pop song about empathy and unity.” Co-produced with Greg Kurstin and Kid Harpoon, Rogers describes the single “Light On” as “a letter to my fans about the last two years of my life. There was so much change that happened so fast, I wasn’t always sure how to make all this stuff feel like me.”

Soul Asylum – While You Were Out / Clam Dip & Other Delights CD (Omnivore)
Soul Asylum’s last raucous indie releases before signing to major Label, While You Were Out (1986) and the mini-album Clap Dip & Other Delights (1988) have been remastered and expanded with 7 bonus cuts, including 4 never-before released, and includes liner notes by Jon Wurster (Superchunk). While You Were Out was produced by much revered Minneapolis musician Chris Osgood, leader of the groundbreaking 1976 punk band The Suicide Commandos. This set includes the full U.K.-only EP track list of the Clam Dip & Other Delights EP.

Toro Y Moi – Outer Peace CD/LP+MP3 (Carpark)
Following the ever-emotive Boo Boo, Toro Y Moi’s new album Outer Peace is a time capsule that captures our relationship to contemporary culture into one comprehensive, sonic package. As both a producer and designer, Chaz Bear utilizes abstract sound pairings with recognizable samples for his most pop influenced record to date, including features from ABRA, WET, and Instupendo. This is no departure from his funk and disco roots, which can be heard on “Ordinary Pleasure” later fusing into variations of house with tracks like “Freelance” and “Laws Of The Universe”. Smooth interludes melt into fast paced beats, paralleling the feeling of driving through the Bay Area, where Bear spent most of his time writing the album. Outer Peace is duality. It embodies whatever form you choose to inhabit in the moment. Listen and let your imagination become the universe.

The Twilight Sad – It Won’t Be like This All The Time CD/LP (Rock Action)
From their unassuming origins as a group of school friends drawn together by a shared passion for music to the global touring force (supporting The Cure and Editors at arenas and stadiums), they have quietly become, Scotland’s The Twilight Sad’s ascent has been forged the old way with grit, graft and four exceptional studio albums. Now signed to country mates and seminal rock band, Mogwai’s Rock Action Records, the bands fifth album does not disappoint and will certainly not disappoint fans of their previous works. It will also appeal to fans of The Cure, Frightened Rabbits, The National, Interpol and Editors.

M. Ward – What A Wonderful Industry CD/LP (M. Ward Productions)
What A Wonderful Industry takes on a subtler shade of music industry beef, writing about the heroes and villains he’s encountered over 20 years. M. Ward’s solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings; he has released nine albums since 1999, primarily through independent label Merge Records. In addition to his solo work, he is a member of pop duo She & Him and folk-rock supergroup Monsters of Folk, and also participates in recording, producing, and playing with multiple other artists.

Gas – Zauberberg [Reissue/1997] 2xLP (Kompakt)
Zauberberg – Wolfgang Voigt’s most fundamental (and foreboding) release under his alias Gas and perhaps of all in his untold discography – finally stands alone once again and is released in the way it’s original splendor. Originally released in 1997 on the iconic Frankfurt imprint Mille Plateaux, and then reissued in 2016 as a part of Gas Box, Zauberberg is now released on his own label, Kompakt.

Lee Ranaldo – Electric Trim Live At Rough Trade East LP (Mute)
Recorded at London’s Rough Trade East in the autumn of 2017, this album depicts an intimate solo performance, the first UK date on his extensive Electric Trim tour before Lee Ranaldo returned later that year with the Electric Trim trio. Live At Rough Trade East extends the work of Ranaldo’s solo canon, through his collaboration with Fernandez, Ranaldo moves into some rich new sonic territories and production techniques, experimenting with electronic beats and samples alongside live players.

Shigeto – Weighted 12” (Ghostly Int’l)
Limited colored vinyl LP pressing. One year after Michigan-based artist Zach Saginaw released his third album as Shigeto, a genre-blending Detroit love letter called The New Monday, he returns with another eclectic display of affection for the musical community that makes Motor City music tick. The four new tracks on his Weighted EP, including a sumptuous remix from Detroit house luminary Andrés, continue to refine and augment the patchwork of jazz, hip-hop, and electronics that Shigeto has built his catalog with.

Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow LP (Jagjaguwar)
Remind Me Tomorrow was written in stolen time. In the four years since Are We There, Van Etten guest-starred in The OA, performed in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks revival, and wrote her first film score and song for TV – for Katherine Dieckmann’s “Strange Weather” and Tig Notaro’s documentary “Tig”. Van Etten also had a child and began studying psychology. In the scraps of hours between these endeavors, Remind Me Tomorrow was born.

NEXT WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
FIDLAR – Almost Free CD/LP
BUZZCOCKS – Another Music In A Different Kitchen CD/LP reissue
BUZZCOCKS – Love Bites CD/LP
DANDY WARHOLS – Why You So Crazy CD/LP
GREEN RIVER – Day As A Bone CD/LP reissue
GREEN RIVER– Rehab Doll CD/LP
SWERVEDRIVER – Future Ruins CD/LP
NEIL HAMBURGER – Still Dwelling CD/LP
TIM PRESLEY’S WHITE FENCE – I Have To Feed Larry’s Hawk CD/LP
MIKE KROL – Powerchords CD/LP
MONO – Nowhere Now Here CD/LP
SNEAKS – Highway Hypnosis CD/LP
WILLIAM TYLER – Goes West CD/LP
CRANES – Self-Nonself LP reissue
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL – Death By Sexy LP reissue
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL – Heart On LP reissue
SAY ANYTHING – Oliver Appropriate CD
SOULFLY – Ritual CD/LP
ANDERSON PAAK – Oxnard LP
EARL SWEATSHIRT – Some Rap Songs LP
NILS FRAHM – Encores 2 LP