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Cover of Twerp Verse by Speedy Ortiz.

Speedy Ortiz

Twerp Verse

Carpark Records

"Necessary brattiness" is the motto for Speedy Ortiz’s dauntless new collection of songs, Twerp Verse, out on April 27th via Carpark Records. The follow-up to 2015's acclaimed Foil Deer, the band's latest indie rock missive is prompted by a tidal wave of voices, no longer silent on the hurt they’ve endured from society's margins. But like many of these truth-tellers, songwriter, guitarist and singer Sadie Dupuis scales the careful line between what she calls being "outrageous and practical" in order to be heard at all. "You need to employ a self-preservational sense of humor to speak truth in an increasingly baffling world," says Dupuis. "I call it a ‘twerp verse' when a musician guests on a track and says something totally outlandish – like a Lil Wayne verse – but it becomes the most crucial part. This record is our own twerp verse, for those instances when you desperately need to stand up and show your teeth.”

Speedy Ortiz has established itself as one of this decade's most vibrant bands since their 2012 debut EP Sports. That EP introduced listeners to the band's constant study of contrasts, with Sadie Dupuis' gnarled riffs acting as both counterpoint to and bolsterer of her acerbic, conversational poetry. 2013's Major Arcana went further, the members' reflexive chemistry inspiring them to push the limits of their sound, while 2015’s Foil Deer added headphone-ready detailing to the already clamorous mix. Their no-nonsense approach to progress, as evidenced by initiatives like their first of its kind in-concert "help hotline," and Dupuis' tackling of issues like bystander intervention and inclusivity in the music industry—in her lyrics, and as a frequent panelist and speaker—makes the band poised to surge into the future.

Twerp Verse, Speedy's third album and first with Philadelphian Andy Molholt (Laser Background) on second guitar, is urgent and taut, adding surprising textures like Linn drums and whirled guitar processing to their off-kilter hooks. Dupuis, whose electropop solo project Sad13 debuted in 2016 shortly after her own move to Philadelphia, has become more instinctive in her songwriting—her home-recorded demos mirror Twerp Verse's songs in a closer way than any other Speedy record—while her lyrics have become more pointedly witty. The band's camaraderie and crate-digging is evident, with diffuse reference points like Squeeze, Hop Along, Prince, Paramore, and Brenda Lee being sucked into the band's chaos. Even when Dupuis sings of alienation and political weariness, the pop maelstrom swirling around her provides a defiantly charged, mussed-but-hooky optimism.

Now as public pushback against the old guards reaches a fever pitch – in the White House, Hollywood and beyond – the band fires shots in disillusioned Gen Y theme "Lucky 88," and casts a side-eye towards suitors-turned-monsters in the cold-blooded single "Villain." Closing track "You Hate The Title" is a slinky traipse through the banality of this current moment in patriarchy – in which survivors are given the mic, but nitpicked over the timbre of their testimonies. "You hate the title, but you’re digging the song," Dupuis sings wryly, "You like it in theory, but it’s rubbing you wrong." Tuned smartly to the political opacity of the present, Twerp Verse rings clear as a bell.


STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Perfectly encapsulating the driven, rawkous punk-edged drive of prime-era grunge with the playfulness and melodic leanings of some of the best skate-punk of the 90's, Speedy Ortiz add their own brand of off-kilter angularities to create a fun but perfectly emotive journey. Killer stuff.

FORMAT INFORMATION

Coloured LP Info: Deluxe pink coloured vinyl with rainbow splatter in gatefold jacket.
Includes Bonus 7” (A Side: Le Mans B Side: Saint Fret) Includes Lyric Sheet Insert.

Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

CD Info: CD is 6-panel digipak with clear plastic tray with artwork by Sadie Dupuis. Includes lyric sheet insert.

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Cover of Cool Like You by Blossoms.

Blossoms

Cool Like You

Virgin EMI

NB: THERE IS A DELUXE VINYL EDITION FEATURING A BONUS ALBUM OF ACOUSTIC VERSIONS - THIS IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO INSTORE CUSTOMERS. 
ACCORDING TO THE DISTRIBUTOR - THIS IS BY REQUEST OF BAND AND LABEL MANAGEMENT IN LONDON.
WE CAN TAKE PRE-ORDERS FOR THIS INSTORE NOW!

'Blossoms second album sees them return with 11 tracks of 80s inspired synth-layered pop bliss. On lead single 'I Can't Stand It', the band bring the tempo up and combine it with cascading synth riffs, while 'There's A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)' brings a previously unheard anthemic rock quality to the bands sound'...

Furthering their domination of the northern music scene, they take the rawkous sound of their debut and bolster it with the experience learnt from their time touring, absorbing influence from all corners of the musical spectrum. This is a confident and mature follow-up and one sure to cement their reputation and productivity for years to come. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Blossoms have not YET managed it, but with these brilliantly measured and perfectly written anthemic indie stormers, are moving ever closer to being cool like me.

One day.

FORMAT INFORMATION

2xDeluxe LP Info: 2 x black heavyweight vinyl, gatefold sleeve with silver foiling, 8pg booklet and a download code.
AVAILABLE INSTORE ONLY FROM APR 27TH AT £24.99.

LP Info: Black heavyweight vinyl, gatefold sleeve, 8pg booklet and a download code.

2xDeluxe CD Info: Deluxe CD comes in a mint pack and a 12pg booklet and acoustic album.

CD Info: CD comes in a mint pack with a 12pg booklet.

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Cover of Grid Of Points by Grouper.

Grouper

Grid Of Points

Kranky

Not long after recording her 10th album, Ruins, Liz Harris traveled to Wyoming to work on art and record music. She found herself drawn towards the pairing of skeletal piano phrasing with spare, rich bursts of vocal harmony.

A series of stark songs emerged, minimal and vulnerable, woven with emotive silences. Inspired by “the idea that something is missing or cold,” the pieces float and fade like vignettes, implying as much as they reveal. She describes them as “small texts hanging in space,” impressions of mortality, melody, and the unseen – fleeting beauty, interrupted. Grid Of Points stands as a concise and potently poetic addition to the Grouper catalog.

From Liz Harris: Grid Of Points is a set of songs for piano and voice. I wrote these songs over a week and a half; they stopped abruptly when I was interrupted by a high fever. Though brief, it is complete. The intimacy and abbreviation of this music allude to an essence that the songs lyrics speak more directly of. The space left after matter has departed, a stage after the characters have gone, the hollow of some central column,
missing. 


STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Simmering slow piano, beautiful layered vocals and cavernous reverb all form together to make this one of Harris' most enthralling outings to date. Perfectly tender but undeniably hard-hitting, these pieces are brimming with emotional heft and speckled with moments of spine-tingling beauty. Stunning.

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Cover of Criola Remixed - Inc. Prins Emanuel/ Dazion / Androo / Tolouse Low Trax / Interstellar Funk Remixes by Denis Mpunga & Paul K.

Denis Mpunga & Paul K

Criola Remixed - Inc. Prins Emanuel/ Dazion / Androo / Tolouse Low Trax / Interstellar Funk Remixes

Music From Memory

Music From Memory continue to cook up the heaters here, beaming onto your deck with a remix disc inspired by that curious and crucial Afro-Belgian LP. The odd combination of electronic elements, rubberised grooves and the sunbaked flavours of the mother continent took us all by surprise when it dropped a couple of months back - bounding out the speaker like a long, lost twin of Zazou, Biyake & CY1 with just a little extra oddball rating. Now the dons of the 'dam invite a veritable who's who of contemporary production druids to work their body moving magic on a bunch of "Criola" originals. Swedish drum fiend Prins Emanuel kicks us off with a suitably percussive reinterpretation of "KWEI!!", cycling through chanted vocals and pinging synths over an irresistible blend of circular rhythm elements and breezy bass. Next up Holland's afro-cosmic wunderkind comes up to the plate with a "Turtle Maraca" remix of "Intermezzo B" perfect for a memorable night of chicken limbo and lysergic marinade. Picking up where he left off on "Rigola", Dazion stretches the OG into a proper cosmic roller, surrounding the psychedelic flute refrain with shamanic drums, hypnotic sequences and a deep and earthy kick drum. Second Circle's most recent recruit, Androo continues his fine run of early form with an astrally inclined kosmische mix dripping in otherworldly dub elements. The slow and sensual drum pattern holds it down from top to bottom, creating more than enough space for echo drenched guitars, delicate mallets and smooth synths to enjoy an ear pleasing threesome. Flipping the disc we're dropped into the dark and sticky domain Detlef calls home, coming face to face with a transportative Tolouse Low Trax mix of "Veronika". Slicing and dicing the emotive vocals and soft-goth guitars over a typically lopsided groove, the German makes us move...slowly. Mechanical, packed with soul and slow enough to lock your shoulders into a right good roll, it's another eyeball licking masterpiece from Dusseldorf. As we reach the B2 we take a break from the remixes in favour of an unreleased version of "Veronika 02" with about 4 tons of extra electronic bass banged under it - holy heft it's muscular. Finally, Dutch electro chief Interstellar Funk delivers a slow moving sci-fi rendition of "Intermezzo 2" which drifts through the deadzone dodging growling synth stabs and static space junk to the tripped out patter of a rippling rhythm track.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: MFM revisit the madcapped magic of "Criola" with a star studded remix package perfect for the more open minded dancefloors of the world. Dig in for Afro-cosmic strollers, deep space rollers, mechanical soul and subbed up dub. A perfect accompaniment to the original, with more than enough retweak to turn the dancefloor inside out.

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Cover of Voor Adeline by Walter Verdin.

Walter Verdin

Voor Adeline

Stroom

Theater De Kreet was a short lived theatre collective that existed between 1979 and 1981. In that period the troupe presented just one performance, a musical called 'Adeline' which had a run of six shows during 1981.

The members of Theater De Kreet were originally part of a bigger group called Grasgroen, which was founded by art history students from the Leuven University. The collective mainly focused on so called ‘animations’ in the public space. After a while, Grasgroen split into two different groups (theatre and performance), and Theater De Kreet came into existence. Its core members were Walter Verdin, Guy Dermul, Hilde Wils, Gaby Geysens and Nicole Boffin. Mainly using improvisatory methods, the collective started working on 'Adeline' in 1979. The premiere took place in October 1981 and was met with very mixed critical reviews. Walter Verdin was in charge of the music for 'Adeline'. Originally an art history and visual art student, Verdin was introduced to the Belgian music scene through his record sleeve and poster designs. Prior to the music for 'Adeline', he released a solo album and a 7” white man reggae project with Grasgroen ('Storingen' by Specimen & The Rizikoos). Later in his career, he had his biggest commercial success with Pas de deux, the band that represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest in Munich (1983). After the Pas de deux adventure, Verdin gave up on popular music and had a blooming career in video art, working on video concerts and installations and later on with renowned theatre and dance companies from all over the world.

To write the soundtrack for 'Adeline', Verdin took to the studio of the Audiovisual Services of the KU Leuven, which was his audio and video laboratorium for around 20 years, and subsequently to the ICP Recording Studios in Brussels for post-production. Verdin & co. didn't compose behind a writing desk or a piano. Music for them meant playing - with an instrument, but also with non-traditional instruments. The spring of a desk lamp for instance, could be used to produce music too. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Stroom just don't slip up! The Belgian label keep us coming back with a wonderful collection of improvisational electronic grooves from Pas De Deux man Walter Verdin. Combining all your favourite bits of minimal wave, Balearic, synth funk and cosmic pop, the eight tracks on "Voor Adeline" are the kind of wonderful oddities that litter all the best mixtapes.

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Cover of With Dim Light by Minami Deutsch.

Minami Deutsch

With Dim Light

Guruguru Brain

    Minami Deutsch is back at it again with their latest LP …. Whilst softening their sound and cushioning the blow, you can expect a more profound diversity in their sound, whilst retaining the principle ingredients that make Minami Deutsch so great such as their signature fuzz, thumping bass and dream like vocals. There is a heavier experimentation in regards to genre exploration.

    With hints of post punk and nods to late 60s psychedelic rock, this shows that Minami Deutsch is willing to push musical boundaries further whilst retaining a clever songwriting ability to achieve this album. Sounds like, Agitation Free, Manuel Göttsching, mid-era CAN.

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Barry says: Somehow occupying the lesser travelled space between sludgey psychedelia and rhythmic Krautrock, Minami Deutsch manage to make their experimental twists and turns come out in a way that feels both surprising but completely cohesive. Brilliantly hazy summertime anthems and superbly experimental madness.

    FORMAT INFORMATION

    Ltd LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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    Cover of In The Rainbow Rain by Okkervil River.

    Okkervil River

    In The Rainbow Rain

    ATO

    In The Rainbow Rain' - produced by Sheff and mixed by Shawn Everett (Perfume Genius, Alabama Shakes, The War on Drugs) - serves as showcase for Sheff's writing and the musical interplay of his new band mates, Benjamin Lazar Davis (bass), Will Graefe (guitar), Sarah Pedinotti (keys) and Cully Symington (percussion) - the same iteration of Okkervil River that joined Sheff on the Away tour. Recalls Sheff of that tour: "It was my favorite touring experience in many years... I felt like a kid again. I realized how phenomenally lucky I am that I've been able to play music for this long."

    Sheff and the band started work on the new album shortly after the end of that tour - and the presidential election. "If December 2016 was good for anything, it was good for writing songs," he says. Galvanized by the seismic events of that Fall and the following year, Sheff, sometimes co-writing with his new band, channeled his outrage and sadness into music intended to be hopeful, healing and uplifting. Inspired by the Quaker meetings he had been attending, Sheff injected the album with undercurrents of spirituality and gratitude. The result is something akin to a modern secular gospel record, and among the best music of his career.

    Highlights include driving, melodic anthems "Love Somebody" and "Pulled Up The Ribbon," and "Famous Tracheotomies," which chronicles notable figures who've endured the titular procedure, including Gary Coleman, Dylan Thomas, Ray Davies, and Sheff himself. "In places, the record deals with heavy things like trauma and betrayal and shame, but, actually, it's supposed to be a good time," says Sheff. "I hope it's something fun, that makes people feel happier

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Barry says: With hints of smooth synthpop mixed in with the usual swooning indie anthems, Sheff has managed to sacrifice none of his original appeal whilst bringing in the considerable talents of his new bandmates, somehow simmering into a cohesive and enjoyable whole.

    FORMAT INFORMATION

    Coloured LP Info: Opaque blue/purple swirl marbled vinyl.

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    Cover of Forth Wanderers by Forth Wanderers.

    Forth Wanderers

    Forth Wanderers

    Sub Pop

      Forth Wanderers employ a tin-can-telephone style of composition which they use even when living in the same area code. Since first collaborating in 2013 as Montclair, New Jersey high schoolers, guitarist and songwriter Ben Guterl and vocalist Ava Trilling have passed songs back and forth like pen pals. Guterl will devise an instrumental skeleton before sending it to vocalist Ava Trilling who pens the lyrics based off the melody. The duo then gather alongside guitarist Duke Greene, bassist Noah Schifrin, and drummer Zach Lorelli to expand upon the demo. It’s a patient and practiced writing system that has carried the quintet through two EPs (2013’s Mahogany and 2016’s Slop) and one LP (2014’s Tough Love). Forth Wanderers, the group’s sophomore record and Sub Pop debut, is the groups’ most comprehensive and assured statement yet.

      Now living in Ohio and New York respectively, Guterl and Trilling have evolved their separate but collaborative writing process. “The only way I can really write is by myself in my room with a notebook, listening to the song over and over again,” Trilling says. “I’ve never sat down to write a story, I write the song as it unfolds.” Since her lyrics are often embedded with intimate truths from her life, the private writing experience often leads to intense self-reflection.

      On Forth Wanderers these introspections include meditations on relationships, discovery, and finding oneself adrift. Despite the inherent heaviness of those themes, Forth Wanderers feels joyous, a rock record bursting with heart. Take “Not for Me,” a romping track about “the ambivalence of love.” Trilling’s confession of “I can’t feel the earth beneath my feet/Flowers bloom but not for me” resists feeling like a dreary, pitying complaint; instead, as her bandmates bolster her melancholy with interlocking harmonic intricacies, she soars with self-actualization. Opener “Nevermine,” is a surge of confidence inspired by an ex-lover who is still captivated by her image. “I don’t think I know who you are anymore/And I think I knew who I was before,” she jabs with relish. On “Ages Ago” Trilling paints the image of a constantly-shifting enigmatic lover. “I wasn’t sure who they were, they changed constantly (hence the metaphor describing the “grey coat” and cutting their hair just to “stay afloat”),” she says. “I wasn’t going to wait any longer to find out.”

      Recorded over five days by friend and audio engineer Cameron Konner at his Philadelphia home studio, Forth Wanderers amplifies the heartfelt sentiments of their earlier works into massive anthems. Guterl and Greene’s guitars have never sounded sharper, Schifrin and Lorelli’s terse rhythm section is restless, and Trilling sounds more self-assured than ever. These are exuberant, profound songs driven by tightly bound melodies and a loving attention to detail.

      STAFF COMMENTS

      Barry says: Encompassing the spirit of languid college-rock, laid back and full of mellow guitar strums and cleverly penned rhythmic flourishes and those stunning harmonies make this an enthralling and rewarding whole. A superb debut.

      FORMAT INFORMATION

      Coloured LP Info: Orange coloured Loser edition.

      Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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      Cover of Loveplaydance - 8 Scenes From The Floor by Toshio Matsuura Group.

      Toshio Matsuura Group

      Loveplaydance - 8 Scenes From The Floor

      Brownswood

      On ‘LOVEPLAYDANCE’, legendary Tokyo DJ and producer Toshio Matsuura charts a new direction. Casting musical cornerstones in a fresh light, the Toshio Matsuura Group features Tom Skinner (drummer for Sons of Kemet and Owiny Sigoma Band amongst others) as its musical director, as well as some of the UK’s most exciting jazz-influenced musicians. Drawing on years of surveying and curating different corners of music, Matsuura deftly combines this talented pool of players into one singular, wide-ranging album.

      A co-founder of Japan’s United Future Organisation (aka U.F.O.), this new record sees Matsuura reconnect with longstanding friend and collaborator Gilles Peterson. Releasing the album via Brownswood Recordings in the UK, it’s a continuation of a relationship which started as a bridge between London’s then-blossoming jazz scene and Tokyo’s new musical vanguard of the early ‘90s. This album continues that two-way dialogue between Japan and the UK.

      The project is focused on covers, putting classic or influential tracks in a new context, spanning a cross-section of Matsuura’s taste. On ‘Black Gold of the Sun’, Cuban vocalist Daymé Arocena fronts a new take on the Rotary Connection classic, along with a band – guided by Tom Skinner – that features her prodigious Havana-based players. Elsewhere, Byron Morris and Unity’s ‘Kitty Bey’, a Dingwalls classic, is knocked into a tight, high energy new shape (by a band that includes Yussef Dayes, Yazz Ahmed and Nubya Garcia.)

      The scope of the music reflects the breadth of Matsuura’s interests. It ranges from Bugges Wesseltoft’s Detroit-influenced, dancefloor-minded jazz, stretched out into a more meditative contemplation, to Flying Lotus’ LA-rooted, Brainfeeder beatmaking, translated from laptop-to-live, given a new, equally idiosyncratic lease of life. Elsewhere, Carl Craig’s iconic ‘At Les’ is taken in a looser direction, the overtones of euphoria cast in a different hue.

      They’re touchpoints which hint at interests in the different, diffuse corners of electronic music, and how they connect to jazz and improvisation. Coming to this project from the perspective of a DJ, producer and curator, it’s an album that shows his grasp of the bigger picture. This album shows him finding the threads which connect those different scenes together, exploring a to-and-fro – between live, played instruments, and the possibilities found in laptops and samplers – which has long been a backdrop to music aimed at dancefloors.

      STAFF COMMENTS

      Millie says: Brownswood yet again producing the best jazz around, the twist of classic jazz presented in a contemporary way is fab! A favourite of mine has to be the Flying Lotus cover Do The Astral Plane!

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      Cover of Jazz Cats by Fredfades & Eikrem.

      Fredfades & Eikrem

      Jazz Cats

      KingUnderground

      Fredfades is making his name in hip-hop circles worldwide as one of the jazziest producers around. He's joined up with the gifted jazz trumpeter Kristoffer Eikrem for a full "Jazz Cats" LP. The label KingUnderground does just that by finding artists which weren’t heard of until now, needless to say, the project lives up to its title. The two enlist several other jazz musicians on this innovative LP, as well as rappers like Ivan Ave and a whole array of artists contributing. Somehow the many voices and hands involved all fit smoothly into the format, as Fred's unique beat aesthetics and Eikrem's silky melodies solidly combine in an organic sounding piece.

      STAFF COMMENTS

      Millie says: Incredibly chilled out jazz on this new release, fans of Dilla, Madlib, Abstract Orchestra and the Brownswood circle will love this. It’s super limited so act quick!

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      Cover of Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away by Freddie Gibbs & Statik Selektah.

      Freddie Gibbs & Statik Selektah

      Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away

      Omerta Inc

      Originally released back in 2011, "Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away", saw Freddie Gibbs team up with legendary East Coast beat maker Statik Selektah. The project was recorded in a single day, with the sessions being broadcast out on U-stream. Across the seven track EP, Gibbs showcases his hyper technical gansta rap flow, stepping out of his comfort zone rapping over some classic NYC boom bap production. The EP features guest spots from Trae The Truth, Smoke DZA, Termanology and more.

      Omerta Inc. brings this collaborative project to vinyl for the first time. As well as featuring the seven tracks from the original project, the vinyl release includes two bonus tracks, "Crushin’ Feelings" and "Carry On" featuring Joey Bada$$.

      It's certain to fill a hole left in anyone's life since they played "Piñata" for the 1000th time and a decidedly different sound than his solo efforts. This is straight OG gangsta shit, tipping his hat to the originators and the new school respectively. Gibbs' in excellent flow, talking about recent public events (his rape charge, his beef with Rick Ross, family shootings and his constant connection to the street...).


      STAFF COMMENTS

      Matt says: He's back! Gary's most potty-mouthed and charismatic MC is joined, this time by Statik Selectik for another street-wise commentry on life and love.

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      Cover of Life Is Short The Answer's Long by The Beat Escape.

      The Beat Escape

      Life Is Short The Answer's Long

      Bella Union

        Long before they were a band, Montreal duo The Beat Escape took a small first step towards a longer journey at a university video class. “We made a short oddball work; a video piece that followed two characters through a psychedelic waking dream,” say Beat Escapists Addy Weitzman and Patrick A Boivin of their founding collaboration. Many other projects and outside collaborations later, the duo have crafted a debut album their younger selves would be proud of: Released through Bella Union, the sublimely immersive ‘Life Is Short The Answer’s Long’ plays like a waking dream of near-psychedelic electronic pop, moving to its own beat in the push-pull of forward motion and submerged reflection.

        That sense of propulsion ushers opener ‘Sign Of Age’ into rising view, its sparse drums, hypnotic sequence and melancholic chords resembling house music as reimagined by Angelo Badalamenti. The enveloping mood holds as ‘Moon In Aquarius’ unfurls like a nighttime road ahead, ghosted by narcotic harmonies. ‘Limestone Alps’ lingers meditatively, hymnal vocals reverberating. ‘Where Water Ends’ and ‘More Dreams’, meanwhile, navigate the porous boundary lines between Krautrock, Factory Records and obscure minimal wave records of the 80s.

        STAFF COMMENTS

        Barry says: Superb throbbing pseudo-synthery from The Beat Escape, Bella Union's answer to Pye corner Audio mix swooning pads and soaring vocal abstractions around a dynamic core of weighted percussion, flickering arpeggios and spine-tingling euphoric leads.

        FORMAT INFORMATION

        LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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        Cover of Conquistador by Dylan Carlson.

        Dylan Carlson

        Conquistador

        Sargent House

          Debut solo album from Dylan Carlson, drone metal pioneer and founding member of the iconic band Earth. “The doom-metal innovator” Pitchfork / “Carlson creates the soundtrack to the great American road movie that has yet to be made.“ The Guardian / “I guess what ties this all together—all my musical projects and my life in general—is the idea of the quest, that search for new horizons and something unnamable and possibly unreachable,” Dylan Carlson says regarding the theme behind his solo album Conquistador. Carlson’s musical explorations can be traced back to his pioneering work with the minimalist ensemble Earth, from the groundbreaking drone metal of Earth2 to the ominous instrumental twang of Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method. Untethered from the collaborative nature of the band, Carlson veered away from American music and motifs and dug into English folklore and song traditions for his solo work under the moniker of drcarlsonalbion. For his first full-length as the solo artist Dylan Carlson, the guitarist returns west. In many ways, Conquistador harkens back to Hex.

          Whereas the Earth album set out to score the historical fiction of Cormac McCarthy’s examination of white settlers’ horrific campaign against Native Americans in Blood Meridian, Conquistador bypasses the intermediary narrative of a novelist. “This is another imaginary western,” Carlson explains, “based on the real story of a conquistador and his Moorish servant in what was then the northernmost regions of Mexico, but is now the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and Texas. They were gone for twenty years and had many adventures before making it back to the Gulf of Mexico and returning to Mexico City and, eventually, Spain.” Muses aside, there is an analogous timbre, pace, and pentatonic aura between Carlson’s latest offering and Hex. But the reductionist principles that have always driven Carlson’s work play an even larger role on Conquistador, with his expansive drones and austere guitar work saturating the sonic field while freed from the lock step of a rhythm section.

          Carlson has long been heralded as a master of minimalism, and this full-length demonstrates his ability to craft compelling symphonic compositions while exercising extreme musical frugality. Conquistador was recorded at God City Studios with Kurt Ballou during a weeklong break in Carlson’s solo tour 2016. The material had been gestating for months, and Carlson viewed the session as an opportunity to create music between Earth albums as well as a chance to collaborate with Emma Ruth Rundle, who contributed baritone & slide guitar, and his wife Holly Carlson, who contributed percussion & whose picture graces the cover of the album. 

          STAFF COMMENTS

          Barry says: As one of the most enduring and important figureheads in the experimental drone community since the mindblowing 'Earth 2' Dylan Carlson has proved time and time again that he is worthy of every bit of admiration heaped upon him. 'Conquistador' is another superb outing of unrivalled and immersive beauty.

          FORMAT INFORMATION

          LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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          Cover of 3333 by Denis Jones.

          Denis Jones

          3333

          The State51 Conspiracy

            3333 is the new album by Manchester resident Denis Jones and completes the trilogy he started back in 2003. Early on in his career his repertoire was likened favourably to John Martin in his One World time but more recently his live performance has developed to involve more of the live looping and experimenting which is his trademark, so now as much steeped in heavy electronica as it is in guitar-based songs.

            Sharing studio space with Manchester legends Graham Massey and Mr Scruff (Andrew Carthy) allowed for guidance and often-essential conversation through out the process. Both helped formulate the short list of tracks as well as loaning microphones, guitars, synths, organs and other musical necessities thus helping guide in completion of the album.

            He has collaborated with artists as far afield as Lithuania, where he has twice toured, with one track appearing on a FabricLive compilation (#35). More recently, he has been involved with Nitin Sawhney's Aftershock collaboration project, spending a week in Marseilles, and has been working on an ambitious audio-visual enhanced performance with Wasp Video, involving a combination of experimental live-mixed video techniques, often projected in imaginative style across any available surface in the venue as well as conventional screens. 

            STAFF COMMENTS

            Barry says: With twisting, psychedelic synth swirls and brilliant fist-pumping moments, '3333' is a nuanced and brilliantly effervescent collection of syncopated rhythms and unrivalled, innovative melodies.

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            Cover of Megaplex by We Are Scientists.

            We Are Scientists

            Megaplex

            100%

              We Are Scientists, the Brooklyn, New York based power pop troupe are set to return with their sixth album. Titled ‘Megaplex’ and released via 100% Records on April 27th, the infamous duo, Keith Murray (guitar/vocals) and Chris Cain (bass), are once again set to dazzle the world with ten brand new splashes of colourful and utterly addictive pop that serve as a welcome distraction to these bleak times we live in.

              “In the past we’ve used our music to educate, to enlighten, to awaken people to the depth and complexity of moral concerns. This time, we really wanted to drop a fun-bomb. Something to dance or f*** to,” states Chris and ‘Megaplex’ achieves just that. Recorded at Tim Wheeler from Ash’s Atomic Heart Studios in NYC and once again produced by Max Hart (ex-Katy Perry), the duo set about honing down a sprawling burst of creativity to make the concise pop beast that is ‘Megaplex’.

              "At this point in our career, we’ve written so many songs,” explains Keith. “The pool for this record alone was something like 90 songs deep — that we know exactly what we want out of a We Are Scientists record. We want it to be taut, to bang hard, to have a big hook every four seconds or so. We don’t have to be precious about which songs make it onto a record; we can listen to the ones that didn’t make it at home, on our own time. ‘Megaplex’ is just the ten most delicious songs that we have — a stacked-up compound of entertainment."

              "It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of honing of craft to make it to six records,” continues Keith. “ I mean, the Velvet Underground never made six albums. The Smiths didn’t. Pavement, Guns N’ Roses, The Stooges — none of them could do it. So, I guess we’re just objectively better than those bands now? It’s just a mathematical fact, right? Van Halen made six with David Lee Roth but only four with Sammy Hagar, so I guess we’re better than Hagar-era Van Halen but only just as good as Roth-era? Which, saying it out loud, makes total sense, yeah."

              These are stark facts that cannot be argued when faced with the ten melodious molten nuggets that are simply blinding in their brightness. Yes folks, We Are Scientists are very much back.

              “Our brilliant work in pop song writing is unsurpassed,” summarises Keith. “And will probably make the We Are Scientists Name live beyond eternity.”

              STAFF COMMENTS

              Barry says: Bright, soaring melodies and bolshy, neon synths thump around the stereo image while the vocals soar over the top. Unashamedly retro but brilliantly modern, and great fun throughout.

              FORMAT INFORMATION

              Coloured LP Info: Limited edition white vinyl.

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              Cover of Remains by International Harvester.

              International Harvester

              Remains

              Silence

                In the late 60s things were changing radically, new movements within politics, awareness of the environment, piece movements and hippies saw the daylight. All this was of course reflected in the music scene and in Sweden International Harvester was the first and leading band to pick up on this shift.

                International Harvester existed from 1967 to 1969 and during these two years they toured Sweden from south to north releasing two records won thier way.

                Sov Gott Rose-Marie (Sleep tight Rose-Marie) 1968 and Hemat (Homeward) 1969 are both collector’s items. This box contains the two albums and three bonus albums with music that was long forgotten until member Thomas Tidholm looked deep into his attic and found two cases full of live recordings from 1967 to 1969. Thomas and Anders Lind, engineer of the early albums, listened and selected the most interesting parts and after editing them, Anders has restored and mastered the material from the old cassette tapes. The two original albums are analogue transferred at 96 khz/ 24 bits and also remastered by Anders.

                FORMAT INFORMATION

                FREE SHIPPING This item has FREE UK shipping!

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                Cover of Tendrils by Joel Silbersher & Charlie Owen.

                Joel Silbersher & Charlie Owen

                Tendrils

                Sorcerer

                  Sorcerer Records is proud to announce the first ever vinyl edition of this long-out-ofprint classic from 1995, originally released on CD by the Dog Meat label. Tendrils sees Joel (Hoss, GOD, Melonman, Dark Horses, etc.) and Charlie (New Christs, Beasts Of Bourbon, Tex, Don & Charlie) engaging in a series of intimate, loose and downbeat folky duets.

                  With sonic similarities to the likes of Richard Thompson (there’s a mind-melting cover of his “Night Comes In” track here, too) and John Martyn, as well as more contemporary troubadours such as Ben Chasny (Six Organs Of Admittance) and Steve Gunn, Tendrils often feels like it’s on the verge of musical collapse, but pulls itself together with delicate and intricate guitar work, gentle vocals and occasional percussion lending it a steady pulse.

                  The duo released one more CD, this one under the Tendrils moniker, in 1998 on the Half A Cow label, before parting ways. We think this is a very special release which deserves a new appreciation and a 21st-century audience. Both Joel and Charlie are still very active in music (Joel’s other band, Hoss, will be releasing their first album in 20 years on Sorcerer in 2018), but with Tendrils you get to hear the magic they made together circa 1995. This edition comes newly remastered by Mikey Young with fresh artwork design from Luke Fraser and is limited to 500 copies worldwide.

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                  Cover of Turquoise Tortoise by Glenn Astro & Hodini.

                  Glenn Astro & Hodini

                  Turquoise Tortoise

                  Apollo

                  A German dream team pairing on Apollo here as Glenn Astro joins Hodini for a deliciously sprawling EP that covers Astro's crate-dug style and Hodini's keen ear for electro-jazz sketches. "Turquoise Tortoise" is a masterful, unique concoction that infuses future soul experiments into Detroit influenced house, broken beat and even technoid, up tempo percussions rounded off with classic boom bap sounds.

                  Conceived as a loose limbed creative experiment, 'Turquoise Tortoise' was not written and recorded in the classical sense of a collaboration as Astro explains: 'We had the idea of doing an album together for quite a while, but with one of us living in Cologne and the other one in Berlin we never really had the chance to spend enough time together in one place and go to the studio together properly.'

                  Unsatisfied with simply sending files back and forth via the net, they struck upon the idea to produce tracks individually, bringing them together finally on one album. - 'Although we didn't make the music together it still was really important to us to have a motif and to keep it cohesive.' Astro adds.

                  Hodini's experience working with vocalists proved invaluable, as "Turquoise Tortoise" is the first time that Glenn has worked on a record with such a portfolio of talented featured artists - Ajnascent contributes his dulcet tones to "Found!' and "Viktor And The Quasar" to mesmerising effect. Longtime Astro pal Max Graef shows up to play bass on the vibey b-boy workout "Malaysian Moped" alongside a carefree vocal contribution by Knowsum. A UK flavour comes courtesy via the rap / toasting talents of Peckham's MC Pinty on the beatific "Beautiful Music'".

                  Within the first three tracks we're hurtled through neo-soul, boom-bap hip-hop and frenetic future jazz before sinking into another opiated sections rich with liquid soul inflections and drizzled in phosphorescent jazz stylings. The perfect album for the intrepid, ADHD-fuelled modern music fan, the depth of Astro & Hodini's musicality, and reinforces anyone that's seen Astro's live performances as a completely multi-talented instrumentalist. A tour de force!


