New Release Round-Up 11-15-19

DJ Shadow - Our Pathetic Age - Mass Appeal
DJ Shadow returns with his new album Our Pathetic Age via Mass Appeal, kicking off the project with hit single, 'Rocket Fuel' featuring vocals from legendary rap trio De La Soul, which was also included in EA's Madden 20 Soundtrack. Set to release as a double album, part 1 of Our Pathetic Age includes 11 genrebending instrumental tracks. Part two is a 14track vocal suite with features from the likes of Nas, Dave East, Run The Jewels, and more.

Michael Nau - Less Ready To Go - ORG Music
Maryland-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Nau is back with a fourth “solo” album, on the heels of his 2018 release, Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread. Nau, who previously fronted projects like Page France and Cotton Jones, is known for his unique blend of psychedelic folk, R&B, and indie rock music. On his latest effort, Less Ready To Go, Nau enlisted Scott McMicken (Dr. Dog) as a producer, along with collaborators Whitney McGraw, Andrew Dost (fun.), Zach Miller (Dr. Dog), Benny Yurco, and Seth Kauffman.

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Lily Kershaw - Arcadia - Nettwerk Records
Imagine the mind’s farthest wanderings made physical, formed into worlds that represent our internal and external expressions. Mythologically speaking, people have been naming this duality for ages: utopia and dystopia, heaven and earth, Olympus and the underworld. Now imagine this concept distilled in an eleven track, thirty-six minute album, and you arrive at Arcadia, the latest offering by songstress Lily Kershaw. Weaving warmer analog sounds like organ, harpsichord and guitar with cinematic force, Arcadia is Kershaw’s most intimate release to date. But the strongest tool Kershaw wields is her voice, both in the simmering ferocity it carries and the poetry it speaks. Though the concept behind the record is epic to say the least, Kershaw is ultimately telling a story of acceptance, both of herself and the great mystery that is the universe

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The Band - The Band: 50th Anniversary  - Capitol
This Super Deluxe limited edition package features a new stereo mix of the album by Bob Clearmountain from the original analog masters. The package also features the previously unreleased complete “Live At Woodstock” performance from 1969, the Classic Albums – The Band documentary, and thirteen bonus tracks. Bonus tracks include six previously unreleased outtakes and alternate versions. The exclusive book features a new essay by Anthony DeCurtis and classic photos by Elliott Landy. The release is also available as a 2LP and 2CD package.

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Jackson 5 - Greatest Hits: Quad Mix - Motown
The original release of the Jackson 5's Greatest Hits LP in 1971 was cause for celebration, as it encapsulated an extraordinary 18-month strings of back-to-back-to-back-back-etc. hits and was itself a hit souvenir of Jacksonmania. It featured eight smash records, led by the group's phenomenal Motown debut, 'I Want You Back,' plus two immensely popular B-sides 'I Found That Girl' and 'Who's Lovin' You' and something new: 'Sugar Daddy,' a just-dropped single which went top 10 pop and no. 3 R&B; it was then not available on any other J5 LP. This LP reissue is something new again: it features the rare quadrophonic mixes, originally released in Japan only in 1975. These mixes used alternate vocals and sometimes emphasized instrumentation not heard in the J5 singles or LP and as a result these versions are much sought-after. As within this edition these mixes are the stereo folds, consumers do *not need a special decoder or four speakers to enjoy the music.

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The Police - Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings - A&M
Following the 40th anniversary vinyl box, The Police present a limited edition 6-CD box set edition, featuring all five studio albums + a bonus disc This package includes six full-color gatefold CD digi-pak wallets housed in a ‘lift-off lid clamshell’ style box. Also includes an exclusive bonus 12-track disc – ‘Flexible Strategies’ comprised of non-album b-sides (including very rare remix of ‘Truth Hits Everybody’). This collection was remastered at Abbey Road Studios.

UPCOMING RELEASES

Danny Brown - uknowhatimsayin¿ - Warp Records
uknowhatimsayin¿ marks a buoyant new chapter in Danny Brown's career, a transitional and celebratory moment. His profile has grown since Atrocity and now armed with a cable TV show and a co-sign from one of rap's icons, we will look to solidify his positioning as a ubiquitous entertainer, independent rap hero, and one of the essential cultural voices of this era, while still retaining the edgy, maverick style that makes him a fan-favorite. The album is executive produced by Q-Tip, and features production by Q-Tip, JPEGMAFIA, Flying Lotus, Paul White, Standing on the Corner and more. 

