KARATE – Time Expired 5xLP (Numero)
At the turn of the century and after three albums, Karate’s tenure within the insular east coast indie rock scene had expired, but the band was just getting started. Collected here is the band’s spacious, adventurous, and sometimes difficult second half presented in fastidious detail. This five-LP box includes the trio’s Unsolved double LP (including three previously unissued period appropriate tracks), Some Boots, and Pockets albums, plus a first-time vinyl pressing of their Cancel/Sing EP, all annotated by Geoff Farina’s account of Karate’s adulthood and Andy Hong’s insights into the trio’s recording process. [A limited-edition ‘cacophony’ color pressing is available.]

BLACK LIPS – Good Bad Not Evil [Reissue/2007] 2xLP (Fire)
Bending scuzzy boundaries, Good Bad Not Evil is a coming-of-age garage rock classic record. Full of hedonistic delinquent anthems, the fourth studio album from Atlanta punks Black Lips reaches its 15-year anniversary. This deluxe edition includes unearthed photos and new liner notes from Jared Swilley and King Khan. The second disc features B-sides and rarities. [A limited-edition blue color vinyl pressing is available.]

ANTIBALAS – Self Titled LP
10th anniversary edition of their 2012 Daptone debut album. The unstoppable, irresistible rhythms and melodies of Antibalas have influenced scores of artists across rock, hip hop, afrobeat, and beyond.

NADA SURF – Let Go [Reissue/2002] 2xLP+MP3 (Barsuk)
Limited double turquoise color vinyl pressing. 20th Anniversary edition of the third album from the alternative rock band.

PHANTOGRAM – Eyelid Movies 2xLP (Barsuk)
Deluxe black w/ yellow color vinyl pressing. Phantogram’s music sounds like it’s made by a band from the city. Electronic loops, hip-hop beats, shoegaze, soul and pop each finds its way into their songs.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS – The Might Be Giants [Reissue/1986] LP (Idlewild)
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS – Apollo 18 [Reissue/1986] LP (Idlewild)
They Might Be Giants, sometimes called The Pink Album, is the debut studio album from Brooklyn-based band They Might Be Giants. It was originally released in 1986. The album generated two singles, “Don’t Let’s Start” and “(She Was A) Hotel Detective”. Apollo 18, TMG’s fourth album, was released in 1992 through Elektra Records and was named after the canceled Apollo 18 mission that was scheduled to have followed Apollo 17. The album was also associated with International Space Year, for which They Might Be Giants were declared the official “musical ambassadors” by NASA.

BRANDI CARLILE– In These Silent Days (Deluxe Edition) In The Canyon Haze 2xLP (Elektra)
Deluxe indie store exclusive vinyl edition of Brandi Carlile’s 2021 album, In These Silent Days. Includes a bonus 10 track LP that contains acoustic versions of the album’s tracks plus a cover of “Space Oddity”. In These Silent Days is the follow-up to her 2018 album By The Way, I Forgive You, and she recorded it at Nashville’s RCA Studio A with producers Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings. In These Silent Days chronicles acceptance, faith, loss and love and channel icons like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and Joni Mitchell – the latter two who, by some sort of cosmic alignment of the stars, have turned out to be close friends in addition to being her biggest heroes and inspirations.

THE FLAMING LIPS – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (20^th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) 6xCD (WB)
Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition includes the original album, two EPs from the era, B-sides, demos, remixes, radio sessions, two concerts, and other assorted rarities. There are 100 tracks on the CD box set, of which over 50 are previously unreleased. The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots was released in 2002 and is the band’s best-selling album, certified Gold in the US with over 700,000 albums sold. The album features one of the band’s most iconic songs – “Do You Realize?” – plus the singles “Fight Test”, “Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell”, and the title track. [Vinyl edition due April 14.]

