This Week’s New Releases & Staff Picks – 6/28/2019
STAFF PICKS
Kimber – Outer Spaces
Lindsay – Outer Spaces, Night Moves
Dario – Outer Spaces, Daughter Of Swords
Paula – Dave Alvin, Outer Spaces
JUST ANNOUNCED PRE-ORDERS
Brittany Howard – Jaime (pre-order)
Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold (pre-order)
Various Artists – Tiny Changes: Celebration Of Frightened Rabbit’s “The Midnight Organ Fight” (pre-order)
THIS WEEK’S NEW RELEASES
The Black Keys – Lets Rock CD/LP (Nonesuch)
The Black Keys’ long-awaited album ninth album Lets Rock – the band’s first in five years – is a return to the straightforward rock of singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney’s early days. Auerbach says, “When we’re together we are The Black Keys, that’s where that real magic is, and always has been since we were sixteen.” The 12-track collection was written, tracked live, and produced by Auerbach and Carney at Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville and features backing vocals from Leisa Hans and Ashley Wilcoxson. “The record is like an homage to electric guitar,” adds Carney. “We took a simple approach and trimmed all the fat like we used to.” Rolling Stone said that with lead single “Lo/Hi”, “The Keys have officially returned, louder than ever” while the New York Times hailed it as “the kind of garage-boogie stomp that the band never left behind.” Equally as infectious follow-up single “Eagle Birds” is anchored by some stellar blues guitar work from Auerbach.
The Gotobeds – Debt Begins At 30 CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
“‘Go big or go home’ is a phrase that is seldom heard in indie/punk circles. Generally, it’s the opposite that is true. There has been a history in indie/punk of this feeling unauthentic, as authenticity only involves who plays on the album instead of what you’re saying/sound like. Pittsburgh’s The Gotobeds have decided to ignore this maxim on their third album, Debt Begins At 30. Instead of getting into a studio with each other again, they decided to invite some friends along. On every track. Yup. That’s right. Every track on Debt Begins At 30 features a guest spot. This idea is generally used in hip-hop, jazz and electronic circles, but here it works incredibly well. Musically it’s business as usual from The Gotobeds. The guitars are slightly abrasive but catchy. The bass is right where you need it and holds each track to the group, and the drums sound flawless. Overall all there is a spiky, Sonic Youth vibe but with a brash optimism that is hard to ignore.” – New Noise
Abdullah Ibrahim – The Balance CD/LP (Gearbox)
At the age of 84, Abdullah Ibrahim (aka Dollar Brand) releases his first new album in four years. Entitled The Balance, this project features his long-time septet Ekaya, a line-up that he’s been recording with since 1983. In this case, the album was recorded over the course of one day at London’s RAK Studios in November 2018. The lush horn lines, lilting melodies, and uplifting chord progressions are characteristic of Abdullah’s all-encompassing Township-Jazz. This is contrasted with various solo piano improvisations, which epitomize the nostalgic yet hopeful nature of Abdullah’s musical spirit. Hence, The Balance. In his own words: “We push ourselves out of our comfort zones. So that we can present to the listener our striving for excellence. So that we can engage with our listeners without any barriers of our ego. It’s not jazz. For us, it’s a process of transcending barriers.”
Iggy Pop – Zombie Birdhouse [Reissue/1982] CD/LP (Caroline)
After three attempts at commercially viable albums for Arista, Iggy Pop teamed up with Blondie’s Chris Stein for his album Zombie Birdhouse which was originally issued on Stein’s short-lived Animal Records label in 1982. In addition to Stein who produces and plays bass, the album also features fellow Blondie member Clem Burke on drums and Rob DuPrey on guitar and keyboards. A heady concoction of drones, Afrobeat and freeform lyrics, the exotic 12-song set finds Iggy artistically unshackled and in top form on exhilarating cuts like “Run Like A Villain” and “The Ballad Of Cookie McBride.”
The Tallest Man On Earth – I Love You. It’s A Fever Dream. CD/LP (Rivers/Birds)
“Last summer, Kristian Matsson lamented that steady touring had slowed the arrival of I Love You. It’s a Fever Dream., his fifth album as The Tallest Man On Earth. ‘I can’t write good stuff on tour,’ he complained. ‘I can’t write about life on a tour bus.’ Ironically, Fever Dream arrives as a focused and frequently lovely rumination on life lived on a tour bus. Songs unfold in hotel bars, on open roads, beneath vast blue bowls of rural sky. The rhythms of perpetual travel pulse beneath acoustic melodies that lie somewhere between Dylan and Sufjan—a few gentle, a few forceful. With depth and delicacy, Matsson explores the banalities and oddities of tour, like the phenomenon of performing for an adoring audience to whom you are a stranger. Perhaps Matsson isn’t up to writing about life on a tour bus; perhaps the spinning wheels below make him seasick. But he has written about life on a tour bus, and in so doing, located the love contained within.” – Pitchfork
Dave Alvin – King Of California [Reissue/1994] CD/2xLP (Craft Recordings)
Digitally remastered and expanded edition of this 1994 album from the former Blasters and X guitarist. A former member of various roots rock and punk bands, Alvin chose an acoustic, Americana approach for his critically acclaimed fourth solo album. Per AllMusic, King Of California showcases Alvin’s dramatic sense of phrasing and marvelous feel for the characters he’s created.