                  STAFF COMMENTS

                  Matt says: After winning me over on Money $ex, Glenn Astro continues to tickle my fancy as he joins Modini for an expert lesson in downbeat / hip-hop and jazz-tinged vibrations. Check!

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                  Cover of Brown Acid: The Sixth Trip by Various Artists.

                  Various Artists

                  Brown Acid: The Sixth Trip

                  Riding Easy

                    The forthcoming latest edition of the popular compilation series of long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles. The series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. If you’d told us when we started this epic journey that we’d have six volumes worth of licensed tracks released in just three years, we would’ve laughed in your face! Doing the Dark Lord’s work isn’t an easy job, but somebody’s gotta do it, so here we are with six Trips under our belt and more lined up. You heads just can’t get enough obscure hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal from the late-60s & 70s! And for that, we’re grateful for the opportunity to keep laying these slabs in your lap.

                    This isn’t just a random mixtape we threw together off the Internet. We find the records, track the bands and transfer the tapes, so you don’t have to. The bands did their job back in the day by writing, recording and releasing this material, most times against all odds, and you’ve squandered your hard earned scratch on this record, so I guess the least we can do is continue to compile quality Rock’n’Roll cuts from the golden age of heaviness. This time around we have 10 deep cuts from across the continental US of A and one from our neighbors up North. This Trip kicks off with an outrageous number from Gold out of San Francisco circa 1970. The band used to open their sets with this over-the-top frantic jammer which is absolutely mind-blowing and also leads one to believe that the only band that could’ve held a candle to Gold back in the day would’ve been the mighty Blue Cheer. As we delve deeper into the depths, Canadians continue to prove that they could bang heads with the best of ‘em! Heat Exchange from Toronto released the rollicking ripper “Inferno” on the Yorkville label way back in 1968 and it’s still thumping almost 50 years later! Missouri isn’t a state that brought us a lot of heavy 45s, but there are a handful of outstanding tracks from the Show Me State, one of which is the funk-laced anthem “Give Me Time” by Backwood Memory from Kansas City. Speaking of Show Me, many thanks to our KC pal Jeffrey Harvey for turning us on to this one and helping put us in touch with the band.

                    The longer we do this, the more we begin to believe that Youngstown, Ohio was the Hard Rock Mecca back in the day. Travis is yet another Youngstown group that aimed to get asses out of seats and out in the streets. “Lovin’ You” is a groovy banger with a sultry riff originally released on the prolific Starshine Productions imprint. Six years prior to his Arcadian synth-funk novelty hit “Space Invaders” from 1980, Victor “Uncle Vic” Blecman took Flight into the studio with a list of relationship requirements. Amongst which are his need for “Luvin’, Huggin’, & More”, with emphasis on the “More” part if we’re to believe the urgency with which he delivers this fist-pumper. If you don’t immediately recognize the Truth & Janey moniker, you need to get with it and familiarize yourself with their incredible 1976 LP “No Rest For The Wicked”. It’s a protometal masterpiece that’s been reissued on Rockadrome. Released four years earlier than their debut LP, “Midnight Horseman” is a 45-only track backed with a cover of “Under My Thumb”. Dennis Bergeron from Rockadrome was crucial in helping us obtain the rights to this Iowa burner.

                    Another Iowan group, West Minist’r, self-released three 45s between 1969 and 1975. They’re all great in their own way, but “My Life” hit the crunchy sweet spot in ’71 with vocals sounding like a fresh from primal scream therapy John Lennon over a zonked-out Hendrix groove. You can count on hearing more from West Minist’r on future Trips. It’s nearly impossible that Dayton, Ohio’s Purgatory didn’t seize the “Strange Days” and join “The Soft Parade” while “Waiting for the Sun”. And although “Polar Expedition” wears its influences on its sleeve, 1969 would have been at least a little worse off if the band hadn’t self released this single.

                    Johnny Barnes was definitely “smokin’ that reefer” and “drinkin’ that wine” when he released “Steel Rail Blues” in 1976. The label states that you could order a copy of this 45 for by sending $1 to a PO Box in Boston and it’s the only record on the Brown Acid series that seems to be obtainable currently for about the same amount it was sold for over three decades ago. That said, it’s doubtful that it will remain so cheap for much longer. With a track as heavy as “Is There No Peace” it’s easy to let the name of the label on this 45 slide. In Chicago in 1970 PSLHRTZ seemed like as good a label name as any for the guys in Zendik to release this insane recording on. Halfway through the track you might be wondering to yourself, “How was this not a hit?”, and then you hear the lyrics to the last bit of the song and understand. Thank Christ for Zendik, even if he is dead. Well, there ya have it. Months worth of record digging and detective work for about 40 minutes worth of music. Some people might think this is a waste of time, but we don’t and we hope you don’t either. This is the stuff that makes life worth living, at least until the next Trip…

                    FORMAT INFORMATION

                    Coloured LP Info: Limited green vinyl edition.

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                    Cover of Burning Britain: A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1980 - 1983 by Various Artists.

                    Various Artists

                    Burning Britain: A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1980 - 1983

                    Cherry Red

                      Burning Britain is the sequel to 2016’s acclaimed 4-CD Box Set Action Time Vision, which documented the independent Punk revolution of the late Seventies.

                      Burning Britain is the first-ever box set to properly tell the story of the early Eighties independent Punk scene – nicknamed UK82 - when the music went underground and thrived outside of the major label framework.

                      With 114 tracks, this longform 4-CD box set follows previous, acclaimed compilations from Cherry Red dedicated to Post-Punk (To The Outside Of Everything), Goth (Silhouettes And Shadows), Mod Revival (Millions Like Us), etc.

                      The 64-page booklet includes authoritative band biogs and an insightful foreword by respected Punk commentator Ian Glasper (author of the book Burning Britain, which inspired the title of this box set).

                      Big names from the early days of Punk (The Damned, Angelic Upstarts, UK Subs, Cockney Rejects, The Adicts, The Lurkers, Chelsea) are joined by all the key bands from the next wave, including The Exploited, The Anti-Nowhere League, Discharge, Blitz, G.B.H., The Toy Dolls, Vice Squad, The Business, Peter & The Test Tube Babies, Poison Girls and Conflict.

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                      Cover of Cerebral Hemispheres by Mr. Fingers.

                      Mr. Fingers

                      Cerebral Hemispheres

                      Alleviated

                      Piccadilly customers, house music inclined Mancunians, the whole of Chicago (surely?!) and WHP attendees will have known about this for some time now - but that hasn't quelled any anticipation or excitement - yes you heard right - THE FIRST MR. FINGERS ALBUM IN TWENTY FIVE YEARS!!!!

                      Take a breath...

                      Famous as one of the most important heads in dance music around the world, Larry has enjoyed a successful career as a producer, remixer, collaborator, vocalist and DJ spanning 35 years. Out on his own Alleviated Records, "Cerebral Hemispheres" features 14 new pieces of music that allows the listener to fully immerse themselves and dig deep into Larry's musical world. Often regarded as one of the brightest stars to shine on deep house music, Larry's alter-ego Mr. Fingers has rarely put a note wrong across an illustrious and expansive career. Lucky for us, the fingered one has decided not to change the formula tooo drastically, so it's full of rich, textured piano, delicately played congas, dreamy xylophone licks and swinging house beats. There's a touch of Latin flavour, a stupendously rich and varied palette plus an advanced musical structure, owing itself to proper 'songs' than repetitive beats n trax that litter the modern day house scene. Larry's gone and brought home the bacon pop pickers, showing every mutha f***a how it's done in 2018. An imperative release. Every home needs one! 


                      STAFF COMMENTS

                      Matt says: Possibly the most antipated 'dance' album from the last...five years..? Anyway, ignore the hype just listen to the music and make up your own mind. Is there anyone that crafts house music like ol' Larry H. I doubt it. Impeccable - he's still on top!

                      Patrick says: Larry Heard follows up that spectacular 12" with his first album of new material in years. Ranging from the deep and soulful to the totally alien, this is top tackle from the real OG. Get your orders in, because this triple vinyl will fly...

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                      Cover of Hippo Lite by Drinks.

                      Drinks

                      Hippo Lite

                      Drag City

                      All songs and lyrics by Cate Le Bon & Tim Presley Recorded by Stephen Black (Sweet Baboo), Drums by “JT” John Thomas (Cate Le Bon/Islet), & mixed in Los Angeles by Samur Khouja at Seahorse Sound.

                      A month spent in an old mill in the under belly of France. River swimming thrice a day. Hot nights soundtracked by the rattle of randy frogs. Scorpion fear. In the sheets, on the face.

                      Hours of bird watching — no phone service. No wifi . 3 DVDs. Jurassic Park 1, 2 & 3. Violin practice. Bread scoffi ng. Early morning coffee drinking before the sun was too hot to do anything but snooze in the thick walled house. Music in the afternoon after a dip in the river and a cold beer on the square.

                      With all the ease and air needed, in this mysterious place, we made an album made for each other by one another with no hands, eyes or ears piercing the bubble other than our dear friend Steve who slid in under the door and took note of it all.

                      Cate Le Bon.

                      In a town, so very still and quiet. A month in St. Hippolyte Du Fort, South France.

                      Where completely all of their brave young men vanished forever from the death machine of the fi rst world war.

                      At one time left with only women and young girls. Only relics of time standing still. All the deceased names of men chiseled under a stone angel, that watches over the town square.

                      We set up a recording unit in an old stone mill turned house and began to write and record with the attention of tree trimmers or gardeners. It got so hot we had to swim in a local river near by just to be able to think, then back to our home to make sounds and songs. Any sounds we could think of or wanted. We used night sounds, night insects and used frogs as instruments. Did you know frogs have saxophones in their throats?

                      This is a broken music. a crumble. It’s the music of the building we called home for a month. We’ve never made & recorded music in such a simple living environment.

                      With all the ease, and air we needed. We were in a town 8 miles over from Robert Crumb’s hidden residence.

                      We lived in a mysterious place. We had a fl ock of bats over for dinner many nights. No internet, or a phone to look to.

                      We had a beautiful big stone house, a river, and from time to time a lovely elderly yet young-hearted couple who would visit.

                      It was the opposite of what a typical recording experience usually is for any of us.

                      We tried to capture all of this and put it on record.

                      Tim Presley

                      STAFF COMMENTS

                      Millie says: A favourite of mine, Cate Le Bon teamed with Tim Presley makes for this wonderfully original release. With disjointed guitar plucks, it holds both their musical styles and highlights their influences of writing this album in a quiet town with stripped back surroundings, this atmosphere is captured and beams into Hippo Lite. Absolutely lovely!

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                      Cover of Wolf Of The Cosmos by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.

                      Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

                      Wolf Of The Cosmos

                      Domino

                      Bonny sings Susanna, to simply try and save the world. Sonata Dwarf Mix Cosmos is an old companion of his and with the Chijimi house band +1 they bring it all back home again, this time to the space in Bonny’s place.

                      “As other practitioners are leaving the room in favor of novel forms of recording and distro and consumption, we are left with a virtual PALACE, fantastical and real structures and practices. Like we are allowed into the museum at night. We can make a great essentially live record with great songs and great players because nobody else is? ‘Wolf Of The Cosmos’... is about, as much as anything, direct engagement with recorded music. So step right up to the replicant.” - Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy

                      Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is joined by musicians Emmet Kelly (bass guitar, voice, acoustic guitar), Cheyenne Mize (violin, slide ukulele, voice), Chris Rodahaffer (banjo, voice, acoustic guitar) and Elsa Madeline Oldham (juice harp).

                      “‘Wolf Of The Cosmos’ is a wonderful obsessive trip into the mind of one of the most important living singers” - Country Music

                      STAFF COMMENTS

                      Barry says: Beautifully emotive country-tinged plucks, BPB's unmistakable voice and softly pulled strings make for an enchanting an absorbing journey. Yet more evidence of the unwavering excellence of one of today's most successful singer-songwriters. Brilliantly fresh, but comfortable and familiar.

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                      Cover of Vide Noir by Lord Huron.

                      Lord Huron

                      Vide Noir

                      Polydor

                      Lord Huron is an American indie folk band based in Los Angeles. The group's debut album, Lonesome Dreams, was released in 2012 on Iamsound in the US and Play It Again Sam in UK and Ireland in January 2013. The band released their second album, Strange Trails, in April 2015.

                      The band's name was inspired by Lake Huron, the lake which band founder Ben Schneider grew up. 'Lord Huron invites you to stare into the abyss this spring with the release of their third full-length album, Vide Noir. Written and recorded over the past two years at Lord Huron’s Los Angeles studio and informal clubhouse, Whispering Pines. The album was mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips/MGMT) and engineered by Sonny DiPerri (Portugal. The Man, Animal Collective).

                      STAFF COMMENTS

                      Barry says: A brilliantly varied suite of thumping percussion, jagged guitar riffage, nuanced ambient interludes and neo-folk melodies, underpinned with a steadily growing melodic wash of ambience. Vide Noir is a brilliantly compiled journey from start to finish.

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                      Cover of St Peter by Emma Tricca.

                      Emma Tricca

                      St Peter

                      Dell’Orso

                      Note – the vinyl version of this is being released on RSD.

                      In life and music, Emma Tricca is an explorer. Just as ‪Davey Graham set sail for Morocco and ‪Vashti Bunyan for the Outer Hebrides in search of their elusive ‪muse, Rome-raised singer-songwriter Tricca has journeyed to London, New York, Texas and further afield to seek the heart of her own music. And like those renowned voyagers, she's returned with a set of songs that refresh the tired old folk form. Tricca's new album St Peter – created with a cast of supporting artists including global icon ‪Judy Collins, ‪Sonic Youth's ‪Steve Shelley and Dream Syndicate guitarist Jason Victor – takes a bracing plunge into the unknown, leaving the folksinger tag far behind with a rolling collection of reverie-inducing raw diamonds.

                      It was encouragement from ‪Pentangle legend ‪John Renbourn that started Tricca on her lifelong path. An aspiring young player, she met Renbourn after a solo gig in Rome and impressed him with her fresh-cut songs. A move to the UK was inevitable, gigging around folk clubs first in Oxford and later in London, honing her craft as a songwriter and a fingerstyle guitarist. Extended stays in New York and Texas followed, before Tricca returned to London to begin work on her first melancholic masterpiece, 2009's crystalline long-player Minor White.

                      The album was released on Bird Records, an offshoot of Finders Keepers run by husband and wife team ‪Jane Weaver and ‪Andy Votel, who'd been thrilled by Tricca's talent (and her Italian leather boots) at the Green Man Festival in 2006. They secured her a show at ‪Jarvis Cocker's Meltdown Festival in London, ensuring international exposure, a major European tour and a run of shows with her old friend Renbourn.

                      Five years later Tricca released Relic, an album even more poised and precise than its predecessor. Scoring rave reviews across the board – 4 stars in Record Collector and Mojo, 5 in Time Out – the album added gentle percussion and plaintive orchestration to the established pattern of hushed guitar and heartfelt vocals. A collaboration with longtime friend and guitar wizard Jason McNiff led to 2017's sparkling Southern Star EP, while a song on the soundtrack of Patrick Stewart-starring US indie film Match raised her profile. But encouraged by Weaver – who urged her to 'explore the weirdness' in her music – Emma Tricca was hungry for a new challenge.

                      The road to St Peter began with a chance meeting at South by Southwest between Tricca and producer and musician Jason Victor, and the formation of an instant friendship. During a Skype call one Christmas morning the pair decided to start work on a new project together, hauling in ‪Sonic Youth drummer ‪Steve Shelley and New York bass hero Pete Galub to help Tricca explore the rougher sound that was in her head. Recorded near-live at Echo Canyon West in Hoboken, the album draws on crunchy country rock, homespun psychedelia, Morricone soundtracks, New York underground grit and English folk grandeur to weave a wholly unique and surprising spell.

                      More musical guests soon joined the party – gruff songwriting hero ‪Howe Gelb put in a brief cameo, while Tricca was able to live out a childhood fantasy by inviting ‪Judy Collins to appear on the album's penultimate cut, Solomon Said. As a teenage folkie Tricca had recorded one of Collins's TV performances onto VHS, and worn the tape out trying to mimic her picking style. Now they were working together, on perhaps the album's most startling, transporting track.

                      The album is one so loaded with texture that is almost feels tangible, a rare record that feels precise and pristine in its executions but never sterile or lifeless. Electric guitars fizz away like a controlled electricity, Tricca’s guitar playing flows gracefully at the core with her vocals existing in the perfect state between slight rasp and caramel-smoothness. Shelley’s drumming and percussion gives a steady heartbeat to the record which is further brought to life by a variety of deft instrumentation, including piano, bass, cello, violin, glockenspiel and of course the variety of guest backing vocalists.

                      Whilst St Peter’s deep-seated roots can perhaps be traced to traditional folk music, its finished existence feels far from such a thing - its ever-flowing essence skipping through genres, tones, paces and rhythms with a gliding grace. Perhaps even a touch of the spirit of Hoboken’s own Yo La Tengo has seeped into the finish record in its quiet yet stirring beauty. 


                      STAFF COMMENTS

                      Barry says: Moving from haunted demi-melodies and tenderly plucked guitar, imbued with tastefully echoing reverb and Tricca's delicate voice, influenced by decades of classic Americana and folk but sounding like none of the above. Brimming with emotion, and thoroughly enchanting. Superb.

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                      Cover of Beautiful Thing by Alexis Taylor.

                      Alexis Taylor

                      Beautiful Thing

                      Domino

                      Alexis Taylor releases a new album on Domino. It is a very new, very individualist and – yes – very beautiful reflection of a life that's changed immeasurably since Alexis first started out in music. This is a musician, writer and singer who has carved his own unique path through the music of the 21st century, completely avoiding getting trapped along the way in dumb oppositions of pop vs avant-garde, dancefloor vs intellect, retro vs modernist and so on. He has worked with living legends from major pop stars to free improvisors in the furthest left field, played huge arenas and tiny clubs without ever privileging one over the other, and through all of it, never stopped listening and learning. All of this accumulated experience is put to work on Beautiful Thing in pursuit of something subtle and elusive but ultimately quite profound and beautifully human. Taylor’s fourth album also represents the first time Alexis has made a solo album with a producer, that producer being Tim Goldsworthy, co-founder of Mo Wax and DFA Recordings and member of UNKLE.

                      The record is a bold and confident step forward for Alexis both sonically and in terms of his songwriting abilities. It has electronic thrills, dark spaces, memories of dancefloors, heartfelt writing; it's composed, it's improvised, it's accidental, it's strange, but it's also very immediate. It is a beautiful thing itself: a moving, modern and unique sounding long-player, to get lost in on repeated deep listens.

                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                      2xColoured LP Info: Heavyweight orange vinyl.

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                      Cover of Prhyme 2 by Prhyme.

                      Prhyme

                      Prhyme 2

                      Prhyme 2

                      Detroit lyricist and walking height chart Royce Da 5'9" teams up with production legend DJ Premier for their second full length LP as PRhyme. The first group Primo's been a part of since his time in the legendary Gang Starr, PRhyme hit us with a future facing take on hip hop's golden age, complete with killer flows and freewheeling lyrics. With guest features from Dave East, Yelawolf, CeeLo Green, 2 Chainz, Big K.R.I.T., Curren$y and two time Grammy nominee Rapsody, you know this is gonna be lit.

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                      Cover of A Cosmic Jazz Funk Adventure by Detroit Rising.

                      Detroit Rising

                      A Cosmic Jazz Funk Adventure

                      Down Jazz Records

                      DETROIT RISING: A COSMIC JAZZ FUNK ADVENTURE—an unprecedented project created by universally respected musicians, including current and original members of the archetypal funk band Parliament-Funkadelic, along with a selection of world class talent from across the country—is going to bring a new style of funk to audiences this spring.

                      The hybrid jazz-funk and R&B-flavored album—set for release Friday, March 30 via Down Jazz Records, with physical distribution via the Seattle-based Light In the Attic Records—is a collaboration between highly sought after young P-Funk artists and writers, and is supported by legendary industry veterans, including members that have performed with artists such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Theo Parrish and Red Hot Chili Peppers, in addition to their regular work with Parliament-Funkadelic. Key figures in the group also played regularly with late, great artists such as Prince and Miles Davis, among others.

                      The 10-track album—conceived and overseen by creative producer David Schwartz over the past three years—opens with the saxophone and keys-heavy “Lashing Out” followed by “Little Bit,” one of multiple tracks that musically stretches out over nine minutes in length. Elsewhere is the soulful “Rocket Love,” the sexy ode of “Gorgeous” and the groovy unity-themed anthem“With Peace & Harmony.” *See below for the full track listing.

                      DETROIT RISING was recorded live at the world famous Motown affiliated United Sound Studios in Detroit, as well as at renowned studios in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Swamp Funk studios in Florida, and mixed and mastered by some of the best engineers in the business, including Richie Beretta (Beyonce), Tatsuya Sato (A Tribe Called Quest) and Mark Santangelo (Childish Gambino). The result is a highly skilled, vibrant and progressive album that combines elements of funk, jazz, soul, hip-hop and rock ‘n’ roll to capture a live sound that genuinely represents the next best thing to having the full band performing live in front of an audience.

                      Featured on DETROIT RISING are United Sound musicians guitarist DuminieDeporres (Theo Parrish) and bassist Kern Brantley (Lady Gaga, Beyonce) and P-Funk musicians Gabe Gonzalez (drums), Danny Bedrosian (piano, keys, moog, vocals and current young Parliament-Funkadelic synth leader), DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight (guitar/has also played with Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bootsy Collins), Lige Curry (bass), Greg Thomas (saxophone, vocals/also played with Bootsy Collins), Benjamin “Benzel” Cowan (drums and son of P-Funk trumpet player Benny Cowan), Tonysha Nelson (vocals and granddaughter of George Clinton) and Steve Boyd (vocals), along with special guest vocalist Sue Ann Carwell (Prince, Parliament-Funkadelic).

                      After years of honing their performance skills on worldwide stages, the current touring musicians of DETROIT RISING now take center stage, performing original compositions that shine a light on the true extent of their talent and creativity.


                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                      Coloured LP Info: LP pressed sea green colored vinyl.
                      Extra heavy print board, metallic ink jacket.
                      Comes with digital download and extra tracks, instrumentals, dance remixes, ability for DJ’s to remix.

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                      Cover of Greg Wilson: Credit To The Edit Vol. 3 by Various Artists.

                      Various Artists

                      Greg Wilson: Credit To The Edit Vol. 3

                      Tirk

                        Legendary DJ, remixer and edit exponent Greg Wilson is back at it again with the third instalment of his hugely popular ‘Credit To The Edit’ series. Almost a decade on from Volume 2, ‘Credit To The Edit Vol. 3’, released via Tirk Recordings, draws on music from the disco and rave eras, adding a seminal hip hop cut, a Balearic favourite, as well a few contemporary tracks from the last 10 years.

                        A groundbreaking DJ, Greg played a key role in introducing black electronic dance music to the UK via his early 1980s residencies at Wigan Pier, Manchester’s Legend and The Haçienda, as well as over the airwaves on the city’s Piccadilly Radio. Working with Technics turntables, a Revox reel to reel tape machine and a razor blade, Greg carved out his reputation as a UK pioneer and champion of electro funk. Whereas, more recently, following his 2003 comeback after a two-decade hiatus, he’s gained international renown at the vanguard of a now global re-edits movement.

                        “This album mainly consists of straight up old-style edits, where I’ve worked with the stereo tracks, extending, re-arranging and sometimes overdubbing. There are also some reworks / remixes where I’ve had the stems at my disposal and been able to bring into play additional instrumentation, courtesy of remix partner Peza on a couple of the tracks - 2016’s ‘Hold On’ by Luxxury featuring The Reynolds plus the futuristic ‘70s Disco hit, ‘Magic Fly’ by Space.”

                        Kicking off with Haçienda DJ Mike Pickering’s T-Coy project, the loose-limbed Latinate shuffle ‘Carino’ is very much a cult classic. Greg’s instrumental edit of Todd Terje’s edit of ‘Glad To Know You’, 37 years on from the Chaz Jankel original, has been a big club and festival favourite, and is made available here for the first time, while Escort make their second ‘Credit To The Edit’ appearance with Greg’s remix of their 2010 release, ‘Cocaine Blues’.

                        The near-pornographic funk classic ‘Jungle Fever’, recorded by Chakachas, a group of Belgianbased studio musicians, is a playful mixture of Latin music, jazz and European-style exotica and the Fab Five Freddy hip hop landmark ‘Change The Beat’, which includes one of the most sampled phrases ever, “This stuff is really fresh!” with Greg’s edit combining the male / female English / French versions to create a unique rap combination.

                        His 2009 edit of one of the all-time rave classics, ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ by Bassheads is always guaranteed to bring the roof down, whilst he places the emphasis on the Chic-driven backing on Sheila & B. Devotion’s ‘Spacer’, taking out the verses completely and making more DJ friendly. More recent favourites come courtesy of Psychemagik and Red Rack’em, with ‘Getting Away With It’, a hidden classic of the Madchester era recorded in 1989 by New Order’s Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr of The Smiths as Electronic (complete with Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant), bringing the curtain down on the third instalment of ‘Credit To The Edit’. A signature edit of Greg’s which slowly creeps up on you, it’s a fitting way to close the album and gets its official release here.

                        With re-edits culture continuing to grow ever-stronger and becoming a staple of the contemporary dance scene, it brings back into play a whole era of music for a new generation.

                        “To have played a part in this recent evolution fulfils my personal criteria as a DJ, which is to draw from the past whilst informing the present. I was always cautious of nostalgia traps, where DJs fall into playing the old music in the old way, whereas this was about bringing new context to what was always great music, introducing it to a younger crowd, with the re-edits movement providing the perfect connection from then to now - my role as a ‘bridge-builder’ crystalizing as a consequence.” - Greg Wilson

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                        Cover of Selectors 005 - Lena Willikens by Various Artists.

                        Various Artists

                        Selectors 005 - Lena Willikens

                        Dekmantel

                        Uncompromising, unpredictable and latterly unstoppable, German DJ Lena Willikens has carved out her own niche in the often bro-ey world of the nightclub. A key member of Dusseldorf's celebrated Salon scene, Willikens eagerly eschews genre confines and dance floor limitations to explore "different temperatures, different time zones, different moods and a healthy portion of chaos.” That willingness to buck convention also extends to this compilation, as the German DJ and celebrated Salon des Amateurs resident has elected to stock her contribution to the Selectors series with a surprising number of previously unreleased tracks. “I’ve been playing most of these songs for a while now,” she explains. “I benefit from my friends and colleagues who constantly send me their unreleased music. Now I want to give something back by sharing these tracks with everybody.”
                        Nevertheless, those looking for vintage gems won’t be disappointed, as Willikens has also included a handful of oddball favorites from her record bag. At the same time, she’s made a point to avoid notably rare and expensive tunes. “There are already enough passionate people out there doing a great job digging and reissuing,” she says. Instead, her curatorial instincts have taken her in a much more conceptual direction, which she describes as a “little trip through the dunes.” She adds, “It might be challenging to walk or dance on the sand, so perhaps it’s more comfortable to lay down and glide along without having a certain destination in mind.” 


                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Patrick says: Sharp witted selector Lena Willikens adds her name to the Dekmantel compilation series, coming through with a set packed with unreleased gems from her underground pals. Whether it's E-bloc synthwave, industrial funk, shortwave ambient or conceptual techno, the quality never dips below the A-grade. This is as close as you'll get to hearing one of the world's best DJs without leaving your front room.

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                        Cover of Pinned by A Place To Bury Strangers.

                        A Place To Bury Strangers

                        Pinned

                        Dead Oceans

                        Try, if only for a moment, to envision a scenario in which you could still be completely *surprised* by a rock band. It’s not easy. In fact, it’s increasingly rare.

                        A couple of years ago, A Place to Bury Strangers were in search of a new drummer. Lia Simone Braswell, an L.A. native, had recently moved to New York, and was playing drums in shows around Brooklyn "just to keep her chops up." As it turned out, APTBS bassist Dion Lunadon caught one of those shows and, after seeing her play, was moved to ask her if she’d want to come to a band practice sometime.

                        "I told some of my friends about it before I met up with them," Braswell says, of the rehearsal that would soon lead to her joining the band. "They told me, 'You’re just gonna have to keep up as much as you possibly can.’"

                        "To be fair, she had also never seen us live," Lunadon adds. "She didn’t necessarily know what she was getting into."

                        What she was getting into: For well over a decade now, A Place to Bury Strangers-Lunadon, founding guitarist/singer Oliver Ackermann, and, officially, Braswell-have become well known for their unwavering commitment to unpredictable, often bewildering live shows, and total, some might say dangerous volume. They don’t write setlists. They frequently write new songs mid-set. They deliberately provoke and sabotage sound people in a variety of cruel yet innovative ways. They can and will always surprise you. "When something goes wrong on-stage, a lot of bands will crumble under the pressure," says Ackermann. "We like the idea of embracing the moment when things go wrong and turning it into the best thing about the show."

                        This April marks the release of Pinned, their fifth full-length and an album that finds them converting difficult moments into some of their most urgent work to date. It’s their first since the 2016 election, and their first since the 2014 closing of Death By Audio, the beloved Brooklyn DIY space where Ackerman lived, worked, and created with complete freedom. "After DBA closed, I moved to an apartment in Clinton Hill," he says. "I couldn’t make too much noise, couldn’t disturb my neighbors. I would just sit there and write with a drum machine. It had to be about writing a good song and not about being super, sonically loud."

                        There are searing meditations on truth and government-led conspiracies ("Execution"), as well as haunting, harmonized responses to the tensions of our current political climate ("There’s Only One of Us"). It all opens with "Never Coming Back," a frightening crescendo of group vocals, vertiginous guitar work, and Lunadon’s unrelenting bass. "That song is a big concept," Ackermann says. "You make these decisions in your life…you’re contemplating whether or not this will be the end. You think of your mortality, those moments you could die and what that means. You’re thinking about that edge of the end, deciding whether or not it’s over. When you’re close to that edge, you could teeter over."

                        It’s a clear and honest statement of intent, not just for everything that follows, but for this band as a whole. "As things go on, you don’t want them to be stagnant," Ackermann says. "Being a band for ten years, it’s hard to keep things moving forward. I see so many bands that have been around and they’re a weaker version of what they used to be. This band is anti-that. We try to push ourselves constantly, with the live shows and the recordings. We always want to get better. You’ve got to dig deep and take chances, and sometimes, I questioned that. It took really breaking through to make it work. I think we did that."

                        They definitely did. 

                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Barry says: Throbbing bass, snappy distorted vocals and churning, machinated minimal-wave vox and NIN-esque claustrophobic ambience, all held withing a solid and impenetrable shell of gnarly, saturated guitars. Superb.

                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                        2xColoured LP Info: Indies only double pink vinyl edition.

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                        Cover of The Straight Hits! by Josh T. Pearson.

                        Josh T. Pearson

                        The Straight Hits!

                        Mute

                        Josh T. Pearson presents ‘The Straight Hits!’, an album which began as a mere creative exercise - each song had to follow certain parameters, described as The Five Pillars - and one that has given Pearson the freedom to write a lighter, more ‘straight’ album.

                        In three days, Pearson had penned nine whole songs (the album also includes a cover of Austin Americana singer/songwriter Jonathan Terrell’s wonderful country tribute song ‘Damn Straight’). The album is a departure from years of long form songwriting with tunes meant to hit straight and to the point.

                        ‘The Straight Hits!’ features multiple different flavours of country, rock and all points in between, taking in blasts of goofy shit-kicking country-punk (opener ‘Straight To The Top!’,); cataclysmic rock & roll playing its romantic drama at high-stakes (‘Loved Straight To Hell); aching folksy mourn (‘Dire Straights Of Love’) and even a bona fide love song, ‘A Love Song (Set Me Straight)’, which Pearson admits breaks several of the Five Pillars but obeys an unwritten Sixth Pillar: Musical rules are made to be broken. There’s new Josh T. Pearson music in the world and it’s joyful, giddy, lifeaffirming stuff.

                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Barry says: Never one to shy away from his Texan roots, former frontman of Lift To Experience branches out into acoustic numbers and pulsing balladry, amongst the (not surprising) walls of catatonic, blissful noise.

                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                        Coloured LP Info: LP pressed on pink vinyl with digital download code.

                        Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                        Cover of The Lookout by Laura Veirs.

                        Laura Veirs

                        The Lookout

                        Bella Union

                        A prolific songwriter for nearly twenty years, Laura Veirs proves the depth of her musical skill on her tenth solo album, The Lookout, released via Bella Union. Here is a batch of inimitable, churning, exquisite folk-pop songs; a concept album about the fragility of precious things. Produced by Grammy-nominated Tucker Martine, Veirs’ longtime collaborator, The Lookout is a soundtrack for turbulent times, full of allusions to protectors: the camper stoking a watch fire, a mother tending her children, a sailor in a crows nest and a lightning rod channelling energy.

                        “The Lookout is about the need to pay attention to the fleeting beauty of life and to not be complacent; it’s about the importance of looking out for each other,” says Veirs. “I’m addressing what’s happening around me with the chaos of post-election America, the racial divides in our country, and a personal reckoning with the realities of midlife: I have friends who’ve died; I struggle with how to balance life as an artist with parenting young children.”

                        Written and produced on the heels of Veirs’ acclaimed album with Neko Case and k.d. Lang (case/lang/veirs), The Lookout integrates the fluency of collaboration with Veirs’ notorious work ethic. The twelve songs on the album are the result of a years’ worth of daily writing in her attic studio in Portland, Oregon.

                        “Twenty years ago when I was just starting out with my punk band, it never occurred to me to write five versions of a song,” says Veirs. “I’ve learned to see how malleable lyrics and melodies can be. I have more tools as a musician so I write many versions of songs until I find the right fit.” Such range is demonstrated on the operatic vocals of “The Meadow” and the intricate finger picking on “Watch Fire.” “The Lookout,” the album’s title track, is an ecstatic anthem to trusted relationships.

                        The Lookout draws on the talents of a time-tested crew of musicians: Karl Blau, Steve Moore, Eli Moore, Eyvind Kang and Martine. Says Veirs, “These guys are a good hang, ego-free and wonderful players who just want to serve the songs.” Sufjan Stevens and Jim James provide guest vocals.
                        For Martine, who fell, almost two decades ago, for Veirs’ unique sound after listening to a tape cassette she’d sent him in the mail, this album reflects a bar that keeps getting raised. Both familiar and strange, The Lookout gets better with repeated listens, warming to the skin like a cherished saddlebag, critical for the journey ahead.


