STAFF PICKS
Lindsay – Fontaines D.C.
Dario – Elori Saxl
Kimber – The Softies
Jake –  Spirit of the Beehive
Zach – Fontaines D.C.
Ash – Built to Spill reissue

Fontaines D.C. – Romance CD/LP (XL Recordings)
Irish indie rock sensation Fontaines D.C. return with new album ROMANCE, their debut on XL Recordings. Recorded shortly after their tour supporting Arctic Monkeys, it seizes on the momentum of 2022’s Skinty Fia, which firmly established them as one of today’s most exciting rock bands. Romance represents a bold sonic and stylistic evolution for the band and lead single “Starburster” shows the band at their most electrifying to date, as Chatten’s swaggering stream of consciousness collides with explosive production. [Multiple vinyl colors are available, including clear and indie store exclusive pink.]

Spirit Of The Beehive – You’ll Have To Lose Something CD/LP/Cassette (Saddle Creek)
For the past decade, Spirit of the Beehive has honed an aesthetic like no other. They’ve chopped up samples, chewed them up, spit them back out again, baby birded it. Across four albums and a smattering of EPs, Zack Schwartz, Corey Wichlin, and Rivka Ravede have fully solidified their stance as some of rock’s weirdest and best deconstructionists. Their last release, 2023’s i’m so lucky, explored the breakup between Schwartz and Ravede, setting the stage and emotional territory for the band’s fifth record, You’ll Have To Lose Something. This latest offering is the most crystallized version of the band’s aesthetic, a continued meditation on the end of relationships and the unsteadiness that follows. It is a meticulous, beautiful, and quietly heartbreaking collection of songs. [An indie store exclusive clear w/ red & white splatter color vinyl pressing is available.]

Cocteau Twins / Harold Budd – The Moon And The Melodies [Reissue/1986] CD/LP (4AD)
CD and vinyl reissues of the Cocteau Twins’ 1986 collaboration with late pianist/composer Harold Budd.

Bryce Dessner – Solos CD (Sony Classics)
CD now, vinyl 9/27. A collection featuring a series of unaccompanied instrumental works written by the composer over the past few years. Dessner, who is also a founding member of Grammy Award-winning rock band The National has selected works from both his classical and soundtrack worlds, which showcase not only his compositional flair but also the immense talent of his acclaimed collaborators, many of whom work regularly with him and are his friends. 

Kishi Bashi – Kantos CD/LP (Joyful Noise)
The latest full-length from Kishi Bashi, Kantos is a work of exquisite duality: a party album about the possible end of humanity as we know it, at turns deeply unsettling and sublimely joyful. In a sonic departure from the symphonic folk of his critically lauded 2019 LP Omoiyari – a career-defining body of work born from his intensive meditation on the mass incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II – the Seattle-born singer/songwriter/producer’s fifth studio album encompasses everything from Brazilian jazz and ’70s funk to orchestral rock and city pop (a Japanese genre that peaked in the mid-’80s). [A purple color vinyl pressing is available.]

Mark Lanegan – Bubblegum XX (Extended Version] 3xCD/4xLP (Beggars Banquet)
Beggars Arkive in conjunction with the Estate of Mark Lanegan, are honored to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Mark Lanegan’s acclaimed 2004 album Bubblegum. Bubblegum XX – a set of releases that include a remastered double LP edition of the original album and a 3xCD/4xLP release containing 40 remastered tracks, 12 of which are previously unreleased. 

Built To Spill – There’s Nothing Wrong With Love [Reissue/1994] LP (Sub Pop/Up)
Jade blue vinyl. There’s Nothing Wrong with Love is the second full-length album released by legendary indie rock band Built to Spill. It was originally released September 13, 1994, on the Up Records label. The line-up for the album was Doug Martsch, bassist Brett Nelson, and drummer Andy Capps, with Phil Ek producing. The album features the enduring singles “Car” and “Distopian Dream Girl. “

Benny Trokan – Do You Still Think Of Me CD/LP (Wick)
You may recognize this fine fellow as the bass player for such acts as Spoon, Lee Fields’ Expressions, Reigning Sound and The Jay Vons. With Do You Still Think of Me?, his debut album for Wick Records, Trokan takes the listener through the full spectrum of 60s influenced music: the moody teen-beat bop of “Save a Place,” the garage dwelling angst of “Nowhere to Be Found,” to the sweet soul sound of the title track. But throughout the record, itʼs the unique sound of Benny’s raspy, vulnerable lead vocal that carries us across this truly stunning collection of modern pop.

Gift – Illuminator CD/LP (Captured Tracks)
Illuminator, Gift’s sophomore album, is the long-awaited payoff of the artist’s ever-growing musical and human chemistry. Nods are apparent to label forerunners such as Beach Fossils, DIIV and Wild Nothing, but Gift are shepherding those elements into wondrous new vessels for the present moment – sleek, often danceable and frequently mesmerizing. [A white w/ black color vinyl pressing is available.]

