STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Willi Carlisle and Link Wray
Dario – Karate reissue and Past Lives soundtrack
Kimber – Karate Reissue
Jake – Past Lives soundtrack
Zach –  Eccentric Soul comp

J Mascis – What Do We Do Now CD/LP/Cassette (Sub Pop)
What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, “J’s week beats your year.” What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. [A limited-edition translucent purple color vinyl pressing is available.]

Various – The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes CD/LP (Geffen)
The official soundtrack to the highly anticipated new film in the Hunger Games saga. The soundtrack was executive-produced by nine-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson) and features “Can’t Catch Me Now”, written and performed by Olivia Rodrigo. [A limited-edition orange color vinyl pressing is available.]

Aaliyah – Aaliyah [Reissue/2001] LP (Blackground)
Aaliyah is the self-titled third and final studio album by the “Queen of Urban Pop”, Aaliyah. Originally released in 2001 by Blackground Records, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Cited by critics as one of the best R&B records of its time, the album is a reflection of herself as both a young adult and matured vocalist. Standout tracks include “We Need A Resolution”, “More Than A Woman”, and “Rock The Boat”.

Alkaline Trio – Remains [Reissue/2006] 2xLP (Vagrant)
Double LP vinyl pressing of Alkaline Trio’s 2006 compilation album, featuring 22 tracks taken from previous EPs, B-sides, live recordings, and more.

Willi Carlisle – Critterland LP (Signature Sounds)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. For folk singer Willi Carlisle, singing is healing. And by singing together, he believes we can begin to reckon with the inevitability of human suffering and grow in love. On Critterland, Carlisle invites audiences to join him: “If we allow ourselves to sing together, there’s a release of sadness, maybe even a communal one. And so, for me personally, singing, like the literal act of thinking through suffering, is really freeing,” he says. Rooted in the eclectic world of his live shows, Carlisle’s third album was produced by Grammy-nominated Darrell Scott. Critterland is a wild romp through the backwaters of his mind and America, lingering in the odd corners of human nature to visit obscure oddballs, dark secrets and complicated truths about the beauty and pain of life and love.

Medeski Medeski Wood – It’s A Jungle In Here [Reissue/1993] LP (Real Gone Music)
The trio of John Medeski, Billy Martin, and Chris Wood did as much to reinvigorate and reimagine jazz as anybody over the last three decades. Now, Real Gone Music is proud to provide the band’s classic second album It’s A Jungle in Here its first widespread vinyl release. That this record includes covers of tunes by John Coltrane, King Sunny Ade, and a mash-up of Bob Marley with Thelonious Monk speaks volumes as to Medeski Martin & Wood’s fresh approach to the jazz tradition; but their ability to compose and perform startlingly original material is what really sets them apart.

Grant-Lee Phillips – Ladies’ Love Oracle [Reissue/2000] LP (Yep Roc)
“Ladies’ Love Oracle is me in the raw, me in the dark, me in the basement. Sometimes a sketch says more than a mural” is what singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Grant-Lee Phillips said back in 1999 about his forthcoming debut solo record. Recorded over the course of three days in the basement studio of Jon Brion (the Grammy-winning producer of Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann and many more), Ladies’ Love Oracle was released following the dissolution of Grant Lee Buffalo, the widely celebrated trio that first brought Phillips to national prominence. The album was met with critical acclaim upon release, with AllMusic declaring that “Phillips joins the gilded ranks of Bob Mould, Mark Eitzel, and Kristin Hersh – songwriters who have flourished alone in the wakes of their respective bands.” For the 25th anniversary of Ladies’ Love Oracle, the album is being released on vinyl for the first time. The album has been remastered for vinyl by Mike Westbrook and is pressed on translucent orange color vinyl.

Phish – Round Room [Reissue/2002] 2xLP (Jemp)
Double 180gm split color vinyl pressing housed in gatefold jacket. Round Room was recorded at The Barn in Vermont by Bryce Goggin during four days over two weekends in October 2002. The songs were written mainly by Trey Anastasio and Tom Marshall, with the title track and “Mock Song” by Mike Gordon. The Round Room sessions were initially intended as rehearsals for the band’s upcoming end-of-hiatus New Year’s Eve show at Madison Square Garden, giving the recording a loose, live feel with several extended tracks like “Pebbles And Marbles”, “Seven Below”, “Walls Of The Cave”, and “Waves”.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise – Seven + Mary [Reissue/2013] LP (RKS Recordings LLC)
Rainbow Kitten Surprise – RKS [Reissue/2015] LP (RKS Recordings LLC)
Vinyl reissues of the first two albums by the genre-defying, Nashville-based quintet.

The Stone Roses – Sally Cinnamon [Reissue/1987] 12” (Revolver UK)
Two new colorways: cream and clear. Contains eight tracks including original release and live versions.