                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Barry says: Sitting right in front of my desk is an LP-sized 'Best of 2004' scrapbook style collage Andy put together for Veirs' 'Carbon Glacier', she was brilliant then and is even more so now. This is a beautifully nuanced, refined expansion of Veirs' sound, and it's sure to be on the player for some time to come.

                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                        Coloured LP Info: Limited gold vinyl.

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                        Cover of Persona by Rival Consoles.

                        Rival Consoles

                        Persona

                        Erased Tapes

                        Ryan Lee West aka Rival Consoles presents his expressive new album ‘Persona’ via Erased Tapes. The title ‘Persona’ was inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film of the same name, specifically a shot in the opening credits of a child reaching out to touch a woman’s face on a screen, which is shifting between one face and another. This powerful image struck Ryan and it inspired the album’s main theme — an exploration of the persona, the difference between how we see ourselves and how others see us, the spaces in between; between states, people, light and dark, the inner persona and the outer persona. “My music is generally inward looking. I like finding something about the self within music, that doesn't have to be specific but maybe asks something or reveals something. This record is a continuation on the self through electronic sounds. Like Legowelt once said ‘a synthesiser is like a translator for unknown emotions’, which I think sums up what I am trying to do. I think all these emotions we have make up our persona. So in a way by finding new ones you alter or expand your persona. And that is what I want my music to try to do. I deliberately aimed to be more sonically diverse with this record. I wanted to experiment more. I wanted to create new sounds and new emotions.” — Rival Consoles.

                        Recorded at his studio in south-east London, ‘Persona’ benefits from Ryan’s exploration of a dynamic production process that combines analogue-heavy synthesisers, acoustic and electric instruments with a shoegaze-level obsession with effect pedals. A greater depth of emotion and confidence can be heard across the album. From the deconstructed movements on ‘Unfolding’ that starts the album with a snap of delayed snares, the apocalyptic drones of the title track and thundering drums in ‘Phantom Grip’ to more restrained ambient feels of ‘Dreamer’s Wake’, ‘Rest’ and ‘Untravel’. The latter transverses six beatless minutes of undulating melodies representing “a limbo space, a feeling of ennui, of not really ever being known to others and others not ever really being known to you”.

                        ‘Be Kind’ reveals a musical connection with fellow Erased Tapes artist Nils Frahm, with its minimal approach and improvisational nature. On the more complex sounding ‘I Think So’ Ryan aims to replicate a colour collage with sound. Like a musical kaleidoscope, a flashing and convoluted mass. Written after he saw Slowdive perform live last year, ‘Hidden’ builds from whispers to landscapes of controlled noise. In an interview with XLR8R magazine, Ryan explains: “once you start trying to make a sound loud, then you turn your back on thousands and thousands of sonic possibilities. One of the best things to do is to start a track with a really quiet, weak sound.” Taking this idea to its ultimate conclusion, ‘Fragment’ closes the album as an innocent sounding ambient piece, almost nursery rhyme like, yielding time for reflection on how the persona has changed.

                        ‘Persona’ follows the success of a series of releases — the ‘Odyssey’ and ‘Sonne’ EPs, long player ‘Howl’, and 2016’s mini album ‘Night Melody’ — that saw Ryan mature into what Pitchfork has called a “forward-thinking electronic musician with his own ideas about sound”. Atypical of instrumental-electronic music, Ryan has achieved a signature sound that’s unmistakably identifiable as Rival Consoles. Going beyond typical electronic music production, Ryan defines it as “songwriting with an electronic palette of sounds”. The increasingly dynamic live audio-visual show, born from bespoke performances at the Tate and for Boiler Room at the V&A Museum featuring self-programmed visuals in Max/MSP, has propelled him to play around the world. Ryan launches ‘Persona’ at London’s XOYO on 12th April with further dates to be announced.

                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Barry says: Like his 2015 opus 'Howl, 'Persona' treads the line between ambience and leftfield techno whilst staying resolutely listenable and thoroughly jaw-dropping. Less influenced by the interim EP's, and seemingly moew focused on the spine-tingling crescentic electronica that West does SO well. Highly recommended.

                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                        2xColoured LP Info: Limited indies only clear vinyl.

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                        Cover of Confident Music For Confident People by Confidence Man.

                        Confidence Man

                        Confident Music For Confident People

                        Heavenly Recordings

                        From Melbourne by way of Brisbane, Confidence Man are unarguably one of the hottest acts on the planet right now. A portable party that’s levelled dance floors and flattened festival crowds as it’s rolled out across the world, they are a machine custom designed to make you dance and lose your cool.

                        Without doubt set to be this summer’s most joyously exciting new band, they have to be seen to be believed – upfront there’s a statuesque chap clad only in a pair of nothing-to-the-imagination hot pants next to a woman in a custom designed baby-doll dress and shorts combo while behind them lurk two shadowy mute figures on drums and keyboards, each stripped to the waist and veiled secretively in what look like a satanic beekeeper’s hats made of a material so black, the light seems to fall into it.

                        If Janet Planet, Sugar Bones, Clarence McGuffie and Reggie Goodchild weren’t a band already you’d be snapping at their heels demanding they form one quick-sharp. Fact is, they are, and on Friday 13th April 2018 they release Confident Music For Confident People, their 11-track debut album for Heavenly Recordings.

                        The band have already offered a glimpse of what’s in store on Confident Music For Confident People – recent tracks Boyfriend, Bubblegum and Better Sit Down Boy were big and brash and bright as hell, like Dee-Lite tooled up and ready for our berserk modern times.

                        Confident Music for Confident People sets eleven tales of 21st century ennui to irresistible, irrepressible dance music. The opening lines of Try Your Luck (“I must confess/I’ve been sleeping with your ex/’Cos I heard he was the best/I must confess/I never would have guessed he would get so obsessed… I’m not surprised”) set the tone perfectly for what follows.

                        Here is a set of songs that take the kind of all-consuming interior monologues that bored, disaffected youth are wrestling with the world over and places them square in the middle of the dance floor before adding call-and-response choruses for good measure – it’s the best collection of perfect pop music you’ll hear all year, the perfect embodiment of the characters that made it that somehow manages to be both wildly ambitious and deceptively simple at the same time.


                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Barry says: 'Don't You Know I'm In A Band' perfectly encapsulates the whole vibe behind Confidence Men, brash, bold and more than a little conceited, they take the stereotypical entitled hilarity of stardom and turn it into a bitingly ironic, brilliantly accomplished synth journey. It's ridiculous, but it's totally brilliant. Heavenly have gone out of their comfort zone on this one, and absolutely smashed it.

                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                        Ltd LP Info: Initial copies come in limited edition mirri board sleeve.

                        Ltd LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                        Cover of The Other by King Tuff.

                        King Tuff

                        The Other

                        Sub Pop

                          When asked to describe the title track from his new record, Kyle Thomas—aka King Tuff—takes a deep breath. “It’s a song about hitting rock bottom,” he says. “I didn't even know what I wanted to do anymore, but I still had this urge, like there was this possibility of something else I could be doing… and then I just followed that possibility. To me, that’s what songwriting, and art in general, is about. You’re chasing something. ‘The Other’ is basically where songs come from. It’s the hidden world. It’s the invisible hand that guides you whenever you make something. It’s the thing I had to rediscover to bring me back to making music again in a way that felt true and good.” After years of non-stop touring, culminating in a particularly arduous stint in support of 2014’s Black Moon Spell, Thomas found himself back in Los Angeles experiencing the flipside of the ultimate rock and roll cliche. “I had literally been on tour for years,” recalls Thomas. “It was exhausting, physically and mentally. I’m essentially playing this character of King Tuff, this crazy party monster, and I don’t even drink or do drugs. It had become a weird persona, which people seemed to want from me, but it was no longer me. I just felt like it had gotten away from me.” The ten tracks that make up The Other represent a kind of psychic evolution for King Tuff. No less hooky than previous records, the new songs ditch the goofy rock-and-roll bacchanalia narratives of earlier records in favor of expansive arrangements, a diversity of instrumentation, and lyrics that straddle the fence between painful ruminations and a childlike, creative energy untarnished by cynicism. The soulful and cosmic new direction is apparent from the album’s first moments: introduced by the gentle ringing of a chime, acoustic guitar, and warm organ tones, “The Other” is a narrative of redemption born of creativity. As Thomas sings about being stuck in traffic, directionless, with no particular reason to be alive, he hears the call of “the other,” a kind of siren song that, instead of leading towards destruction, draws the narrator towards a creative rebirth. Elsewhere, tracks like “Thru the Cracks” and “Psycho Star” balance psychedelia with day-glo pop hooks. “The universe is probably an illusion, but isn’t it so beautifully bizarre?” he asks on “Psycho Star,” providing one of the record’s central tenets. At a time when everything in the world feels so deeply spoiled and the concept of making meaning out of the void seems both pointless and impossible, why not try? Thomas self-produced the record, as he did his 2007 debut, Was Dead, but on a far grander scale. He recorded it at The Pine Room, the home studio Thomas built to work on the record, and playing every instrument aside from drums and saxophone. He pulled Shawn Everett (War On Drugs, Alabama Shakes) in to assist with the mixing process. While it would be easy to think of The Other as a kind of reinvention for King Tuff, Thomas views the entire experience of the record as a kind of reset that’s not totally removed from what he’s done in the past. “I can’t help but sound like me,” he says. “It’s just that this time I let the songs lead me where they wanted to go, instead of trying to push them into a certain zone. King Tuff was always just supposed to be me. When I started doing this as a teenager, it was whatever I wanted it to be. King Tuff was never supposed to be just one thing. It was supposed to be everything.”

                          STAFF COMMENTS

                          Barry says: A bleak but unbelievably addictive journey into the mind of King Tuff, through the euphoric highs and crushing lows, acoustic balladry and stoned musings. Simmering, heartfelt and absolutely worth every minute. Think the honest acoustic innocence of Daniel Johnston with Jeff Tweedy's perfectly emotive production, and you're somewhere close.

                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                          Coloured LP Info: Loser edition coloured vinyl.

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                          Cover of Forest Bathing by A Hawk And A Hacksaw.

                          A Hawk And A Hacksaw

                          Forest Bathing

                          LM DUPLI-CATION

                            Forest Bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, is a term that means “taking in the forest atmosphere.” It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine.

                            “Taking in the forest atmosphere” became the inspiration for A Hawk and A Hacksaw’s newest album. Their forest bath of choice is the Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. This new album features ten original compositions by Heather Trost and Jeremy Barnes. The opening track “Alexandria” features Barnes on the Persian Santur, an ancient hammer struck dulcimer, and Trost’s string and woodwind melodies. The composition evokes the long trader’s route between what is now Bulgaria and the wealthy cities of Istanbul and Alexandria.

                            The band has always had a bird’s eye view of this part the world— looking for the connections between places and even eras: a belief in the power of music to reach across borders and unite. The band is based on the idea of collecting music and inspiration through travel. They are not of a place, but their music evokes places along a route. This is not urban music. It’s rural: songs of the woods and roads where there are no sidewalks or street lamps to light your way.

                            While the bulk of the music heard on this record is played by Barnes and Trost, they do have some incredible guest performances, namely the clarinet virtouso Cüneyt Sepetçi, from Istanbul, Hungarian cimbalom master Unger Balász, and closer to home, Chicago trumpeter Sam Johnson, Deerhoof’s John Dieterich and Noah Martinez, of the band Lone Piñon.

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                            Cover of Resistance Is Futile by Manic Street Preachers.

                            Manic Street Preachers

                            Resistance Is Futile

                            Columbia

                            ‘Resistance Is Futile’, the new Manic Street Preachers album.

                            Say the band – “the main themes of ‘resistance is futile’ are memory and loss – forgotten history – confused reality and art as a hiding place and inspiration. musically the album is obsessively melodic and in many ways references the naive energy of ‘generation terrorists’ and the orchestral sweep of ‘everything must go’. after delay and difficulties, the record has come together really quickly over the last few months, there has been a surge of creativity and old school hard work.”

                            FORMAT INFORMATION

                            Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive white vinyl edition.

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                            Cover of A Love Sleeps Deep by The Moondoggies.

                            The Moondoggies

                            A Love Sleeps Deep

                            Hardly Art

                              A Love Sleeps Deep’s bones rattle with all the seismic changes of the last five years since the release of The Moondoggies’ Adios I’m a Ghost. While the Washington band got lumped in early on with the woodsy folk-rock/Americana movement that sprung up in the Pacific Northwest in the 2000s, the core Moondoggies sound has always been rock in the more classical sense—more Pink Floyd than Woody Guthrie. A Love Sleeps Deep crystalizes that. Perhaps more importantly, A Love Sleeps Deep finds singer/guitarist Kevin Murphy at his most pointed as a songwriter. There’s no lyrical pussyfooting this time around. Lacking the need to prove himself, he opens up and lays bare his feelings.

                              “Generally, I feel frustrated because there’s a lot of this escapist stuff going on in rock and roll,” says Murphy. “I just didn’t want to not talk about my frustrations with what I was seeing around me. I have two little girls now, and I’m just thinking about where things are going. Love in my life has changed everything.”

                              Recorded in Seattle in the spring of 2017 with production wizard Erik Blood (Shabazz Places, Tacocat, THEESatisfaciton), A Love Sleeps Deep is also an album of collaboration. The band seemingly threw each tune up in the air to see how it bounced around the room, making sure everyone got their hands on it. From around 30 initial demos, Blood helped select the most jam-heavy numbers. “They had that vibe that made me love the band in the first place, but with a weathered distinction and confidence that moved me,” says Blood..

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                              Cover of Higgledy Piggledy by Slug.

                              Slug

                              Higgledy Piggledy

                              Memphis Industries

                              Slug return with a brand new album, ‘HiggledyPiggledy’, through Memphis Industries.

                              Slug is the nom de plume of North East native Ian Black and, whereas acclaimed debut album ‘Ripe’ was made in collaboration with Peter Brewis and David Brewis of Field Music, ‘HiggledyPiggledy’ was composed, produced and played entirely by Black, enabling him to give free reign to his beguiling brand of Dada-rock.

                              Lead track ‘No Heavy Petting’ was consciously written to be an aggressive album opener, which pokes fun at Black’s own Mary Whitehouse-esque response to the sexualisation of music on television.

                              The album was inspired by a combination of The Residents, John Carpenter and the soundtracks of Don Cherry (particularly ‘Holy Mountain’) and Masahiko Sato (particularly ‘Belladonna’) plus the Dada art movement which will be self-evident to anyone who’s seen the hilarious and life affirming Slug live experience, replete with ever changing stage wear (snooker players, sailors, 50s jazz combo) and spontaneous crowd participation.

                              Black intended ‘HiggledyPiggledy’ to be a more minimal affair than debut ‘Ripe’, focussed more on rhythm and percussion. Thematically the record was written against the backdrop of political turmoil but really it’s about the strange life Black leads in his native Sunderland, an autodidact outsider living his life in Wetherspoons arguing with some of the questionable attitudes of locals. Blacks stated aim to “have fun writing truly horrible lyrics,” playing characters “venting in pubs, writing in the character of how some people think and behave.”

                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                              Coloured LP Info: Available to independent retailers on yellow coloured vinyl.

                              Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                              Cover of Occasus by Goldmund.

                              Goldmund

                              Occasus

                              Western Vinyl

                                Pennsylvania native Keith Kenniff's output as Goldmund has established him as one of the preeminent composers of minimal piano-based ambient music alongside peers like Hauschka, Dustin O'Halloran, and even Ryuichi Sakamoto, who himself once described Kenniff's work as "so, so, so beautiful". Hyperbolic as it may sound, Goldmund's newest collection Occasus may be his most exquisite yet. Where his previous recordings trod faithfully and sincerely on paths of dimly lit, polaroid-esque nostalgia, Occasus deepens the undeniable aesthetic that was hard-won over eight previous Goldmund albums, while expanding the palette to include desultory clouds of synthesizer and a tastefully distressed analog sheen.

                                The word Occasus means downfall, end, or the rising and falling of heavenly bodies. The title is apt in more ways than one: while the emotional tone of the album denotes bittersweet feelings of conclusiveness, it also perfectly soundtracks the quiet moments when we look up to the sky, and humbly relearn the smallness of our lives as cosmic objects churn slowly overhead with bewitching indifference.

                                Occasus feels deeply personal, private, and hushed yet simultaneously grand, colossal, and profound. Remarkably Kenniff is able to capture micro and macro with equal fidelity. Tangential to prior Goldmund material, there are a few moments of Occasus that feel dark and menacing like “No Story” and “Thread”, both of which broach urgent paranoia, and provide a refreshing counterweight to the idyll typical of the project. Kenniff’s music has always been unquestionably gorgeous, but seeing it set against an occasionally manic backdrop makes the moments of light shine that much brighter.

                                Even when elements of Occasus play by the rules harmonically, they tend to unfold with a satisfying level of rhythmical disregard. "I like mistakes, I like when things don't go perfectly,” says Kenniff of his wabi-sabi ethos, “I do have a tendency to want for things to be perfect and precise, but I have to also realize that a lot of things I like about music and art are very rough and impulsive, the slight imperfections that give something or someone a unique voice." Occasus is another strong chapter in an ever more gratifying catalog.

                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                Coloured LP Info: White & Black marbled vinyl

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                                Cover of Dimensional People by Mouse On Mars.

                                Mouse On Mars

                                Dimensional People

                                Thrill Jockey

                                Mouse On Mars are joined by Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Aaron and Bryce Dessner (The National), Zach Condon (Beirut), Spank Rock, Sam Amidon and many more on their most inventive album to date.

                                Mouse On Mars’ Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner return with ‘Dimensional People’. The electronic music pioneers have been critically acclaimed for their playful and inventive sound and production techniques on releases spanning from the early 1990s to now. In demand from a surprising array of artists their most recent contributions are featured on the Grammy award-winning album ‘Sleep Well Beast’ by The National.

                                ‘Dimensional People’ is by its nature a collaborative album. Originally premiering as a spatial composition using objectbased mixing technology playing with the possibilities of sonic design (4D Sound) and collective musicianship, the recording expands upon these ideas. ‘Dimensional People’ expresses itself as a dynamic 50-piece orchestra, telling a story in sound.

                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive coloured vinyl.

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                                Cover of Caibu by SCB.

                                SCB

                                Caibu

                                Hotflush

                                Scuba continues his uncompromising SCB moniker with ‘Caibu’, a twelve track LP of cerebral techno, darkened disco and broken beats on Hotflush.

                                Paul Rose’s career has enjoyed a unique trajectory that affords his reputation as one of the scene’s most forward thinking artists, label heads and promoters. Always the risk taker, his Hotflush imprint is credited as a key force behind the evolution of bass music, whilst his ground-breaking booking policy for the sub:stance night at Berghain opened up one of the worlds most revered venues to new sounds and musical possibility. Today he continues to challenge the status quo of electronic music through a packed touring schedule, various artistic projects of his own and a weekly radio show platforming new material.

                                'Caibu’ is his first album as SCB and incorporates material from the ‘Below The Line’ and ‘Old Media New Society’ EPs of last year. Continuing to explore the fictional narrative in which a hypothetical timeline is corrupted by a climate-related disaster. The title of the album itself refers to an imagined surgical procedure where cognitive ability is augmented through transplant from one brain to another. As such, ‘Caibu’ and its accompanying EPs invite the listener to forge their own ideas on the development of society in the context of crisis.

                                Within this dystopic setting, ‘Caibu’ draws strength from introspection. At times trapped in a pressurized container, at others floating through vast spaces; SCB merges subdued hypnotism, syncopated basslines and visceral ambience to find his centre. Metallic surfaces are moulded into polyrhythmic patterns replete with ricocheting drums, whilst unfamiliar acoustics provide a backdrop for the unfurling narrative.

                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                Matt says: Defo feelin' this new SCB album me... Proper trickski tekno for those who like it deep and hard! Very big in Berlin right now!

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                                Cover of The City Of Bootmakers by L.A. Salami.

                                L.A. Salami

                                The City Of Bootmakers

                                Sunday Best

                                  London resident L.A. Salami announces his second album ‘The City Of Bookmakers’, released through Sunday Best Recordings.

                                  A prolific writer, there have been two previous EPs and last year’s debut album ‘Dancing With Bad Grammar’, whilst also confirming a number of albums are already finished. The album’s lead track ‘Generation L(ost)’ highlights the album’s pervasive strands of social, political and human polemic.

                                  Recorded in Berlin with Robbie Moore, ‘The City Of Bookmakers’ presents Salami’s inimitable adeptness at painting an aural picture, one that is pertinent to the times - alluding to those in control, be it in London or further afield who are able to gamble with the populations welfare, education and future.

                                  FORMAT INFORMATION

                                  Coloured LP Info: Yellow and red coloured vinyl double LP with digital
                                  download code.

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                                  Cover of Invisible Joy by The Polyversal Souls.

                                  The Polyversal Souls

                                  Invisible Joy

                                  Philophon

                                  The Polyversal Souls bring us their debut album ‘Invisible Joy’ with a storm of sound and energy. Produced at the Berlin based Ru-Ting Clan Sound Lab by Max Weissenfeldt (Whitefield Bros., Poets of Rhythm), the band invited artists from all around the world to join their musical journey. From the likes of Guy One, Ebo Taylor's son Roy X, Hailu Mergia, Afrika Baby Bam, Ana’abugre and freedom poet Y-Bayani. The result of all these talented and range of contributors create a beautiful piece of global raw soul ambience. 

                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                  Millie says: With such a vast elective mix of artists this album is brimming with talent and vibrancy. Uplifting and full of variation, this is definitely worth listening to!

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                                  Cover of I'r by Bur Hoff Bau.

                                  Bur Hoff Bau

                                  I'r

                                  Dig Vinyl

                                  Following on from the universally superb but 'Not My Kind Of Music Really' excellence of 'Nightdubbing' (as it happens, it was not my kind of music particularly, but quickly began a personal movement towards that sort of music, that's how good it was), comes the 'Absolutely My Kind Of Music' brilliance of 'Bür Hoff Bau'. 

                                  We start with twinkling delayed sine wave hits, carving out a sonic foundation for the snappy, hi-passed swung drum machines and swirling kosmische pads to have their fun around the stereo field before reducing into a frantic and determined percussive maelstom, with feedbacked reverb growing into a foggy haze of noise. 'Angelika' follows things up with a surprisingly chirpy number, with a hypnotic acoustic guitar loop working away in the left ear whilst the kosmische bass guitar pulses away opposite it. Whilst maintaining an overwhelmingly melodic overview, there are little tweaks that keep it from sounding stale, with a simmering resonant filter threatening to break out into self-oscillating madness and rapid plate reverbs carving a niche through the thudding psychedelic clouds. 

                                  'Y Gofid' takes this easily digested piece and gives us the complete opposite, with a relatively harmless distorted guitar writing and churning into an unrecogniseable storm before the beautifully hypnotic acoustic guitars and oddball pastoral countryside charm of 'Swing'

                                  The flipside sees the natural home of this sort of electronic music, with longform pieces growing from organic beginnings into a mind-expanding whole, rich with textures and peripheral sounds streaking through the stereo image. 'Dunkeltechnik' is a tentative number, growing organically through throbs of sythetic pulsing and shadowy pads, before being bolstered with full-spectrum key changes and all manner of psychedelic instrumentals. 

                                  The five-part epic of 'Ampitheater' closes things off nicely, bringing together all of the elements of the previous pieces, but in five distinct parts, from the ambient interludes and simmering unease of 'Anfang' and 'Kreation' to the jagged psyhedelic progressions and thumping experimantal acid-trip of 'Konflikt' and it's mind-expanding cosmic counterpoint, 'Koexistenz'. 

                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                  Barry says: Another absolutely killer outing from the folks that brought us the excellent 'Nightdubbing' release. Throbbing kosmische pulses, swirling analogue synths and snappy, electronic drums perfectly produced into a hypnotic and soaring whole. Superb.

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                                  Cover of Beyond The Gates by Wojciech Golczewski.

                                  Wojciech Golczewski

                                  Beyond The Gates

                                  Death Waltz

                                    Wojciech Golczewski's score for Jackson Stewart's indie horror cult film Beyond The Gates is a synth driven homage to the horror music in the early days of VHS. It saw Golczewski getting a 2nd consecutive nomination for the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for Best Score. For Golczewski fans, who enjoyed his compositions for movies like Tonight She Comes and Dark Souls, Beyond The Gates is a must.

                                    Welcome, curious viewers…have you the courage to go Beyond The Gates?

                                    After their father's unexplained disappearance, two estranged brothers – responsible Gordon (Graham Skipper) and reckless John (Chase Williamson) – reunite to sift through the contents of his stubbornly anachronistic VHS rental store. Among the inventory, they find an old interactive VCR board game. Intrigued, the brothers pop in the tape… and soon discover that this video is no ordinary game, but a portal to a nightmarish alternate reality – one with deadly consequences for anyone who dares to press "play." Featuring horror legend Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond), Beyond The Gates is a retro-cool tale of "hex, dies, and videotape" from director Jackson Stewart!

                                    One off pressing on 180g vinyl. Includes download card of the entire score by Wojciech Golczewski. Vinyl includes exclusive bonus track 'Outrun With The Dead' by Vincenzo Salvia.

                                    FORMAT INFORMATION

                                    LP Info: Limited edition solid pink vinyl.

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                                    Cover of Renewable Energy by The New Mastersounds.

                                    The New Mastersounds

                                    Renewable Energy

                                    One Note Records

                                    The New Mastersounds, the masters of funky soul-jazz present their new album Renewable Energy. After touring they recorded their twelfth studio album featuring a slew of musical guests. ‘Renewable Energy’ expands on their template while still providing plenty of the band's trademark sounds. Guitarist Eddie Roberts, drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand and keyboardist Joe Tatton are joined on this 12-track effort by a number of guests: Sam Bell, one of the founding members of NMS precursor The Mastersounds who also guested on two previous NMS albums, plays percussion on most of the tracks. Mike Olmos and Joe Cohen of the West Coast Horns once again provide added horn action as they did on "Made For Pleasure" from 2015, while Adryon de León from LA band Orgone contributes vocals on "Gonna Be Just Me". Uptempo numbers "Tantalus" and "Yokacoka" see the band flexing their playing chops over a tightly-wound rhythm, while "Green Was Beautiful" and "Groovin On The Groomers" are toe-tapping slabs of soul jazz.

                                    STAFF COMMENTS

                                    Millie says: Full of jazzy energy, this playful album from the pioneers of this genre know what they’re doing (it’s their twelfth studio album!) it’s an absolute joy to listen to.

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                                    Cover of Challenge Me Foolish by U-Ziq.

                                    U-Ziq

                                    Challenge Me Foolish

                                    Planet Mu

                                    "Challenge Me Foolish" is an almost lost album of µ-Ziq material circa 1998-99, an era that saw Mike Paradinas release "Royal Astronomy" on the now defunct Virgin subsidiary Hut records, and also tour with Björk.

                                    It’s an era of his music that’s definitely worth re-exploring, in which Mike went against the grain by producing music that was baroque, melodic and whimsical, while the IDM movement he was lumped with made instrumental music that was often neurotic and complicated. His taste for melody and dreamy beauty above roughness and intricacy confused people who were hanging on too tightly to the rules. He even brought in Japanese vocalist Kazumi, adding an extra human touch.

                                    "Challenge Me Foolish" is something of a companion to the "Royal Astronomy" record; arguably even better given the fresh ears selecting the material. It’s imbued with a confident sense of pastoral colour, and a gentle optimism, utilizing bells, studied orchestral arrangements and airy synthesizers that sit the album somewhere between, Jean Jacques Perrey (the French electronic composer whose whimsy was always balanced with serious innovation and chops) and the colourful, optimistic soundtracks of Joe Hisaishi. There’s a strange sense of the old and new throughout, the sentimental and utopia, with nary a hint of darkness. Even when the album dips into the hyperkinetic rhythms of jungle, the melodies and mood still retain a sense of gentle warmth. Dive into peak time Paradinas.


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                                    Cover of Hunee: Hunchin' All Night by Various Artists.

                                    Various Artists

                                    Hunee: Hunchin' All Night

                                    Rush Hour

                                    Hunee presents a collection of his favorite dancefloor cuts from the '70s till now. Going from afro to disco to techno, "Hunchin' All Night" holds a wide spectrum of songs - tracks by the wonderful Boncana Maïga, Pat Thomas, Black Beat Niks, Kenny Larkin, Larry Heard, Mappa Mundi and many more.

                                    Hunee, aka Hun Choi, is a Korean Berliner who has been invovled in music since a very young age. After working in record stores and studying musicology he resided in Amsterdam, where he released his debut album "Hunch Music".

                                    Unlike a lot of comps in this style, There's a hi-tech, timeless aesthetic to his track selection which also refuses to play it safe. Instead of Ned Doheny we find Larry Heard, while Mappa Mundi takes the place of Steve Miller b-sides. There's a reason he's one of the most celebrated and in-demand DJs across the globe right now... take a look into the crates of one of the best in the scene. 


                                    STAFF COMMENTS

                                    Sil says: Superb selection of obscure dance tracks covering the many genres that Hunee deploys when behind the decks. A bit for every one. You do need this one.

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                                    Cover of Wanted Disco by Various Artists.

                                    Various Artists

                                    Wanted Disco

                                    Wagram

                                      The always affordable Wanted series returns this week with another set of beautifully presented, expertly selected comps covering a variety of genres. This edition takes a look at all things D I S C O, giving us a whole load of heat, mostly from the funier end of the mirror ball galaxy. Love Committee's dramatic and driving "Just As Long As I Got You" gets us off on the good foot, before glittering winners from A Taste Of Honey, Charo and Zebra show off the range of the movement - from the sequins of Studio 54 to the downtown block parties. On the flip Loose Joints treat us to THE outsider disco anthem before funk and jazz dons James Brown and Bob James drop a little 4/4 on our asses.

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                                      Cover of Wanted Funk by Various Artists.

                                      Various Artists

                                      Wanted Funk

                                      Wagram

                                        Continuing their 'Wanted' series those fine folks at Wagram pop the top off a fire hydrant and bring the heat to the street, getting us wild - block party style. Taking a survey of all things funky, the label let us have it with red hot heaters from the likes The Fatback Band, Ray Camacho , T-Connection and Little Beaver and outta sight obscurities from Uncle Louie, Billy Garner and 87th Off Broadway. For any disco jocks looking to inject a little grit into their mirror ball shimmer, I'd suggest you pay some attention to The Philly Armada Orchestra's tight version of "For The Love Of Money" or King Floyd's original version of the Fern Kinney fave "Baby Let Me Kiss You". Wonderfully pressed and beautifully presented in collaboration with acclaimed British photographer Chris Steel-Perkins, this is an excellent addition to any well rounded collection.

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                                        Cover of Wanted Hip Hop by Various Artists.

                                        Various Artists

                                        Wanted Hip Hop

                                        Wagram

                                          The always affordable Wanted series returns this week with another set of beautifully presented, expertly selected comps covering a variety of genres. Here we have a set of overlooked and under the radar Hip Hop heaters including the lyricism and flow of De La Soul, Bubba Sparxxx and RZA & GZA from Wu Tang Clan and the production talents of Pete Rock, Jazzy Jeff and Timberland. Beats to make your head nod til your neck snaps.

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                                          Cover of Wanted Jazz Vol. 1 by Various Artists.

                                          Various Artists

                                          Wanted Jazz Vol. 1

                                          Wagram

                                            The always affordable Wanted series returns this week with another set of beautifully presented, expertly selected comps covering a variety of genres. Tackling jazz was always going to be tricky so the folks at Wagram serve us a survey in two parts. Volume 1 treats us to luxurious grooves, mournful ballads and dreamy difters from the likes of Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie and Letta Mbulu. 

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                                            Cover of Wanted Jazz Vol. 2 by Various Artists.

                                            Various Artists

                                            Wanted Jazz Vol. 2

                                            Wagram

                                              The always affordable Wanted series returns this week with another set of beautifully presented, expertly selected comps covering a variety of genres. Tackling jazz was always going to be tricky so the folks at Wagram serve us a survey in two parts. Volume 1 treats us to luxurious grooves, mournful ballads and dreamy difters from the likes of Horace Silver, Charles Mingus, Donald Byrd and Gene Harris. 

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                                              Cover of Goat Girl by Goat Girl.

                                              Goat Girl

                                              Goat Girl

                                              Rough Trade

                                              Across 19 tracks in just 40 minutes, Goat Girl’s self-titled debut creates a half-fantasy world out of a very dirty, ugly city reality.

                                              Goat Girl belong to a burgeoning, close-knit south London scene, born in venues like The Windmill in Brixton and including bands like Shame, Bat-Bike, Madonnatron, Horsey, Sorry, and many more. “We help each other - I put you on, you put me on - because we genuinely like each other’s music. We’d played gigs all over before but never really settled in a comfortable environment, which is what The Windmill is. It’s an important place for us, it was the first space that our music made sense to exist within. It’s a safe space where music is genuinely listened to and appreciated, and where laws and licensing haven't reached over to ruin the venue.”

                                              This live freedom enabled the band to think without constraints when it came to recording. Goat Girl enlisted producer Dan Carey (The Kills, Bat For Lashes, Franz Ferdinand) to help them capture their vision, set a goal to write and record a piece of music in a day in effort to capture that raw first-creation moment, and chose to record to tape.

                                              It’s a very English album -- sharp-eyed observations like The Kinks, louche rage like The Slits -- but it’s also full of swampy, swaggering guitars and singer Lottie’s filthy drawl. Each member brings a diverse range of influences and contributions, ranging from krautrock to bossa nova, jazz to blues. They resist being boxed in to an indie, guitar-based genre, and focused intensely on the layers and textures of each song as well as the different contexts they could sit within.

                                              The result, Goat Girl, succeeds in conjuring a complete world all unto itself, and is arranged in segments -- divided by improvised interludes -- that offer glimpses of an even stranger parallel universe. With each song acting as its own story of sorts that features different settings and characters, listeners are transported therewithin. It’s dark yet cheeky, varied yet cohesive, and striking in its vision; this world is populated by creeps and liars, lovers, dreamers, and wonderful lunatics. Lead single “Cracker Drool” is at once jaunty and sinister, a foreboding tale full of swirling guitar, echoing vocals and synthetic drum hits that stumbles and gurgles straight into “Slowly Reclines,” an equally menacing and considerably heavier track. “Creep” is, predictably and grimly enough, inspired by actual events: Creep on the train / I really want to smash your head in.