The Halem Gospel Travelers – Rhapsody CD/LP (Colemine)
With their new album Rhapsody, the extraordinary vocalists Ifedayo Gatling, Dennis Bailey, and George Marage fully explore the entire range of music that influenced them. The follow-up to their acclaimed 2021 release Look Up!, the record is a dive into a lesser-known but hugely important era in the evolution of gospel music. [A blue color vinyl pressing is available.]

Joe Henry – Civilians [Reissue/2007] CD/2xLP (earMUSIC)
Joe Henry is one of the artists who have shaped the sound of modern American folk and blues music like hardly anyone else. Civilians, his 10th studio album, was originally released in 2007. It takes the listener on an intimate journey into Henry’s poetic lyricism and is heavily influenced and inspired by the more melancholic sounds of folk and jazz music. Recorded in Henry’s home studio at the time, the Garfield House in Pasadena, the album has a raw and stripped-back feel, with several of Henry’s close friends and collaborators, like Loudon Wainwright III, Bill Frisell, Greg Leisz, and Van Dyke Parks, joining him in the studio to bring these songs to life.

Melt Banana – 3+5 CD/LP (Azap)
3+5 showcases the duo’s visionary musical approach and extraordinary abilities as performers: Yasuko Onuki’s giddy, hyperactive vocalizing and Ichiro Agata’s glitchy, cyberpunk guitar, delivered at dizzying speed, bathed in aggressive electronic sounds. Their aesthetic approach is exultantly experimental, fusing diverse genres imbued with chaotic energy. As on their previous works, the music on 3+5 is unpredictable, always filled with surprises and excitement. 3+5 synthesizes elements of a variety of extreme musics, hyper-pop, classic punk, vintage metal, and noise. [A silver color vinyl pressing is available.]

Porter Robinson – Smile! 😀 CD/2xLP (Mom & Pop Music)
New album by the North Carolina-based electro-house producer and songwriter. [A pink color vinyl pressing is available.]

Wayne Shorter – Celebration, Volume 1 CD/2xLP (Blue Note)
Celebration, Volume 1 is the first in a series of archival releases that the legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter curated before he passed away in 2023. This thrilling 2014 live recording captured Shorter’s acclaimed quartet with pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade at the Stockholm Jazz Festival in Sweden. The intrepid set includes some of the band’s favorite vehicles of exploration including “Zero Gravity,” “Smilin’ Through,” “Orbits,” “Lotus,” and “She Moves Through The Fair.”

Thee Heart Tones – Forever & Ever CD/LP/Cassette (Big Crown)
Hailing from Hawthorne, California, Thee Heart Tones are both carrying on a tradition and pushing the boundaries with their music. “Growing up in L.A., you get influenced by the city, the artwork, the music. Dad didn’t own a lowrider car, but other members of our family did. Impalas. El Caminos. We were influenced by the culture, particularly Chicano culture. And oldies and soul music played a big part. The style. The culture. The nod to the past. That’s what we’re going.”

Throbbing Gristle – TGCD1 [Reissue/1986] CD/LP (Mute)
Reissue. The untitled seventh album by English industrial band Throbbing Gristle, also referred to as CD1, was released in 1986 through record label Mute.

Throbbing Gristle – The Third Mind Movements [Reissue/2009] CD/LP (Mute)
Reissue. The Third Mind Movements is the final album released by British industrial group Throbbing Gristle in April 2009 from recordings made at the 2007 Desertshore Installation at the Institute of Contemporary Art on 1 to 3 June 2007 – all the original line-up were present.

Death Cab For Cutie – The Photo Album [Reissue/2001] LP (Barsuk)
The João Carvalho remaster of Death Cab For Cutie’s The Photo Album, cut for vinyl by Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound, and pressed on regular weight black vinyl. Includes an 11.5″ 12-page booklet featuring all the photos from the original 1st pressing 2001 double-CD artwork.

Elori Saxl – Drifts And Surfaces LP (Western Vinyl)
With Drifts And Surfaces, American experimental electronic composer Elori Saxl flourishes quietly in present-tense synthesis. The three-piece set originates from three different commissions, each influenced by her experience of living on Madeline Island, a small island in Lake Superior, and unified by shared themes that explore how technology has come to define our daily life: the blurring of physical and digital worlds, the compression and datafication of human experience, and the paradox of everyday stasis and constant change. Saxl continues to utilize chamber-music ensemble alongside digital experimentation, deeply tuning into textural emotion.  

