Pinegrove – 11:11 CD/LP (Rough Trade)
Pinegrove’s new album 11:11 is an unqualified triumph, an album that seizes listeners with hook-filled songs imbuing feelings of warmth, urgency, and poetic beauty, even as it asks some of life’s big and difficult questions. On previous Pinegrove recordings, band member Sam Skinner usually oversees mixing duties, but this time out, noted producer and former Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla has assumed the role. Calling previous album Marigold’s production “crisp and contained,” Hall, who co-produced 11:11 with Sam, sought more of a “messier” feel for these new songs. The album features lush soundscapes, organs, Megan Benavente’s melodic and adventurous bass playing, Josh Marre’s signature guitar work and a special guest – Doug Hall, Evan’s father- playing piano on many tracks. The record sounds intimate, yet expansive. [A limited edition translucent red color vinyl pressing is available.]

Anteloper – Kudu LP (International Anthem)
Anteloper is the electric brainchild of Jaimie Branch (Fly Or Die, High Life) and Jason Nazary (Little Women, Helado Negro, Bear In Heaven). Branch and Nazary have been playing together as trumpeter and drummer for years, since meeting at the New England Conservatory of Music in 2002, but in this duo both musicians include synthesizers to push further into the spectral spaceship ether. With deep rhythmic passages, telepathic improvisations and effortless melodic negotiations, Anteloper pushes forward, swinging its horns all the while. [A limited-edition indie store exclusive blue color vinyl pressing is available.]

St. Paul & The Broken Bones – Alien Coast CD/LP (ATO/Virgin)
A fever dream in sonic form, The Alien Coast is the first album St. Paul & The Broken Bones recorded in their hometown of Birmingham. Produced by Matt Ross-Spang, the bands fourth full-length is a dizzying convergence of rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, psychedelia, stoner metal, gospel and jazz-funk. At turns explosive, elegant, and thrillingly unhinged – it makes for a majestic backdrop to the group’s visceral exploration of the strangest dimensions of the human psyche. [A limited-edition indie store exclusive gold color vinyl pressing is also available.]

Anaïs Mitchell – Anaïs Mitchell CD (BMG)
Anaïs Mitchell returns with her first solo studio album in over a decade. “The sound is gently polished and the songs richly melodic enough to bear comparison with Taylor Swift in downhome mode (both Mitchell and Swift contributed vocals to Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s last album as Big Red Machine), but the whole enterprise is noticeably low-key. Around Mitchell’s acoustic guitar are delicate shimmers of tremolo-heavy guitar or electric piano; little smears of electronics so subtly placed you barely notice them first time around; the occasional sax solo courtesy of Bon Iver sideman Michael Lewis, sprawling gracefully in a way that recalls the same instrument’s use on Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter, as well as Lewis’s work on Gayngs’ small-hours soft rock-inspired album Relayted. Even the drums are gently tapped: rimshots rather than snares; brushes and soft mallets rather than drumsticks. That the musical scenery is shot in soft focus draws the listener’s attention to Mitchell’s distinctive voice…” – The Guardian [Vinyl edition – including an indie store exclusive pressing – due March 25.]

Earthless – Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons CD/2xLP (Nuclear Blast)
There’s an ancient Japanese legend in which a horde of demons, ghosts and other terrifying ghouls descend upon the sleeping villages once a year. Known as Hyakki Yagyō, or the Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons, one version of the tale states that anyone who witnesses this otherworldly procession will die instantly-or be carried off by the creatures of the night. As a result, the villagers hide in their homes, lest they become victims of these supernatural invaders. Such is the inspiration for the latest album from Earthless. Whereas 2018’s Black Heaven featured shorter songs and vocals from guitarist Isaiah Mitchell on much of the album-an unprecedented move for the San Diego power trio- their latest is a return to the epic instrumentals Earthless made their unmistakable name on. Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons is comprised of two monster songs – the 41-minute, two-part title track and the 20-minute “Death To The Red Sun”. [A gold color vinyl featuring an etched D-side is available.]

Simone Felice – All The Bright Coins CD/LP (Chysalis)
Simone Felice has long dedicated his storied life to the arts, and perhaps his brushes with death during childhood as heard in the song “No Tomorrows” have proved an unlikely but powerful source of inspiration. All The Bright Coins is his latest, arguably greatest devotion to song and the power of the words within it.

PJ Harvey – Let England Shake LP reissue LP+MP3 (Island)
Demos CD/LP should hopefully arrive next week.
A collection of unreleased demos of tracks written for the eighth PJ Harvey studio album Let England Shake, including demos of “The Words That Maketh Murder”, “The Glorious Land” and “The Last Living Rose”. Features brand new artwork – the cover is a drawing by Polly, and the package also includes previously unseen photos by Seamus Murphy. Mastering by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering, under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey producer John Parish. [A 180gm vinyl reissue of the original album is also available this week.]

Lady Wray – Piece Of Me 2xCD/LP (Big Crown)
The sophomore full length offering from Lady Wray is something of a homecoming for Nicole. Where her 2016 solo debut Queen Alone leaned more towards soul and R&B with tinges of hip-hop, this record changes the mixture. It’s still R&B with the textures of analog soul, but there is a heavy hip-hop influence that brings the sum of Nicole’s career together in a new sound that will define her future. Boom-bap drums and chunky bass lines are front-and-center creating a perfect head-nodding backdrop for Lady Wray to take on the good, the bad, the difficult, and the joyful on her most personal collection of songs to date. [An indie store exclusive deep emerald color vinyl pressing is available.]

