In The Groove

soft pack with 20 page booklet and spot gloss finish on CD jacket.

The Million Masks of God showcases the strength and boundary-pushing invention of Manchester Orchestra’s catalog, and is a testament to the kinship of its songwriting duo—the bond that enables them to take something so tragically personal and turn it into limitless, compassionate, communal, revelatory art.

Frontman and songwriter JJ Julius Son has been in the studio off-and-on for two years, allowing for a combination of globe-trotting and meticulous tinkering, resulting in a spectrum of sounds recorded around the world – in North America, South America and across Europe. The final product is refreshingly free of calculation, with Julius Son allowing each tune to dictate its path while simultaneously leaning-in to his blues, folk and rock inclinations. 

As if shedding skin and baring armor in its place, the album's first single, “Born For One Thing” represents a natural evolution for the acclaimed French band: hyper-focused but unhinged, confrontational and yet compassionate. “We have to practice detaching ourselves from everything, beginning with actual things,” vocalist / guitarist Joe Duplantier says of the song’s anti-consumerist message, which was partially inspired by the Tibetan and Thai philosophers he read in his youth back in France. “Own less possessions, and give what you don’t need away, because one day we’ll have to let everything go, and if we don’t, we’ll just become ghosts stuck between dimensions.”

2021 release. After two UK #1 albums, 2 million album sales and an array of international acclaim, you might've thought you knew what to expect from Royal Blood. Those preconceptions were shattered when they released 'Trouble's Coming' last summer. Hitting a melting pot of fiery rock riffs and danceable beats, they delivered something fresh, unexpected and yet entirely in tune with what they'd forged their reputation with. When Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher sat down to talk about making a new album, they knew what they wanted to achieve. It involved a conscious return to their roots, back when they had made music that was influenced by Daft Punk, Justice, and Philippe Zdar of Cassius. It also called for a similar back-to-basics approach to what had made their self-titled debut album so thrilling, visceral and original. Those traits pulsate throughout the new single and title track. Kerr's spiralling bass riff casts an hypnotic allure as it grows in intensity, while his vocals switch at will between a raw rock roar and a soulful falsetto. It's underpinned by Thatcher's thundering beats, his taut rhythms infused with groove-laden hi-hats. After setting the tone with 'Trouble's Coming', the album opens in breathless, take-no-prisoners style with the fierce metallic grooves of 'Who Needs Friends' hitting an early visceral peak. Royal Blood further reference their fresh array of influences by deploying vocodered vocals on 'Million & One' before dynamically switching between the biggest contrasts of their sound with 'Limbo'. Already a fan favourite having been a regular during the duo's 2019 shows, 'Boilermaker' lives up to it's reputation and is more than matched by 'Mad Visions', which evokes a hyper-aggressive Prince. It ends with a final surprise in the shape of the stark piano ballad 'All We Have Is Now', a vulnerable and revealing reminder to live in the moment. This new approach manifested itself in the duo's decision to produce the majority of 'Typhoons' themselves. 'Boilermaker' was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, the two bands having first connected when Royal Blood supported them on a huge North American tour. Meanwhile, the multiple Grammy Award winner Paul Epworth produced 'Who Needs Friends' and contributed additional production to 'Trouble's Coming'.

Archive Series Volume No. 5: Tallahassee is the lost-in-time debut album from Iron & Wine. A collection of songs recorded three years prior to his official Sub Pop debut, The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002). A period before the concept of Iron & Wine existed and principal songwriter Sam Beam was studying at Florida State University with the intent of pursuing a career in film. Tallahassee documents the very first steps on a journey that would lead to a career as one of America's most original and distinctive singer-songwriters. Creek arrived like a thief in the night with it's lo-fi, hushed vocals and intimate nature, while almost inversely Tallahassee comes with a strange sense of confidence. Perhaps an almost youthful discretion that likely comes from being too young to know better and too naïve to give a shit. The recordings themselves are more polished than Creek and give a peak into what a studio version of that record might have offered up. Tallahassee was recorded over the course of 1998-1999 when Beam and future bandmate EJ Holowicki moved into a house together.

On Dropkick Murphys' new album, Turn Up That Dial, the band boots in the front door of 2021 with a record that punches you square in the face and says, in the words of Ken Casey, "Get up, get out of those sweatpants you've been wearing for the last year... better times are ahead - LET'S F-in' GO!!"