                                              On “Country Sleaze,” she sings about sex in a way that embraces visceral reality and defeats shame. “If you say you’re sexually free, as a woman, society still deems that a bad thing. But really it’s a beautiful thing to be confident in yourself - to know that you can have sex and it doesn’t have to mean anything and that doesn’t make you a bad person.” Ellie smiles: “That song is quite disgusting, in a good way. It’s not trying to be nice, it’s not a love song.” Goat Girl is altogether an album crafted with intention, and invites imaginations to run wild; it draws listeners in to its half-fantasy world from the slow fade, eerie instrumental intro “Salty Sounds,” to the gorgeous, unsettling closer “Tomorrow” -- a rendition of the song featured in Bugsy Malone -- which ends with dawn-chorus birds and the feeling of new possibilities after a long and messy night.

                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Barry says: A superbly textured and stylistically varied outing from Goat Girl, holding within it's 19 (!) tracks a fiery resolve and melodic leaning of the highest order. Brilliantly written and performed with heart, Goat Girl won't be off the shop stereo for some time to come.

                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                              Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive limited violet LP.

                                              Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                              Cover of Sex & Food by Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

                                              Unknown Mortal Orchestra

                                              Sex & Food

                                              Jagjaguwar

                                              Where are we headed? What are we consuming, how is it affecting us, and why does everything feel so bad and weird sometimes? These are some of the questions posed on Ruban Nielson's fourth album as Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Sex & Food-a delightfully shapeshifting album that filters these real-deal serious themes through a vibrant sonic lens that spans battered drum-machine funk, doomy and thrashing rock, and pink-hued psychedelic disco. Recorded in a variety of locales from Seoul and Hanoi to Reykjavik, Mexico City, and Auckland, Sex & Food is a practical musical travelogue, with local musicians from the countries that Nielson and his band visited pitching in throughout.

                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Barry says: As singular as they are enthralling, Unknown Mortal Orchestra are finally back, and bringing everything we've come to expect. Jangly riffs, pitch-perfect falsetto and impeccable writing, 'Sex & Food' is their finest work to date.

                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                              Coloured LP Info: Limited edition pink vinyl.

                                              2xIndies Exclusive LP Info: Indies exclusive pink vinyl bundle, includes bonus limited edition black vinyl 12".

                                              2xIndies Exclusive LP includes MP3 Download Code.

                                              LP Info: Standard black vinyl edition.

                                              LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                              Cover of I Don't Run by Hinds.

                                              Hinds

                                              I Don't Run

                                              Lucky Number

                                              Spanish quartet Hinds - Carlotta Cosials, Ana Perrotte, Ade Martin and Amber Grimbergen - announce their long-awaited second record I Don’t Run. Out April 6 via Lucky Number, the new album shows a bigger, better, faster, funnier, more dexterous Hinds. Co-produced by the band and Gordon Raphael [The Strokes, Regina Spektor], and engineered by Shawn Everett [Alabama Shakes, Perfume Genius, The War On Drugs, John Legend], I Don’t Run is the product of a band fighting for their place, a band unwilling to rely upon their successes, a band who have just begun to prove themselves, and a band who plays hard but works even harder.

                                              Some might expect them to write songs about being happy, young and carefree – “but we're not satisfied with that,” explains guitarist Ana Perrote. “On this album the struggles are clear. We want to be brave.” I Don’t Run is Hinds’ return with an honest reflection on a period that changed their lives beyond their wildest imaginations. After everything they’ve overcome, one might think a band like Hinds would have second album jitters, but think again. Hinds are chomping at the bit and with defiant confidence. “We loved making this album,” says Perrote. “We knew what we wanted and we have what we wanted. This is a new start for us and we're fucking ready.”

                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Barry says: Snarling punky sections segue into swooning, hazy melodic guitar and bass interplay. Simmering hazy indie-rock slowly moves into clanging garage and thrashing pop-punk choruses.

                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                              Coloured LP Info: Limited edition indies exclusive transparent coloured vinyl.

                                              Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

                                              LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                              Cover of Song For Alpha by Daniel Avery.

                                              Daniel Avery

                                              Song For Alpha

                                              Phantasy Sound

                                              Five years after his critically acclaimed debut Drone Logic, London-based producer Daniel Avery announces his highly anticipated second album Song For Alpha, set for release on March 9th 2018 through Phantasy. The album is preceded on January 19th by a 4-track limited edition 12” vinyl EP titled Slow Fade.

                                              The new long player, on which the track ‘Slow Fade’ will appear, follows 2013’s incendiary debut Drone Logic. Upon its release the latter was called “A mesmerising debut" by Mixmag, “Exceptional” by the Times and "A benchmark for so many other dance albums to aspire to" by Dummy, while Pitchfork proclaimed “Avery owns this space.” “Underground dance music with this sort of ambition hasn’t been heard in quite a while", noted Resident Advisor, and Q hailed  "The arrival of a new left­field dance superstar."

                                              In the years since, Avery has helmed a DJ-Kicks mix CD, resided over a monthly radio show for NTS Live, curated an extensive remix compilation and collaborated on a series of side-projects including a recent collaboration with Nine Inch Nails synth specialist Alessandro Cortini; he has toured relentlessly, cementing a reputation as one of the defining techno DJs of the decade. He has also worked studiously on what he wanted to say next as a producer. 

                                              With newfound energy and time to develop, Avery’s sonic vocabulary has expanded. Here, the booming sound of the big room is brilliantly countered by the music of the small hours. Where celestial ambient lullabies ‘First Light’ and ‘Days From Now’ sit perfectly next to the mesmeric techno assault of ‘Diminuendo’ and ‘Sensation’; where both ‘Projector’ and ‘Clear’ evoke early rave records, only ones engulfed by waves of beautiful cyclonic distortion. William Basinski, Warp’s Artificial Intelligence, Brian Eno plus his own excursions with Alessandro Cortini all serve as touchstones for a record that sees Avery take his signature psychedelic-electronic sound to new dimensions, a sound that plays to the head as much as the body.


                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Barry says: Delicately presented electroacoustic compositions, supported with a finely honed backbone of melodic suggestion and hypnotic rhythmic pulse, Avery once again proves he is one of the masters of his craft.

                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                              2xLP Info: Double 180 gram vinyl.

                                              2xLP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                              Cover of Moosebumps An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation by Dr Octagon.

                                              Dr Octagon

                                              Moosebumps An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation

                                              Caroline International

                                              For the uninitiated, Moosebumps should be considered the true follow up to the critically acclaimed 1996 Dr. Octagon album Dr. Octagonecologyst, the strange and beautiful fruit of an inspired musical collaboration between legendary artists/producers Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, MC Kool Keith (Keith Thornton) and turntablist DJ Q-Bert (Richard Quitevis). Though Kool Keith continued to perform and release new material under the alias “Dr. Octagon” sporadically over the years – it was without the original partners Automator and QBert. For the first time in over two decades, Moosebumps has reunited the dream team in the studio and on the stage!

                                              Also making a notable appearance on the Moosebumps album is rapper and frequent Automator collaborator, Del The Funky Homosapien, on the epic track “3030 Meets The Doc Pt.1”

                                              The character Dr. Octagon is an extraterrestrial surgeon from Jupiter who uses space technology and primitive tools to perform medical procedures on his patients, some of whom die as he conducts his rounds, while others are murdered by his careless, barbaric acts.

                                              Dan The Automator has worked with noteworthy artists including: Got a Girl, Miles Kane, DJ Shadow, Kasabian, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Gorillaz, Lovage, Head Automatica, Mike Patton, DJ Quest, Emily Wells, Depeche Mode, Pillowfight, Exodus, Primal Scream

                                              Kool Keith has collaborated and worked with: Ultramagnetic MCs, The Cenobites, Godfather Don Tim Dog, KutMasta Kurt, Motion Man, Analog Brothers, Masters of Illusion, Jacky Jasper, Thee Undatakerz, The Diesel Truckers, Peeping Tom, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Chilly Chill, The Prodigy, Spazz, Princess Superstar, Nu:Tone, Esham, MF DOOM, L'Orange

                                              DJ Q-Bert is one of the founding members of the band Invisibl Skratch Piklz, launched the Qbert Skratch University, an interactive online learning school and community for DJs, and has worked and collaborated with Mix Master Mike, DJ Shadow, Peanut Butter Wolf, A-Trak, Shortkut, Rasco, Dee Jay Bird, DJ Lord Wax, Herbie Hancock, The X-Ecutioners, Shock G, D-Styles, Motion Man, Praxis, N.A.S.A, L’Orange and Mr. Lif.

                                              Deltron has worked with noteworthy acts: Hieroglyphics, Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Da Lench Mob, Chilly Chill, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Ice Cube, El-P, Tame One.


                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                              2xIndies Exclusive LP Info: Alternate gatefold artwork, 12 instrumentals of album tracks on 140g double black vinyl, printed inner sleeves x2, original album in printed CD jacket.

                                              2xLP Info: 140/150gram double black vinyl in a gatefold jacket.

                                              2xLP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                              Cover of St. Jude - Re:Wired by The Courteeners.

                                              The Courteeners

                                              St. Jude - Re:Wired

                                              Ignition Records Ltd.

                                              Courteeners will mark the 10th anniversary of their debut album with a new, fully re-recorded version of the seminal record and two massive shows in London and Manchester.

                                              Following Liam Fray’s recent sold out acoustic tour of the UK, the band have recorded an unplugged version of St. Jude for release on 6th April 2018 via Ignition Records. St. Jude Re:Wired has been produced by Liam and Joe Cross. 

                                              Originally released in April 2008, St. Jude charted at no 4 in its first week and went on to win the inaugural Guardian First British Album award, beating albums by Duffy, Adele and Glasvegas. The record saw Courteeners present to the world outside a first set of songs that perfectly soundtracked modern life in the UK. Lead track Not Nineteen Forever has amassed over 20 million streams on Spotify alone.


                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Barry says: Unforgettable acoustic versions of one of Manchester's most beloved modern indie staples. The acoustic versions on this reworks LP represent the drive of the originals but with a more nuanced outlook, each instrument and Fray's voice working together uninterrupted and unrivalled. Lovely.

                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                              Ltd LP Info: Limited vinyl edition in special gatefold packaging.

                                              Ltd LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                              Cover of The Deconstruction by Eels.

                                              Eels

                                              The Deconstruction

                                              E Works

                                              After a four year wait, EELS will release their highly-anticipated new album The Deconstruction via E Works/[PIAS].

                                              “Here are 15 new EELS tracks that may or may not inspire, rock, or not rock you. The world is going nuts. But if you look for it, there is still great beauty to be found. Sometimes you don’t even have to look for it. Other times you have to try to make it yourself. And then there are times you have to tear something apart to find something beautiful inside.”

                                              EELS singer-songwriter E (Mark Oliver Everett).

                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Barry says: From the bubblegum sweetness (and reticent unease) of Eels' early works to todays melancholic and refined productions, Mark Oliver everett has maintained his impeccable ear for melody and unrivalled attention to detail. 'The Deconstruction' is in many ways the pinnacle of their works to date, instantly recognisable but undeniably boundary-pushing.

                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                              2xColoured LP Info: 2 x 10” Translucent Yellow Vinyl.

                                              2xColoured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

                                              LP Box Set Info: Limited Edition Boxset Contents:
                                              2 x 12” Translucent Pink Vinyl in printed sleeves.
                                              Printed box on uncoated paper.
                                              CD Digitpack.
                                              28 page perfect bound lyric booklet with exclusive photos.
                                              12” artwork print.
                                              A4 digital handwritten “Rusty Pipes” lyrics signed by E.
                                              E “Tip & Strip” pen.

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                                              Cover of The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs by Wye Oak.

                                              Wye Oak

                                              The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs

                                              Merge

                                              The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs—the triumphant fifth album by Wye Oak—begins with an explosion. For a few seconds, piano, drums, and a playful keyboard loop gather momentum; then, all at once, they burst, enormous bass flooding the elastic beat. “Suffering, I remember suffering,” sings Jenn Wasner, her voice stretched coolly across the tizzy. “Feeling heat and then the lack of it, but not so much what the difference is.” The moment declares the second coming of Wye Oak, a band that spent more than a decade preparing to write this record—their most gripping and powerful set of songs to date, built with melodies, movement, and emotions that transcend even the best of their catalogue.

                                              Louder is the third record that Wasner and Andy Stack, who launched Wye Oak in Baltimore, have made while living in separate cities—she in Durham, North Carolina, he in Marfa, Texas. They flew to one another for a week or so at a time, hunkering in home studios to sort through and combine their separate song sketches. These shorter stints together produced less second-guessing and hesitation in their process, yielding an unabashed and unapologetic Wye Oak. The result is the biggest, broadest, boldest music they’ve ever made. Louder pursues a litany of modern malaises, each track diligently addressing a new conflict and pinning it against walls of sound, with the song’s subject and shape inextricably and ingeniously linked. The rapturous “Lifer,” for instance, ponders perseverance and survival in times of profound struggle. “Over and Over” finds Wasner alone at home, watching clips of violence abroad on repeat, her outrage outstripped only by her ineffectiveness.

                                              The music—a sophisticated tessellation of pounded piano and loping bass, scattered drums and chirping synthesizer—is as complex and ponderous as the issues themselves. For all the struggles Wye Oak confront here, Louder ultimately reflects a hopeful radiance, with the parting sense that human connection and our own internal resolve can outweigh even our heaviest worries. 

                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Barry says: Brilliantly driven synthy atmospheres dragged along by skittering percussion and Wasner's enchanting vocal offerings, Wye Oak give us cleverly anthemic pieces but missing all the pitfalls of the ever more common synth-driven indie rock. In parts brittle, but growing into spine-tingling crescentic anthems. Wye not?

                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                              Coloured LP Info: double gatefold jacket w/ printed inner sleeve + beige/blue split vinyl

                                              Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

                                              CD Info: 4-panel wallet with booklet

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                                              Cover of Now Only by Mount Eerie.

                                              Mount Eerie

                                              Now Only

                                              P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.

                                                Now Only, written shortly following the release of A Crow Looked At Me and the first live performances of those songs, is a deeper exploration of that style of candid, undisguised lyrical writing. It portrays Elverum’s continuing immersion in the strange reality of Geneviève’s death, chronicling the evolution of his relationship to her and her memory, and of the effect the artistic exploration of his grief has had on his own life. The scope of Now Only encompasses not only hospitals and deathbeds, but also a music festival, childhood memories of conversations with Elverum’s mother, profound paintings and affecting artworks he encounters, a documentary about Jack Kerouac, and most significantly, memories of his life with Geneviève. These moments and thoughts resonate with each other, creating a more complex and nuanced picture of mourning and healing. The power of these songs comes not from the small, sharp moments of cutting phrases or shocks, but the echoes that weave the songs together, the way a life is woven.

                                                The music, fully realized by Elverum alone at home, is fleshed out texturally and seems to react to the words in real time. In a moment of confusion, dissonance abruptly makes itself known; in a moment of clarity, gentle piano arises. On the title track, the blunt declaration of “people get cancer and die” is subverted by a melody that can only be described as pop. As Elverum reinvents his lyrical process, he is also refining his musical vocabulary.

                                                Elverum’s life during the period he wrote Now Only was defined by the duality of existing with the praise and attention garnered by A Crow Looked At Me and the difficult reality of maintaining a house with a small child by himself, as well as working to preserve Geneviève’s artistic legacy. Consumed with the day to day of raising his daughter, Elverum felt his musical self was so distant that it seemed fictional. Stepping into the role of Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie held the promise of positive empathy and praise, but also the difficulty of inhabiting the intense grief that produced the music. These moments, both public and domestic, are chronicled in these songs. They are songs of remembrance, and songs about the idea of remembrance, about living on the cusp of the past and present and reluctantly witnessing a beloved person’s history take shape. Time continues.

                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                Ltd LP Info: Old style gatefold tip-on jacket with special subtle blue paper on the inner liner sheet, all the lyrics, free download card.

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                                                Cover of Mien by Mien.

                                                Mien

                                                Mien

                                                Rocket Recordings

                                                Debut album by MIEN, the exciting new four piece band comprised of The Black Angels’ Alex Maas, The Horrors’ Tom Furse, Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir and The Earlies’ John-Mark Lapham. The seeds were sown for this collaboration as long ago as 2004, when Rishi Dhir (Elephant Stone) found himself in a chance encounter with Black Angels frontman Alex Maas whilst performing sitar with his former band on a bill at SXSW in Austin with The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Not long afterwards, he would also stumble across electronics guru and producer John Mark Lapham from Anglo-American band The Earlies, via a shared love for one song - the ‘classic sitar banger’ by The Association, ‘Wantin’ Ain’t Gettin’.

                                                Some years later, another piece of the puzzle came into place, when Dhir was now playing bass with The Black Angels in 2012, and found the band sharing several bills with The Horrors. Thus he made the acquaintance of Tom Furse, and yet another pact was made to work together. Several traversals of the globe by both plane and audio-file later, the result is an album that sees this quartet transcending their origins whilst maintaining a cohesive unity borne of a desire for outward exploration.

                                                John Mark’s vision, as he puts it, was “imagine the Black Angels as Nico in her 80’s industrial phase mixed with George Harrison and Conny Plank.” - true to form, it’s an album that finds equal room for radiant groove-based propulsion and ambient dreamscapes alike - as comfortable with the murky hallucinogenic voyage of ‘You Dreamt’ as the powerful widescreen sweep of ‘(I’m Tired Of) Western Shouting’, yet with songwriting acumen as potent as the production values are expansive and exploratory. This may have been a record put together at a distance - yet the chemistry between these four figures is manifest amidst a kaleidoscopic series of atmospheres and excursions whereby the fertile songwriting of the golden age of ‘60s psychedelia is transmitted into a transcendental realm above and beyond the second decade of the 21st century. 

                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                Barry says: It would be impossible to imagine a better line-up than these four veterans of psych and indie-rock, and the product of their hard work is every bit as brilliant as you'd imagine. Fuzzy-headed psychedelic swirls, thumping percussion and chugging, kosmische riffs.

                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                Coloured LP Info: "Deep Mien" coloured vinyl.

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                                                Cover of Geography by Tom Misch.

                                                Tom Misch

                                                Geography

                                                Beyond The Groove

                                                  Tom Misch announces the release of his highly anticipated debut album ‘Geography’ via his own label Beyond The Groove / Kobalt Music Recordings for an April 6th release. The first track to be lifted from the album is ‘Movie’, a melodic ode to romance written by Tom and his long term collaborator Carmody, and featuring guest vocals at the start by Tom’s sister Polly Misch The track displays a different side to Tom’s music as his calming voice lulls the listener into a daydream, giving us a taster of what is to come with the release of ‘Geography’.

                                                  The idea for the track came to fruiti on with Tom wanti ng to base the song around old classic movies and the charm that came with them. The upcoming visual for ‘Movie’ is a culminati on of old footage from Tom’s grandparents in Germany in the 40’s adding a personal narrati ve for Tom and his music. The artwork was created by Tom’s mother Carol who has consistently contributed to visuals for his previous releases. The silhouettes of Tom facing himself represent challenging himself to create a new landscape in his diff erent moods and stages of creativity. Woven in with ideas of contour lines and illusion we see one thing, then another, in the same way that music has its own multi layered language.

                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                  Barry says: Silky smooth slow-mo lounge, simmering soulful vocals and Misch's undeniable ear for melody and counterpoint. Shuffling percussion slowly works away behind beautifully warm atmospheric ambience. As soulful as they come.

                                                  FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                  Coloured LP Info: Yellow Vinyl. Limited to 3,000 copies worldwide.

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                                                  Cover of Bark Your Head Off, Dog by Hop Along.

                                                  Hop Along

                                                  Bark Your Head Off, Dog

                                                  Saddle Creek

                                                    Written over the course of 2016 and 2017 and recorded in the summer of the latter year by Frances Quinlan (songwriter/vocalist/rhythm guitar), Tyler Long (bass), Joe Reinhart (guitar), and Mark Quinlan (drums), the album addresses disappointment, particularly in man's misuse of power, and relates accounts from the periphery -- one's attempts to retreat from the lengthening shadows of tyrants, both historical and everyday. It considers what it’s like to cast off longheld and misguided perceptions, yet without the assurance of knowing what new ones will replace them. Much like on Hop Along’s first and second records, Get Disowned and Painted Shut, Quinlan seeks in real time to work through these issues.

                                                    Throughout the album, one gets the sense that Quinlan is wandering in the thicket of a forest—a state of being that will feel familiar to long time listeners—and on this outing, she hasn’t left a trail of breadcrumbs behind her. The album’s artwork, which Quinlan painted herself, invites the listener into that forest, as well. “There is a terror in getting lost,” she says, “the woods are at the same time beautiful and horrifying.” This curious wandering gives the album, both lyrically and musically, a heightened dimensionality.

                                                    Bark Your Head O, Dog is, without question, Hop Along’s most dynamic and textured record yet. Self-produced and recorded at The Headroom in Philadelphia by Reinhart and Kyle Pulley, Bark Your Head O, Dog features the familiar sounds that have always made the band allergic to genre: grunge, folk, punk, and power pop all appear, with inspiration from ELO to Elvis Costello to ‘70s girl group vocal arrangements. This time around, they’ve added strings, more intricate rhythms, lush harmonies (featuring Thin Lips’ Chrissy Tashjian), along with a momentary visit with a vocoder. In more than one place, Mark Quinlan drums like he’s at a disco with Built to Spill.

                                                    Most significantly, Bark Your Head O, Dog shows the band at its strongest and most cohesive. Hop Along (which originally began as Quinlan’s solo project under the moniker Hop Along, Queen Ansleis) has never sounded so deliberate, so balanced. “So strange to be shaped by such strange men” is a line that repeats on more than one song on the album. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot. That I just deferred to men throughout my life,” Quinlan says. “But by thinking you’re powerless, you’re really robbing yourself. I’m at a point in my life where I’m saying instead, ‘Well, what can I do?’”

                                                    STAFF COMMENTS

                                                    Barry says: Powerful grungy breakdowns litter the tasteful and layered crescendos, providing a many-faceted backdrop to the toe-tapping rhythmic vocals and subtly shifting melancholic indie progressions. Tenderly acoustic where needed, and more than suggesting moments of classic folk and Americana. Perfectly balanced and enthralling throughout.

                                                    FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                    Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive orange vinyl - 700 only!

                                                    Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                    Cover of Bennett Wilson Poole by Bennett Wilson Poole.

                                                    Bennett Wilson Poole

                                                    Bennett Wilson Poole

                                                    Aurora

                                                      Danny Wilson (Danny and the Champions of the World, Grand Drive), and Robin Bennett (The Dreaming Spires, Goldrush, Saint Etienne) join forces with Tony Poole (Starry Eyed and Laughing), producer extraordinaire, and king of the electric twelve-string Rickenbacker, their voices, guitars, and songwriting combining to marvellous effect in a collection of songs that began as uplifting acoustic music and grew into something far more wide-ranging and transcendent.

                                                      Pulling on influences from the 60s pop of The Byrds, The Beatles and The Beach Boys, through to the harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, with dashes of Petty and Springsteen thrown in for good measure, perhaps the most remarkable thing is that what shines through all of this is the quality and originality of the songwriting. The songs deal with wide-ranging issues and personal truths, from the aptly titled opener ‘Soon Enough’ through the biographical tale of Danny’s family in ‘Wilson General Store’ and the politically-charged rallying cry of ‘Hate Won’t Win’ to the social commentary of epic album-closer ‘Lifeboat (Take a Picture of Yourself)’.

                                                      All three collaborators have had critical acclaim in their own right. Danny Wilson’s credentials go back to his days in Grand Drive with brother Julian, and his consistent high calibre output with his Champions of the World led them to sweeping the board at the first UK Americana Awards with Album, Artist and Song of the year awards richly deserved; Tony Poole’s Starry Eyed and Laughing were hailed as “the English Byrds” on the back of their two CBS-released albums in the mid-seventies and he has since built an enviable reputation as producer and engineer; Robin Bennett has been relentlessly turning out timeless songs from his Oxfordshire base in bands from Goldrush to The Dreaming Spires, alongside founding two award winning festivals (Truck and Wood) and lending his multi-instrumental skills to Saint Etienne.

                                                      But in Bennett Wilson Poole, the trio seem to have stumbled upon that rarity of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. 


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                                                      Cover of Loud Patterns by Makeness.

                                                      Makeness

                                                      Loud Patterns

                                                      Secretly Canadian

                                                      Makeness drops his debut album, "Loud Patterns" on the Secretely Canadian labe. Crafting tracks which make a virtue of disparate influences, Kyle Molleson manages to pull off something difficult: songs which have been tirelessly worked on, although sound loose-limbed and to-the-point.

                                                      "Loud Patterns" is noticeably indebted to house and techno; there are 4/4 rhythms, and a no-nonsense directness that harks back to the Detroit pioneers. Channeling avant-garde experimentalism and an outsider’s interest in pop, Kyle embraces the distance between those two poles.

                                                      Cosmic Slop, an underground institution in Leeds, was another touchstone. As Kyle recalls,'That place was definitely an awakening in terms of dance music.' It boasts a hand-built, peerless soundsystem, a near-pitch black dancefloor and a music policy that ranges from Dilla instrumentals to Detroit house. It takes dance music away from regimented structure, fashion and trends and into a freeform world of creative, one which Kyle thoroughly embraces.

                                                      "Loud Patterns" arrives after a series of releases that have established his particular, in-between approach to dance-minded music. He put out two EPs on Manchester-based imprint Handsome Dad, a one-off single with Adult Jazz and self-released Temple Works EP; Whities also released a limited-edition white label of a Minor Science dub of one of his tracks.

                                                      Containing single, “Stepping Out Of Sync" - 'for me is about losing a little bit of a grip on reality,' says Kyle. 'There’s a big nod to the world of pop music in the track and I wanted to reflect that in the video too. Josha and Felix, who directed the video, came up with this great time splicing technique using a custom 3-camera rig. The idea was to use the technique as a character in the video to add a sense of detachment from reality and subtly invert the upbeat aspect of the music. I had also been talking to my friend Maddie who is a brilliant dancer about working on some choreography for the video. These aspects seemed to come together perfectly when Josha and Felix started sending ideas across. I think the video really captures the range of emotions that exist in the track, it’s upbeat and positive aspect alongside a layer of dissonance and confusion that lies under the surface.'. 


                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                      Coloured LP Info: Limited edition yellow vinyl.

                                                      Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                      Cover of Bellowing Sun by Mind Over Mirrors.

                                                      Mind Over Mirrors

                                                      Bellowing Sun

                                                      Paradise Of Bachelors

                                                        A twelve-faceted sonic inquiry into celestial cycles, the rhythms of the natural world, and the illuminating nature of darkness, the accompanying album Bellowing Sun is the majestic culmination of Fennelly’s immersive explorations of the natural world’s sensory dimensions and the dialogues between musical traditions—acoustic and electronic, vernacular and avant-garde. The solitary compositional genesis of the piece, and a significant portion of its early recording (before tracking and mixing sessions with John McEntire of Tortoise), occurred at Bean’s home atop a dune of fine quartz “singing sands” on the shore of Lake Michigan.

                                                        Sonically, Bellowing Sun is both kaleidoscopic and telescopic in nature, offering a radiant palette of rhythmic, textural, and tonal complexity, as well as rapid shifts in scale, from the intimately corporeal to the dizzyingly cosmic. All four J’s—Jaime, Janet, Jim, and Jon—appeared together on Undying Color, but have since solidified into a formidable, cohesive unit, a true band capable of increasingly expansive arrangements. Though divided into twelve movements, or aspects—zodiacal sectors, perhaps—the piece functions as a heroic, integral whole. The album’s sequence reveals a dynamic push and pull between contemplative stasis and headlong momentum, imparting a palpably physical mass to the cataracts of sound. Bean sings on half of the tracks, including early stunner “Matchstick Grip” and the spectacular closer “Pause to Wonder.” Whether articulating words or intoning phonemes, her powerful, lucent voice elevates the proceedings to a devotional plane whenever it emerges from the saturated field of sound.

                                                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                        2xLP Info: 140g virgin vinyl LP features heavy-duty gatefold

                                                        2xLP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                        Cover of Scented Pictures by Nonpareils.

                                                        Nonpareils

                                                        Scented Pictures

                                                        Mute

                                                          Aaron Hemphill announces details of his debut solo album, ‘Scented Pictures’. Released under the name Nonpareils, these are his first recordings since an amicable departure from Liars in 2016.

                                                          The songs on ‘Scented Pictures’, recorded by Hemphill in Berlin, are directly inspired by concepts relating to memories, or more accurately the sensory experience of memory. The tracks brim with poppy ideas and lush colour, yet their structures aim at defying logic, filtering the songs into strange new psychedelic corners. Hemphill believes that encouraging the brain to fill in the gaps in something - be it a piece of music or a specific memory - leads to an amplified, more vivid experience for the listener. The snippets of sound and image inside ‘Scented Pictures’’ songs were mostly culled from the musician’s own memory and tinted by his entry into a new solo phase in his career.

                                                          The songwriting displayed on ‘Scented Pictures’ is metaphysically restructured pop, the wealth of sounds and sonic processes at Hemphill’s disposal having diversified and warped since ‘Mess’, his final studio album with Liars.

                                                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                          LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                          Cover of The Much Much How How And I by Cosmo Sheldrake.

                                                          Cosmo Sheldrake

                                                          The Much Much How How And I

                                                          Transgressive

                                                            Cosmo Sheldrake, the prodigiously talented and profoundly unique 27-year-old singer, songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist from London, announces details of his debut album ‘The Much Much How How And I’, out on Transgressive Records.

                                                            ‘The Much Much How How And I’ was written under the influence of a diverse group of musicians - ranging from The Beatles and The Kinks to Moondog and Stravinsky - and shaped by Sheldrake’s study of anthropology at the University Of Sussex, his longstanding interest in ethnomusicology and a trip to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

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                                                            Cover of Blackwater Holylight by Blackwater Holylight.

                                                            Blackwater Holylight

                                                            Blackwater Holylight

                                                            Riding Easy

                                                              The notion of 'heavy music' is continuing to expand of late, with many intrepid artists finding new ways to incorporate the power of traditional metal into new music, but without all of its trappings. Enter Portland, OR quartet BlackWater HolyLight to further swirl musical elements into a captivating hybrid of emotional intensity. Heavy psych riffs, gothic drama, folk-rock vibes, garage-sludge and soaring melodies all collide into a satisfying whole with as much contrast as the band’s name itself.

                                                              'I wanted to experiment with my own version of what felt ‘heavy’ both sonically and emotionally,' says founder and vocalist/bassist Allison Faris. 'I also wanted a band in which vulnerability of any form could be celebrated.' BlackWater HolyLight — Faris, guitarist/vocalist Laura Hopkins, drummer Cat Hoch and synth player Sarah Mckenna — formed upon the breakup of Faris’ longtime band and she sought a fresh start. 'In my last band I was the only female in a group of 6, so I wanted to see how my song writing and vulnerability could glow taking the drivers seat and working with women.'

                                                              The band’s self-titled debut begins with a simple, almost grunge-like riff as a chorus of voices introduce a melodic line in call-and-response until the band kicks in, slowly building into crescendo like a lost outtake from Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy. Elsewhere, “Sunrise” begins with a chorus-drenched post-punk groove until a sonic boom of heavily distorted guitar skree erupts out of nowhere. Nearly as suddenly, the song returns to its lulling core, subtly building the tension until it ruptures completely in a blast of noise. Likewise, “Carry Her” establishes a dark, sparse melody and distinctly thin sounding drums not far removed from early work of The Cure. However, BlackWater HolyLight’s penchant for surprise attack finds a sudden shift into a doom-like dirge, colored with eerie synth notes and pounding shards of fuzz. Throughout the album, their songs shirk traditional verse-chorus-verse structure in favor of fluid, serpentine compositions that move with commanding grace. The band expertly, yet subconsciously, incorporates hints of Chelsea Wolfe, Celebration, Captain Beefheart, The Raincoats, The Stooges, Pink Floyd, Jane’s Addiction and more to form their unique brand of dark’n’heavy transcendence.

                                                              BlackWater HolyLight was recorded by Cameron Speice at Gold Brick Studios and The Greenhouse, and with Eric Crespo at Touch Tourcher Recording in Portland. 

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                                                              Cover of 5 Star Motel by Gitkin.

                                                              Gitkin

                                                              5 Star Motel

                                                              Wonderwheel

                                                              Gitkin sold guitars. To be precise, he re-branded, sold and traded knock-off Gibsons. A lone, travelling salesman, he toted his counterfeit wares to guitar stores and music emporiums. His trade took him to most corners of the USA, passing through big, smoggy cities and nowheresville small towns. His nights were spent at not-so-salubrious motels. It was at those nocturnal stop-offs that he'd often cross paths with newcomers to the States. His fellow travellers were mostly immigrants, newly-arrived, from places like Ethiopia, Mexico, Indonesia. Or at least, that's the story as Brian J Gitkin has been able to piece it together. This album, '5 Star Motel', is by a different Gitkin, an ode to the one described above. Or to put it another way, this is the younger Gitkin's homage to his elder relative: the elusive, guitar salesman uncle he never met. A steady drip of anecdotes have construed an image of his relation's itinerant, huckster lifestyle. Finding a cassette of his recordings, it spoke of the effect of those encounters: lo-fi and scratchy, the music leaped seamlessly, in difficult to discern ways, between different far-flung styles. It's an embrace of cultures where folkloric stringed instruments still rule, or where they've led to a more recent embrace of the electric guitar. He traces the loose, meandering paths which join them together. It's about America, the world outside its borders, and the inscrutable, inevitable dialogue that exists between them. The sound of Peruvian chicha – steady-moving, alluring, and lyrical – winds its way through Gitkin's fuzz-filtered licks, and the rhythm underpinning it. Or 'Yama', where Middle Eastern influences echo out of grooving, cyclical riffs. Touching on the distinctive tones of Tuareg music and the Sahara, too, 'Grand Street Feast' charts a sand-dusted, melodic misadventure.

                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                              Millie says: It’s all about the guitars on 5 Star Motel, beautiful mellow psych matched melodic funk makes for a winning album.

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                                                              Cover of Okovi: Additions by Zola Jesus.

