STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Lucy Rose and Leyla McCalla
Dario – Leyla McCalla
Kimber – Bobby Hutcherson and Herbie Hancock reissues
Jake – Pianos Become the Teeth, BDRMM, and Cloud Nothings
Zach – Brainstory
Ash – Ai Aso

Cloud Nothings – Final Summer CD/LP (Pure Noise)
Over the past 15 years Cloud Nothings have become part of the fabric of modern indie rock with a steady run of reliably fantastic records, and this streak continues unabated with Final Summer–an album that’s so assured, so instantly satisfying, that it forces you to pause and realize you’re listening to one of the great American rock bands in their prime. Cloud Nothings recently shared Final Summer’s title track (which garnered attention from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, Stereogum, Paste, BrooklynVegan, Uproxx, and more). [An indie store exclusive half clear/half orange w/ black splatter color vinyl pressing is available.]

Pearl Jam – Dark Matter CD/CD+Blu-ray Audio/LP/regional variant LP (Republic)
Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees, Pearl Jam, return with their highly anticipated new album Dark Matter. The band’s 12th studio album was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer, Andrew Watt and is the band’s first release since Gigaton (2020). In 2023, the band retreated to Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they simply plugged in and played under the watch of producer Andrew Watt. Writing and recording in a burst of inspiration, Dark Matter was born in just three weeks. As a result, Dark Matter channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong creative confidants and brothers in one room playing as if their very lives depended on it. The album’s packaging features light painting art by Alexandr Gnezdilov. The album cover art was crafted using a large self-made kaleidoscope. Each letter visible on the cover was individually captured and handwritten midair with a specially designed flashlight to create the pearlescent effect. [An RSD Exclusive yellow and ghostly black vinyl colorway is available on April 20.]

Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department CD/2xLP (Republic)
The Tortured Poets Department is the upcoming eleventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Her latest album is a collector’s delight, featuring 16 tracks plus a unique bonus track, “The Manuscript.” The vinyl edition stands out with its 24-page book-bound jacket, enriched with three replicas of Swift’s handwritten lyrics and exclusive photos, offering an intimate peek into her creative journey. Additionally, the set includes two ‘ghosted white’ color discs encased in special sleeves adorned with more unseen photos, enhancing the album’s appeal. This carefully curated collection not only showcases Swift’s musical evolution but also serves as a tangible connection between the artist and her fans, making it a must-have for those who appreciate the blend of music and artistry. The album features two major collaborations: Post Malone, whose name is billed on track one, “Fortnight,” as well as Florence + The Machine on track eight, “Florida!!!”

Lucy Rose – This Ain’t The Way You Go Out CD/LP (Communion)
British musician Lucy Rose released a third album, No Words Left, back in 2019. It garnered the strongest critical acclaim of her career and culminated in a sell-out show at London’s Barbican theatre. It was a record that ruminated in a sort of hushed reverence, emotionally charged, and deftly delivered. Rose’s new record This Ain’t The Way You Go Out is inspired by a trip to America with friend and rapper Logic, she later worked with renowned producer Kwes to finish the record. This Ain’t The Way You Go Out is an album constructed from the ashes of despair, nurturing the tiniest of green shoots and giving life to something that had looked otherwise spent. It’s a new era for Lucy, and an era in its purest, truest sense.

Melvins – Tarantula Heart CD/LP (Ipecac Recordings)
Tarantula Heart was recorded with founding member King Buzzo on guitar, vocals and electronic noise, Dale Crover on drums and vocals, Steven McDonald on bass and vocals, special guest musicians Roy Mayorga on drums, synthesizers, and Gary Chester on extra guitar. Roy Mayorga hails from the bands Ministry, Stone Sour, Soulfly and Nausea. Gary Chester comes from the bands Ed Hall and We are the Astroid. Formed over 40 years ago in Seattle, they were one of the pioneers of the grunge and sludge metal scenes. [An indie store exclusive gray color vinyl pressing is available.]

Leyla McCalla – Sun Without the Heat CD/LP (Anti-)
On her new album Sun Without the Heat, McCalla brings more playfulness and joy than she has on previous records when she speaks to the concerns that have shaped her career, mainly including an ethos in which you must look back at lost and erased histories before you can embrace a forward vision of Afrofuturism and the importance of music making to heal and forge relationships across differences. Across Sun Without the Heat’s ten tracks, she achieves this with music that combines jazz, Haitian Twoubadou, American blues, folk and Brazilian Tropicalismo.

T-Bone Burnett – The Other Side CD/LP (Verve)
T Bone Burnett, the multi-Grammy Award-winner and living legend, returns with a solo project, The Other Side. “Waiting For You” is the lead single released with a visualizer and featuring the angelic harmonies of Lucius as its backdrop. The album promises a sweeping return to folk and form for this formidable guitarist and singer-songwriter.

Tommy Guerrero – Return of the Bastard LP reissue (Be With)
Yes! Tommy Guerrero’s revered Return Of The Bastard gets its first ever vinyl reissue. Endearingly simple but beautifully beguiling, its lo-fi dusty break business with the most elegant guitars this side of Vini Reilly and Gabor Szabo. Tommy’s breezy drum-machine guitar-soul should be prescribed to soothe an aching world. By rights, he should also be a Balearic god.

Locrian – End Terrain CD/LP (Profound Lore)
Experimental metal trio Locrian are a prophetic voice of decline and a pioneering force in the world of metal. Their sonic tapestry weaves elements of black metal, ambient, and experimental music, creating a genre-defying experience that pushes the boundaries of conventional metal norms. Their new album End Terrain is the proper follow-up to 2015’s Infinite Dissolution (Relapse Records) and continues in the vein of their distinguishable sonic blueprint brought forth from said release along with other Relapse Records-released. 2022 saw their return with their Profound Lore debut New Catastrophism, in which the trio explored and returned back to the experimental side of their roots. 