"Where Do We Go From Here" is Dumpstaphunk's first album in seven years. It will be released on April 23, 2021 on The Funk Garage, an imprint of Mascot Label Group. Over its past 17 years, Dumpstaphunk has earned its reputation as the most well-regarded next-generation New Orleans live powerhouse, the type of band whose live shows attract sit-ins from legends like Carlos Santana, Bob Weir and Trombone Shorty. Alongside Hall, Daniels, Alex Wasily, Ryan Nyther and drummer Devin Trusclair, cousins Ivan and Ian Neville have built upon their family’s iconic NOLA legacy as they’ve transformed Dumpstaphunk into the city’s pre-eminent 21st-century funk-fusion export. The band’s mix of classic and modern influences can be heard throughout the party-friendly mix of R&B, funk, rock, swamp-pop and blues of "Where Do We Go From Here," from the slap-bass rave "Make It After All" to the band's contemporary renderings of NOLA R&B rarities (the 1975 Blackmail gem "Let’s Get At It") and early Seventies classics (Sly and the Family Stone's "In Time").

The term "Guitar Hero" is bandied about loosely these days. Seems like all you have to do is look good holding the thing and you qualify. But if you ask the actual guitar heroes---like Brian May, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton---who THEIR Guitar Heroes are, Steve Cropper is definitely on the shortlist. If all he had done were the records with Otis Redding that would be enough, but shortly thereafter he was leaving his fingerprints on records by Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Johnny Taylor, Albert King, and virtually anybody worthy who came within earshot of Memphis. He was a Guitarist's Guitarist, and a Songwriter's Songwriter. Fire It Up is Steve Cropper's first album of new Soul/R&B material in 10 years. The album was produced by Steve and Jon Tiven, and will be released worldwide on April 23, 2021 via Mascot Label Group/Provogue.

"Intimate acoustic folk anchored by butter-smooth close-harmony vocals and minimalist-yet-sophisticated arrangements" - Rolling Stone Country "wonderful... fabulous old-time playing and sibling harmony." - NPR "natural harmonies and evocative lyricism that reflect a timeless sound and spirit." - Relix "soulful folk" - BillboardBrooklyn's The Brother Brothers will release their sophomore album Calla Lily on April 16th. CALLA LILY is the follow-up to real-life siblings The Moss Brothers' debut album, Some People I Know, which garnered praise from tastemakers including NPR, Billboard and Rolling Stone Country. The album's lead single, "On the Road Again," sets mood of the album and showcases the brothers' warm, immediate harmonies. Ironically, the Moss brothers wrote "On The Road Again" - a quintessential road that explores the life of the touring musician and speaks to one's longing for the road - before the pandemic hit; it's a paean to the connection and company of that diasporic artist community forged across stages, festival grounds, and long, winding roads. The music video for "On The Road Again" kicks off with the brothers leaving New York City in the tour van and features a convoy of whimsical animated creatures who are along for the ride, culminating in a cartoon concert along the Hudson River. David Moss says of the track: "There's no denying that life in motion can leave a person lonesome or aimless, but so can sitting still. The same part of our beings that gets homesick aches for life on the road. This song's an exploration of that duality - a celebration and a lamentation in one." CALLA LILY was produced and mixed by GRAMMY-nominated Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Vance Joy) at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington and mastered by Grammy-nominated Phillip Shaw Bova (Andy Shauf, Father John Misty).

Vinyl LP pressing. Tkay Maidza is a tour de force on her 2021 EP Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2. Her mastery of sonic versatility takes center stage on the assertive eight tracks that weave from whiplash-inducing spitfire summer anthem and lead single 'Shook' to smooth boy-bye manifesto 'Don't Call Again (ft. Kari Faux)' to trap-infused 'Awake (ft. JPEGMAFIA)', which was nominated for a 2019 ARIA award and earned a best of the decade nod from The Needle Drop, as well as praise from Pitchfork, The FADER, Dazed, Complex, and others. The release follows 2018's Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 1, which established her as one of the most exciting voices in the new guard of hip-hop.