                                                              Zola Jesus

                                                              Okovi: Additions

                                                              Sacred Bones

                                                                Zola Jesus’ Okovi: Additions lp offers a new angle on her 2017 album, Okovi. The collection pairs four previously unreleased songs from the Okovi sessions with four remixes by a diverse cast of artists.

                                                                Johnny Jewel turns “Ash to Bone” into a late-night cinematic torch song, Tri Angle Records composer Katie Gately’s “Siphon” is a dark choir of warping angels, black metal band Wolves in the Throne Room’s take on “Exhumed” makes the pounding industrial anthem even denser and heavier, and Toronto producer Joanne Pollock (formerly one half of Poemss with Venetian Snares’ Aaron Funk) makes “Soak” feel like an aching classical standard— until it starts warping in on itself and goes somewhere else entirely.

                                                                The songs on Additions traverse a vast amount of sonic ground, but taken together, they cohere remarkably well as an album, all while serving to enrich the experience of Okovi.

                                                                “These four new songs were intended to be on Okovi,” Nika Roza Danilova explains. “Each of them represents a snapshot of my journey in making the record, and are just as precious to me as the songs that made it onto the final track listing. The remixes are beloved in their own way, as most were born from organic circumstances, and have drawn the original songs into completely new atmospheres.”

                                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                Coloured LP Info: Grey and black starburst vinyl.

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                                                                Cover of Supreme Rarities: Motown Lost And Found by The Supremes.

                                                                The Supremes

                                                                Supreme Rarities: Motown Lost And Found

                                                                Third Man Records

                                                                  As the hometown girls who conquered the world, Diana Ross and the Supremes are inarguably the most successful, highest selling girl group of all time. From their inauspicious start as the long-forgotten Primettes, to their ascension past the moniker of “no-hit Supremes” through the ranks of Motown’s rank-and-file to globe-trotting superstars, this group is as pure and quintessential Detroit Motor City as you can get.

                                                                  Originally released on 2xCD in in 2008, the Supremes “Supreme Rarities” from the Motown Lost & Found Series collects from the depths of the label archives to showcase the rarities, the outtakes and the incomparable live recordings from this inimitable group of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Listen to the story unfold from the innocent teenaged doo-wop of “You Can Depend On Me” from 1960 all the way through the slick, socially-conscious refinement of “I’m Livin’ in Shame” from 1969. Aside from a handful of forgotten vinyl releases decades ago, the majority of this material has not been released on vinyl. Until now.

                                                                  Third Man, in a unique partnership with Universal Music, has taken this double-CD and turned it into a glorious 4xLP collection housed in an impeccably-designed slipcase, all watercolor pastel vibrant photos highlight how absolutely impeccable this group is.

                                                                  Of particular interest is that “Supreme Rarities” are the first Motown records EVER pressed in the city of Detroit. Diana Ross attended high school at Cass Tech, a mere mile away from Third Man Pressing where this title was lovingly pressed, which is also just a mile away from the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects where Ross and fellow Supremes Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard all grew up.

                                                                  The 48 tracks included here include the earliest Primettes tracks, invigorating covers of The Rolling Stones “Satisfaction” and the Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There”, along with renditions of hits for OTHER Motown artists like “Mickey’s Monkey” and “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” in addition to alternate vocal takes of stone cold certified smashes like “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Someday We’ll Be Together.” And if you want the hits medley, “Come See About Me”, “Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love” will wonderfully whet your appetite.

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                                                                  Cover of Yen Ara by Ebo Taylor.

                                                                  Ebo Taylor

                                                                  Yen Ara

                                                                  Mr Bongo

                                                                  Ghanaian music legend Ebo Taylor returns with perhaps his finest album to date. But don’t take our word for it. That’s coming straight from the man himself, and he should know after more than 60 years in the business!
                                                                  The 81-year-old composer, arranger, guitarist and vocalist has been a key figure in the evolving afro-funk sound since the Seventies, working with the likes of Apagya Show Band, CK Mann and Pat Thomas. Famously, he rubbed shoulders with Fela Kuti while studying in London in the Sixties, before going on to lead the Ghana Black Star Band (featuring Osei and Sol Amarfio from Osibisa) and later the Uhuru Dance Band back in Ghana.
                                                                  Like Fela, he is always pushing forward, constantly reconceptualising his sound and attuning it for a new generation. Part teacher, part messenger, listen to "Yen Ara" and you will not only hear the high-energy afrobeat, sweet highlife, jazz and konkoma influences that he’s famous for, but also a disco pulse and hard-hitting percussive edge to the tracks, which were produced by Justin Adams (Tinariwen, Rachid Taha, Robert Plant) and recorded in the live room at Electric Monkey Studio in Amsterdam.
                                                                  His group, the Saltpond City Band, are all handpicked local musicians featuring two of his sons. An appropriate line-up on an album whose titles means “we”. And they are on fine form, ripping through tracks such as ‘Krumandey’ (a surefire party starter) and ‘Mind Your Own Business’ (a simple message delivered over a frenetic drum rhythm).
                                                                  Elsewhere, ‘Aboa Kyirbin’ will please fans of tough afrobeat grooves, while Taylor could well be inciting a riot at his next gig with ‘Mumudey Mumudey’, We hear him calling for ‘preshaaah’ and leading us into a call and response as the trumpet takes us higher. And the lift of those horns on ‘Ankoma’m’ evokes some of his finest work such as ‘Love & Death’ and ‘Come Along’, the latter recorded with the Pelikans and featured on a recent Mr Bongo reissue.

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                                                                  Cover of Belgian New Beat by Various Artists.

                                                                  Various Artists

                                                                  Belgian New Beat

                                                                  541 Label

                                                                    30 years after the facts, the book Belgian New Beat takes you to the very beginning. The history of this music and its associated dance and fashion are revealed for the first time. It also brings the whole story of discotheques, deejays, record stores and their records. At the same time, it is an all-encompassing reference work on AB sound, acid house and new beat.

                                                                    But there is also the compilation: a 4CD with a nice selection of slow and dark dance records full of rhythm. A balanced mix of timeless classics and lesser-known diamonds from the genre.


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                                                                    Cover of I Only Listen To The Mountain Goats: All Hail West Texas by Various Artists.

                                                                    Various Artists

                                                                    I Only Listen To The Mountain Goats: All Hail West Texas

                                                                    Merge Records

                                                                      Here is a 2LP cover album & companion piece to the podcast debut of I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats, from Night Vale Presents in collaboration with Merge Records and the Mountain Goats. Premiering September 2017 and running through early April 2018, this unique bi-weekly podcast is a conversation music series focusing on the seminal Mountain Goats album All Hail West Texas, between Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn’t Dead creator Joseph Fink with New York Times best-selling author John Darnielle, who is also the founder, lead singer, and songwriter for the Mountain Goats—and Fink’s own personal artistic hero.

                                                                      Together, Fink and Darnielle take the listener on a deep dive into the world of creativity and the duality of being an artist and a fan, both by sharing their own creative processes and music-geek obsessions and through immersive chats with other notable musicians and writers including best-selling YA author and music nerd John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) and Merge Records co-founder Mac McCaughan (Superchunk), as well as many special music guests such as Andrew Bird, Craig Finn, Laura Jane Grace, and Amanda Palmer, who offer up their own opinions as well as new renditions of songs from All Hail West Texas. This limited edition 2LP contains the full All Hail West Texas covers collection, introduced over the course of podcast season One. 

                                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                      2xLP Info: 2LP is double gatefold with full album download.
                                                                      LP1 is opaque pink vinyl.
                                                                      LP2 is opaque blue vinyl.

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                                                                      Cover of Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop From Europe 1980-1991 by Various Artists.

                                                                      Various Artists

                                                                      Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop From Europe 1980-1991

                                                                      Music From Memory

                                                                      "Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop From Europe, 1980-1991" is the second multiple artist compilation on Music From Memory and is compiled by record connoisseur Raphael Top-Secret and label man Jamie Tiller. The compilation brings together twenty one tracks from across the continent; exploring the more unusual and unexpected sides of Pop music produced during that period.

                                                                      Drawing material from cult experimental artists such as Steve Beresford, Brenda Ray and Bill Nelson alongside one-off independent musical projects rescued from the fringes, ’Uneven Paths’ focuses on a selection of tracks that go beyond the confines of mainstream pop music but which also transcend expectations of much of the ’experimental’ music of the time. This is music with one foot in the avant-garde and another foot firmly rooted within the sensibilities of Pop; where Jazz musicians detour into Synth-Pop, Punk bands break into Boogie jams, and student doctors jam out on odd melodies with synthesizers and drum machines during their night shifts.

                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                      Patrick says: Previous Music From Memory releases have seen the imprint explore the esoteric fringe of electronica, Brazilian synth wave and art-school ambient with the same exhaustive research and inspired selections. Now the Dutch label turn their attention to the underappreciated talent at the heart of Europe's outsider pop movement. There are too many tunes here to mention, and most are new to me, but I have to shout out Brenda & The Beachballs, Miko & Mubare and Violet Eves as favourites.

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                                                                      Cover of Chemistry Lessons Volume 1 by Chris Carter.

                                                                      Chris Carter

                                                                      Chemistry Lessons Volume 1

                                                                      Mute

                                                                      Seventeen years on from his last solo release, the twenty-five tracks collected on Chris Carter’s Chemistry Lessons Volume One (CCCL Volume 1) were the product of six years spent working on solo material in the Norfolk home studio he shares with Cosey Fanni Tutti. CCCL Volume 1 reinforces Carter’s significant but often under-appreciated role in the development of electronic music - a journey that for Carter started ahead of his work with Throbbing Gristle (alongside Cosey, Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge), and continued through Chris & Cosey, Carter Tutti, Carter Tutti Void as well as his own solo and collaborative releases under his own name.

                                                                      Here you will find music with a distinctly futuristic leaning, with insistent melodic patterns and a distinct sense of wonderment at the limitless possibilities of science. “If there’s an influence on the album, it’s definitely ‘60s radiophonic,” Carter agrees. “Over the last few years I’ve also been listening to old English folk music, almost like a guilty pleasure, and so some of tracks on the album hark back to an almost ingrained DNA we have for those kinds of melodies. They’re not dissimilar to nursery rhymes in some ways.”

                                                                      That combination of traditional music and the backing track for exciting, potential futures gives tracks like ‘Moon Two’ and ‘Tangerines’ a sheen of inquisitiveness and quiet euphoria, while ‘Modularity’ and ‘Roane’ have an anxious, sci-fi noir charm. Elsewhere, the skewed voices of the meditative ‘Cernubicua’ add a calming, human note to the album, even if deciphering any specific lyrical content is largely impossible. “That's completely intentional,” says Carter. “Sleazy and I had worked together on ways of developing a sort of artificial singing using software and hardware. This was me trying to take it a step further. I've taken lyrics, my own voice or people's voices from a collection that I'd put together with Sleazy, and I’ve chopped them up and done all sorts of weird things with them.”

                                                                      Carter began the foundation work for what became CCCL Volume 1 in the years before Sleazy passed away in 2010, and the death of Carter’s fellow TG journeyman had a profound effect on the development of the album. “I’d been accumulating a lot of material, just tracks and elements of tracks, and I was going to start putting it together just before Sleazy died,” he says. “That’s what completely threw me, and that’s partly why it’s taken so long, because of dealing with the shock of that.” Carter describes going through a long grieving process which manifested itself in some of the darker, more introspective tracks appearing on the album.


                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                      Barry says: There aren't many driving forces in electronic music as influential as throbbing gristle, and Chris Carter's role cannot be understated. Here we get a distillation of his influences from minimal wave industrial into cosmic and krautrock. Brilliantly evocative and enthralling.

                                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                      2xColoured LP Info: Coloured vinyl LP one 'Frost Bite' and LP two 'Ash Grey'.

                                                                      2xColoured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                                      Cover of Nihilistic Glamour Shots by Cabbage.

                                                                      Cabbage

                                                                      Nihilistic Glamour Shots

                                                                      BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd

                                                                      Cabbage have finally released their highly anticipated debut album, following on from a trio of EP's, released under the delightfully tactful 'Young, Dumb & Full Of...' (Rum, I assume.) 

                                                                      We start off with the thrashing garage rock of 'Preach To The Converted' with twanging distorted guitar and the sort of snarling vocals you could imagine being venemously spat from the edge of the stage before launching into the fuzzy off-kilter rock of Arms of Pleonexia, reminiscent of a younger Ty Segall swagging around the stage before a baying croud after one too many bottles of corner-shop white lightning. Things continue at this frenetic pace with 'Molotov Alcopop' providing a bit of nuanced rhythm before the gothic rock of 'Disinfect Us' suggests a more mature suite of influences, from the militant march and languid blues overtones of early White Stripes. 

                                                                      Further on, we get syncopated guitars over a meandering drum machine on the brilliantly swaying 'Pendurabo' and jangling hazy indie, topped with a curiously (but effectively) distorted vocal affectation over the top. 

                                                                      Brilliantly varied, but held together with a persistent narrative thread, 'Nihilistic Glamour Shots' lives up to the hype of the earlier 3 EP's, with a willingnes to experiment but a knowing nod to all of their numerous influences. 

                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                      Barry says: Thrashing garage rock, thudding post-punk and jagged riffage all round, Cabbage manage to surpass their excellent musical form with a well-heeled and cleverly written debut.

                                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                      Coloured LP Info: RSD stores exclusive limited edition red heavyweight vinyl.

                                                                      CD Info: Digi file soft pack inc pull out poster.

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                                                                      Cover of The Honeybear by Hampshire & Foat.

                                                                      Hampshire & Foat

                                                                      The Honeybear

                                                                      Athens Of The North

                                                                      After the success of 'Galaxies Like Grains of Sand', Warren and Greg retreated back to the Isle of Wight to start work on long discussed concept album based on a fictional children's book The Honey Bear. Each track a chapter of the book, hypnotic folk pieces mixed with ambient field recordings that Warren and Greg collected around the beaches, cliffs and gardens of the island.

                                                                      They brought everything together at home, organically forming this beautiful ambient folk tale during the island's idyllic summer evenings. After finishing the initial mixes on the island they brought the tapes up to Scotland and overdubbed with Strings, Oboe and Flute. Whether your 5 or 50, the charm and beauty of The Honeybear is undeniable.

                                                                      Children fairytale book concept album
                                                                      Limited Edition pressing



                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                      Millie says: The Honeybear beautifully captures the soft mystical tones of this harrowing ambient folk album following their previous record 'Galaxies Like Grain Of Sand'. The inspiration behind the album of it being a children’s fairytale, you can immediately get the sense of the whimsical innocence by the lovely fluttering of string instruments.

                                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                      LP Info: On transparent 'honey'coloured gold vinyl

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                                                                      Cover of Omegaville by Anthroprophh.

                                                                      Anthroprophh

                                                                      Omegaville

                                                                      Rocket Recordings

                                                                      In the near-twenty year period of Rocket Recordings’ existence, its ethos has expanded in untold directions, yet always with the destruction of boundaries and the expansion of consciousness high on the agenda. Nonetheless, the original spirit of the label remains a universe that revolves around the twin planets of Fuzz and Wah - the mind-frying six-string duality that warps sound spectrums and overheats speaker cones in pursuit of reckless sensory overload.

                                                                      What’s more, few guitarists have been richer exponents of just these two ingredients than Paul Allen, who not only appeared on the very first Rocket 7” of 1998 with The Heads, but who also fronts Anthroprophh, an outfit who take both garage-bound filth and wayward, abstract artistry to zones beyond comprehension. ‘OMEGAVILLE’ - the third release on Rocket for this power trio alongside bassist Gareth Turner and drummer Jesse Webb - lives up to its name in driving just such demented predilections into head-spinning chaos. Structured by Allen’s admission akin to Can’s ‘Tago Mago’, this is a cliff-edge into sanity-risking overload which has much in common with the glory days of 1971- the Nurse-With-Wound list realm of record-collector gold where heavy rock, nascent prog and wilfully art-damaged netherscapes thrived. OMEGAVILLE’ finds equal space for everything-on-11 riffage of a distinctly Stoogian/stygian stripe, bracing musique concrete, Butthole Surfers-esque bedlam, Chrome-style sci-fi noise-pop, surreal British humour, and what sounds essentially like a ‘60s NASA HQ going up in flames.

                                                                      At the forefront of much of this, however, is Allen’s guitar playing itself - taking Hendrix and Asheton-esque shapes and warping them beyond recognition into new paradigms. Who’s to say exactly where Anthroprophh move on from this guileless aural endtime mission. Yet ‘OMEGAVILLE - in the tradition of most great out-rock and psych-noise - feels very much like a foot placed firmly on the accelerator in search of dimensions unknown - a liminal zone where fuzz and wah transcend space and time

                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                      Barry says: Thrashing, manic distortion, full-force psychedelia and thumping, heavy AF percussion. Anthroprophh are back.

                                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                      2xColoured LP Info: Limited green and black double entropy swirl vinyl.

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                                                                      Cover of Czarface Meets Metal Face by Czarface & MF Doom.

                                                                      Czarface & MF Doom

                                                                      Czarface Meets Metal Face

                                                                      Silver Age

                                                                      Rising from the wreckage of a war torn planet, Czarface joins forces with MF Doom in the epic "Czarface Meets Metal Face"! Blending Doom's trademark abstractions and Czarface's in-your-face lyrical attack, this album is ripe with cartoon violence, societal observations and pop culture musings. Over banging beats provided by The Czar-Keys, the armored team give you the witty unpredictable treats any hip-hop fan can sink their fangs into. Expect beats, rhymes, and metal as Czarface controlled by Wu-Tang Clan powerhouse Inspectah Deck and 7L & Esoteric team up with everyone's favorite villain, MF Doom.

                                                                      With track titles like "Nautical Depth","Meddle With Metal", "Astral Traveling" to "Madness of Badness" this album packs a punch with 16 brand new tracks. Add that with features from Open Mike Eagle and Jedi Mind Tricks' Vinnie Paz, we promise you mind-bending metaphors and brain-melting beats as this powerful pairing sounds off in March 2018! Long time rumored full length collaboration album from Czarface and MF Doom, fan favorite "Ka-Bang" from Czarface's 2015 sophomore LP "Every Hero Needs A Villain" had fans begging for more. Cover Art by clothing brand Mishka's head designer Lamour Supreme. Album features Vinnie Paz of the legendary Jedi Mind Tricks, and Open Mike Eagle, who's most recent album "Brick Body Kids Still Daydream" was on Rolling Stone & Pitchforks top 50 albums of 2017 list. The albums lead video "Meddle With Metal" done by Animation Firm TFU Studios who have worked with MF Doom prior on the "All Caps" video as well as with Mayer Hawthorne, Biz Markie, Cut Chemist and more! 

                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                      Barry says: As groundbreaking as you'd expect from artists of this calibre, Czarface and MF Doom provide a united and unflinchingly brilliant outing.

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                                                                      Cover of Vessel by Frankie Cosmos.

                                                                      Frankie Cosmos

                                                                      Vessel

                                                                      Sub Pop

                                                                      New York-native songwriter Greta Kline has shared a bounty of her innermost thoughts and experiences via the massive number of songs she has released since 2011. Like many of her peers, Kline’s prolific output was initially born from the ease of bedroom recording and self-releasing offered by digital technology and the internet. But, as she’s grown as a writer and performer, devising more complex albums and playing to larger audiences, Kline has begun to make her mark on modern independent music. Her newest record, Vessel, is the 52nd release from Kline and the third studio album by her indie pop outfit Frankie Cosmos. On it, Kline explores all of the changes that have come in her life as a result of the music she has shared with the world, as well as the parts of her life that have remained irrevocable.

                                                                       Frankie Cosmos has taken several different shapes since their first full-band album, 2014’s Zentropy, erupted in New York’s DIY music scene. For Vessel the band’s lineup comprises multi-instrumentalists David Maine, Lauren Martin, Luke Pyenson, and Kline. The album’s 18 tracks employ a range of instrumentations and recording methods not found on the band’s prior albums, while maintaining the succinctly sincere nature of Kline’s songwriting. The album’s opening track, “Caramelize,” serves as the thematic overture for Vessel, alluding to topics like dependency, growth, and love, which reemerge throughout the record. Although many of the scenarios and personalities written about on Vessel are familiar territory for Frankie Cosmos, Kline brings a freshly nuanced point of view, and a desire to constantly question the latent meaning of her experiences. Kline’s dissonant lyrics pair with the band’s driving, jangly grooves to create striking moments of musical chemistry.
                                                                      Vessel’s 34-minute run time is exactly double the length of Frankie Cosmos’ breakout record, Zentropy, and it is an enormous leap forward. Typically, albums by artists at a similar stage in their careers are written with the weight of knowing that someone is on the other end listening. Yet, despite being fully aware of their ever-growing audience, Kline and band have written Vessel with a clarity not muddled by the fear of anyone’s expectations. Vessel’s unique sensibility, esoteric narratives, and reveling energy lace it comfortably in Kline’s ongoing musical auto-biography.

                                                                       Vessel was recorded in Binghamton, New York with Hunter Davidsohn, the producer and engineer who helped craft Zentropy and Next Thing, and at Gravesend Recordings in Brooklyn with Carlos Hernandez and Julian Fader. It features contributions from Alex Bailey (formerly of Warehouse, and now part of the live configuration of Frankie Cosmos), Vishal Narang (of Airhead DC), and singer/songwriter Anna McClellan, all of whom have played on bills with Frankie Cosmos and collaborated on-stage with the band. The final mixes were done by Davidsohn, and the album was mastered by Josh Bonati. 


                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                      Barry says: Inventive chord progressions, hummable choruses and an innate understanding of melody, Kline is amongst the most bafflingly capable and intensely talented songwriters out there. Highly recommended.

                                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                      Coloured LP Info: Loser Indies Only Vinyl Colour = Translucent Blue!

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                                                                      Cover of The End Of The F***ing World (Original Songs And Score) by Graham Coxon.

                                                                      Graham Coxon

                                                                      The End Of The F***ing World (Original Songs And Score)

                                                                      Graham Coxon

                                                                        The release of the debut original soundtrack score from Graham Coxon to accompany Channel 4/Netflix series ‘The End of the F***ing World’. .

                                                                        Recorded in Graham’ home studio in Summer 2017 the album was written, composed and performed by Coxon and marks Coxon’s original soundtrack debut. The first track to be released from the album is titled Walking All Day

                                                                        The project saw Coxon write over 40 original pieces for the show. He said:

                                                                        “There were days were I wrote and finished three or four new songs in a single day. It was mental, I’ve never worked to that kind of schedule before. But the creative process around observation and interpretation is one that is very familiar to me. I feel very comfortable reacting to things and adding my bit.

                                                                        And this show particularly appealed to both my appreciation of dark music as well as my dark sense of humour. It felt like a good fit.”

                                                                        The End of the F****ing World is an eight part darkly comic TV series based on the 2011 graphic novel by Charles Forsman which follows teenage runaways James and Alyssa (Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden) as they embark on a road trip across England. Directed by Jonathan Entwhislte and Lucy Tcherniak, the critically acclaimed series is described by Noisey as “Richard Ayoade's Submarine meets David Lynch's Wild At Heart with a splash of Black Mirror's bleakness and ink-black humour thrown in.”

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                                                                        Cover of The Nothing They Need by Dead Meadow.

                                                                        Dead Meadow

                                                                        The Nothing They Need

                                                                        Xemu Records

                                                                        Since their widely-acclaimed self-titled debut album released in 1999 Dead Meadow have released seven studio albums - three via Matador records (Shivering King and Others (2003), Feathers (2005), and Old Growth (2008)) and two live albums which includes Three Kings, a feature length live film and soundtrack. Their unique marriage of Sabbath riffs, dreamy layers of guitar-fuzz bliss with singer Jason Simon’s melodic croon has won over psychedelic pop/rock and stoner rock fans alike and with their new album The Nothing They Need (Xemu Records) the band show that in 2018, they continue to fuse their love of early-’70s hard rock and ’60s psychedelia into their own distinct sound.

                                                                        The album was recorded in Dead Meadows’ studio/rehearsal space, The Wiggle Room and it celebrates twenty years of the band with eight songs that feature everyone that has been musically involved with the band over the years. Jason and Steve Kille are joined by original drummer Mark Laughlin, Stephen McCarty ( the drummer throughout the Matador years), and current drummer Juan Londono. Cory Shane joins them on guitar for some Feathers era dual guitar interplay.

                                                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                        Barry says: Woozy, warbling guitars and throbbing bass kicks bolster the psychedelic maelstrom that only Dead Meadow could provide. A wholly mesmerising trip through progressive psychedelia and staggered rock. Superb.

                                                                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                        LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                                        Cover of Freedom by Amen Dunes.

                                                                        Amen Dunes

                                                                        Freedom

                                                                        Sacred Bones Records

                                                                        In creating Freedom, McMahon brought in a powerful set of collaborators and old friends. Along with core band members, including Parker Kindred (Antony & The Johnsons, Jeff Buckley) on drums, came Chris Coady (Beach House) as producer, and Delicate Steve on guitars. This is the first Amen Dunes record that looks back to the electronic influences of McMahon’s youth with the aid of revered underground musician Panoram from Rome, who finds his place as a significant, if subtle, contributor to the record. The bulk of the songs were recorded at Electric Lady in New York, and finished at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, where McMahon, Nick Zinner, and session bass player Gus Seyffert (Beck, Bedouine) fleshed out the recordings.

                                                                        On the surface, Freedom is a reflection on growing up, childhood friends who ended up in prison or worse, male identity, McMahon’s father, and his mother, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the beginning of recording. The characters that populate the musical world of the album are a colourful mix of reality and fantasy. Each character portrait is a representation of McMahon, of masculinity, and of his past.

                                                                        Yet, if anything, these eleven songs are a relinquishing of all of them through exposition; a gradual reorientation of being away from the acquired definitions of self we all cling to and towards something closer to what's stated in the Agnes Martin quote that opens the record, “I don’t have any ideas myself; I have a vacant mind” and in the swirling, pitched down utterances of “That's all not me” that close it.

                                                                        “Miki Dora was arguably the most gifted and innovative surfer of his generation and the foremost opponent of surfing’s commercialization. He was also a lifelong criminal and retrograde: a true embodiment of the distorted male psyche. He was a living contradiction; both a symbol of free-living and inspiration, and of the false heroics American culture has always celebrated. With lyrics of regret and redemption at the end of one’s youth, the song is about Dora, and McMahon, but ultimately it is a reflection on all manifestations of mythical heroic maleness and its illusions.” – Damon McMahon.


                                                                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                        Coloured LP Info: Limited navy blue vinyl edition.

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                                                                        Cover of Negative Houses by FACS.

                                                                        FACS

                                                                        Negative Houses

                                                                        Trouble In Mind

                                                                          FACS sprung forth in early 2017 , Brian Case, Jonathan van Herik & Noah Leger were formerly of Chicago band Disappears. "Negative Houses" is their debut recording; an abstraction of their former outfit, even more minimal and bare than what came before. "Negative Houses" approaches the stark, gothy post-punk previously perfected more rhythmically and abstract than in Disappears, with Leger's motorik, machine-like drumming taking the forefront (see the tunes 'Skylarking' and 'Others') and van Herik's guitar alternating between slashes of dissonant ambience and percussive accent. Case switches from guitar to bass in FACS, adding an economical throb to the band's drive on songs like 'Just A Mirror' & the album's centerpiece, the near nine-minute, sax-soaked tour-de-force 'Houses Breathing', whose electric heartbeat lumbers forward, sounding like an outtake from Cold Storage Studios circa 1979. 

                                                                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                          Coloured LP Info: Metallic gold vinyl.

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                                                                          Cover of Desfan by Eva Geist.

                                                                          Eva Geist

                                                                          Desfan

                                                                          Macadam Mambo

                                                                          Eva Geist's first full-length outing comes courtesy of French label, Macadam Mambo.

                                                                          We get the flickering arpeggios and swirling panned pads of 'Electronic Tribalism' following on from the percussive synths and snappy hats of opener, 'Prologo' sitting somewhere between the hard-edged industrious march of Kreidler and the soaring kosmische workouts of Panabrite (including the instantly recognisable tones of the legendary CR-78). 

                                                                          'Incomprehensione' takes this jagged approach and imbibes it with a dancefloor sensibility, with an off-kilter syncopation spreading through into the LFO-led bitcrushed madness of 'Rubber Heart'. Flickering modular workouts and self-oscillations are underpinned with a throbbing, echoic bassline. 

                                                                          On the flipside we get the titular cosmic workout, 'Desfan' relying on the feedbacked echoes of oscillations past, coupled with a haunting portamento-heavy sine wave to spookily weave its way through the sonic spectrum before the powerful Italo tones of 'Nigredo', simultaneously modern but filled with world-fair retro futurism, nouveau sonics and cosmic swagger. 

                                                                          As things move along, we slowly segue from the quantised saw-waves and militant rigidity of the early half into otherworldly ambience and swimming psychedelic undertones of the latter half. Throughout the experience, we are reminded that nothing is for certain, though things may appear forwards, they could rescind into an atmospheric fog, much like a simmering melody could tear through the fabric of an otherwise languid progression. 

                                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                          Barry says: A stunningly realised journey through retro-futuristic cosmic ambience, avant electronics and post-rave dusty dancefloor detritus. A brilliantly fascinating trip throughout.

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                                                                          Cover of No Joy / Sonic Boom by No Joy / Sonic Boom.

                                                                          No Joy / Sonic Boom

                                                                          No Joy / Sonic Boom

                                                                          Joyful Noise

                                                                          No Joy / Sonic Boom is Jasamine White-Gluz and Pete Kember. You know Jasamine from her eight-years (and counting) stint as a founding member and principal songwriter of Canadian shoegaze / noise-pop band No Joy. And Pete Kember is Sonic Boom, of Spacemen 3, Spectrum, and E.A.R. While neither can accurately recollect how they met, the pair first touched on the idea of working together in an exchange of emails during the fall of 2015. No Joy had just finished touring on the back of LP More Faithful (their third full-length on the Mexican Summer imprint, and their heaviest to date), and Jasamine was eager to walk a new path. “No Joy functioned as a four-piece ‘rock band’ for so long,” she says. “I wanted to pursue something solo where I collaborated with someone else who could help me approach my songs from a completely different angle. Pete is a legend and someone I’ve admired for a long time. Being able to work with him on this was incredible.”

                                                                          What started as a sonic exploration between two friends—passing songs back and forth intercontinentally, with Jasamine writing and producing songs in Montreal and Pete writing, arranging, and producing in Portugal—soon grew into a project of substance, the result being four glistening tracks that dance along the lines of electronica, trip-hop and experimental noise. “I wrote some songs that were intended for a full band and handed them off to Pete, who helped transform them. I barely knew how to use MIDI so I was just throwing him these experiments I was working on and he fine-tuned my ideas. There are barely any guitars on this album, because I was focused on trying to find new ways to create sounds.” The No Joy / Sonic Boom EP begins with the 11+ minute epic “Obsession,” a disco-y dream trance jam that ebbs and flows, before “Slorb” slinks in, casting its seductive spell. “Triangle Probably” rings triumphant, an industrial beat thumping below, the track interwoven with Jasamine’s silvery vocals. “Teenage Panic” begins in celebration, brimming with hope and excitement, and then—a full stop—before striking back in the form of a droning loop that gathers more and more layers as it spins out into the infinite void.

                                                                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                          LP Info: Pink coloured vinyl.

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                                                                          Cover of Spinning Rooms by Ist Ist.

                                                                          Ist Ist

                                                                          Spinning Rooms

                                                                          Kind Violence Records

                                                                          Skilfully treading the line between mournful gothic indie and droning hypnotic electronica, Manchester's Ist Ist provide a dystopian backdrop to late-night strolls through the rainy city. 

                                                                          We kick things off with the humming drone and swirling psychedelic scree of 'Preacher's Warning' slowly introducing glitched-out vocal snippets and steady synth stacks before breaking into a steadily driven percussive backbone. Forming the melodic counterpoint to the almost industrial core are Adam's haunting post-punk vocals, melodically droning above the crescentic progressions. 'I'm Not Here' continues on from the inauspicious beginnings with the first glimpse of shining melodicism, with minor key melodies and jagged pacing being bolsetered by the clever jagged syncopation of bass and drums, lending optimism to an otherwise mournful (but hugely evocative) ballad. 

                                                                          The meditative 'An Interlude' gives flickers of electronic ambience, providing a clever palate-cleanser to that which has come before, and the crescentic maelstrom that is to follow. 'Emily' is possibly the most transportative and effective offering on this whole collection, having plenty of room to grow from a moody late-night requiem into a euphoric, closed-eye swooner. The final event and fitting close to the LP comes in the form of the downtrodden gothic closer, 'Diversion', forging forward with determined resolve, but simmeringly introspective and stunningly visceral before distilling into a propulsive single-note drone / vocal riff-out.    

                                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                          Barry says: A killer outing for Kind Violence from Ist Ist, cleverly combining the narrative-led songwriting skills of The National with the atmospheric density of post-punk's finest offerings.

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                                                                          Cover of The Brown Tape by Ghostface Killah & Apollo Brown.

                                                                          Ghostface Killah & Apollo Brown

                                                                          The Brown Tape

                                                                          Mello Music

                                                                            Narrated by The RZA, this is Ghostface Killah’s brutal tale of gangsters, betrayal and one vengeful soul hunting the 12 most powerful crime lords in the World. The Deluca's pressed Tony's remains into 12 vinyl records - one for each member of the family. But little did they know - he would return... This project is a daring, full-length Crime/Horror concept album. Executive Producer, and Ghostface Killah's longtime Wu-Tang Clan collaborator, The RZA refers to the album as "groundbreaking" in the hip hop genre. Apollo Brown was asked to record an alternate album at the same time as Adrian Younge created “Twelve Reasons To Die.” Keep in mind, the legendary Detroit producer (Apollo Brown) was given access to Ghostface Killah’s recordings and constructed beats around GFK's work. This made the project one of the producer's most challenging projects to date. That hard work has paid of as “The Brown Tape” is also one of the best albums to date from Ghostface Killah or Apollo Brown. Cinematic and nasty, this is Hip-hop at it’s most raw. Cover Art by David Murdoch

                                                                            Produced by Detroit legend Apollo Brownvocals by Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killahfeaturing Wu-Tang Clan members Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, Masta Killa and more

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                                                                            Cover of Combat Sports by The Vaccines.