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Ben Lee - Quarter Century Classix - New West Records
"In January 2019 I found myself stuck in a Chicago hotel room during the “Polar Vortex”. I was performing there with my duo Radnor & Lee over a few nights when temperatures dropped, leaving me unable to do much outside my hotel room for 4 days. Chicago is a city that holds a special history for me, and I found myself spending a good chunk of time staring out my hotel window, reflecting on my first trip there in 1993 to record my debut solo album  Grandpaw Would at Idful Studios with Brad Wood. But more than the details of that trip, I was struck by how vividly memories started flooding back to me of being a 15 year old mega fan of music, and in particular, indie rock. I LIVED for the records that I loved and the bands who made them. I’m not sure you are ever a fan of bands the way you can be as a teenager. It’s pretty sacred. I started re-listening to some of my favorite songs from that period in that hotel room, by the Beat Happening, Pavement, Fugazi, The Breeders, Guided by Voices. It struck me as crazy that these songs and the feelings that accompanied them were now over 25 years old. It started seeming odd to me that for some reason, indie rock hasn’t been canonized the same way ‘60s and ‘70s rock has. After all, Dinosaur Jr were my Led Zeppelin, Sonic Youth were my Grateful Dead and Built to Spill were my Steve Miller Band. These were my classics! I always travel with my portable studio gear, and I immediately sat down and started learning and recording a collection of my favorite songs. I spent my 4 days of the 2019 Polar Vortex creating the blueprint for what would become Quarter Century Classix. When I got home to LA, I invited my friends Julianna Barwick, William Tyler and Mary Lattimore to my home studio to add their magic to my recordings as I knew they grew up in reverence of the same records I did. These three genius musicians became the “band” who you can hear framing these covers and I am eternally grateful for their talent and generosity. Later, Maria Taylor, Mike Watt, Petra Haden and Joey Waronker all showed up to play too. To some people these songs are just footnotes in pop culture history. But to me, they are the essence my own personal history. I wanted to make this record a tribute to these bands, to these songs, and to the irreversible way music can touch and transform the life of a young person. I hope you enjoy Quarter Century Classix. - Ben Lee

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JD McPherson - Socks - New West Records
JD McPherson presents A Christmas Album, SOCKS. Featuring 11 original tracks written by JD McPherson and his friends. SOCKS is an album of Holidays songs sure to be standards while you are decorating the tree. Come get warm by the fire with songs such as , "All The Gifts I Need" and "Every Single Christmas." Or, burn the cookies to "SOCKS" and "Ugly Christmas Sweater." There is something for everyone on this record to enjoy whether you are in the Christmas spirit or if you just wanna say, "Bah Humbug".  Now available on Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Snow Globe Colored Vinyl.

  

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William Hooker - Symphonie Of Flowers - ORG Music
William Hooker has been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, leading a variety of ensembles within the worlds of free jazz, experimental, and new music. Hooker’s prior collaborators range from avant garde jazz musicians to indie rock legends like Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. On his latest work, “Symphonie Of Flowers”, Hooker weaves three sections into a whole, or a “symphonie” of sorts. As he says, “the piece begins and ends with the drum…my instrument. Its rhythm and variations of timbre are the stabilizing element.”

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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.

New Release Round-Up 11-08-19

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen - Bad Seed Ltd
The songs on the first album are the children. The songs on the second album are their parents. Ghosteen is a migrating spirit. The album was recorded in 2018 and early 2019 at Woodshed in Malibu, Nightbird in Los Angeles, Retreat in Brighton and Candybomber in Berlin. It was mixed by Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Lance Powell and Andrew Dominik at Conway in Los Angeles.

FKA Twigs - Magdalene - Young Turks
The follow up to FKA Twigs’ critically acclaimed Brit Award and Mercury Prize nominated debut LP1 (2014, Young Turks). Widely regarded as one of the best albums of 2014 and selling over 340,000 records globally. Top-40 rapper Future appears on the album’s second single “Holy Terrain”, continuing a run of rap collaborations including an appearance on A$AP Rocky’s ‘Testing’ LP. Twigs will tour the US in November with a theatrical performance that debuted in May to universal acclaim as well as several major festivals (Afropunk Brooklyn and Atlanta, Flog Gnaw)

Allen Stone - Building Balance - ATO Records
Allen Stone’s “Building Balance” is his first new album in 4 years, spanning a time period spent figuring out how the old parts and the new parts of his universe were going to co-exist. For Building Balance he worked with Grammy winning producer Nasri as well as Jamie Lidell. Stone continues to draw inspiration from '70s funk and soul with current flexes, sitting amid D'Angelo in its sultrier moments, Stevie Wonder at its most melodic and the production of Mark Ronson at its most modern.

Luke Combs - What You See Is What You Get - SME Nashville
Produced by Scott Moffatt, What You See Is What You Get features 17 songs including the five tracks previously released via Luke Combs' The Prequel EP earlier this summer.

Fitted - First Fits - Org Music
Fitted is a new project from Wire members Graham Lewis and Matthew Simms, with Mike Watt (Minutemen, Stooges, fIREHOSE) and drummer Bob Lee (Fearless Leader, The Freeks). The group first convened after just one practice to perform at Wire’s DRILL festival in 2017 at The Echo in Los Angeles. On their debut album, First Fits, the freewheelin' pysch-pop powerhouse plows through six numbers over the course of 38 minutes, with Lewis and Watt trading lead vocal duties. 

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Andrea Bocelli - Si Forever: The Diamond Edition - Decca
The million-selling 2018 album reimagined to include 5 brand new tracks & including duets with Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Matteo Bocelli, Jennifer Garner and more.