Nicholas Galanin is one of the most vital voices in contemporary art. Born in Sheet'ka (Sitka, Alaska), Galanin is Tlingit and Unangax^; he creates from his perspective as an Indigenous man. His work calls for an accounting of the damages done to land and life by unfettered capitalism while envisioning and advocating alternate possibilities. For the 2020 Biennale of Sydney, he excavated the shape of the shadow cast by the monumental statue of Captain James Cook, a call for the burial of monuments to violent histories, which ArtNEWS and Artsy called a defining work of 2020. Land Swipe-a painted deer hide that depicts the NYC subway map, marked with selected sites of police violence against Black youth-was called one of "the most important art moments in 2020" by The New York Times. His work spans sculpture, video, installation, photography, jewelry and music; advocating Indigenous sovereignty, racial, social and environmental justice, for present, and future generations. His debut as Ya Tseen ("be alive," and a reference to his Tlingit name Yeil Ya Tseen) is Indian Yard, his first album for Sub Pop. Rich with emotional range and sharp awareness, Indian Yard explores love, desire, frustration, pain, revolution, and connection through the magnetic expressions of an Indigenous mind. These 11 tracks put Galanin, Ya Tseen, and Indigenous art at large in a current musical conversation with the likes of Moses Sumney and TV on the Radio, FKA Twigs and James Blake. Indian Yard is a profound record of liberation and an implicit act of protest, making it's case by facing the intersection of past, present, and future realities. In a nod to Sun Ra, "Gently To The Sun" mentions "meds for a nightmare"-an apt description for a record that offers a much-needed antidote for what now ails us personally and universally. This is not, by any means, Galanin's first album. He has released a steady stream of records under a panoply of aliases, including Silver Jackson and Indian Agent. He has worked with the likes of Meshell Ndegeocello, Tanya Tagaq, and Samantha Crain. And for the better part of a decade, he's also been part of the revolutionarily borderless art collective Black Constellation alongside Shabazz Palaces and THEESatisfaction. Galanin brings all that experience and his partnerships to bear on the highly collaborative songs of Indian Yard. Galanin began working on the record in 2017 while going back and forth between his home in Sitka Alaska and Juneau where he was carving a totem pole. The album entwines falling in love and the birth of a child with the urgency of current social and environmental justice movements to tear down destructive systems and build anew. He shared the concepts with bandmates Zak D. Wass and Otis Calvin III and together they collaborated to build the album alongside longtime collaborator Benjamin Verdoes. During strings of sessions in Sitka and Seattle, a cast of brilliant friends-Shabazz Palaces, Nick Hakim, fellow Indigenous Alaskan singer and songwriter Qacung, fellow Alaskans Portugal. The Man (whom Galanin counts as friends and allies for social and environmental justice), Stas THEE Boss (THEESatisfaction), to name a few-helped turn Indian Yard into a cataract of intensely current pop wonders. Indian Yard is a compelling document of humanity centered in an Indigenous perspective. Created by one of the world's foremost Indigenous artists, the irrepressible Indian Yard is an intense illumination of feeling and connection.

Princess Goes to the Butterfly museum is a new alternative band, self-described as 'Gothadelic Rocktronic' with influences from David Bowie to Black Sabbath to Donna Summer, all with a unique and modern spin. The band is comprised of a powerhouse trio: vocalist Michael C. Hall who's TV credits include "Dexter" and "Six Feet Under" and Broadway credits include lead roles in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Lazarus, keyboardist Matthew Katz Bohen from iconic rock band Blondie, and drummer Peter Yanowitz of Wallflowers and Morningwood. The band has already received coverage from media heavyweights to include Billboard, Paper Magazine, American Songwriter, Consequence of Sound, and more. Their debut album Thanks for Coming was written primarily during the pandemic, and tones and themes both sinister and sublime can be found throughout the music. With a loyal fan base and media buzz, PGTTBM is sure to be a breakthrough act of 2021.

Wide-eyed Nashville singer-songwriter Dreamer Boy’s upcoming album All the Ways We Are Together wasn’t necessarily written with the turmoil of 2020 in mind, but its ethereal melodies, delicate timbre and empathetic lyrics will surely speak to fans burdened by the state of things. He chose Earth Day, April 22^nd, as a release date for the album to reflect the global communal spirit he feels with people and our shared environment.

Build A Problem is an album of processing. I build problems - I was the problem that was built. It explores my hugest emotions; from the dark depths of bad brain to the giggly, performative nonchalance of feeling broken," says Dodie. "Build A Problem is full of feeling, full of soaring strings, thick harmonies, honesty, vulnerability and therapy." And on lead single "Cool Girl" she adds that it's a "song about misplaced anger. Stemming from the suppression of communicating your needs in a relationship in order to attempt to be the most chill, cool, and loveable. It's bitter, desperate, frustrated, proud, determined, and unhealthy.

2021 release from the Americana singer/songwriter.

A reliable traditionalist with a penchant for bittersweet songs of heartbreak and loss, Ashley Monroe pulled a complete 180 for her spectacular new album, Rosegold, riding the joyful emotional wave that followed the birth of her son to create her most ecstatic, blissed-out collection yet. Written and recorded over the past two years, the record finds the Grammy - nominated Nashville star pushing her sound in bold new directions, drawing on everything from Kanye West and Kid Cudi to Beck and The Beach Boys as she layers lush vocal harmonies atop dreamy, synthesized soundscapes and sensual, intoxicating beats.