                                                                            The Vaccines

                                                                            Combat Sports

                                                                            Columbia

                                                                              Columbia Records present the much anticipated new album from The Vaccines! An 11 track record featuring the hit single "I Cant Quit", plus instant grats "Nightclub" & "Put a T-Shirt On It".

                                                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                              Indies Exclusive LP Info: Indie retail exclusive signed LP Vinyl of 500 copies.

                                                                              Indies Exclusive CD Info: Indie exclusive signed CD of just 300 copies.

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                                                                              Cover of Earth Loop by Moon Gangs.

                                                                              Moon Gangs

                                                                              Earth Loop

                                                                              Village Green

                                                                                ‘Earth Loop’, the debut album by BEAK> keyboardist William Young’s Moon Gangs project, is set for release via Village Green Recordings.

                                                                                A classically-trained pianist, Young composed ‘Earth Loop’ “half and half in a classical sense,” some played live on keyboards, with ideas notated traditionally, the other half created using analogue sequencers with random voltage sources.

                                                                                “Earth Loop mainly came out of jamming with synths. The mixer I use is an old Tascam 144 so if things are sounding good I just hit record and get it to tape. Everything started as big long rambles recorded live that are then trimmed down into something more concise. Inspiration-wise I’d been listening to more classical stuff, a lot of chamber music for strings, and I think that shows in the string section-y bits. Although they’re all synths, not actual strings. It was recorded all over the place over quite a long time which I guess is why there are a lot of different ‘moods’ on it, rather than it being a document of a specific period of time/place. I also started building a field recording library over the last couple of years so there’s quite a bit of that in there, but they’re generally processed and run through synths so they’re not too recognisable.” - William Young, Moon Gangs

                                                                                Young’s introduction to synth music came from listening to film scores when he was a teenager, such as ‘Terminator’, ‘Videodrome’, ‘Zombie Flesh Eaters’ and ‘Phantasm’. Scores from kosmische pioneers Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh also played a large part in these formative musical years.

                                                                                Not going out much as a child, Young spent a lot of time indoors playing video games. Instead of a SNES, his mum bought him a Commodore 64 as she thought the keyboard made it seem more educational. Certain games and their soundtracks also struck a chord, such as ‘The Last Ninja’, ‘Dante’s Inferno’, ‘Stormlord’ and ‘Castle Master’.

                                                                                Moon Gangs officially began in 2011, with the release of ‘Sea/Sky’ on cassette tape via the incipient Where To Now label. Friends from his time spent in Brighton, it was both Young’s and the label’s first release and set the tone for his later output with ambient, analogue synth loops and foreboding, cinematic drones. Subsequent releases followed, such as 2014’s self-titled EP, mixed by Hookworms’ MJ, and an appearance on the Blanck Mass-curated film score ‘The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears’, released via Death Waltz.

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                                                                                Cover of Dungeness by Trembling Bells.

                                                                                Trembling Bells

                                                                                Dungeness

                                                                                Tin Angel Records

                                                                                  When Trembling Bells’ Alex Neilson makes music, he thinks of it in less certifiable terms than structure, key or tempo. On ‘Big Nothing’, the opening track to Trembling Bells’ seventh album Dungeness, he wanted the chords “to sound gigantic and degraded, like a building collapsing in slow motion. Or a rusted structure in the middle of the sea”. And remarkably it does.

                                                                                  With its open-hearted sound and jarring self-deception ‘Big Nothing’ sets up many of the key themes on Dungeness. Named after a headland on the south coast of England, which Alex visited for the first time in 2015 along with other band members - bassist Simon Shaw, guitarists Alasdair C Mitchell and Mike Hastings, and vocalist/ organist Lavinia Blackwall - the place had a polarising affect. “They hated it for the same reasons that I was thrilled by it” says Alex.

                                                                                  “We drove for a long time along the East Sussex coast road to get there. All the while the landscape seemed to be getting more parched and flat. It felt like if you looked out of the van window then the land wouldn’t actually be there anymore. Just a Void. When we arrived at Dungeness it felt like the end of the earth”.

                                                                                  Many of the tracks on Dungeness feel like the end of the earth too, their folk rock sensibility acquiring a sweeping, apocalyptic grandness - both in sound and lyrics. Though it hearkens back to the ‘70s psychedelic heyday of Fairport Convention and Trees, it’s also, as comedian Stewart Lee puts it in his sleeve notes, “heroically now”. Indeed, it’s hard not to hear the lyrics of album highlight ‘I’m Coming’ - when Lavinia sings, “There’s a price to be paid for these abuses of power” - without connecting it to what’s happening in the world right now.

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                                                                                  Cover of Virtue by The Voidz.

                                                                                  The Voidz

                                                                                  Virtue

                                                                                  Columbia

                                                                                    The Voidz (formerly Julian Casablancas+The Voidz) release Virtue, their first new album in nearly four years, on Cult Records/RCA Records. The VHS-tastic video for album track “QYURRYUS” marks Voidz frontman Julian Casablancas’ directorial debut, and follows “Leave It In My Dreams,” another song from Virtue, hailed by Rolling Stone as “infectious....balance[s] pop with deft forays into the surreal.”

                                                                                    The fifteen tracks on Virtue herald the return of a reinvigorated Voidz, and contain group’s most indelible work to date. Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Grammy-winner Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War On Drugs), the album shapeshifts into bold and exciting new forms from one song to the next.

                                                                                    “Our goal was to make a record that a wider audience would enjoy as much as we enjoyed the first album, Tyranny," says Casablancas. “Still a swirl of different styles, but I think this might the most eclectic record I’ve ever been a part of. There’s a song on there for everyone.”. 

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                                                                                    Cover of Pulse / Quartet by Steve Reich.

                                                                                    Steve Reich

                                                                                    Pulse / Quartet

                                                                                    Nonesuch

                                                                                      ‘Pulse is unusually quiet and understated Reich. It is based on a single, quirky melody in constant, telling transformation that is as close to a Beethoven late slow quartet movement that Reich is ever likely to get. The lyricism, gorgeous instrumental textures and affecting harmonies are genially and spiritually alluring. The genius is that you never really know where the score is going, just why it is going there.’ – Los Angeles Times

                                                                                      ‘Written for two vibraphones and two pianos, Quartet is Mr. Reich’s first piece for those two instruments alone, and the combination is ingenious and seductive, and deployed with subtle craftsmanship. The work has an alert, jazzy, urban character – suavely melancholy in its nocturnal slower middle section, with angular yet genial rhythms that evoke Broadway.’ – New York Times

                                                                                      Nonesuch releases Steve Reich’s Pulse / Quartet, featuring Pulse (2015) performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) – an artist collective committed to transforming the way music is created and experienced – and Quartet (2013) played by the Colin Currie Group, an ensemble led by percussionist Colin Currie that specializes in the music of Steve Reich; these are also the ensembles that gave the world premiere performances of the respective works.

                                                                                      Reich says, “Pulse, for winds, strings, piano and electric bass, was completed in 2015 and was, in part, a reaction to Quartet, in which I changed keys more frequently than in any previous work. In Pulse I felt the need to stay put harmonically and spin out smoother wind and string melodic lines in canon over a constant pulse in the electric bass and or piano. From time to time this constant pulse is accented differently through changing hand alternation patterns on the piano. All in all, a calmer more contemplative piece.”

                                                                                      He continues, “Quartet, when mentioned in the context of concert music, is generally assumed to mean string quartet. In my case, the quartet that has played a central role in many of my pieces (besides the string quartet) is that of two pianos and two percussion. It appears like that or in expanded form with more pianos or more percussion in The Desert Music; Sextet; Three Movements; The Four Sections; The Cave; Dance Patterns; Three Tales; You Are (Variations); Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings; Daniel Variations; Double Sextet; and Radio Rewrite. In Quartet, there is just this group alone: two vibes and two pianos.

                                                                                      “The piece is one of the more complex I have composed. It frequently changes key and often breaks off continuity to pause or take up new material. Though the parts are not unduly difficult, it calls for a high level of ensemble virtuosity. The form is one familiar throughout history: fast, slow, fast, played without pause. The slow movement introduces harmonies not usually found in my music.”

                                                                                      Steve Reich has been called ‘our greatest living composer’ (New York Times) and ‘the most original musical thinker of our time’ (New Yorker). His path has embraced not only Western Classical music, but the structures, harmonies, and rhythms of non-Western and American vernacular music, particularly jazz. ‘There’s just a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history and Steve Reich is one of them,’ states the Guardian. In April 2009 Steve Reich was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition Double Sextet. Nonesuch has released twenty-three Steve Reich albums, beginning in 1985 with The Desert Music and including two box sets; his most recent album was Radio Rewrite (2014).


                                                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                      Ltd LP Info: Heavyweight, 140 gram high-performance vinyl, with download card.

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                                                                                      Cover of My Sweet Movida by Alfa 9.

                                                                                      Alfa 9

                                                                                      My Sweet Movida

                                                                                      Blow Up Records

                                                                                        Alfa 9 return with their third album My Sweet Movida. The Newcastle-under-Lyme based four piece are back with their Morricone-esque tinged cosmic country psych rock, that’s layered with vocal harmonies delivering what the band believe to be their strongest set of songs to date. This their first release since ‘Gone to Ground’, which made Vive le Rock and Sound of Confusion best of the year lists in 2013 and saw the band featured in various magazines including Classic Rock and Shindig.

                                                                                        They were interviewed by Steve Lamacq for his ‘New Favourite Band’ feature at BBC 6 Music around the album release and El Morocco (taken from Gone To Ground) later hit the BBC 6 Music playlist for a month as the band performed live at the Liverpool Psych Fest. Of the band’s debut 'Then We Begin' Clash described this as “A fully realised and hugely ambitious debut which succeeds on every level” whilst Shindig said “one of the best albums of the last decade". The title track ‘Then We Begin’ and ‘Flasher’ from the album more recently surfaced in key sequences of the auto-behemoth that is The Grand Tour. A first taste from My Sweet Movida ‘Smile Dog’ received radio support from Gideon Coe and Guy Garvey as has title track ‘Movida’ at BBC 6 Music. 

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                                                                                        Cover of Wake The Dead by Third Eye Foundation.

                                                                                        Third Eye Foundation

                                                                                        Wake The Dead

                                                                                        Ici D'Ailleurs

                                                                                          There was a time when The Third Eye Foundation was the mirror of the world from which the group drew its substance. But the reflection faded and dirt accumulated so it only provided deformed images and gradually became the world's shadow. This willingness to look at and express images and words about humans and their environment has since been embodied in the completely open face of its founder, Matt Elliott. Thus, The Third Eye Foundation is a discrete entity, the opposite of what Matt Elliott may otherwise represent.

                                                                                          The Third Eye Foundation is not a project based on openness. The Third Eye Foundation builds walls topped with barbed wire. The Third Eye Foundation captures you, locks you into its universe and keeps you there. It is no longer a question of finding a balance between dark shadows and light. Eight years ago already, The Dark already portrayed this state of affairs. Today, Wake The Dead is banging the last nails into the boards that make up the barricades. If you want to wake the dead, you have to get into the right shape and frame of mind. You need to accept that black is the only valid colour and that it is futile to rely on your imagination to create a way out. Death is a prison for the living. To enter and abandon yourself is a way of temporarily waking those whose absence haunts your memories.

                                                                                          Wake The Dead is like a key which attempts to open the doors of memory. Waking the dead is not a question of meaning but rather of sensations. Free will and free thought have no place here - in the universe of The Third Eye Foundation, humans are no more than a simple product of their environment. This may seem extremely violent and dehumanizing but it is not the case at all. We just need to get rid of our certainties, empty ourselves and put ourselves on the same level as those we consider to be "the other". And that's probably the greatest quality of an album like Wake The Dead. 

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                                                                                          Cover of Adult Fear by Holy Wave.

                                                                                          Holy Wave

                                                                                          Adult Fear

                                                                                          Reverberation Appreciation Soc

                                                                                            El Paso’s Holy Wave will release their new album, Adult Fear via The Reverberation Appreciation Society. The band have always differentiated themselves from the psych pack with their keyboard-forward sound that rarely falls into standard trippy tropes, and the album’s title track is a good example of that, with a grooving bassline and nice harmonies in the chorus.

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                                                                                            Cover of At The British Broadcasting Corporation by Micah P. Hinson.

                                                                                            Micah P. Hinson

                                                                                            At The British Broadcasting Corporation

                                                                                            Full Time Hobby

                                                                                              Full Time Hobby’s first album announcement of 2018 comes in the shape of a compilation of Micah P. Hinson’s performances at the BBC over the last 15 years.

                                                                                              Re-mastered at Bent Leaf Studios in Texas, overseen by Micah himself at the end of last year, these 11 tracks were picked from a wealth of cuts from Micah’s visits to Marc Riley over the course of nine albums.

                                                                                              Micah offered some insight into the personal importance of these sessions:

                                                                                              "I owe Sir Marc a deep gratitude that spans back years now. In this life, champions are needed- yet they are rare. As if I was deep in the amazon, I had found a flower not yet known to the world and people would congratulate me on what had found and what I had brought to the world- and Marc was the first one in line, hand outstretched; a grin on his face."

                                                                                              Marc also spoke about his experience of having Micah in to play for him over the years:

                                                                                              "I remember the first time Micah came in to do a session for us. 18th September 2004. It was at the time of his debut ‘…And The Gospel Of Progress’ LP which I absolutely loved. He was backed by The Earlies (as he was on the record) and the session was mind-blowing. The songs were fantastic, Micah’s voice made Johnny Cash sound like Aled Jones. He told tales of being thrown in jail.. of suffering great dramatic losses in his life. I remember asking him to clarify how old he was on air and he replied “23 Sir”.

                                                                                              I believe his eventful life will one day be made into a biopic…but until that day this document of his radio sessions will serve to document the path of this great singer-songwriter from Abilene Texas."

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                                                                                              Cover of R12: Contemporary Sounds Of Tel Aviv (Compiled By Yogo) by Various Artists.

                                                                                              Various Artists

                                                                                              R12: Contemporary Sounds Of Tel Aviv (Compiled By Yogo)

                                                                                              Rothschild

                                                                                              Fascinating compilation review on Tel Aviv´s New Music Scene! ( remixed Israeli-Yemenite disco number from the seventies, a bundle of colourful andpsychedelic beats, a gentle and wellpolished pop tune, a song so frank it hurts that develops into a percussive devil's dance,and three tracks touched by poetry: a modern-electronic rendition to the groundbreaking iconic Tel-Aviv)

                                                                                              "Rothschild 12" operated between 2009 and 2017 in the heart of Tel-Aviv, near the bustling intersection of Herzl street and Rothschild boulevard. Located on the ground floor of an elegant eclectic-style building which was built by Mr. Abraham Fogel exactly 100 years before it opened, "Rothschild 12″ began as an art gallery and quickly became a popular relaxed café and bar. While its front terrace faced the hustle and bustle of the city's main boulevard, in its back room "Rothschild 12" hosted nightly live shows by a variety of established as well as up and coming independent musicians. What started off as improvised jam sessions soon developed into a full program ranging from jazz and rock to world music, hip hop and electronica. Now that "Rothschild 12″ is relocating to a new venue on Herzl street, it is time for a summary – a snapshot of the musical diversity which filled its walls – in the form of the compilation you are now holding.

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                                                                                              Cover of The Voyager Golden Record by Various Artists.

                                                                                              Various Artists

                                                                                              The Voyager Golden Record

                                                                                              Ozma Records

                                                                                                In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2, on a grand tour of the solar system and into the mysteries of interstellar space. Attached to each of these probes is a beautiful golden phonograph record containing a message for any extraterrestrial intelligence that might encounter it, perhaps billions of years from now. This enchanting artifact, known as the Voyager Golden Record, may be the last vestige of our civilization after we are gone forever. Curated by a visionary committee led by Carl Sagan, the golden record tells a story of our planet expressed in music, sounds, images, and science. Etched on the record’s gold-plated aluminum jacket is a diagram explaining where it came from and how to play it.

                                                                                                The golden record was a gift from humanity to the cosmos. But it is also a gift to humanity. It’s a reminder of what we can achieve when we are at our best—and that our future really is up to all of us.


                                                                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                3xColoured LP Info: * Three translucent gold 140 gram vinyl LPs in poly-lined paper sleeves.
                                                                                                * Three heavyweight jackets, gold ink on black.
                                                                                                * Full-color 96-page softcover book containing all images included on the original Voyager Interstellar Record, gallery of images transmitted back from the Voyager probes, and a new essay by Timothy Ferris, producer of the original golden record.
                                                                                                * Gold foil print of Voyager Golden Record cover diagram, archival paper, 12″ × 12″.
                                                                                                * Voyager trajectories turntable mat.

                                                                                                FREE SHIPPING This item has FREE UK shipping!

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                                                                                                Cover of Twentytwo In Blue by Sunflower Bean.

                                                                                                Sunflower Bean

                                                                                                Twentytwo In Blue

                                                                                                Lucky Number

                                                                                                Co-produced by Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait (who also mixed the record) and HC-producer Matt Molnar of Friends, Twentytwo in Blue shows Sunflower Bean stay true to their guitar band core and classic rock-inspired roots, while exploring new sonic textures with more direct and progressive themes. Unlike their debut, which was essentially a compilation of songs Sunflower Bean wrote while still in their teens, Twentytwo in Blue was made in the year between December 2016 and December 2017 and showcases how far the band has come since playing together in their high school days.

                                                                                                Sunflower Bean find a sublime maturity and progression to their sound and songwriting on Twentytwo in Blue. If there was a ragged beauty in the gauzy, groovy wall of sound of Human Ceremony, there’s a new directness to these songs, a product of the band’s growth and the insanity of the times we’re in. Sunflower Bean have gained a newly confident voice that they bring to the second album, one that doesn’t shy away from addressing the other events of those two years—political changes and cultural shifts that have left America and the world stupefied. “This has been such an unbelievable time,” says Kivlen. “I can’t imagine any artist of our ilk making a record and not have it be seen through the lens of the political climate of 2016 and 2017. So I think there’s a few songs on the record that are definitely heavily influenced by this sort of—whatever you want to say what the Trump administration has been.” “A shit show,” offers a helpful Faber.

                                                                                                Ultimately, this record is much more than a political statement or piece of commentary on today’s political climate. “I think one word that always comes to mind when I think about this record is lovable,” says Cumming. “We want the songs to be something that someone can get attached to, and have be a part of them. Because that’s what I look for in songs myself, and that’s the kind of experience we want to give to others.”

                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                Andy says: Not indie, but beautiful classic rock/pop from NYC's next big thing. With elements of sublime Pretenders-on-autopilot, Fleetwood Mac and even occasional Glam crunchers, this super- melodic 3 piece basically bring pristine jangling and classic riffing to superbly written pop songs, all sweetly delivered by lead singer Julia Cummings. It's a really good record.

                                                                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive blue vinyl. Includes signed postcard while stocks last.

                                                                                                Coloured LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                                                                Cover of Hormone Lemonade by Cavern Of Anti-Matter.

                                                                                                Cavern Of Anti-Matter

                                                                                                Hormone Lemonade

                                                                                                Duophonic

                                                                                                Cavern Of Anti-Matter return for their third studio album on their own Duophonic label. Hormone Lemonade sees the band heavily utilising the sounds of modular synths and home built drum machines, yet still keeping the loose, improvised sound familiar to fans of their first two albums, with minimal guitar melodies and live drum kit helping to build hypnotic layers of texture.

                                                                                                The albums genesis was in the self-constructed rhythm machines of band member Holger Zapf, the Taktron Z3 and Taktron Z2, being recorded to tape during three one-hour sessions. These sessions also included the use of 70s Hohner and Eko drum machines. Holger played his parts in a free-form way and the bpm varied wildly as it was not possible to sync it to any outside controllers.

                                                                                                Tim Gane edited these initial jams into useable chunks and proceeded to overdub each new rhythmic “chunk” with some basic musical ideas, keeping in tune to the hum of the machines and retaining the “feel” of the inherent pulse. Joe Dilworth arrived to lay down a beat over these minimal backing tracks, going with the flow as best he could.

                                                                                                In the following months the music was fleshed out using various synths and sequencers from Roland, Arp, Oberheim and Holger’s modular synth set up. As well as many of the bass and sequencer parts the modular also supplied the chords by tuning each one of it’s five oscillators to specific notes and intervals.



                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                Barry says: Another superb outing for COAM, with the throbbing synth pulses and hypnotic motorik beats returning with aplomb. Things take a little more of an orchestral turn this time, with simmering progressions halting to make room for nuanced passages of ambient bliss. Incredible.

                                                                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                Coloured LP Info: Clear Vinyl 2LP in mirriboard sleeve with printed insert, includes download card.

                                                                                                Ltd LP Info: Black Vinyl 2LP in mirriboard sleeve with printed insert, includes download card.

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                                                                                                Cover of Boarding House Reach by Jack White.

                                                                                                Jack White

                                                                                                Boarding House Reach

                                                                                                Third Man / XL

                                                                                                Boarding House Reach sees Jack White expanding his musical palate with perhaps his most ambitious work thus far, a collection of songs that are simultaneously timeless and modern. Written and conceived while holed up in a Spartan apartment with literally no outside world distractions, White exclusively used the same kind of gear he had when he was 15 years old (a quarter-inch four-track tape recorder, a simple mixer, and the most basic of instrumentation). The album explores a remarkable range of sonic terrain - crunching rock 'n' roll, electro and hard funk, proto punk, hip hop, gospel blues, and even country - all remapped and born anew to fit White's matchless vision and sense of restless experimentation. Boarding House Reach is a testament to the breadth of Jack White's creative power and his bold artistic ambition.

                                                                                                Boarding House Reach was produced by Jack White III and recorded at Third Man Studio in Nashville, TN, Sear Sound in New York, NY, and Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, CA; the album was mixed by Bill Skibbe, Joshua V. Smith, and White at Third Man Studio in Nashville, TN.

                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                Barry says: Existential questions, grooving rock and/or roll riffage, White's unmistakable vocals, and an impeccable attention to detail. Thoroughly brilliant, and completely essential. Get this up your ears.

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                                                                                                Cover of New Material by Preoccupations.

                                                                                                Preoccupations

                                                                                                New Material

                                                                                                Jagjaguwar

                                                                                                Preoccupations’ songs have always worked through themes of creation, destruction, and futility, and they’ve always done it with singular post-punk grit. The textures are evocative and razor-sharp. The wire is always a live one. But while that darker side may have been well-explored, that’s not quite the same as it being fully, intensely lived. This time it was, and the result is ’New Material’, a collection that broadens and deepens Preoccupations to a true mastery of their sound. In it lies the difference between witnessing a car crash and crashing your own, between jumping into an ocean and starting to swallow the water.

                                                                                                “It’s an ode to depression,’ singer Matt Flegel says plainly. “To depression and self-sabotage, and looking inward at yourself with extreme hatred.” Typically resilient, the months leading up to recording ‘New Material’ brought a new order of magnitude to feelings that had been creeping up on Flegel for some time. He’d written bits and pieces of lyrics through the course of it, small snippets he hadn’t assigned to any one thought or feeling but were emblematic of a deeper issue, something germinating that was dense and numb and fully unshakeable. As the band began writing music, that process gave shape to the sheer tonnage of what he’d been carrying. With virtually nothing written or demoed before the band sat down together, the process was more collaborative than before. It was almost architectural, building some things up, tearing others down to the beams, sitting down and writing songs not knowing what they were about. But for Flegel, it led to a reckoning. “Finishing ‘Espionage’ was when I realized,” says Flegel. “I looked at the rest of the lyrics and realized the magnitude of what was wrong.”

                                                                                                ‘New Material’ builds a world for that feeling, playing through its layers and complexities while hiding almost nothing. That inscrutable side is part of the magic, here, and a necessary counterweight to the straight-jab clarity of Flegel’s lyrics. You can deep-dive the lyrics or zone into a riff; you can face it or you can get lost in it. “My ultimate goal would be to make a record where nobody knows what instrument is playing ever,” says multi-instrumentalist Scott Munro, “and I think we’ve come closer than ever, here. It shouldn’t sound robotic — it should sound human, like people playing instruments. It’s just maybe no one knows what they are.”

                                                                                                Opener “Espionage” lives up to Munro’s goals, kicking off with a clattering, rhythmic echo that gives way to sprinting percussion and a melody in the orbit of Manchester’s classics. “Manipulation” explores the futility of going through the motions, balancing a droney, minimal march with a thunder roll that brings it to the brink, and to the doomed romantic declaration, “please don’t remember me like I’ll always remember you.” “Disarray” bursts up like a blackened confetti cannon, the song’s undeniably bright melody dancing over a refrain of “disarray, disarray, disarray” and literally nothing else. “A lot of this is about futility,” he says, “trying to find something where there’s nothing to be found.” That hunt turns into a search-and-destroy mission on “Decompose”, a tense, speedy, “blow yourself up and start again” type of song, the very picture of creation and destruction, as Flegel writes “for better or worse, we are cursed in the ways that we tend to be.” And while calling an album ’New Material’ might seem like a smartass move, the truth is it’s as matter-of-fact a title as Espionage, Disarray, or anything else on the record. Why fight that?

                                                                                                If the through-line unifying Preoccupations’ work is a furious, almost punishing cyclical quality, ‘New Material’ does offer some relief. “This is somehow the most uptempo thing we’ve ever done,” observes Flegel. That propulsive, itchy quality rescues ‘New Material’ from the proverbial bottom of the pit. To write these songs is to force oneself to reignite, to play them is to stand up and reengage. Closer “Compliance” may not seem revelatory on first listen, but it is deeply elemental, a crucial finale and the band’s first standalone instrumental. Original versions were built to death, reexamined and re-destroyed until they landed on just two chords — something simple, fundamental — and resolved to make meaning out of that, to show instead of tell. Flegel acknowledges it is more affecting to him than any other song on the record. It’s not redemption, more like a forced reprieve.


                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                Barry says: One of the greatest modern post-punk outfits return for one of their most blistering outings yet.Atmospheric and ambient in parts, and downright catatonic in others, this is the sound of a band at the peak of their game.

                                                                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive grey and black splatter vinyl.

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                                                                                                Cover of May Your Kindness Remain by Courtney Marie Andrews.

                                                                                                Courtney Marie Andrews

                                                                                                May Your Kindness Remain

                                                                                                Loose

                                                                                                The highly anticipated follow up to Courtney Marie Andrews' critically acclaimed 2017 breakthrough album, Honest Life.
                                                                                                Courtney Marie Andrews’ new full-length album, May Your Kindness Remain, will be released March 23 on Loose in the UK & Europe and Fat Possum Records/Mama Bird Recording Co. in the USA. In advance of the release, the album’s title track is premiered as part of NPR Music’s “Songs We Love” series.
                                                                                                Produced by Mark Howard (Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Tom Waits), the album was recorded over eight days at a rented house-turned-studio in L.A.
                                                                                                UK fans fell for Courtney’s breakthrough album Honest Life last year, when as the BBC put it, she became an “overnight success” after 10 years trying to break into the business. UK media such as The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Times compared her music to the work of classic artists such as Guy Clark, John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Glen Campbell alongside modern references such as Laura Marling and Julie Byrne. The album became one of the biggest breakthrough records of 2017 in the UK, with 4-5 star reviews from publications including Daily Telegraph, Uncut, Mojo and Q Magazine, as well as reaching #1 on the Official U.K. Americana Chart Independent Album Breakers Chart. In April 2017, Andrews made her debut on the BBC’s legendary “Later…With Jools Holland” programme.


                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                Barry says: A beautiful mix of deep Americana, new country and the forward thrust of todays melodic indie, Courtney Marie Andrews has not failed to impress yet, and 'May Your Kindness...' is no different. Stunning.

                                                                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive gold vinyl edition.

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                                                                                                Cover of Longwave by Bonny Doon.

                                                                                                Bonny Doon

                                                                                                Longwave

                                                                                                Woodsist Records

                                                                                                  Arriving in the early months of 2017, Bonny Doon’s self-titled debut was a warm introduction to the band for many. Hazy and bright, the album’s woozy melodies and swirling webs of summery guitar textures were easily ingested as low-key slacker pop. But the nonchalant breeziness belied a serious attention to songcraft, and hinted at depths yet unexplored. Lo and behold, before the ink was even dry on the first record, work had already begun on its follow-up Longwave, a conscious about-face from the sonic experimentation of the first album, and a journey inward.

                                                                                                  In the spring of 2016 the band decamped to a remote part of Michigan, nesting near the evocatively named Mystic Lake, and spent a week uprooting former approaches and reinventing their sound anew. Moving into more improvisational territory, they wrote quickly and from the hip, using repetitive chord structures to aid in spontaneous generation. Attracted to the session’s spacious arrangements and unaffected sounds, they immediately went into the studio to capture the material. Working for the first time outside of home recording settings with engineer Bill Skibbe and longtime friend and collaborator Shelley Salant, the experience allowed for a focused concentration on bringing the intrinsic spirit of the group to the surface. Opting for spontaneity and simplicity over the exploration of layers and textures that defined the first record, the band architected an incredibly intimate sound for these new songs.

                                                                                                  The album was tracked with minimal overdubs or production flourishes, constructing a frame that is spare and understated in the same way as the twilight-tinted third Velvet Underground album or the rusty glow of Bill Fay’s Time Of Last Persecution. These sessions aimed to capture the band at their essence. With the superfluous stripped away, a gentle but steadfast spiritual core is revealed as the backbone of Bonny Doon’s cosmic American music.



                                                                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                  Laura says: This is absolutely gorgeous: cosmic Americana that brings to mind Piccadilly favourites Kingsbury Manx. The songs have a languid, almost melancholic feel, but the super melodic guitar melodies that weave around the dead-pan vocals make

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                                                                                                  Cover of Legacy / The Plague by Cosmic Ground.

                                                                                                  Cosmic Ground

                                                                                                  Legacy / The Plague

                                                                                                  Deep Distance

                                                                                                  More from Dirk Jan Muller's incredible Cosmic Ground project. Two cuts taken off the most revered, self titled LP from 2014. “Legacy” (Dirk’s first ever piece using the Cosmic Ground moniker) and a rawer, earlier mix (previously unreleased) of “The Plague”. Both remastered by Dirk for this release in 2018.

                                                                                                  Two wonderfully enveloping, side long pieces, epic in ambition and breadth, which again showcase Dirk’s mastery of the revered Berlin School groove, heavy on leanings to Schulze, Froese and Co. yet instantly and incessantly of it’s time now. Fiery, evocative soundscapes which is some of the strongest in its class. Magical, sequencer heavy, electronic psych: hike up the volume to the max and off you go into the stratosphere.

                                                                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                  Matt says: Brooding and fiery synthscapes from supreme sound harnesser Cosmic Ground on the always delectable Deep Distance.

                                                                                                  FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                  Mini LP Info: Edition of 300 on vinyl only for Deep Distance.

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                                                                                                  Cover of Cinema by Holger Czukay.

                                                                                                  Holger Czukay

                                                                                                  Cinema

                                                                                                  Gronland

                                                                                                    “Holger has been probably the best editor with tape I ever came across,” says producer and recording engineer René Tinner, who worked closely with his studio partner Czukay from the seventies to the nineties. “He could have 90 or 100 slices of tape on a table, and he could by magic put them back together with music, perfectly. In that, he was a pure master.”

                                                                                                    The music in this box set does indeed demonstrate masterful arrangements of sounds and sources, movement and melody, humour and seriousness, that can well be described as magical. It is also a set of unpredictable keys and ciphers, revealing a unique worldview where high artistic rigour meets continual openness to chance and serendipity. In this, Holger not only cut and pasted music, but time, place and mindsets, when such things in popular culture were not only technically near impossible, but virtually unprecedented. (Ian Harrison / Mojo)

                                                                                                    FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                    4xLP Box Set Info: This boxset contains 5 vinyl including previously unreleased material, a DVD, a VinylVideo, a lush 36page booklet and a download code

                                                                                                    FREE SHIPPING This item has FREE UK shipping!

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                                                                                                    Cover of Illogical Dance by Hatis Noit.

                                                                                                    Hatis Noit

                                                                                                    Illogical Dance

                                                                                                    Erased Tapes

                                                                                                      Japanese vocal performer Hatis Noit releases her enigmatic EP Illogical Dance via Erased Tapes. The arresting 4-track record creates unique song-worlds with transcendent vocal interpretations that at once deconstruct and recombine Western Classical, Japanese folk and nature’s own ambience atmosphere. Illogical Dance also features Björk-collaborators Matmos, who were so impressed with Hatis Noit’s recordings, they volunteered to edit the lead track Illogical Lullaby.
                                                                                                      Hailing from the distant Shiretoko, a small town in Hokkaido, which is the largest island in north Japan, Hatis Noit’s accomplished range is astonishingly self-taught, inspired by everything she could find from Gagaku — Japanese classical music — and operatic styles, Bulgarian and Gregorian chanting, to avant-garde and pop vocalists. The sounds she created on Illogical Dance, co-produced by Haruhisa Tanaka and Matmos, bring to mind the experimental vocal patterns of Meredith Monk with the attentive production of Holly Herndon. It was at the age of 16, during a trek in Nepal to the Buddha’s birthplace, when she realised singing was her calling. While staying at a women’s temple in Lumbini, one morning on a walk Hatis Noit heard someone singing. On further investigation it was a female monk singing Buddhist chants, alone. The sound moved her so intensely she was instantly aware of the visceral power of the human voice; a primal and instinctive instrument that connects us to the very essence of humanity, nature and our universe.

                                                                                                      The name Hatis Noit itself is taken from Japanese folklore, meaning the stem of the lotus flower. The lotus represents the living world, while its root the spirit world, therefore Hatis Noit is what connects the two. For Hatis Noit, music represents the same netherworld with its ability to move and transport us to the other side; the past, a memory, our subconscious. It is the same for Illogical Dance, a set of transformative songs that taps into our most primal instincts.

                                                                                                      “The human voice is our oldest, most primal yet most powerful instrument. I use it to describe nature’s many sounds, a language that isn’t logical. Yet it forms a beautiful conversation that isn’t restricted to words like the human language is. I want my music to remind us of that.” — Hatis Noit
                                                                                                      Wanting to interpret and mimic the sounds Hatis Noit hears in nature, Illogical Dance is as unpredictable, beautiful and mysterious as the world around us. Each track is made up from multi layers of vocals, all improvised and without words, before being carefully pieced together. Astonishingly no samples are used throughout, even the sound of crushing leaves came from Hatis Noit’s own vocal chords. The result is a stunning array of sound sculptures that see her switching between multiple styles with great ease. From the sweet operatics on Illogical Lullaby, the manipulated vocal loops duplicating electronic production on Anagram c.i.y. to the primordial chanting call to arms of Angelus Novus, a 10-minute odyssey that features whispering and leaves crunching, it showcases Hatis Noit’s full range and introduces a truly original artist. 