BRIGHT EYES – Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground: A Companion 12” (Dead Oceans)
BRIGHT EYES – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning: A Companion 12” (Dead Oceans)
BRIGHT EYES – Digital Ash In A Digital Urn: A Companion 12” (Dead Oceans)
Gold color vinyl Companion EPs featuring alternate/demo/previously unreleased versions of songs from Bright’s Eyes’ fourth, fifth, and sixth albums. “The first three are innocent in a way, because we didn’t have an audience when we were making them,” Oberst says. “But from Lifted on, I was definitely aware of an audience. Lifted was well-received right away, and then everything happened with Wide Awake and Digital Ash.” Those two albums came out simultaneously. And their lead singles – “Take It Easy (Love Nothing),” from the austere, remote Digital Ash, and “Lua,” from the warm, folky Wide Awake – debuted in the top two slots on the Billboard Hot 100. “First Day Of My Life”, also from Wide Awake, would later be voted the Number One love song of all time by NPR Music’s reader’s poll. Bright Eyes had officially broken through. It was a heady, exciting time, but also fraught and tense, both because of the band’s careening new fame, and because of the state of the world.

HEAD AND THE HEART – Every Shade Of Blue CD/LP (Warner)
The band reflected on their experience making their previous album, Living Mirage. They knew the unspoken conflict is what made the recording process difficult. Turning to focus on their mental health, the band undertook group therapy to work on their relationships and to conquer the idolized self-hatred expected of artists. “We’re a band. Like we’re artists. We’re supposed to be damaged. We’re supposed to be moody,” Russell says.  “We’re supposed to be coo. But to be honest with you, the making of the Living Mirage record was so challenging. Then to tour on a record that was made in a challenging way was so revealing that let’s be honest, and let’s be adults about this, if we don’t love ourselves and love one another, the music turns to garbage, the relationships reflect the art, and vice versa.”  “The more you can trust and feel the ability to be vulnerable as you’re making art, you make way bolder statements. You don’t guard yourself. Songwriting is its own form of therapy for all of us.”

RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK – Blacknuss [Reissue/1972] LP (Pure Pleasure)
From its opening bars with Bill Salter’s bass and Rahsaan’s flute passionately playing Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine”, you know this isn’t an ordinary Kirk album (were any of them?). As the string section, electric piano, percussion, and Cornel Dupree’s guitar slip in the back door, one can feel the deep soul groove Kirk is bringing to the jazz fore here.

DURAN DURAN – Future Past (Complete Edition) 2xLP (BMG)
Expanded double-LP pressing on red and green vinyl. Future Past is the fifteenth studio album by the British band Duran Duran, released October 2021. It is the band’s first album to be released through BMG, and their first since 2015’s Paper Gods six years prior. The album, co-produced by the band alongside Mark Ronson, Giorgio Moroder and Erol Alkan, also features guest appearances by Tove Lo, Ivorian Doll, Japanese band Chai, and Mike Garson. Blur’s Graham Coxon is the guitarist on the album.

TYPE O NEGATIVE – The Origin Of The Feces (Not Live At Brigthon Beach) [Reissue/1992] 2xLP (The Rouge)
30th Anniversary edition. The second album from Type O Negative, The Origin Of The Feces was recorded in a studio, but a fake audience track was added to give the illusion of a live album. The cover of the original release had an up-close picture of an anus (reputed to belong to frontman Peter Steele). Subsequent reissues feature a different cover, a black and green portrait of 1493 painting The Dance Of Death. This edition features the original “explicit” cover art with peelable scratch ‘n’ sniff sticker, a Dance Of Death fold out exclusive poster, green and black mixed color vinyl and deluxe packaging.

DAFT PUNK – Homework (Remixes) CD/2xLP (Daft Life)
To continue the celebration of the 25^th anniversary of their critically acclaimed Homework album: Homework Remixes, a collection of 1997/98 remixes. The release includes remixes from I:Cube, Roger Sanchez & Junior Sanchez, Motorbass, DJ Sneak, Masters At Work, Todd Terry, Slam, and Ian Pooley.