While many know Bergman as one half of brother-sister duo Wild Belle, her forthcoming record is a cathartic collection rooted in the hopeful values and traditions of gospel that have helped her through the recent, tragic loss of her father. On the signing of Natalie Bergman, Third Man Records co-founder Ben Swank adds, “Natalie has a unique vision and has approached this album with a reverence for the sacred and healing nature of the history of this music, but has managed to update it in a way that is distinctly her own. We're very excited to welcome her to the Third Man label and family.” Alongside her brother Elliot, the island-influenced music Natalie Bergman made in Wild Belle has led to collaborations ranging from Major Lazer to Tom Tom Club, performances at Coachella and Lollapalooza, tours with Beck, Cage The Elephant, Toro y Moi and more. Helmed by her heavenly voice, Bergman’s solo album is steeped in mystic melodies and time-bending tones of psychedelic rock and soul. Showcasing her multi-instrumental and creative versatility, songs will be accompanied by visuals that blend her own abstract artwork, self-designed wardrobe and beyond. Stay tuned.

Daddy’s Home, the sixth album from St. Vincent, is the latest facet of an ever-evolving artist regarded by many as the most consistently innovative and intriguing presence in modern music. The album was pro-duced by Annie Clark and Jack Antonoff, recorded by Laura Sisk, mixed by Cian Riordan, and mastered by Chris Gehringer. The music was performed by Annie, Jack, Cian, Thomas, Evan Smith, Sam KS, Greg Leisz, Daniel Hart, Michael Leonhard, Lynne Fiddmont and Kenya Hathaway.

"Daddy's Home collects stories of being down and out in downtown NYC. Last night's heels on the morning train. Glamour that's been up for three days straight.”—St. Vincent

In the midst of a global pandemic, John Hiatt walked into Historic RCA Studio B and opened up a lifetime full of leftover feelings. A half-century ago, Hiatt lived in a ratty, $15-a-week room on Nashville’s 16th Avenue, less than a mile away from the RCA and Columbia studios that were the heartbeat of what had come to be known as “Music Row.” In the ensuing 50 years, he went from a scuffling young buck to a celebrated grand master of song.

With Leftover Feelings, Hiatt teamed up with multi-grammy winning artist and producer, Jerry Douglas and his band, The Jerry Douglas Band. There’s no drummer, yet these grooves are deep and true. And while the up-tempo songs are, as ever, filled with delightful internal rhyme and sly aggression, the Jerry Douglas Band’s empathetic musicianship nudges Hiatt to performances that are startlingly vulnerable. 

In life, leftover feelings can remain unresolved, no matter how often explored. Explicated in a place of history, a place of comfort. A sacred place, if you believe the documentation of human expression to be a holy thing. Here then, with this album,  there is a meeting of bruised and triumphant American giants. Here are Hiatt and Douglas, creating the meant-to-be: Love songs and road songs, sly songs and hurt songs. Their songs, and now our songs.  Leftover feelings that edify and sustain.

m b v is the highly anticipated and long awaited 2013 album from the British Alt-Rock icons led by the esteemed Kevin Shields. MBV is the follow-up to their genre-defining 1991 album Loveless.

On May 21, Matador Records will release Afrique Victime, the long-awaited new album by Mdou Moctar. On Afrique Victime the prodigious Tuareg guitarist and songwriter rips a new hole in the sky ­' boldly reforging contemporary Saharan music and 'rock music' by melding guitar pyrotechnics, full-blast noise, and field recordings with poetic meditations on love, religion, women's rights inequality, and Western Africa's exploitation at the hands of colonial powers.

Lord Huron presents their fourth studio album, Long Lost. The band has often tried to uncover the past of their studio, Whispering Pines, without much success. Instead, they decided to imagine what has gone on in the studio, who has passed through, and that is how Long Lost was created. Featuring the singles “Not Dead Yet,” “Mine Forever,” “I Lied” and “Love Me Like You Used To.”