Sun Ra – A Fireside Chat With Lucifer [Reissue/1983] LP (Modern Harmonic)
Yellow colorway. An F-bomb saturated hip-hop call and response club cut…from Sun Ra?! While the most renowned track in this omniversal opus is the atomic expletive-filled repartee “Nuclear War,” there is so much more to this dark mysterious journey through the mind of Sun Ra. The sprawling, suite-like 20-minute title track sustains a lyrical edge despite an open framework and textures, which encourage sonorities to surface and emerge from the band as if there was no human intention behind them. In opposition to “Nuclear War,” Ra’s organ playing here was built less on bombast and sonic terror than it is on whispers, stutters, shivers, and swells. Fireside Chat offers a wide stylistic array, as was the artist’s intent, reflecting his eclectic, seemingly irreconcilable approach to compositional extremes. With Sun Ra you get everything… except predictability.

Various Artists – Eccentric Soul: The Shoestring Label LP (Numero)
Operating in a basement studio at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, pipeline man Howard Neal and his appropriately named Shoestring label was Alton, Illinois’ answer to a question no one asked. Pressed in minuscule numbers and barely outside the 62002 zip code, the singles by The James Family, Jimmie Green, Pete & Cheez, and Carletta Sue are prime examples of cosmic midwestern disco in search of a break. This heavy weight 10-song LP is housed in a tip-on sleeve and includes an essay and imagery that complete the picture of this pure expression of small-town soul. [An opaque dark green colorway is available.]

Amy Winehouse – Frank [Reissue/2003] Picture Disc Vinyl (Republic)
Years before Amy Winehouse garnered international attention with Back To Black, the sassy British Soul singer put herself on the UK music map with her 2003 debut, Frank. Nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, the record glides along on the subtly jazzy production of Salaam Remi, which allows Winehouse’s expressive voice to shine, particularly on the trip-hop-tinged “Stronger Than Me”, the powerful “You Sent Me Flying”, and the sultry “I Heard Love Is Blind”. Now available on picture disc vinyl.

Link Wray – Jack The Ripper [Reissue/1963] LP (Sundazed Music)
With his rawboned and ravaged instrumentals from the early ’60s, Link Wray single-handedly made the guitar the ultimately cool instrument of choice for a whole new generation. Wielding a Danelectro Longhorn, Link Wray-who created the blueprint for everyone from the Kingsmen to the Cramps with his flame-throwing sound-proceeded to outdo himself with this rare LP from 1963, now corralled on this exact-repro, in crunchily perfect sound courtesy of the original Swan mono master tapes.

Christopher Bear & Daniel Rossen – Past Lives Original Soundtrack LP (A24)
Original Soundtrack for A24’s Past Lives, featuring original score by Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear) and the original song “Quiet Eyes” by Sharon Van Etten. Pressed on cloud white vinyl, with original paintings by renowned artist Na Kim.

Karate – Some Boots LP (Numero)
On 2002’s Some Boots, Boston indie rock trio Karate further plumb the depths of their omnidirectional musical explorations. Every chord and beat works to deepen the pensiveness of Geoff Farina’s impressionistic lyrics that explore the emotional complexities of nostalgia. The eight-song LP is housed in a tip-on jacket, and includes a replica lyric sheet for the original kids and spies alike.

Maserati – Pyramid Of The Sun LP (Anniversary Edition) (Temporary Residence)
Originally released in 2010, Pyramid of the Sun was Maserati’s landmark album. It was the band’s final recording with drummer Jerry Fuchs, completed and released one year after his tragic passing. It became their defining album, and remains the keystone of Maserati’s storied catalog. As the final piece in the celebration of Maserati’s 20th anniversary, Pyramid of the Sun – Anniversary Edition has been repackaged, remastered from the original master tapes by Josh Bonati, and augmented with a scorching live set from the 2009 SXSW Music Conference. Also included are the side-long bonus tracks, “Pyramid of the Moon” and “Pyramid of the Moon (The Field Remix).”

COMING NEXT WEEK
BRITTANY HOWARD – What Now CD/LP
CHELSEA WOLFE – She Reaches Out To She CD
HELADO NEGRO – Phasor LP
BURIAL – Dreamfear/Boy Send From Above 12″
BRITISH SEA POWER – Do You Like Rock Music CD/LP
AMERICAN ANALOG SET – New Drifters 5LP 15 Anniversary Edition
DON CABALLERO – American Don LP reissue
MADI DIAZ – Weird Faith CD/LP
ITASCA – Imitation Of War CD/LP
MARISSA NADLER – July LP
ORGONE – Chimera CDLP
USHER – Coming Home LP
FRANZ FERDINAND – Self-Titled LP reissue
MEAT PUPPETS – II CD/LP reissue
SEATBELTS –  COWBOY BEBOP: The Real Folk Blues Legends LP