Daughter Of Swords – Dawnbreaker CD/LP (Nonesuch)
Daughter of Swords is Alexandra Sauser-Monnig of Mountain Man. Buoyed by the insistent patter of a drum machine and rich acoustic guitars, Sauser-Monnig finds herself in search of new thrills, whether pondering the fleeting nature of existence at a waterfall’s edge or watching the shapes of mountains seemingly dance beneath her headlights. While we can hear the muted, harmonica-lined boogie that begins with a vulnerable confession, a revelation of loneliness; it is, however, a low-key anthem for the open road, about giving oneself over to the infinity of solitude and an endless strip of asphalt. Sauser-Monnig captures these scenes with a painter’s eye and delivers them with a novelist’s heart.
The Allman Betts Band – Down To The River CD (BMG)
Led by Devon Allman, son of founding Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and singer, Gregg Allman, and Duane Betts, son of founding Allman Brothers Band guitarist and singer, Dickey Betts, Down To The River was recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studios with producer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine and Elvis Presley). The beginning of the partnership between Devon Allman and Duane Betts goes back to the Gregg Allman tribute show at the Fillmore in San Francisco. It was time, in that historic venue, to pass the spirit to the next generation. It was time to take all the lessons of the past, all their collective experiences, and make something new.
Night Moves – Can You Really Find Me CD/LP (Domino)
John Pelant and Micky Alfano, better known as Night Moves, have grown up. Over the past few years, they have perfected their brand of poppy psychedelia, culminating in Can You Really Find Me – their new album. The songwriting, while still steeped in super-catchy, velvety riffs and pure pop glaze, feels more sophisticated and modern. Since the pair met in high school, awestruck by such ear-candy wizards as Brian Wilson, Todd Rundgren, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, they set off to craft their version of what sophisticated, emotional modern pop music should sound, and feel like.
Outer Spaces – Gazing Globe CD/LP (Western Vinyl)
A collection of Murmur-era R.E.M.-esque power-pop songs, full of catchy guitar riffs, sonically juxtaposing Cara Beth Satalino aka Outer Spaces’ despondent perspective.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band – That’s It [Reissue/2013] CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band – So It Is [Reissue/2017] CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
At a moment when musical streams are crossing with unprecedented frequency, it’s crucial to remember that throughout its history, New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle, and resurface, transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history. The band’s 2013 and 2017 albums have been reissued by Sup Pop, who will also soon be issuing new music by the band.
Chris Staples – Holy Moly CD/LP+MP3 (Barsuk)
Following 2015’s beautifully written introspective album Golden Age, singer-songwriter Chris Staples is back with his upcoming full-length release, Holy Moly. While maintaining the authentic reflection Staples is known for in his songwriting, he has embraced a cautiously optimistic outlook for his future. Staples finds gentle melodies with his trademark stripped-back guitar, and introduces new sounds by integrating keyboards for sonically lush arrangements.
Summer Cannibals – Can’t Tell Me No CD/LP (Tiny Engines)
The Cannibals formed in 2012 and gained a fervent following on the local Portland scene, eventually playing with some their musical heroes including L7, Mudhoney, Stephen Malkmus and The War on Drugs, and touring with Ted Leo & the Pharmacists and Cursive. Can’t Tell Me No is the band’s first entirely self-engineered and produced album.
David Bowie – Mercury Demos LP (Parlophone)
Ten early Bowie recordings captured live in one take to a Revox reel to reel tape machine in Bowie’s flat in spring 1969, with accompaniment from John “Hutch” Hutchinson on guitar and vocals. Deluxe set housed in a replica of the original tape box and features one LP, a print, two photo contact sheets, and sleeve notes by Mark Adams.
David Bowie – D.J. b/w Boys Keep Swinging [Reissue/1979] 7” (Parlophone)
Limited 7” picture disc vinyl pressing. “D.J.” was the second and final single from The Lodger in the UK and the follow up to “Boys Keep Swinging”. The A side of this picture disc features a previously unreleased single edit of the track from The Lodger (2017 Tony Visconti Mix). The previously unreleased version of “Boys Keep Swinging” recorded especially for The Kenny Everett Video Show features on the AA side.
Pelican – Forever Becoming [Reissue/2013] 2xLP (Southern Lord)
A deluxe reissue of Pelican’s 2013 album Forever Becoming, featuring vastly improved mix and mastering of the original songs replete with a revised version of the previously Japan-only bonus track “Bardo”.
Rhye – Spirit LP (Loma Vista)
Limited baby pink vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. Per Mike Milosh of Rhye, the sound of Spirit was born out of falling in love with playing the piano again. “Out of the many sketches, Spirit started to take shape: a collection of songs that I did alone in the studio with just a piano, intertwined with collaborations with some of my favorite piano-based musicians. These are songs about love in my life, but also about the love for piano brought back into my life.”
COMING NEXT WEEK!
SIGUR ROS – Agaetis Byrjun – A Good Beginning Reissue 4CD/LP
SOFT CAVALRY (Rachel Goswell) – Self-Titled CD/LP
KEIJI HAINO + SUMAC – Keep Charging This Expiation Plug In The Making Better CD
PUSHA T – Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray CD/LP
NICK MURPHY / CHET FAKER – Run Fast Sleep Naked LP
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL – Amplified Heart 25th Anniversary LP reissue
JESCA HOOP – Stonechild CD/LP
JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN – Live at the BBC LP
ANDERSON PAAK – Ventura LP