CD Packaging:  Casebound, Hardcover CD Book

Iconic frontman and instrumentalist MYLES KENNEDY (Alter Bridge, Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators) proves that tumultuous downtime can spark creative genius with The Ides Of March – the long-anticipated full-length follow up to his 2018 solo debut, Year Of The Tiger. The Ides Of March once again showcases the organic side of Kennedy’s musical spectrum and one-of-a-kind voice, but while bright inclusions of lap steel and mandolin have replaced some of the pummeling kick drum and downtuned electric riffage his other renowned projects are known for, each of its offerings maintain the same steadfast energy that never relents. Fluxing between heritage rock outcries featuring Jimmy Page-worthy solos, and stripped-down, bluesy beckonings, the album manifests as an uplifting refresher arriving when society needs it most. Lyrically, the album’s 11 unique offerings embrace all listeners, championing themes of unity and solidarity over separation and spite, allowing the sonic warmth of each track to stand out. Opening stunner “Get Along” proves itself as an anthem for the times, giving listeners a hard-rocking first dose of MYLES KENNEDY’s iconic vocal attack and guitar prowess, ushered along by an addictive hook: “Why can’t we all just get along?” The album rocks and twangs with timeless spine-tinglers like “A Thousand Words” and slide guitar-laden lead single/future classic “In Stride”. Kennedy slows it down with triumphant, smooth vocal knockout “The Ides Of March”, topped with a jazzy guitar solo and poetic lyricism crooning for camaraderie in our darkest times. Raucous blues-rocker “Wake Me When It’s Over” and passionate, ethereal “Love Rain Down” astound, while earworm lead-ignited “Tell It Like It Is” and swaying sing-a-long standout “Moonshot” successfully mark Kennedy’s “dual-citizenship” in the realms of rock and country inspiration. Acoustics, mandolin and slide guitar pepper the soft benevolence of “Wanderlust Begins” and classic rock-inspired wakeup call “Sifting Through The Fire”, before bluesy success “Worried Mind” provides the listener with one last slab of verification that MYLES KENNEDY is an undeniable talent for the ages. The Ides Of March doubles down on the charging roots rock vibes of its predecessor while exuding an aura of tenderness and inner peace – radiating the sorely needed, uplifting spirit of Americana rock.

The forthcoming album from The Steel Woods, All of Your Stones, took on a new dimension back in January when the band’s founding guitarist and principal creative force, Jason “Rowdy” Cope, passed away peacefully in his sleep at age 42.

The new album is the third offering from one of the fastest rising bands in the worlds of independent country and Southern rock. Since releasing their debut Straw In The Wind album in 2017, The Steel Woods have staked their claim as worthy successors of Southern rock icons Lynyrd Skynyrd, with a dynamic live show and a songwriting verve that draws inspiration from country icons like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.

When The Steel Woods entered the studio to record All Of Your Stones, smack in the middle of a global pandemic, it’s clear they had something to prove, if only to themselves. Cope had wrestled with undiagnosed PTSD and its multitude of symptoms after the release of sophomore album Old News. Wes Bayliss, the band’s singer and co-songwriter, wasn’t always sure what the future held for the group, which is rounded out by Johnny Stanton (bass) and Isaac Senty (drums).

Reflecting on Rowdy’s vision and passion for the band, Stanley says the last thing Jason would have wanted was for the music to stop. Bayliss concurs. “We were always going to do the things you do when you put out a record. Now, there is simply a little more reason.” Indeed there is more reason.

With the release of All Of Your Stones, The Steel Woods now have the responsibility to keep the fire burning. After all, it’s what Rowdy would want.

Gruff Rhy releases his new album Seeking New Gods through Rough Trade Records. This is Gruff's seventh solo album. Seeking New Gods was recorded following a US tour with his band and mixed in LA with superstar producer Mario C (Beastie Boys). The album concept was originally driven to be the biography of a mountain, Mount Paektu (an East Asian active volcano). However, as Gruff's writing began to reflect on the inhuman timescale of a peak's existence and the intimate features that bring it to mythological life, both the songs and the mountain became more and more personal.

2020 release. Produced by Grammy-winning Matt Ross-Spang. The popular touring act has built a reputation for surprising people with their talent, humor and sense of "why not?, with their signature American brand and high energy live shows. Bonnaroo labeled Strung Like a Horse the "Best Band Name," a moniker chosen in part for the volume of horsehair broken on their bows in their early days.

Van Morrison will release ‘Latest Record Project: Volume 1’ on May 7th on Exile/BMG. His 42nd record and his most dynamic and contemporary album in years, ‘Latest Record Project: Volume 1’ is a 28-track delve into his ongoing love of blues, R&B, jazz and soul. However much you may love his classic albums, this new project proves that he’s living in the present, and remains an artist of integrity and distinction. 

“I’m getting away from the perceived same songs, same albums all the time,” says Morrison. “This guy’s done 500 songs, maybe more, so hello? Why do you keep promoting the same ten? I’m trying to get out of the box.”

‘Latest Record Project: Volume 1’ is the result of our enforced period of isolation. Unable to tour, Morrison remained busy with constant songwriting, starting ideas on piano, guitar or saxophone. What emerged is a wealth of new material, which shimmers with a directness and vibrancy that comes from working with a rhythm section with whom he shares an immediate, spontaneous connection.