Ai Aso – Lone [Reissue/2014] CD/LP (Ideologic Organ)
Ai Aso – Faintest Hint [Reissue/2020] LP (Ideologic Organ)
Tokyo’s Ai Aso (朝生愛, Asō Ai) is a Japanese psychedelic pop singer-songwriter whose work has a whisper-thin acid folk quality to it. She started performing as a solo singer around 2000. Her solo work, infrequent collaborations with White Heaven members You Ishihara and Michio Kurihara, Yurayura Teikoku, and Boris bring a level of fragility and hypnotism to the stage recalling lost memories, small flavors of COIL and serial playing on the verge of evaporation. As for her recent activities, she has performed on bills together with Sunn O))), Boris, Masaki Batoh (Ghost), Touri Kudoh, Kim Doo Soo, Mark Fry, Simon Finn etc.

Herbie Hancock – Speak Like A Child [Reissue/1968] LP (Blue Note)
Following his 1965 masterpiece, Maiden Voyage, Herbie Hancock wouldn’t record his Blue Note follow-up until 1968 with the innovative classic, Speak Like A Child, on which the pianist and composer added the unique coloring of flugelhorn, bass trombone and alto flute to his trio for an alluring set of originals including “Riot” and “The Sorcerer”,

High On Fire – Cometh The Storm CD/LP (MNRK Heavy)
Dive into the maelstrom of sound with High On Fire’s latest album, Cometh The Storm. With its relentless energy and uncompromising vision, this Grammy Award-winning masterpiece is a must-listen for fans of heavy metal and all who crave music that pushes the boundaries of the genre. The blistering opener, “Lambsbread”, takes you on a journey through the depths of human emotion and the chaos of the world around us. So, crank up the volume, brace yourself for impact, and let the storm wash over you. [Two color vinyl pressings are available: opaque galaxy – orchid/sky blue; and hot pink/brown galaxy.

Bobby Hutcherson – Happenings [Reissue/1966] LP (Blue Note)
On his 1966 classic, Happenings, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson assembled a quartet with Herbie Hancock (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Joe Chambers (drums) for a sublime post-bop outing featuring captivating Hutcherson originals, including the stunning ballad “Bouquet” and Latin-tinged “Rojo”, as well as a version of Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage”.

Larry June – The Night Shift 2xLP (The Freeminded)
‘Cotton candy skies’ colorway. Larry June and prolific producer Cardo have joined forces once again to bring you their latest masterpiece: The Night Shift, a nocturnal adventure that takes you on a ride through the vivid and pulsating streets of Larry’s life, as brought to life by Cardo’s distinctive production. Larry June, the San Francisco native known for his smooth, laid-back flow and his unwavering commitment to living a healthy and prosperous lifestyle, seamlessly blends his distinctive style with Cardo’s signature production, creating a sound that’s as crisp and refreshing as a glass of cold-pressed orange juice. The Night Shift is the soundtrack to those late-night drives, providing the perfect backdrop for contemplation and cruising.

JPEGMAFIA – Scaring The Hoes: DLC Pack LP (JPEGMAFIA)
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown return for the EP extension of their 2023 critically acclaimed album, Scaring The Hoes: DLC Pack contains four new songs that continue to showcase the energy and quirk of the duo that was revered on the full length album by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NPR and many more. These four songs continue to show off JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown’s impressive lyricism and exhilarating dynamics when the two come together.

BDRMM –Standard Tuning 10” (Rock Action)
Today, the Hull based shoegaze quartet bdrmm return with a new single titled ‘Standard Tuning’. The track follows the release of the band’s widely lauded second album ‘I Don’t Know’, and the autumn single release of ‘Mud’ on Mogwai’s Rock Action label.

Pianos Become Teeth – Old Pride LP Reissue (Top Shelf)
Old Pride is the debut full-length from Baltimore MD’s Pianos Become the Teeth. Atmospheric, relentless, and enrapturing, Old Pride represents a crucial moment in the history of punk and hardcore with its climactic and raw screamo passages strung together with unpredictable structure and elements of post-rock. Songs barrel through seemingly endless reconfigurations of intense composition: flurries of breakdowns, melodic build-ups, and angular blasts might leave you unsure of what’s to come, but there’s a coherence in the sustained ferocity and clever musicianship. Although originally released in 2009, Old Pride remains a beacon of the screamo revival and the renaissance heralded by its release.

Brainstory – Sounds Good CD/LP/Cassette (Big Crown)
Based in L.A. but hailing from the Inland Empire’s own Rialto, California, two-thirds of Brainstory, Kevin and Tony Martin are brothers by blood, while Eric Hagstrom is a brother through their music and long-term friendship. Since they started the band, they have constantly faced situations that forced them to rise to the occasion. The path to take their art to the next level is clearer than ever, and once again, they are here for it.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
CHARLEY CROCKETT – $10 Cowboy CD/LP
PET SHOP BOYS – Nonetheless CD/LP
ST VINCENT – All Born Screaming CD/LP
NEIL YOUNG – Fuckin Up CD/LP
JUSTICE – Hyperdrama CD/LP
LAUFEY – Bewitched: Goddess Edition CD/LP
BODEGA – Our Brand Could Be Your Life CD/LP
CORRIDOR – Mimi CD/LP
IRON AND WINE – Light Verse CD/LP
LOSTINES – Meet The Lostines CD/LP
FOUR TET – Three LP
NOAH KAHAN – Cape Elizabeth LP
SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE – Time Is Glass LP
OPEN MIKE EAGLE – Special Episode Of LP
SONNY ROLLINS – A Night At The Village Vanguard LP
STARS – Heart LP