POLVO – In Prism LP (Merge)
Vinyl LP pressing. In Prism is the best Polvo record even before you get to the majestic “A Link in the Chain,” serene and tempestuous like few other things you’ll hear. The album was recorded with Brian Paulson and Polvo has never sounded better. Polvo spent 1990-98 giving voice to a chorus of discrete rock & roll ideas that really hadn’t been heard before. While there was nothing wrong before, it’s now so much more right perhaps because after ten years, after other bands and their tours and records and worries (if they had any), none of the peripheral stuff matters anymore. – Mike Wolf, NYC, 6/09

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER – Quietly Blowing It (Deluxe) LP (Merge)
Deluxe re-press of critically acclaimed 2021 album Quietly Blowing It on a new vinyl color, housed in its original upside down flag artwork with a note from M.C. Taylor about why he decided to change the art at the very last second.

DAVID BOWIE – Divine Symmetry 4CD+Blu-Ray (Rhino)
4 CD+1 Blu-Ray book set covering the development of the 1971 album Hunky Dory. It will feature demos, new alternative mixes by original co-producer Ken Scott, the early mixes, a legendary live show from September 1971, a BBC Session and BBC In Concert from 1971 all on CD. The Blu-Ray features the definitive 2015 remaster of the original Hunky Dory album and an alternative journey through the album using the alternative mixes also featured is the September, 1971 BBC session in 96kHz/24bit stereo and a bonus of the ‘Life On Mars?’ 2016 mix in both 96kHz/24bit stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS – Live At The Fillmore 1997 CD/4xCD/3xLP/6xLP (WB)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers famously played 20 nights at the legendary Fillmore venue in San Francisco in 1997. Six of the shows were professionally recorded and this release features many of the high points of the residency. The small venue allowed the band to vary their sets each night; they included re-arranged and distinctive versions of their hits, deep cuts, and many cover versions – paying tribute to the artists that Tom and the band had been influenced by. The four-CD and six-LP deluxe editions includes 58 tracks, 35 of which are covers – over 4 hours of music. The 6 LPs are packaged in a box with a 24 page (12″ x 12″) booklet (with previously unseen photographs), 3 custom guitar picks, a replica All Access laminate, facsimiles of 3 set lists, a reprint of the 8-page Fan Newsletter published in 1997, and an embroidered patch (“The Fillmore House Band” – a term that was bestowed on The Heartbreakers during the shows at the Fillmore). [Each set is packaged in a box with a booklet (with previously unseen photographs), three custom guitar picks, a replica All Access laminate, and an embroidered patch (“The Fillmore House Band” – a term that was bestowed on The Heartbreakers during the shows at the Fillmore). The vinyl box adds facsimiles of three set lists, a reprint of the eight-page Fan Newsletter published in 1997.]

CURE – Wish CD (Deluxe 3CD (Elektra)
Three CD 30th Anniversary Edition of The Cure’s best-selling, Grammy-nominated album. This deluxe 45 track edition – compiled by Robert Smith – features 24 previously unreleased tracks and four new to CD tracks across three discs. Disc 1 contains the original album, newly remastered by Robert Smith and Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Disc 2 features 21 previously unreleased demos, including four studio vocal demos from 1990 and seventeen instrumental demos from 1991, nine of which are previously unreleased songs. Disc 3 features the four tracks from the mail-order only cassette Lost Wishes released in 1993, which have never appeared on CD or digitally. [Single-CD version also available. A double-picture disc vinyl pressing is available as an RSD exclusive.]

THE DANDY WARHOLS – The Black Album LP+MP3 (Little Cloud)
Riding off the debut hype of 1995’s Dandys Rule Ok, this batch of songs saw a band spinning into an unknown.

COMING NEXT WEEK
MONO – Scarlett Holiday LP
POLVO – Self Titled LP reissue
BEACH BOYS – Sail On Sailor CD/LP
BRENDAN BENSON – Low Key LP
FUCKED UP – Hidden World LP
JERRY GARCIA – Garcia (50th Anniv) LP
ADAM GREEN – That Fucking Feeling LP
PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS – Levitation Sessions LP
BLUE MITCHELL – Bring It Home To Me LP
JAZZ IS DEAD – 11 LP
NEIL YOUNG – Harvest 50th Anniv LP
UNSANE – Self Titled LP reissue