The Weeknd – Dawn FM CD (Xo)
Dawn FM is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. The album is narrated by Jim Carrey, and features guest appearances from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne. The production was handled by The Weeknd himself alongside Oneohtrix Point Never – who produced most of the tracks-as well as Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Calvin Harris, and Swedish House Mafia, among others. The album serves as a follow-up to The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, After Hours (2020). [Vinyl edition due April 29.]

Lucinda Williams – Lu’s Jukebox Vol. 6: You Are Cordially Invited….A Tribute To The Rolling Stones CD/2xLP (Highway 20)
Lu’s Jukebox is a six-volume series of mostly full-band performances recorded live at Ray Kennedy’s Room & Board Studio in Nashville, TN. Each volume features a themed set of songs by other artists curated by the multi-Grammy award winner, Lucinda Williams. The series aired as ticketed shows through Mandolin in late 2020 with a portion of ticket sales benefiting independent music venues struggling to get by through the pandemic.

Tori Amos – Ocean To Ocean 2xLP (Verve)
Released last fall on CD – now available on vinyl. Despite the various crises that have occurred since 2017’s Native Invader, Tori Amos has emerged with Ocean To Ocean, her most personal work in years – an album bursting with warmth and connection, with deep roots in her earliest song writing. Written during the third lockdown in Cornwall in 2021, Ocean To Ocean is a universal story of going to rock bottom and renewing yourself all over again.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ‎– Beat The Devil’s Tattoo [Reissue/2010] 2xLP (Vagrant)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ‎– Specter At The Feast [Reissue/2013] 2xLP (Vagrant)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ‎– Wrong Creatures [Reissue/2018] 2xLP (Vagrant)
BRMC’s fifth, sixth, and seventh albums are back in-print on vinyl.

Fruit Bats – Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud: Slow Growers, Sleeper Hits and Lost Songs (2001–2021) 2xLP+MP3 (Merge)
Limited-edition pink and violet vinyl pressing. Eric D. Johnson, the creative force behind Fruit Bats, doesn’t spend a lot of time looking in the rear view mirror. But with the 20th anniversary of his first Fruit Bats release (2001’s Echolocation) on his mind, it seemed as good a time as any to take stock of his work-and he’s doing so in the form of Sometimes A Cloud Is Just A Cloud: Slow Growers, Sleeper Hits And Lost Songs (2001-2021), a two-disc collection that tracks the history of Fruit Bats from its earliest days to right now. 

The Innocence Mission – Now The Day Is Over [Reissue/2004] LP (Badman)
Now The Day Is Over has become a favorite amongst Innocence Mission fans since its initial release in 2004. Jazz-tinged and dreamy, it’s a timeless record of standards and traditional songs that singer Karen Peris sang to her children as lullabies. This consistent seller from one of America’s longest running indie rock bands is now available on vinyl for the first time and features new artwork (created by Peris) and a new version of the song “Edelweiss” that is available only on this LP.

Jónsi – Without Remorse (Original Motion Picture Score) LP (Krunk)
An elite Navy SEAL (Michael B. Jordan) uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife in Without Remorse, the explosive origin story of action hero John Clark – one of the most popular characters in author Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan universe. Jónsi’s (Sigur Rós) score is 23 tracks of pure action, adrenaline and anxiety. “For one whole year Jónsi has devoted himself to finding the soul of Without Remorse,” says director Stefano Sollima. “The complexity, sophistication and elegance of his composition adds incredible depth to the story, which I recommend experiencing on vinyl. I’m sure I will.”

Charlie Megira – The Abtomatic Miesterzinger Mambo Chic [Reissue/2000] LP (Numero)
On his 2000 debut, Da Abtomatic Meisterzinger Mambo Chic, Megira channels the optimism of post-war America, narcoleptic surf, and the Twin Peaks soundtrack into a lo-fi masterpiece all his own. Sung in both Hebrew and English, Mambo Chic moves at a deliberate pace, unconcerned by the traffic of the modern world and wrapped in a blanket of Tascam 4-track hiss. On “Tomorrow’s Gone” Megira achieves the feat of being so far back in time that he’s somehow living in the future and waiting for the rest of us to arrive. [A limited-edition red/black/yellow multicolor vinyl pressing is available.]

Wiz Khalifa – Kush & Orange Juice [Reissue/2010] LP (Rostrum)
Wiz Khalifa’s classic mixtape, Kush & Orange Juice, became a viral sensation and garnered critical acclaim when it was originally released in 2010. Now available on standard black vinyl in a gatefold jacket.

Odonis Odonis – Spectrums LP (Felte)
On Spectrums, Odonis Odonis showcase the extreme ends of their musical margins. Embracing a love of ‘80s goth and darkwave melodicism while maintaining an industrial strength intensity, the dualities of their sound are revealed in a striking new light. With four albums under their belts, the Toronto-based duo of Dean Tzenos and Denholm Whale have always followed creative impulses wherever they might take them. Yet while tracing their earliest experiments with surf-rock and shoegaze into more recent dabblings in abrasive EBM, they have never sounded as sonically boundless as this compilation of tracks.