                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                      Barry says: A stunning, complex mix of vocal layering, serene ambience and brittle, modern-classical compositions that could really be on no other label than the legendary Erased Tapes.

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                                                                                                      Cover of Another Way Of Falling Apart by The Home Current.

                                                                                                      The Home Current

                                                                                                      Another Way Of Falling Apart

                                                                                                      Polytechnic Youth

                                                                                                      Following a trio of sold out 45s on Polytechnic Youth, between 2015 and 2017, The Home Current finally channels a full length album through the delectable UK imprint. “Another Way of Falling Apart” sees Martin Jensen, a Copenhagen-born artist delivery more highly textured electronics which skirt between traditional analogue and more modern digital signal processes. The mood traverses tense futurescapes and redolent, nostalgic imaginary: from drawn out sci-fi themes full of phosphorescent fire-flies or deep purple plasma lakes; to blurred VHS memories of optimism, rushed through a rose tinted lens and refracted back from happier times gine by. This is home territory for a committed and expert birder who joyfully connects as much with the planet in bijou record stores or when trying to sight great grey owls or azure-winged magpies in remote country locations! Hence, an almost subliminal, feminine aura to this debut work, and an existential stance that aims not to trouble but to thrill and stir, to convey the beauty that happens when Jensen exposes the adrenalinic tide rocking his angst and calms it with balsamic polyphony and poignant melody. Wonderful stuff! 




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                                                                                                      Cover of 01Deas by The Maghreban.

                                                                                                      The Maghreban

                                                                                                      01Deas

                                                                                                      R&S

                                                                                                      Stupendously strong album (debut?) from The Maghreban here. His dusky grooves, heavy bass pressure and clanking drum breaks sound like they were dredged from the bottom of the river Nile, imbued with a maverick, before being laced with a dramatic tension more akin to a sci-fi apocalypse movie.

                                                                                                      Ayman Rostom has previously released on his own label, Zoot, as well as Versatile and Black Acre - carving out a distinctive and engaging sound which has seen him garner some seriously devoted fans. Also known as acclaimed hip-hop producer Dr Zygote (also one half of Eglo’s Strange U), Rostom is already a favourite of Benji B, Ben UFO, Nicolas Jaar, Trevor Jackson and many others.

                                                                                                      After the extended clamor for a Maghreban long player R&S happily enlisted this dynamic star onto their roster: 'The 12” format is great for the club, but I wanted to go a bit deeper with it, and explore different moods and ideas,' Rostom explains. Packed with richly satisfying cuts, the album draws on the producer's usual musical themes; 90s home counties rave, '93 dark jungle, 80s steppers reggae, broken beat, dark modal jazz, colonial afro rock and psychedelia - uniting such a collection of influences under a concise and coherent aesthetic. 'I make heavy, dark music.. I think growing up with some Arabic music allowed me to appreciate minor key stuff. And the Arabic music is big and dramatic. It’s one reason I liked death metal and hip-hop in my early teens alongside old hardcore/rave and jungle. It’s all heavy, head banging music. I’m usually trying to make the heaviest sounding thing that I can.' Joined by a stellar cast of guests including Brighton based songstress Victoria Port of Anushka, Zimbabwean vocalist Rutendo Machiridza, rapper A-F-R-O, and best friend Gatto Fritto, "01Deas" skirts around mystic themes and modern production, yet due to certain production processes (sampling from cassette, old mixing desks etc), there's a familiar sense of dance music history permeating through the tracks; like your discovering a long forgotten species that's actually existed, undisturbed, in the depths of some unknown rainforest for eternity; its fruits and riches only just coming into focus to us as we slowly enter the environment. Excellent stuff here - most recommended.


                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                      Matt says: A smörgåsbord of world rhythms and bass, The Maghreban opens the lid off a cauldron of influences and atmospheres.

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                                                                                                      Cover of The Four Worlds by Mark Pritchard.

                                                                                                      Mark Pritchard

                                                                                                      The Four Worlds

                                                                                                      Warp

                                                                                                      Mark Pritchard returns with ‘The Four Worlds’, an eight-track collection further exploring the sonic worlds first encountered on 2016’s opus "Under The Sun". Mark has once again collaborated with acclaimed visual artist Jonathan Zawada on artwork and visuals.

                                                                                                      "The Four Worlds" features a collection of underground poets and musicians including Colorado’s psychedelic heroine Space Lady on "S.O.S" and eighties cult radio artist Gregory Whitehead on "Come Let Us".

                                                                                                      Mark Pritchard has been releasing music under different guises for nearly three decades (Global Communication, Reload, Africa Hitech, Harmonic 313, Harmonic 33, to name a few). Mark has become a figurehead in his field with artists such as Thom Yorke, Linda Perhacs, The Space Lady, Bibio, Clark and Wiley all queuing up to work with him. Luckily for long term fans, there's still bucket loads of underground spirit permeating through the album. "Glasspops" opens with one of his characteristic, growling sawtooths, paired with technoid perc and a steady incline it introduces the rest of the album's smaller missives perfectly, occupying most of side A and building the air of anticipation and drama perfectly for what follows - a haunting set of poems matched with sublimely astute sound design! From Gregory Whitehead's occultist delivery on "Come Let Us" to the instantly celestial hymnal of "The Arched Window", the air of otherworldliness and spirituality is omnipresent throughout. We're loving this concept here at Picc HQ - it's great to finally see some dramatic spoken word interwoven with sound design and sonic textures so well. 


                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                      Barry says: The last outing from Pritchard gained a hefty following in the shop, and this one is set to do the same. Deep, rhythmic basslines, outsider electronics and snapping bitcrushed percussion all form together into a brilliantly engrossing whole.

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                                                                                                      Cover of 137 Avenue Kaniama by Baloji.

                                                                                                      Baloji

                                                                                                      137 Avenue Kaniama

                                                                                                      Bella Union

                                                                                                      Bella Union warmly introduce us to their latest star signing, Belgian MC, producer and musician Baloji. His music stands at the crossroads of African music, traditional and afro-american music (soul, funk, jazz) discovered through the culture of sampling and electronic music (trance, deep house) which has its roots in part in the region of Belgium where Baloji grew up. Baloji means “man of science” in Swahili, but during the colonial period, that meaning shifted to “man of the occult sciences and sorcery”. By placing his resilience at the centre of his work, Baloji reconciles all these influences to enrich his projects. Baloji is a poet, composer-lyricist, scriptwriter, actor and performer, video artist and stylist, and '137 Avenue Kaniama' is his most complete release to date.

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                                                                                                      Cover of Strange Valleys LP by Starving Daughters.

                                                                                                      Starving Daughters

                                                                                                      Strange Valleys LP

                                                                                                      Forest Jams

                                                                                                      "Strange Valleys", the 2018 full-length from Starving Daughters, is a progression as well as a shift in sound from the LA band's already-stellar previous releases. Make no doubt about it that the sound of Progressive Rock and Psychedelia still play a big role here but there's certainly a greater influence from Library Music on the new LP. The Starving Daughters Vinyl Impressions blog, led by Chris Tillotson of the band, shared the music of Chris's collection of which many were Library LP's. These records seemed to have seeped into the mind, body, and souls of the whole band on this Strange Valleys LP. Everything from the instrumentation, the attention to melody, to the track-length shows the large appreciation they have for Library music. That being said, this moog-heavy, psychedelic-prog-funk, California-themed record is certainly unique and adventurous. Winding through the exotic roads of Strange Valleys is certainly a trip well worth taking over and over again.

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                                                                                                      Cover of The Hilvarenbeek Recordings by Biosphere.

                                                                                                      Biosphere

                                                                                                      The Hilvarenbeek Recordings

                                                                                                      Biophon Records

                                                                                                      The Hilvarenbeek Recordings are based on field recordings from the Dutch farm Biologische boerderij 't Schop in Hilvarenbeek, and on it we get a languid and hyperreal painting of agricultural life.

                                                                                                      'T'Schop' slowly grows from a claustrophobic mass of crackling static and suggested rainfall into a euphoric streak of warmed valves and rhythmic chanting (inc. cows), onto a dubby and hypnotic close. Pieces like 'Pipistrellus' (and later, 'De Doornboom') give gravitas to the more developmental scores by featuring the field recorded miscellany, redolent in atmosphere but devoid of melodic relief, without the spine-tingling resolution.

                                                                                                      'Audax' flickers from gated pads and syncopated percussive wood blocks, slowly revealing signs of simmering melody, the pad chords and static scree fighting each-other for control of the stereo image. Humming bass and demi-percussive whirrs coming together into a strangely cohesive but undeniably busy melting pot. 

                                                                                                      We finish things off with the stunning 'Icoon', coming full circle to the feel of the first piece, but brightened with the experience of the intermittent six. The static opening is replaced with a glowing warmth, and instead of blooming out of the ground, it regresses once again like an annual bloom on the first shards of winter. 
                                                                                                       

                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                      Barry says: Stunning field recorded ambience, tactful instrumental accentuation and all brought together with Jenssen's singular talent. Another absolute stunner.

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                                                                                                      Cover of Windswept by Johnny Jewel.

                                                                                                      Johnny Jewel

                                                                                                      Windswept

                                                                                                      Italians Do It Better

                                                                                                      "Windswept" sees exceptional Italian Johnny Jewel doing it just as well (you couldn't do it better than) as Angelo Badalamenti, delivering an excellent collection of Twin Peaks compositions.

                                                                                                      Solely based on song titles, you’d say "Missing Pages", "Strobe Lights", "Slow Dreams", "Motel", "Between Worlds", and "The Flame" were written for Twin Peaks, and except for maybe "Strobe Lights", it’s a safe assumption. The jazzy vibraphones on "The Crimson Kiss", another title that could easily be a reference, and "Motel", an instrumental in collaboration with another Johnny Jewel project called Glass Candy - made them instant adds to the Audrey Horne-inspired Isn’t It Too Dreamy playlist.


                                                                                                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                      Coloured LP Info: LP repress on blue mist vinyl.

                                                                                                      CD Info: Limited Edition Of 2000 CD. Packaged in Wallet Slipcase

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                                                                                                      Cover of Changing Stations by Daniel Liam Glyn.

                                                                                                      Daniel Liam Glyn

                                                                                                      Changing Stations

                                                                                                      Caravan Boy

                                                                                                      From a young age I've envisaged numbers, letters and words in colour. Each day would have a specific colour in my mind as well as months of the year; enabling me to have an expansive long-term memory. I soon identified myself as someone who had both Grapheme Colour and Spatial Sequence Synaesthesia; a neurological phenomenon where a person perceives words, letters, shapes, and numbers in colour and sometimes in taste and smell.

                                                                                                      When I left university I moved to London and began looking for things to inspire composition. I was fascinated with the London Underground and how it worked. The formation, the design, and the vast diversity of the commuters who travelled on it. The tube map instantly popped up as something I wanted to study. Each line I travelled on had contrasting atmospheres, a certain type of commuter and an overall feel. Different speeds, sounds and smells - but more importantly, a different colour! I wanted to write 11 pieces for piano, assigning the key signature in my mind to the colour of the tube line being represented (for example, A = Red, A major = Central line). I also studied literature regarding 'characteristics' of key signatures dating back to the 1800's and paired them up with my own descriptions of the tube lines (F# minor, a gloomy key = Green = District Line - full of delays and lethargic thoughts).

                                                                                                      I aimed to bind the characteristics and emotions possessed by each key signature with the thoughts, feelings and descriptions of the Underground by London commuters who can be heard throughout the record. The composition, recording and production of the entire project has been an amalgamation of classical and contemporary formations. It pays homage to the Underground's history whilst using forward thinking / modern approaches to it's current service. Each recording took place between Manchester & London through the use of computers and mobile phones; mirroring the revolution in technology with the London Underground through the years.

                                                                                                      https://www.changingstations.london/the-project

                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                      Barry says: A beautiful, and conceptually superb suite of plaintive modern-classical utterances and spoken word narration. Somewhere between the grand, filmic post-rock of This Will Destroy You and the soundtrack work of Adam Wiltzie, Richter et. al. Beautiful.

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                                                                                                      Cover of Seedlings All by Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker.

                                                                                                      Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker

                                                                                                      Seedlings All

                                                                                                      Rough Trade Records

                                                                                                        ’Seedlings All' is Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker’s first album to be made up of all original songs, and is songwriter Clarke's most autobiographical work to date. As she explains: “For the first time I’m out there alone with a bunch of songs that expose my insecurities, fears of failure and inflated pride. They deal with my own specific thoughts and feelings about the reality of pursuing this kind of career, the cost to personal relationships, circumstance and lifestyle, and asking the question - "Is this still worth it?” They’re about trying to find an inner balance in an environment that doesn’t provide any balance or certainty. Where one day everything is brilliant and the next day it could all be over. Where one night ends in a standing ovation and the next starts by playing to an empty room."

                                                                                                        FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                        Indies Exclusive LP Info: Independent stores only including a bonus CD featuring 3 previously unreleased tracks.

                                                                                                        Indies Exclusive LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                                                                        Cover of Black Heaven by Earthless.

                                                                                                        Earthless

                                                                                                        Black Heaven

                                                                                                        Nuclear Blast

                                                                                                          Guess what?

                                                                                                          Earthless has a surprise for you. Whereas the band’s three previous albums featured anywhere from two to four completely instrumental space rock jams, the California trio’s fourth and latest, Black Heaven, is nothing like that. “It’s quite different,” drummer Mario Rubalcaba says with a laugh. “It has six songs, and most importantly it has vocals on about 70 percent of the record. There goes being pigeonholed as an instrumental band, I guess…”

                                                                                                          Of Black Heaven’s six tracks, only two are instrumental. And one of those instrumentals is less than two minutes long. “It wasn’t a premeditated thing to do a record with vocals,” Rubalcaba explains. “On the older records, Mike was responsible for a lot of the riffs that would start these jams, but on this one Isaiah really brought his own pizazz and flavor to it.”

                                                                                                          When Rubalcaba, Mitchell and bassist Mike Eginton started Earthless in 2001 as a psychedelic instrumental band, they were constantly asked, Are you guys looking for a singer? “That was the joke for years,” Rubalcaba laughs. “But we’ve always known Isaiah could sing. He’s got a great voice.”

                                                                                                          While the band’s lysergic leanings are fully intact, Black Heaven takes on a more classic rock hue than previous outings. “For me personally, the psychedelic thing is pretty important,” Rubalcaba offers. “But I’m not sure if we’ll always be on the crazier side of things musically. Even on this record, there are moments when it’s more psyched-out, but we’ve always been really big fans of classic rock stuff like ZZ Top, James Gang, Allman Brothers—and of course, Cream. There would be no Earthless if it wasn’t for Cream. They’re like the great-grandfathers of power trios.”

                                                                                                          After working out the new material, Earthless rolled out to the famed Rancho de la Luna Studios in Joshua Tree, California, where illustrious desert rock denizens such as Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss and Masters Of Reality cut some of their weirdest and wildest work. Owned and operated by Eagles Of Death Metal guitarist Dave Catching, the studio is the stuff of legend. It’s safe to say that Earthless got some sand in their shoes—and their tunes—thanks to Rancho’s unconventional setup. “That desert vibe really sunk into this record even more than I thought it would,” Rubalcaba concedes. “I don’t think it sounds like a ‘desert rock’ record per se, but Rancho really brought that feel into what we were playing a little bit more.”

                                                                                                          Black Heaven is a game changer for Earthless. Nobody is more aware of this than the band members themselves. But they also know this: You’ll never get anywhere if you’re running in place. “I’m sure there will be some people who have come to expect the big gargantuan space rock jams, and I don’t know if they’ll be into this or not,” Rubalcaba admits. “But I’m ready to deal with a little bit of disappointment from people who just want the freakout stuff. At the same time, I think people are gonna enjoy hearing a different side of us.”


                                                                                                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                          Ltd LP Info: Limited gatefold sleeved vinyl.

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                                                                                                          Cover of Near Miss by Air Formation.

                                                                                                          Air Formation

                                                                                                          Near Miss

                                                                                                          Club AC30

                                                                                                            After 2015's triumphant return with the 'Were We Ever Here' EP, Brighton shoegaze luminaries Air Formation, are set to release their fourth long-player 'Near Miss'. 'Were We Ever Here' marked Air Formation's return following their split in 2010 and was comprised mostly around the songs written prior. 'Near Miss' is the first album of entirely new material the band have written and released in seven years. The album was recorded and mixed by Pat Collier (The House of Love, Primal Scream, Jesus and Mary Chain) in just two days. The band set about expanding on earlier sounds by creating an album that is rawer than previous efforts and explores the likes of post-rock (Clouds of Orion), free-form improvised space-rock (Formation 4) and three minute sonic assaults (Vanishing Act), together with the uplifting melancholia Air Formation are known for.

                                                                                                            FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                            Ltd LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                                                                            Cover of What News by Alasdair Roberts, Amble Skuse & David McGuinness.

                                                                                                            Alasdair Roberts, Amble Skuse & David McGuinness

                                                                                                            What News

                                                                                                            Drag City

                                                                                                              For his twelfth solo album - ‘What News’ - and his fourth album focused exclusively on the performance of traditional songs, Alasdair Roberts has chosen a typically unusual and eclectic pair of collaborators: Amble Skuse and David McGuinness.

                                                                                                              On past albums ‘No Earthly Man’ and ‘Too Long In This Condition’, Alasdair relied on his deep connection to the songs to anchor often exploratory arrangements that would locate the hundreds-years-old songs in a contemporary milieu. The resulting works are magnetically compelling and have been powerfully acclaimed down the years. For his first project in this vein since 2010, Alasdair was inspired by Scottish singers such as Jeannie Robertson, Lizzie Higgins, Duncan Williamson, Elizabeth Stewart and Sheila Stewart. He had a desire to sing and not so much to play, so he asked early music scholar and Concerto Caledonia director David McGuinness (a previous collaborator) to play keyboard accompaniment for these songs, upon which Alasdair would not be playing guitar.

                                                                                                              This was provocative: Alasdair was counting on David to respond to a counter-intuitive suggestion with surprising, idiosyncratic playing. David was challenged but up to the task. He started with the choosing of appropriate instruments, which he found at the University of Glasgow: an 1844 grand pianoforte and a ‘Mozart-style’ fortepiano of relatively recent vintage - the types of instrument they call in Holland ‘brown pianos’ (as opposed to the ‘black’ sound of the modern Steinway). To these, David added his own circa-1920 Dulcitone, a Glaswegian keyboard that plays tuning forks instead of strings.

                                                                                                              During the process of developing the arrangements, David hit upon an idea for an additional collaborator: sonologist Amble Skuse, whose work involves interactive, electronic performance treatments. This provided a third plane for the project and thus triangulated, they were able to crystallise an approach involving a very open soundstage: David’s keyboard, Alasdair’s vocals and Amble’s structural soundscaping. This makes for beautiful and driven music that has no analogue in Alasdair’s catalogue - for while he has consistently pursued the dynamic fusion of songs from hundreds of years ago in a modern and progressive context, he hasn’t worked with a keyboard as the central instrument. The beauty of the conception is evident throughout, with immaculate engineering capturing all the nuances of David and Amble’s work. Alasdair’s singing embodies previously unheard capacities in his ever-evolving catalogue of song and he also contributes a powerful guitar obbligato and solo on ‘The Dun Broon Bride’ - no doubt in response to the fine work of his collaborators.

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                                                                                                              Cover of Martin Freeman & Eddie Piller Present: Jazz On The Corner by Various Artists.

                                                                                                              Various Artists

                                                                                                              Martin Freeman & Eddie Piller Present: Jazz On The Corner

                                                                                                              Acid Jazz

                                                                                                              When Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller asked Martin Freeman (‘The Hobbit’, ‘Sherlock’, ‘The Office’) to do a jazz radio show they could hardly imagine the response. From around the world emails and tweets inundated the show and they swore to themselves that they couldn’t leave it there.

                                                                                                              Now, two years on, this compilation of their favourite jazz has arrived. From the rolling hard bop of Lee Morgan and Art Blakey, via screaming soul organ, jazz funk original acid jazz onwards to the post modern spiritual jazz of Kasami Washington, this is an incredible journey.

                                                                                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                              2xDeluxe LP Info: Awaiting a re-press, should be in around 25th May.

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                                                                                                              Cover of Eccentric Soul: The Saru Label by Various Artists.

                                                                                                              Various Artists

                                                                                                              Eccentric Soul: The Saru Label

                                                                                                              Numero

                                                                                                              The 20th volume of the flagship Eccentric Soul series has all the boxes checked: Gun-toting, skip-tracing record producers, child stars, rip-offs, the 'World’s Greatest Bail Bondsman' swindles, soaring falsettos, and a dwindling rust-belt cityscape offering mere glimpses of hope before the record industry escaped for the coasts. Helmed by the O’Jays Bobby Massey, Saru was a creative vortex that pulled Cuyahoga County’s greatest talent in, making a strong case for Cleveland to contend with Detroit, Philly, and Memphis as America’s soul musiccapital. Includes obscure and unknown sides from the Out of Sights, the Elements, Pandella Kelly, David Peoples, Sir Stanley, the Ponderosa Twins + 1, Ba-Roz, Bobby Dukes, and of course, the O’Jays. Comes with the usual ES treatment - extended sleeve notes, photos and lush, tip-on cover. Wonderful!

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                                                                                                              Cover of Spiritual Jazz 8: Japan, Pt. 1 by Various Artists.

                                                                                                              Various Artists

                                                                                                              Spiritual Jazz 8: Japan, Pt. 1

                                                                                                              Jazzman

                                                                                                              Jazzman soars over to Japan with the latest release of Spiritual Jazz of the 20th Century. The liberating force of jazz has been created and felt all around the world, but few nations on earth embraced the jazz message with the passion and intensity of Japan. From the dawn of the jazz age to the present day, Japanese audiences have been renowned tastemakers, enthusiasts and champions of the music – in the 1980s, Japan was the biggest per capita market in the world for jazz records, and it has even been said that Japanese jazz fans kept the jazz record industry alive through the lean years of the 1970s, when the music fell from commercial favour in the land of its birth. But while the jazz aficionados of Japan are celebrated as sophisticated fans and consumers of the music, comparatively little is known outside Japan of the remarkable and abundant music produced by generations of Japanese jazz musicians. Numerous Japanese jazzers have found enormous success on the international stage – Toshiko Akiyoshi, Sadao Watanabe, Teramasu Hino, and many others are household names among jazz listeners all over the world, and with good reason. But if such global figures are put aside, the stunning heritage of Japanese jazz remains poorly understood outside Japan. As a result, the work of many celebrated Japanese jazumen has remained largely unknown to international audiences, and the extraordinary scope and depth of Japanese jazz has not been widely recognised.



                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Millie says: Soothingly smooth jazz with a twist, a clear winner has to be the version of ‘My Favourite Things’, pure joy!

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                                                                                                              Cover of Spiritual Jazz 8: Japan, Pt. 2 by Various Artists.

                                                                                                              Various Artists

                                                                                                              Spiritual Jazz 8: Japan, Pt. 2

                                                                                                              Jazzman

                                                                                                              Jazzman soars over to Japan with the latest release of Spiritual Jazz of the 20th Century. The liberating force of jazz has been created and felt all around the world, but few nations on earth embraced the jazz message with the passion and intensity of Japan. From the dawn of the jazz age to the present day, Japanese audiences have been renowned tastemakers, enthusiasts and champions of the music – in the 1980s, Japan was the biggest per capita market in the world for jazz records, and it has even been said that Japanese jazz fans kept the jazz record industry alive through the lean years of the 1970s, when the music fell from commercial favour in the land of its birth. But while the jazz aficionados of Japan are celebrated as sophisticated fans and consumers of the music, comparatively little is known outside Japan of the remarkable and abundant music produced by generations of Japanese jazz musicians. Numerous Japanese jazzers have found enormous success on the international stage – Toshiko Akiyoshi, Sadao Watanabe, Teramasu Hino, and many others are household names among jazz listeners all over the world, and with good reason. But if such global figures are put aside, the stunning heritage of Japanese jazz remains poorly understood outside Japan. As a result, the work of many celebrated Japanese jazumen has remained largely unknown to international audiences, and the extraordinary scope and depth of Japanese jazz has not been widely recognised.



                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Millie says: Following on from Part 1, Spiritual Jazz continues to reach for the most beautiful sounds from Japan to present on this stunning record.

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                                                                                                              Cover of There's A Riot Going On by Yo La Tengo.

                                                                                                              Yo La Tengo

                                                                                                              There's A Riot Going On

                                                                                                              Matador Records

                                                                                                              There's a riot going on. You don't need me, or Yo La Tengo, to tell you that. These are dark times, in our heads as much as in the streets. It's easy to lose contact with the ground, flying through endless banks of storm clouds day after day. Confusion and anxiety intrude into daily life and cause you to lose your compass. There are times that call for anthems, something to lift you out of your slump and put fire in your feet. And then there are times when what is indicated is a balm, a sound that will wrap around you and work out the knots in your neck.

                                                                                                              While there's a riot going on, Yo La Tengo will remind you what it's like to dream. The sound burbles and washes and flows and billows. If records were dedicated to the cardinal elements, this one would be water. There are shimmery hazes, spectral rumbles, a flash of backward masking, ghostly flamingos calling "shoo-bop shoo-bop." You are there. And even if your mind is not unclouded--shaken, misdirected, out of words and out of time--you can still float, ride the waves of an ocean deeper than your worries, above the sound and above the Sound.

                                                                                                              For Yo La Tengo this is a slow-motion action painting, and Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan, and James McNew did it all themselves, in their rehearsal studio, with no outside engineer (John McEntire later did the mix). They did not rehearse or jam together beforehand; they turned on the recorder and let things coalesce. Songs came together over long stretches, sometimes as much as a year going by between parts. You'd never guess this, since the layers are finessed with such a liquid brush. You'd imagine most of the songs had sprung forth whole, since they will enter your head that way. Within two listens you will be powerless to resist the magnetic draw of "Shades of Blue," will involuntarily hear "She May, She Might" on your internal jukebox first thing in the morning and "Let's Do It Wrong" late at night. While there's a riot going on you will feel capable of bobbing through like a cork.

                                                                                                              In 1971, when the nation appeared to be on the brink of violently coming apart, Sly and the Family Stone released There's a Riot Goin’ On, an album of dark, brooding energy. Now, under similar circumstances, Yo La Tengo have issued a record with the same name but with a different force, an album that proposes an alternative to anger and despair. Their first proper full-length since 2013’s Fade, There's a Riot Goin’ On is an expression of freedom and sanity and emotional expansion, a declaration of common humanity as liberating as it is soft-spoken. 

                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Barry says: As far as dreamy post-shoegaze indie goes, it doesn't get any better than Yo La Tengo's own brand of whimsical haze and soaring atmospherics. Drowning under a delightful wave of swirling percussion and psychedelic guitar scree, Kaplan's voice is beguiling as ever, anchoring the whole affair from floating away on a blissful cloud.

                                                                                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                              2xColoured LP Info: Independent stores only orange vinyl.

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                                                                                                              Cover of Drank by Thundercat, OG Ron C & The Chopstars.

                                                                                                              Thundercat, OG Ron C & The Chopstars

                                                                                                              Drank

                                                                                                              Brainfeeder

                                                                                                              Brainfeeder presents a special "chopped not slopped” mix of Thundercat’s incredible album “Drunk” (2017) by DJ Candlestick and OG Ron C of legendary Houston DJ collective The Chopstars. Slowed down, chopped up and pressed on purple vinyl, the mix has been appropriately re-titled “Drank”. “If you got ‘Drunk’ it’s only right that you get ‘Drank’. I feel like they go together” declares Thundercat.

                                                                                                              Recommended if you like… Flying Lotus, BADBADNOTGOOD, Kendrick Lamar, DJ Screw ∙ 2LP limited edition purple vinyl edition housed in artworked inners inside a 5mm spined outer sleeve. Photography by Eddie Alcazar and artwork by Zack Fox.

                                                                                                              Includes MP3 download code.

                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Millie says: In the words of Kendrick Lamar 'Pour up, drank, head shot, drank, sit down, drank, stand up, drank'. Drank is the sequel to Thundercat’s previous release last year ‘Drunk’, remixed and all freshened up to provide the jazziest of vibes you could ever need.

                                                                                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                              2xColoured LP Info: Double LP on purple vinyl housed in artworked inners inside a 5mm spined outer sleeve with digital download code.

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                                                                                                              Cover of Mr. Dynamite by Creep Show (John Grant & Wrangler).

                                                                                                              Creep Show (John Grant & Wrangler)

                                                                                                              Mr. Dynamite

                                                                                                              Bella Union

                                                                                                              Creep Show brings together John Grant with the dark funk of analogue electronic band Wrangler (Stephen Mallinder/Phil Winter/Benge) to create Mr Dynamite - a debut album packed with experimental pop and surreal funk. Recorded in Cornwall with a lifetime’s collection of drum machines and synthesisers assembled by Benge and explored by every member of Creep Show, there’s a real sense of freedom in the shackles-off grooves, channelling the early pioneering spirit of the Sugarhill Gang through wires and random electric noise. This sense of adventure is also part of the interplay between the two vocalists, John Grant and former Cabaret Voltaire frontman Stephen Mallinder, who switch between oblique wordplay to sinister humour as Phil Winter and Benge continue to man-handle the machines. The creepy ‘alter-ego’ title track, ‘Pink Squirrel’’s vocoder kaleidoscope and Grant’s exhilarating croon on the nine minute ‘Safe And Sound’ are just some of the twists and hooks to be explored on this consistently inventive record.

                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Barry says: So, imagine John Grant's unmistakeable vocal serenades over the top of some rhythmic Bureau B synth pulses, swirling synth patterns and sickly-sweet Linn stabs. What could possibly go wrong? Absolutely nothing is what, it's superb, like we'd expect any different from our John.

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                                                                                                              Cover of I'll Be Your Girl by The Decemberists.

                                                                                                              The Decemberists

                                                                                                              I'll Be Your Girl

                                                                                                              Rough Trade Records

                                                                                                              The Decemberists explore a new sound with a new producer on their inspired eighth studio album I’ll Be Your Girl, which will be released March 17 on Rough Trade Records. The acclaimed Portland, Oregon-based band worked with producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Lana del Ray) and embraced influences such as Roxy Music and New Order to spark a new creative path, as can be heard on the synth-driven lead single “Severed”

                                                                                                              I’ll Be Your Girl is the sound of a veteran band finding new inspiration, a unit unafraid of challenging itself to re-connect with its creativity. “Making music is an infinite choose-your-own-adventure,” says Colin Meloy, “and when you go down one path, the other paths get sealed off. So every time we could, we said, ‘If this is what our impulses would tell us to do, let’s try to imagine it in a different way.’”

                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Barry says: A more direct affair than their previous outing, 'I'll Be Your Girl' flits between the full-sounding AOR melodicism of War On Drugs and the pseudo-country psychedelia of their previous iterations, 'I'll Be Your Girl' takes all the elements we love about The Decemberists and distills them into a cohesive and hugely satisfying whole.

                                                                                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                              Coloured LP Info: Limited indies-only white vinyl LP.

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                                                                                                              Cover of Jericho Sirens by Hot Snakes.

                                                                                                              Hot Snakes

                                                                                                              Jericho Sirens

                                                                                                              Sub Pop

                                                                                                                After a 14-year hiatus from the studio, Hot Snakes have triumphantly kicked down the door back into our lives with their new album, Jericho Sirens. And amid the mania of non-stop political rhetoric, doom-and-gloom prognostications and omnipresent technology, it’s not a moment too soon.

                                                                                                                 Hot Snakes formed in 2000, after the release of their first record, Automatic Midnight. They were John Reis, Jason Kourkounis, Rick Froberg and Gar Wood. The band’s sound represented a return to the unrealized past of its members. This time, their musics would be direct, undraped and rock ‘n’ roll while still maintaining the dense and turbulent character of the members’ previous work. That year, Hot Snakes found their live sound and established themselves as primo, down-stroke warlords. They followed with a pair of great albums – 2002’s Suicide Invoice, with drummer Jason Kourkounis, and 2004’s Audit in Progress, with Mario Rubalcaba on drums – that broadened the band’s sound while pleasing many a fan. However, the band eventually spiraled downward into a mid-life punk crisis, and by 2005 they had stopped performing.

                                                                                                                BUT! 2011 saw the return of Hot Snakes, with a string of festival shows. Both drummers performed with the band on the songs which they recorded, and the group discussed writing new material. After an additional 6 years of discussions, Hot Snakes returned to the studio in 2017 to commence recording, and the results are, finally, revealed in Jericho Sirens.

                                                                                                                Musically, Jericho Sirens incorporates the most extreme fringes of the Hot Snakes sound (the vein-bulging, 78-second “Why Don’t It Sink In?” the pounding downstrokes of “Having Another?”), while staying true to longstanding influences such as the Wipers, Dead Moon and Suicide on propulsive tracks such as “Six Wave Hold-Down,” one of the first written for the project during a New Year’s Eve 2017 session in Philadelphia. Other moments like the choruses of “Jericho Sirens” and “Psychoactive” nod to classic-rock titans such as AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne, with Froberg admitting, “I’m as much a hesher as I am anything else, that’s for sure.” For Reis, reactivating his creative partnership with Froberg was one of the most rewarding aspects of the process: “Our perspectives are similar. Our tastes are similar. We work really well together. And what more is there to say? Rick totally outdid himself on this record, vocally and lyrically.”

                                                                                                                Jericho Sirens was recorded in short bursts over the past year in Philadelphia and San Diego, with assistance from longtime bassist Gar Wood. Kourkounis and Rubalcaba, both of whom drummed on prior Hot Snakes releases but never on the same one, contributed throughout.


                                                                                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                                Coloured LP Info: White vinyl edition.

                                                                                                                Indies Exclusive LP Info: Limited "Loser Edition" on black vinyl.
                                                                                                                (Yes it's confusing!)

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                                                                                                                Cover of Glass by Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto.