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The Police - Reissues - A&M
The Police’s four UK No.1 albums are available now on heavyweight vinyl. Reggatta de Blanc (1979), Zenyatta Mondatta (1980), Ghost In The Machine (1981) and Syncronicity (1983). Also Avialable 11.15, is Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings, a limited edition 6-CD box set featuring all five studio albums + bonus 12-track disc, ‘Flexible Strategies’, comprised of non-album b-sides.

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UPCOMING RELEASES

Michael Nau - Less Ready To Go - ORG Music
Maryland-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Nau is back with a fourth “solo” album, on the heels of his 2018 release, Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread. Nau, who previously fronted projects like Page France and Cotton Jones, is known for his unique blend of psychedelic folk, R&B, and indie rock music. On his latest effort, Less Ready To Go, Nau enlisted Scott McMicken (Dr. Dog) as a producer, along with collaborators Whitney McGraw, Andrew Dost (fun.), Zach Miller (Dr. Dog), Benny Yurco, and Seth Kauffman.

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Lily Kershaw - Arcadia - Nettwerk Records
Imagine the mind’s farthest wanderings made physical, formed into worlds that represent our internal and external expressions. Mythologically speaking, people have been naming this duality for ages: utopia and dystopia, heaven and earth, Olympus and the underworld. Now imagine this concept distilled in an eleven track, thirty-six minute album, and you arrive at Arcadia, the latest offering by songstress Lily Kershaw. Weaving warmer analog sounds like organ, harpsichord and guitar with cinematic force, Arcadia is Kershaw’s most intimate release to date. But the strongest tool Kershaw wields is her voice, both in the simmering ferocity it carries and the poetry it speaks. Though the concept behind the record is epic to say the least, Kershaw is ultimately telling a story of acceptance, both of herself and the great mystery that is the universe

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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.

J.S. ONDARA - FREE FLEXI DISC

Free Flexi Disc of the single AMERICAN DREAM from J.S. Ondara's upcoming new album "Tales of America" with any vinyl purchase on Black Friday. Heavily influenced by Dylan, his album is "a deliberation on the times and a search for wisdom and the American Dream."
(while supplies last)

Tales of America - The new album from J.S. Ondara - Available 02-01-2019

New Release Round-Up 01-26-18

Calexico - The Thread That Keeps Us - New West Records
Over the past two decades, a strong sense of place has shaped the music of Calexico, infusing their albums with a stylistic unpredictability and richness of texture. While 2015’s Edge of the Sun brought the Tucson-bred band to the Mexico City borough of Coyoacán, their new full-length The Thread That Keeps Us mostly came to life in a house studio near the Northern California coast nicknamed “The Phantom Ship” by CALEXICO vocalist/guitarist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino.

 

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Hollie Cook - Vessel of Love - Merge Records
Hollie Cook combines her unique vocal talent with charming charisma to craft her own dynamic strand of lovers rock with enduring tropical vibes, weaving a path from her West London roots to an arena of diverse collaborations, critically acclaimed records, and iconic live appearances around the world. Cook’s ability to continually surprise, delight, and progress solidifies her position as one of the most exciting voices in reggae, and this is crystal clear on her third full-length and Merge debut, Vessel of Love.

Ty Segall - Freedom's Goblin [LP] - Drag City
Ty Segall goes all the way, flipping the Freedom coin to find passion, laughter and savagery on both sides. A head-spinning compendium of stompers, weepers, ballads, screamers, bangers and funker-uppers, all marking a different impasse, like a flag whirling into a knot, exploding and burning on contact, in the name of life and loathing and the pursuit of what you love.

Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - Black Coffee [Red LP] - J&R Adventures
It's been 4 years since the critically acclaimed, Grammy nominated, and #1 Billboard Blues album Seesaw was released by Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa. They have reunited for Black Coffee - another collection of scorching interpretations of ten soul gems that pair Hart’s breathtaking vocals and Joe’s masterfully expressive playing. Featuring songs made famous by; Edgar Winter, Ray Charles, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Lucinda Williams and more. LP is 180g, red vinyl, and contains an exclusive bonus track.

Nightmares On Wax - Shape The Future [2LP] - Warp Records
One of the most influential artists of a generation and a long-standing member of the Warp Records family, Nightmares On Wax announces his new album Shape The Future. A perfect marriage of soul, hip-hop, dub and timeless club sounds that act as a salvo masterpiece of contemporary and classic genre-blending, brilliantly solidifying Nightmares On Wax place as an inspirational electronic music figurehead.

Cornelius - Mellow Waves [LP] - Rostrum Records
Acclaimed Japanese producer, composer, and recording artist Cornelius first proper studio album in over 11 years, featuring the singles If You're Here, Sometime / Someplace, and In a Dream. 180g black vinyl gatefold LP

American Folk [Soundtrack] - American Folk Records
American Folk is the soundtrack to the award-winning 2018 independent film, American Folk, starring Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth. In addition to both original compositions and classic folk song renditions by Purdy and Rubarth, the soundtrack includes John Prine's ''Some Humans Ain't Human'' and Jerry Garcia & David Grisman's ''Freight Train.''

 

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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section and don't forget that many of these titles are also available on vinyl.