The Softies – The Bed I Made LP (Father/Daughter)
The Softies, comprised of Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia, embody timeless themes of friendship and self-discovery through their minimalist pop soundworld. Since their formation in 1994, they’ve created uncluttered and fearlessly vulnerable music, contrasting with prevailing trends. The Bed I Made, The Softies’ first new studio album in 24 years, showcases growth while reflecting on life’s complexities with lyrics drawn from real experiences. 

Endon – Fall Of Spring LP (Thrill Jockey)
The Tokyo-based ensemble of Taichi Nagura, Koki Miyabe, and Taro Aiko have made a name for themselves with their relentless exploration of sonic extremes in the vein of artists such as the Boredoms and Merzbow. The resulting music is a powerful emotional release for both artist and listener. Their commitment to evolution and dystopian noise as a playground for exploration and pure expression carried them through the recent departure of their drummer Shin Yokota and the tragic death of brother and band member Etsuo Nagura in 2020. Where some might have tried to replace members, ENDON’s core pressed forward with an autobiographical work exploring these changes and the shifts in their lives. Honest and raw emotions delivered with uncompromising sonic intensity, Fall of Spring is a thrilling tidal wave of sound and raw emotions born of the psyche of three individuals musically congregating into one tumultuous voice.

Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet CD/LP/Cassette (Island)
Short n’ Sweet showcases the scintillating spirit of Sabrina Carpenter, the pocket-sized popstar with a larger-than-life artistic presence. One gold album and multiple platinum singles later, it’s no wonder that “Espresso,” the debut single from Short n’ Sweet, has it all: lyrics that make you giggle and blush and songwriting that makes you wish you’d thought of it first. [A color vinyl pressing is available along with an indie store exclusive cassette version featuring an alternate cover.

311 – Grassroots [Reissue/1994] 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
311’s second studio album, Grassroots, celebrates its 30th Anniversary with an expanded 2xLP edition containing five bonus tracks on clear vinyl with brown swirl.

Margo Guryan – Take A Picture LP (Numero)
Take A Picture is Margo Guryan’s one and done classic – one of record collecting’s real unheralded masterpieces – bright, breezy, lightly psychedelic, and utterly cosmopolitan, recorded in New York City no less. Newly restored by JessicaThompson from the original two-track safety masters, this beguilingly melodic1968 pop tour-de-force has never sounded better. [Multiple colorways are available on vinyl.]

Lydia Loveless – Something Else LP (Bloodshot)
10 years after its release, Lydia Loveless sits down at the piano for an intimate reimagining of her landmark album, Somewhere Else. Title track features guest vocals by Jason Isbell. 

The Prodigy – Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned [Reissue/2004] 2xLP (XL Recordings)
After spending years out of print, The Prodigy have repressed their fourth album in time for its 20th anniversary. It features guest spots from Liam Gallagher, Kool Keith, Jenny Lewis and more.

Pink Rhythm – An 80s Love Affair LP (Beggars Banquet)
Pink Rhythm was one of John Rocca’s mid-80’s solo side projects and a somewhat evolution of his pioneering early-80s band, Freeez. After Freeez ended, John still had some ideas left over which he explored with Andy Stennett of Freeez. John also re-worked one of the final jazz funk songs written (but unused) by Freeez called “India”. He named the project Pink Rhythm after his self-funded, entrepreneurial record label that he used to launch Freeez. Pink Rhythm lasted a brief year or two, between 1984 and 1985. In 1985, three singles were released, including “Melodies Of Love, which has become a cult favorite. It has been described as “timeless drum-machine soul music” and a “cult funk slow jam”. Over the years, John Rocca’s music has been sampled by many, including Jamie xx, Empress Of, Brandy, Burial, Todd Terry, Coolio, Cut Chemist and more.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
DENZEL CURRY – King Of The Mischievous South Vol 2 CD/LP
LAURIE ANDERSON – Amelia CD/LP
CACTUS BLOSSOMS – Everytime I Think About You CD/LP
AMERICAN ANALOG SET – Golden Band LP reissue
NICK CAVE & BAD SEEDS – Wild God CD/LP
U2 – Zoo TV: Live in Dublin 1993 CD/LP
Elliott Smith – Roman Candle LP reissue 
BOXMASTERS – Love and Hate In Desperate Places CD/LP
LOS BITCHOS – Talkie Talkie CD/LP
OASIS – Definitely Maybe CD/LP reissue
SEBADOH – Bakesale LP reissue
SOFTIES – Bed I Made LP
AERIAL M – Peel Sessions LP
DAVID BOWIE – Self Titled CD/LP
NEW FOUND GLORY – Forever + Ever + Infinity LP
TY SEGALL – Love Rudiments CD/LP/CASS
SEEFEEL – Everything Squared LP
TYCHO – Infinite Health CD/LP
VARIOUS – Nigeria 70 LP