                                                                                                                Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto

                                                                                                                Glass

                                                                                                                Noton

                                                                                                                GLASS is a recording of an inspired live improvisation by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto at the architect Philip Johnson's hallowed Glass House, in the bucolic setting of New Canaan, Connecticut. The structure's transparency and seamless continuity with nature was given another dimension by the addition of this performance, whereby the building, location and audio coalesced into one perfect, harmonious whole.

                                                                                                                Stylish, stunning and elegantly minimal, the duo's architectural sound design evokes and synergizes with the space creatively, acoustically and literally - by using the building's fabric as an instrument. This is the sound of glass and of glistening condensation. Pristinely fresh audio stratus float amorphously by, unfurling from a meditative calm into an evocation of sparkling wonder, like a baby observing raindrops on a nocturnal window for the first time.

                                                                                                                Although the work is largely tonal, textural and spatial, fleeting moments of melody appear towards the end, which despite their scarceness, achieve a profoundly moving effect.

                                                                                                                Built between 1949 and 1995 by feted architect Philip Johnson and exemplifying modern architecture and the International Style, The Glass House hosted this site-specific event. It was commissioned by Curator and Collections Manager Irene Shum, who recalls the experience:

                                                                                                                "The emotional drama of the forty-five minute performance was echoed in the natural environment. A sudden rain storm forced the evening's guests into The Glass House at the start. During the performance, the storm cleared into a dramatic red and pink sunset and concluded in nightfall."

                                                                                                                This intimate evening brought Ryuichi and Carsten back together for their first live collaboration since Sakamoto's cancer diagnosis and treatment in 2014. Prior to that, Nicolai and Sakamoto had worked together on and off since 2002, releasing 6 albums as a duo. 

                                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                Barry says: Beautifully glacial ambient works, spacious percussive flourishes and intermittent, hauntingly gorgeous string flourishes are fed through echoic chambers and met with spiritual bells and chilling throbs. Masters of their craft.

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                                                                                                                Cover of Durand Jones & The Indications by Durand Jones & The Indications.

                                                                                                                Durand Jones & The Indications

                                                                                                                Durand Jones & The Indications

                                                                                                                Dead Oceans

                                                                                                                The album, which was originally released in 2016, received praise from The Philadelphia Inquirer, who called it, “Smartly restrained music steeped in the Deep South” and Paste, who said, “With a tingling rasp that screams James Brown and coos Otis Redding, Jones simply has to be heard to be believed on these vintage R&B pleas.” Detroit Metro Times furthered, “Modern soul that pulls with as much power as Lee Fields and Charles Bradley.” Of their debut, the band reflects, “Three years ago we spent every Sunday in our basement with a 4-track tape machine and a goal: record an album inspired by not only the ubiquitous titans of soul music but also the should-have-beens and the never-weres. With that modest target in mind, we released the record and booked one show marking the occasion. The reception we saw was both humbling and invigorating, and what started as a recording project, became a touring unit with larger aspirations.”

                                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                Laura says: Boy can these guys sing! Timeless sweet soul music.

                                                                                                                FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                                Coloured LP Info: Indies exclusive translucent red vinyl.

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                                                                                                                Cover of Of Abstract Dreams by Sun Ra.

                                                                                                                Sun Ra

                                                                                                                Of Abstract Dreams

                                                                                                                Strut

                                                                                                                Strut and Art Yard present another exclusive from the vast catalogue of cosmic jazz pioneer Sun Ra: a previously unreleased radio session most likely recorded at the WXPN FM radio studios in Philadelphia, 1974-5.

                                                                                                                This newly discovered session features a new version of Ra’s earlier ‘Island In The Sun’, a romping, raucous rendition of ‘Unmask The Batman’ and the first studio recording of ‘I’ll Wait For You’ There is no bass player on the sessions and Ra’s left hand beats out a rhythmic bass pattern on the piano. All tracks are remastered directly from the original tapes. The album package features a newly commissioned painting by legendary Bristol urban artist Guy Denning and new sleeve notes by Paul Griffiths.

                                                                                                                Recently discovered in the Sun Ra archive, the recording forms part of a series of sessions that Ra and the Arkestra recorded for WXPN-FM between 1974 and 1980. The ‘Antique Blacks’ album was recorded there in ’74. Based on the campus of The University of Pennsylvania, WXPN’s station manager Jules Epstein and music director Russ Woessner were instrumental in the exposure and recording of The Arkestra in their broadcast production studios. Geno Barnhart, founder of The Empty Foxhole concert collective, Jules and Russ broadcast an on-going series of jazz concerts covering a wide spectrum. The Arkestra performed at The Foxhole in Philly many times from 1974.

                                                                                                                Personnel:
                                                                                                                Sun Ra: Piano
                                                                                                                John Gilmore: Tenor Saxophone
                                                                                                                Marshall Allen: Flute, Alto Saxophone
                                                                                                                Danny Ray Thompson: Baritone Saxophone, Percussion
                                                                                                                Atakatune: Oboe, Congas
                                                                                                                Eddie Thomas: Drums
                                                                                                                Elo Omoe: Bass Clarinet, Hand Claps
                                                                                                                Akh Tal Ebah: Trumpet, Vocal
                                                                                                                James Jacson: Congas, Vocal

                                                                                                                First ever release of radio sessions recorded in Philadelphia around 1974-5

                                                                                                                Features newly commissioned artwork by Guy Denning, pioneering artist from Bristol’s urban art scene + new sleeve notes by Paul Griffiths

                                                                                                                Remastered by Technology Works from the original master tapes

                                                                                                                Official release in conjunction with Sun Ra LLC

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                                                                                                                Cover of Espaces Timbrés by Jonathan Fitoussi & Clemens Hourriére.

                                                                                                                Jonathan Fitoussi & Clemens Hourriére

                                                                                                                Espaces Timbrés

                                                                                                                Versatile

                                                                                                                Three years on from their critically acclaimed album on Versatile, Jonathan Fitoussi and Clemens Hourrière are back with 'Espaces Timbrés' a brand new episode in their exploration of the legendary modular synthesizer - The Buchla. After 2 years of tireless work, ever pushing and furthering their musical research, Fitoussi and Hourrière reveal to us new territories, textures, sounds and feelings to explore with the help of the equally legendary I:Cube on mixing duties to add even more sonic reflections and mixing desk wizardry. This one's a hyper-jump into the future made possible through a machine from the past, giving birth to those most captivating of electronic mantras... dive in, the water's warm!

                                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                Barry says: Brilliant Buchla exploration on Versatile here from French duo Fitoussi and Hourriére - think Suzanne Cianni, François Bayle or Morton Subotnik and you're almost there!

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                                                                                                                Cover of For Leena by Dino J.A. Deane.

                                                                                                                Dino J.A. Deane

                                                                                                                For Leena

                                                                                                                Lullabies For Insomniacs

                                                                                                                Continuing to please anyone with a penchant for the esoteric, Lullabies For Insomniacs presents ‘For Leena’, a collection of unreleased pieces composed between 1991 & 1998 by Dino J.A. Deane for the choreography of Colleen Mulvihill. Deane began his professional career, at the age of nineteen, as a musical arranger and multi-instrumentalist (trombone, flutes, keyboards, percussion). He worked in funk bands around Los Angeles before moving to San Francisco in the mid 1970’s, where as an improvising artist he became involved in the diverse communities of dramatic theatre, modern dance, free jazz and punk rock. In the early 1980's Mr. Deane pioneered the use of live-electronics, live-looping and live-sampling in three distinct genres that heavily informed his later compositions: As a member of art-punk band 'Indoor Life', touring and recording with fourth world pioneer Jon Hassell and as an electro-acoustic percussionist in the Conduction orchestras of Butch Morris. During this period Mr. Deane also worked as a sound designer for the theatre, with directors Sam Shepard, Julie Hebert and Christoph Marthaler. He also maintained a presence in the world of modern dance, creating and performing compositions for former Olympic gymnast Colleen Mulvihill.
                                                                                                                The couple met in San Francisco in 1979 through his good friend Bruce Ackley, whom was commissioned to compose a score for one of her solo pieces. Colleen, was than a member of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and was planning to move to New York City to set out on her own as a dancer and choreographer. Their paths crossed again in 1980 when Dino moved to NYC with Indoor Life, during this time they began a long term relationship both on and off the stage, which continues to this day.

                                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                Patrick says: This retrospective collection on Lullabies For Insomniacs focuses on the beautiful, beguiling and blissed out electro-acoustic compositions of Dino J.A. Deane. A million miles away from the angular art punk of Indoor Life, these pieces for contemporary dance drift through serialism, minimalism and fourth world ambience creating the perfect sound to sway to.

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                                                                                                                Cover of Aufnahme Koch EP by Syncboy.

                                                                                                                Syncboy

                                                                                                                Aufnahme Koch EP

                                                                                                                Lustpoderosa

                                                                                                                Syncboy is a beloved electronica-kraut-punk live act from Leipzig Germany. A beautiful dark shimmering and playful project, recorded at Zurichs infamous squat and released via the sublime Lustpoderosa. "Stolpern" unfurls a rich sonic pasture before our receptive ears, lush and detailed synthesis meeting a biotic mood and cerebral approach. It's both Balearic, electronic and almost psych-folk in equal measure - superb! "Green Market" begins its ascent in a swirl of synth fug; with leads jostling for position in the foreground. As the arps power up and the motion begins we climb a buzzing and taught sawtooth / drum pattern, dark and cinematic and meeting somewhere between Timothy Fairplay and John Carpenter. Flip for "Kiss An Elefant", which returns to the naive, blue-sky dreaminess of the opening track "Stolpern" but underpins it all with a slightly more menacing, minor key arp. Finally, "Waterfalls" returns to the dark side, with advanced synthesis ushering in a range of textures and moods while those vintage drum boxes still supply the forward momentum. As usual, a truly arresting and captivating listen from Lustpoderosa. Recommended.

                                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                Matt says: More electronically-guided weirdness from the exquisite Lustpoderosa this time touching upon cinematic synthscapes. Wonderful!

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                                                                                                                Cover of Long Trax 2 by Will Long.

                                                                                                                Will Long

                                                                                                                Long Trax 2

                                                                                                                Smalltown Supersound

                                                                                                                  As much as is said of our current times being new lows, where things have changed for the worse and we're unsure of the future, it's worth returning to study the past to understand how steadily low we remain. 

                                                                                                                  "Nothing's changed," says a younger Barack Obama in a sample for the opening track to Long Trax 2, the second album from Tokyo-based, American musician, writer, and photographer Will Long. The album is released as three separate 12” singles, and CD. 

                                                                                                                  Long Trax 2 follows Long’s deep house debut, Long Trax, released in 2016 on Comatonse Recordings. Receiving a 4.2 rating, Long Trax was praised by Resident Advisor and described as a “meditative listen.” 

                                                                                                                  Its follow-up, Long Trax 2, presents as an ongoing criticism of cultural stasis, conveyed via minimal synthesizers, sampler, and rhythm machine. Dance floors are widely perceived by the masses as safe zones, but few can imagine how to apply notions of safety and equality to other aspects of society. We shouldn't need clubs to hide from our fears and differences in the outside world. Looking ahead, we should look not so optimistically upon what we have accomplished, but with urgency and empathy upon what we haven't. 

                                                                                                                  Since 2005, Long has produced ambient music under the name Celer, and is a member of the pop music band Oh, Yoko with Miko. He curates and manages the label Two Acorns, and is also involved with the Normal Cookie and Bun Tapes labels.

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                                                                                                                  Cover of U.E.F by The Oscillation.

                                                                                                                  The Oscillation

                                                                                                                  U.E.F

                                                                                                                  Fuzz Club

                                                                                                                    The Oscillation is one of the many aliases of Demian Castellanos, an almost-mythical force in the London underground. Since 2006, under the guise of The Oscillation, Demian has released four LPs, countless EPs/singles and played with everyone from Silver Apples and Beak to Wooden Shjips and Deerhunter, all the while being emulated by the likes of The Guardian, Mojo, The Quietus, Vice, Q, Pitchfork and 6 Music. Following on from the disillusioned, cosmic psych-punk of 2016's 'Monographic' LP and the 2017 single ‘Evil In the Tree’, The Oscillation is gearing up for the release of his fifth album, U.E.F, on March 2nd via Fuzz Club Records.

                                                                                                                    The new album sees Demian completely subvert his sound once-again, adding a new evolution to his ever-evolving musical canon. Ditching any inkling of his ‘rock’ beginnings for a lysergic (but equally sinister) journey into post-apocalyptic electronics and sprawling drones – resulting in something that’s more likely to be bouncing around the walls of club nights than the back-room venue of grotty bars. U.E.F is comprised of two 20-minute slabs of unforgiving, dystopian electronica - complete with ambient electronics, droning analogue synths, monolithic percussion and a hypnotic kraut gusto. This is kosmische musik for the new age; a fitting soundtrack to the forthcoming techno-apocalypse, when artificial intelligence takes over and we're all subjected to the way of the machine. 

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                                                                                                                    Cover of Apocalypse! by Little Tornados.

                                                                                                                    Little Tornados

                                                                                                                    Apocalypse!

                                                                                                                    Rio Bogota

                                                                                                                    Little Tornados is the Swiss-based psychedelic country project of David Thayer, featuring Laetitia Sadier on vocals and bass, plus John Hendon (Tortoise) on drums. The second album, Apocalypse! uses instrumentation such as tube synthesizers, discarded home organs found on the streets and thrift stores of Switzerland. David has written and arranged on the last two Sadier albums, has worked on some of her videos and co-wrote the songs Dry Fruit and Quantum Soup.

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                                                                                                                    Cover of Nomads & Crooks by Carnival Club.

                                                                                                                    Carnival Club

                                                                                                                    Nomads & Crooks

                                                                                                                    Demolition Diner

                                                                                                                    Here comes the second full Carnival Club EP, 'Nomad and Crooks'. And what a beast it is, coming out with a killer roar. It's a step up, a leap forward on a recording level for the band from their mightily impressive, now end of year poll topping, 'Magdalena's Cape' EP released in 2017. That year ended with Carnival Club having supported The Courteeners' Liam Fray on his sell-out solo tour. The EP's opener, 'Sin City' is a time-travel elevator bringing out the ghosts of King David, solid gold easy action of Marc and supersonic black holes of Bellamy into a heart-felt digital pulse, all passion and purging of the poison.

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                                                                                                                    Cover of The Bedroom Tapes: A Compilation Of Minimal Wave From Around The World (1980-1991) by Various Artists.

                                                                                                                    Various Artists

                                                                                                                    The Bedroom Tapes: A Compilation Of Minimal Wave From Around The World (1980-1991)

                                                                                                                    Minimal Wave

                                                                                                                      A Compilation of Minimal Wave From Around The World (1980-1991), The Bedroom Tapes features rare, unreleased, and licensed tracks all the way from Belgium to Australia to Japan. The Bedroom Tapes excitedly marks Minimal Wave’s 66th release and is a follow up in the series to The Lost Tapes, The Found Tapes,The Hidden Tapes and of course The Minimal Wave Tapes. The twelve artists on this compilation mostly recorded their music onto 4-track tape in their bedroom studios.

                                                                                                                      The sounds on this record range from German new wave to experimental electronic, to early industrial body music from the Swedish countryside, to dreary melodic minimal synth. The theme is music recorded in the bedroom for listening in the bedroom. The Bedroom Tapes presents songs from Pink Elln, Karen Marks, Disque Omo, Vorgruppe, Iham/Echo, Perfect Mother, Arvid Tuba, Subject, Denial, Unovidual, Aural indifference, and Autumn all lovingly remastered. Limited edition of 999 numbered copies, pressed on 180 gram vinyl, and housed in heavy printed jacket accompanied by printed inner jacket with artists photos and info. Thank you to all the artists and friends for support in making this happen.

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                                                                                                                      Cover of Typical Girls Volume 3 by Various Artists.

                                                                                                                      Various Artists

                                                                                                                      Typical Girls Volume 3

                                                                                                                      Emotional Response

                                                                                                                        Emotional Response continue their quest to highlight the finest in current female fronted punk, post-punk, hardcore and indie. Following on from the two previous vibrant volumes of Typical Girls, Emotional Response was quickly presented with a wealth of staggeringly high quality material. Rather than sit on tracks, or exclude material that the world needed to hear, it was feverishly decided to release two new breath-taking volumes simultaneously 

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                                                                                                                        Cover of Typical Girls Volume 4 by Various Artists.

                                                                                                                        Various Artists

                                                                                                                        Typical Girls Volume 4

                                                                                                                        Emotional Response Records

                                                                                                                          Emotional Response continue their quest to highlight the finest in current female fronted punk, post-punk, hardcore and indie. Following on from the two previous vibrant volumes of Typical Girls, Emotional Response was quickly presented with a wealth of staggeringly high quality material. Rather than sit on tracks, or exclude material that the world needed to hear, it was feverishly decided to release two new breath-taking volumes simultaneously 

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                                                                                                                          Cover of Empty Words by Whyte Horses.

                                                                                                                          Whyte Horses

                                                                                                                          Empty Words

                                                                                                                          CRC Records

                                                                                                                          Shop favourites and all-round jangle-mongerers Whyte Horses finally release their (proper) follow-up to 2016's end of year LP, 'Pop Or Not'. We kick things off with the classic jangling stomp of 'Counting down The Years', breaking straight out of the starting gates with walking bass and stabbing guitars below the swirling psychedelic vocals and soaring dreamlike haze.  It seems as though the orchestral implimentation we saw in 'Pop Or Not' (and its excellent reinterpretation with St. Bart's Choir) has returned with aplomb, underpinning the whole structure of pieces like 'Never Took The Time', or the tender and stunning balladry of 'Watching T.V'.

                                                                                                                          Elsewhere, we get funked-up walking bass and swooning soulful vocals courtesy of La Roux on 'The Best of It', bringing forth the run of more heartfelt, ambient numbers including the rhodes-led instrumental bliss of 'The Return' and the tentative Losing My Religion-y plucks of 'Fear is Such A...'. Sandwiched comfortably inbetween these two beautiful evening chillout pieces is the spine-tinglingly optimistic encore anthem 'Nighmares Aren't Real', slowly building into a majestic and euphoric orchestral release. 

                                                                                                                          The Whyte Horses have confidently crafted a superb return, perfectly nuanced, brilliantly written and every bit the follow up to one of our favourite albums of all time. Impeccable. 





                                                                                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                          Andy says: They've done it again! Another classic pop gem with massive, heart-rending tunes, and an enchanted,starry-eyed 60's vibe. Perfect.

                                                                                                                          Barry says: An unsurprisingly excellent return for the great Whyte Horses. Lengthy progressive melodicism, hazy jangles and heartwarming vocals over huge orchestration and perfect songwriting. Amazing stuff.

                                                                                                                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                                          2xIndies Exclusive LP Info: Very limited deluxe edition featuring the gatefold album sleeve housed in a yellow envelope style slip case. Numbered edition of 500 copies.

                                                                                                                          2xLP Info: Standard gatefold sleeve edition.

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                                                                                                                          Cover of American Utopia by David Byrne.

                                                                                                                          David Byrne

                                                                                                                          American Utopia

                                                                                                                          Nonesuch

                                                                                                                          American Utopia fits hand-in-hand with Byrne’s vision for his series ‘Reasons To Be Cheerful’ - an ongoing series curated by Byrne of hopeful writings, photos, music, and lectures – named for the song by the late Ian Dury. Over the last year, Byrne has been collecting stories, news, ideas, and other items that all either embody or identify examples of things that inspire optimism, such as a tech breakthrough, a musical act, a new idea in urban planning or transportation – something seen, heard, or tasted. Just as the album questions the current state of society while offering solace through song, the content of the series recognizes the darkness and complexity of today while showcasing alternatives to the despair that threatens us. 

                                                                                                                          While David Byrne has collaborated on joint releases with Eno, Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim), and most recently St. Vincent over the past decade, American Utopia is Byrne’s first solo album since, 2004’s Grown Backwards, also on Nonesuch. American Utopia morphed during the writing and recording process, beginning with longtime collaborator Eno, and eventually growing to include collaboration with producer Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, King Krule, Sampha, Savages) alongside a diverse cast of creative contributors including Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never), Jam City, Thomas Bartlett (St. Vincent producer, aka Doveman), Jack Peñate, and others. The album was recorded in New York City at David’s home studio, Reservoir Studios, Oscilloscope, XL Studios, and Crowdspacer Studio and in London at Livingston Studio 1.

                                                                                                                          Speaking about the album, Byrne said:
                                                                                                                          Is this meant ironically? Is it a joke? Do I mean this seriously? In what way? Am I referring to the past or the future? Is it personal or political?

                                                                                                                          These songs don’t describe an imaginary or possibly impossible place but rather attempt to depict the world we live in now. Many of us, I suspect, are not satisfied with that world – the world we have made for ourselves. We look around and we ask ourselves – well, does it have to be like this? Is there another way? These songs are about that looking and that asking.

                                                                                                                          This album is indirectly about those aspirational impulses. Sometimes to describe is to reveal, to see other possibilities. To ask a question is to begin the process of looking for an answer. To be descriptive is also to be prescriptive, in a way. The act of asking is a big step. The songs are sincere – the title is not ironic. The title refers not to a specific utopia, but rather to our longing, frustration, aspirations, fears, and hopes regarding what could be possible, what else is possible. The description, the discontent and the desire – I have a feeling that is what these songs touch on.

                                                                                                                          I have no prescriptions or surefire answers, but I sense that I am not the only one looking and asking, wondering and still holding onto some tiny bit of hope, unwilling to succumb entirely to despair or cynicism.

                                                                                                                          It’s not easy, but music helps. Music is a kind of model – it often tells us or points us toward how we can be.

                                                                                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                          Barry says: From what I garner from reading Byrne's comments on his newest release, he is commenting (possibly) sarcastically on the duality of American life... or possibly he wasn't. What is less ambiguous is just listening to the album, taking in the excellently written songs and the latent, wry politicism peppered throughout. It's wonderful, that's all you need to know.

                                                                                                                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                                          Ltd LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                                                                                          Cover of Cocoa Sugar by Young Fathers.

                                                                                                                          Young Fathers

                                                                                                                          Cocoa Sugar

                                                                                                                          Ninja Tune

                                                                                                                          Cocoa Sugar, announced in November 2017 that Young Fathers had a brand new album and it has been highly anticipated since. The trio – Alloysious Massaquoi, Graham ‘G’ Hastings and Kayus Bankole – marked the news by previewing a brand-new song, ‘Lord’ and a subsequent accompanying video. Just like their previous standalone 2017 single ‘Only God Knows’ (written for the Trainspotting T2 film and described by director Danny Boyle as “the heartbeat of the film”), ‘Lord’ provided an enticing glimpse of what to expect from Young Fathers’ third full album; something typically unique and exhilarating, but leaner, more muscular and self-assured than ever before. Cocoa Sugar sees Young Fathers operating with a newfound clarity and direction, and is without doubt their most confident and complete statement to date.

                                                                                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                          Millie says: Long awaited but is now finally here, Cocoa Sugar is refreshingly original as their new sound is bold and irresistibly good.

                                                                                                                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                                          Coloured LP Info: Limited edition for indies - 180g single blue vinyl gloss laminate printed 3mm spine outer sleeve designed by Hingston Studio with photography by Julia Noni. Lyric printed inner sleeve. Comes with Download code.

                                                                                                                          CD Info: CD version housed in card wallet with a gloss laminate finish designed by Hingston Studio and photography by Julia Noni. Inner wallet also contains a lyric poster.

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                                                                                                                          Cover of Where Wildness Grows by Gengahr.

                                                                                                                          Gengahr

                                                                                                                          Where Wildness Grows

                                                                                                                          Transgressive

                                                                                                                          Gengahr present their highly-anticipated new album ‘Where Wildness Grows’, out on Transgressive Records.

                                                                                                                          Having released their much acclaimed debut ‘A Dream Outside’ in June 2015, the band spent a soul-searching two years writing and recording its follow up, a process which saw them reject multiple recordings and eventually return to the drawing board, re-group and head back to the studio with a clarity and conviction to deliver an album which sees them taking a bold and ambitious artistic stride.

                                                                                                                          The album was recorded in London during summer 2017 by acclaimed producer Neil Comber (Glass Animals, M.I.A, Songhoy Blues) and features guest vocals from Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice.

                                                                                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                          Barry says: Despite sounding like someone who's just been punched in the stomach whilst eating a burrito, Gengahr pull together an entirely melodic but ruthlessly dynamic suite of dreamlike panned melodies and the chugging undercurrent of a beautifully varied by undeniably solid backline. Brilliantly written and evocative dancefloor syndie (I just made that up, it's synthy indie, obviously).

                                                                                                                          FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                                          LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                                                                                          Cover of Violence by Editors.

                                                                                                                          Editors

                                                                                                                          Violence

                                                                                                                          PIAS

                                                                                                                            INITIAL COPIES COME WITH A FREE SIGNED ART PRINT.

                                                                                                                            Album VI from the British indie-rock 5-piece.



                                                                                                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                            Barry says: It's been a while hasn't it? Well, Editors are back with 'Violence', full of perfectly measured riffage, swooning synths and raw rock power. Massive, heavy and available to buy. What more could you want?

                                                                                                                            FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                                            Deluxe LP Info: Ltd edition deluxe LP is pressed on 180g red vinyl and contains a download code including two bonus tracks. The vinyl sits inside a triple gatefold sleeve, which also contains 12 inserts.

                                                                                                                            Deluxe CD Info: Ltd edition deluxe CD features two bonus tracks and is housed inside a rigid box, which also contains 2 fridge magnets, 12 inserts and a fold out poster.

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                                                                                                                            Cover of Memories by Ady Suleiman.

                                                                                                                            Ady Suleiman

                                                                                                                            Memories

                                                                                                                            Pemba

                                                                                                                            Ady Suleiman announces his long-awaited debut, ‘Memories’. An album which has taken Suliman a long time to process and create dealing with issues close to him. It is a bold collection of uninhibited songs about mental health, relationships and family. With a rich era-spanning appreciation of music and an innate need to turn life experiences into narrative, Ady Suleiman has developed a timelessly classic yet fresh sound that blends R&B, Soul, Pop, Hip Hop and more. ‘Memories’ features the singles ‘Need Somebody To Love’, ‘Loving Arms’ and ‘Not Giving Up’.

                                                                                                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                            Millie says: Refreshingly new, Ady Suleiman captures his thoughts and feelings in the album, Memories is an album which was very much needed this year.

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                                                                                                                            Cover of Cosmic Language by Nat Birchall.

                                                                                                                            Nat Birchall

                                                                                                                            Cosmic Language

                                                                                                                            Jazzman

                                                                                                                            Nat Birchall charts new paths toward spiritual communion, connecting jazz with classical Indian influences guided by the wistful flow of the harmonium.

                                                                                                                            Cosmic Language sees the UK-based saxophonist, composer and arranger return to Jazzman Records with a cross-cultural approach: an exploration of the parallel musical paths of jazz and Indian ragas. Here he takes influence from spiritual jazz forebears such as Alice Coltrane and Yusef Lateef and introduces the Indian harmonium to his band, where it takes the place of the piano. Making new connections to realise his transcendental ambitions, it's a logical next step in making music as spiritual cleanser.

                                                                                                                            The idea for the album was spawned from a one-off performance at a meditation centre, the Maharishi Golden Dome in West Lancashire. Seeking to bring a band set-up that was fitting to the quiet-minded setting, Birchall brought the harmonium with him. A small pump organ, it's an instrument he'd been in possession of for many years but hadn't previously used in his music. Building on the spiritual context of that show, and the associations of that instrument, it led naturally to the musical approach undertaken on the album.

                                                                                                                            Both the album and the show which preceded it were recorded with the same tight-knit group of players which have featured on Birchall's previous albums. All members of the group are part of the same like minded circle of Manchester-oriented jazz musicians, sharing stages and acquaintances with the likes of Matthew Halsall (a longtime collaborator with Birchall) and GoGo Penguin.

                                                                                                                            Birchall has always channeled wide-ranging ideas into music that's simple to understand, and this album is no exception. Album opener 'Man From Varanasi' is an ode to Bismillah Khan, one of Birchall's heroes of Indian music who hailed from the northern Indian city named in the title. It also sees him taking cues from the Indian raga tradition which, as with most other traditional Indian music, is a foundation which underpinned Khan's music.

                                                                                                                            Crucially, the ragas tap into the idea of of music as a means of spiritual release. As Birchall explains, "The whole act of making music is a spiritual experience. It's during performance and when playing music that I look for a kind of truth. It's with music where I find myself feel closest to attaining that 'enlightened' kind of feeling." "On rare occasions I've actually felt as though I was listening to the music being played rather than being involved in making it, almost like an out-of-body experience."

                                                                                                                            This natural feeling comes from Birchall's attitude toward jazz music. He sees it as an essential part of day-to-day life: instead of brightly-lit, occasional entertainment in lugubrious concert halls, he considers it an everyday, vital source of inspiration. At a moment where jazz-influenced music is undergoing creative renewal and wider appreciation, it's an important perspective that's found resonance elsewhere. His experiences and the world around him are filtered through his music, and he looks to have his music – be it live or on record – absorbed in the same quotidian way. "To me, it's an integral part of society, an everyday thing," he says. "You should hear the music every day."


                                                                                                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                            Millie says: Cosmic Language is a beautiful Jazz concept album, Birchall emphasises the important of filling our lives with music, and of course – lovely jazz music! If you are a fan of the Gondwana label, you should give this a try!

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                                                                                                                            Cover of Polygondwanaland - Heavenly Edition by King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard.

                                                                                                                            King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard

                                                                                                                            Polygondwanaland - Heavenly Edition

                                                                                                                            Heavenly Recordings

                                                                                                                              With an insanely prolific year, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard return with their twelfth album, Polygondwanaland to journey into the depths of the mind and the limits of the universe. The Australian 7-piece have made a name for themselves with a steady stream of new material since their inception 2010, blending everything surf rock, prog, soul, folk, metal, garage rock, and even elements of spoken word and cinematic presentation, creating a large buzz and rabid fanbase stretching far across the globe from their Melbourne roots. this album is full of the psychedelic rock outfit's jazz and groove laden jams.

                                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                              Barry says: For all of you who missed out on the Piccadilly Records exclusive beer splattered vinyl version of this, their TWELFTH LP, then here it is brought to you by the wonderful Heavenly records on CD and standard LP. If you haven't heard it yet, then get on it, or they'll have another one out before you get chance.

                                                                                                                              FORMAT INFORMATION

                                                                                                                              Ltd LP Info: 180 gram black vinyl.

                                                                                                                              Ltd LP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                                                                                                                              Cover of Both Sides Of The Sky by Jimi Hendrix.

                                                                                                                              Jimi Hendrix

                                                                                                                              Both Sides Of The Sky

                                                                                                                              Legacy

                                                                                                                                Legacy Recordings present this dynamic new album of 13 previously unreleased studio recordings, made between Jan '68 & Feb '70. Notable collaborators include Stephen Stills & more...

                                                                                                                                This is the third & final volume in a trilogy of previously unissued material (following "Valleys of Neptune" & "People, Hell & Angels").

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                                                                                                                                Cover of Constant Unfailing Night by Elle Mary & The Bad Men.

                                                                                                                                Elle Mary & The Bad Men

                                                                                                                                Constant Unfailing Night

                                                                                                                                Sideways Saloon

                                                                                                                                  Led by Elle’s guitar playing and beautiful, nuanced voice, ‘Constant Unfailing Night’ peels away layer after layer of expectation. Rhythmically challenging and yet unassuming, it leads you down a rabbit hole of emotions, sonics and stories, reminiscent of bands from Smog to Sharon Van Etten.

                                                                                                                                  Though firmly grounded in folk-noir, the album carefully carves out its own space. From “Falling”, a song that seemingly gets more complicated after each listen, to the crescendo at the centre of “Behave”, where the vocals open the door from folk to anger, Elle Mary & the Bad Men have crafted a journey. Elle Mary explains: “This album has been written over the course of three years, a project started in response to a break up, a shift, a necessity to carry on. As I wrote and filtered out songs, the focus started to change and became about tapping into some part of the subconscious, looking for the part of me that knows better, but that I seem to ignore. The Bad Men, Michael Dubec and Pete Sitch, have joined me on this journey and probably know me too well as a result of it. The weight they add to the songs is incredible and I really couldn’t ask for a better band.

                                                                                                                                  “Space and a minimal approach has always been the most important part of the music to me; to do more with less. It’s this that draws me in the most about the artists I love (Low, Julie Doiron, Bill Callahan etc.). The space allows my voice to sit on top and the words seep in. I don’t really enjoy telling people what the lyrics mean; I prefer them to interpret for themselves: that perspective interests me; I like the freedom of taking what you want from a song.”

                                                                                                                                  For fans of: Jenny Hval, Sharon Van Etten, Low

                                                                                                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                  Barry says: Beautiful tender string plucks and Elle Mary's haunting vocals soaring over the top, Constant Unfailing Night is another winner from Manchester's own Sideways Saloon.

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                                                                                                                                  Cover of Night Of Cheetah by Mystic Jungle.

                                                                                                                                  Mystic Jungle

                                                                                                                                  Night Of Cheetah

                                                                                                                                  Periodica

                                                                                                                                  After the loose and languid dub funk of Space Garage started our year off with a bang, Periodica return with more riches here, this time courtesy of Mystic Jungle. After an obligatory Italian library synth intro, the LP kicks into cruising tempo with the space-age synth funk of "Night Of Cheetah". Rich with synth noodles, space echo and linn drums, this up tempo stomper soon gives way to the mid tempo stake-out sleaze of "Mumbo Jumbo" and the slow jamming vibraphone of "Blue Marlin Club". "El Sueño De La Culebra" brings the batshit with its strange industrial rhythms and minimalist melody, setting the scene perfectly for the Sexual Harassment electro stylings of "Creepy Movements". Another interlude and we're back in business, strutting our stuff to the uptempo disco squelch of "Psychic Voodoo" before spacing out completely with dream-dance winner "That Black Magic". We're up again for the sci-fi snap of "Glitter Games" before the gorgeous melodies and dubby fx of "Endless Road" see us home in Paradise Garage stylee.

                                                                                                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                  Patrick says: Everything I hear from Periodica / Early Sounds / Mystic Jungle is absolutely slaying it at the moment, and this is every bit as good as the rest of it. Pulling in bits from boogie, electro-funk and space disco and wigging them well-out there, this is gonna spin any dance floor out.

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