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FIRE RECORDS

The Groundhogs

Hogwash - Reissue

    Packaged in tri-fold sleeve that replicates the original 1971 release and featuring an extra disc of live BBC recordings from the same era. 50-year anniversary vinyl release of the original power trio’s second incarnation, now expanded with BBC In Concert versions of the album’s key tracks. An epic milestone and key prog rock definer, fusing their blues rock roots and their finely honed electric sound of the early ‘70s. This limited release replicated the original 1971 packaging, with a tri-fold sleeve, an absolute essential for fans of this seminal act

    TRACK LISTING

    1 I Love Miss Ogyny
    2 You Had A Lesson
    3 The Ringmaster
    4 3744 James Road
    5 Sad Is The Hunter
    6 S'one Song
    7 Earth Shanty
    8 Mr. Hooker Sir John
    9 Sad Is The Hunter (BBC In Concert, 7th December 1972)
    10 I Love Miss Ogyny (BBC In Concert, 7th December 1972)
    11 You Had A Lesson (BBC In Concert, 7th December 1972)
    12 Earth Shanty (BBC In Concert, 7th December 1972)
    13 3744 James Road (BBC In Concert, 7th December 1972)

    Jane Weaver

    Sunset Dreams EP

      A brand new six-track EP elevating the acclaimed Jane Weaver album, ‘Flock’, to a new esoteric panorama of pop. ‘Sunset Dreams’ features two unreleased tracks from the ‘Flock’ sessions and remixes from W.H. Lung and See Thru Hands.

      “Having earned a cult audience for her psychedelia, Weaver makes her version of a pop record, where Kylie-level hooks are set against hallucinatory backings.” - The Guardian.

      Featuring the stand-out ‘Sunset Dreams’ in its original breath-taking form. Plus an extended remix of ‘Solarised’, along with northern combo W.H. Lung’s remix of the track.

      “Ominous and luminous, expansively spacious and sonically imploding, scientific, ephemeral and eternal.” - The Quietus.

      Furthering the eclectic electronic vibe, there’s also a See Thru Hands mix of ‘The Revolution Of Super Visions’ and two new tracks; ‘The Lexical Distance’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me I’m Wrong’, all capturing the pop vision of this ever-morphing electronic pioneer.

      “The high priestess of eccentric exploration Jane Weaver goes pop with superlative results.” - The Line Of Best Fit.

      The ‘Sunset Dreams’ EP continues the journey.

      TRACK LISTING

      Side A
      A1. Sunset Dreams
      A2. Solarised (Extended Rework)
      A3. The Lexical Distance
      Side B
      B1. The Revolution Of Supervisions (See Thru Hands Remix)
      B2. Solarised (W.H Lung Remix)
      B3. Don't Tell Me I'm Wrong

      The Dream Syndicate

      Ultraviolet Battle Hymns And True Confessions

        The brand-new album from The Dream Syndicate blends vintage Krautrock, Eno-like ambience, Neu-inspired rhythmic groove and a Californian sun baked sheen into the their classic psychedelic, melodic, hue.

        The Dream Syndicate have moved well past their early Velvet Underground influences and taken on British glam, German prog, and more Featuring singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve Wynn, drummer Dennis Duck, bassist Mark Walton, lead guitarist Jason Victor plus their newest member Chris Cacavas on keyboards, plus guest appearances from Stephen McCarthy (of The Long Ryders) and Marcus Tenney's expressive sax and trumpet work.

        “Clever, ambitious, and blessedly noisy.” - AllMusic.

        “Atmospheric rock music veering between noise and subtlety compelling.” - Pitchfork.

        TRACK LISTING

        A1. Where I’ll Stand
        A2. Damian
        A3. Beyond Control
        A4. He Chronicles Of You
        A5. Hard To Say Goodbye
        B1. Every Time You Come Around
        B2. Trying To Get Over
        B3. Lesson Number One
        B4. My Lazy Mind
        B5. Straight Lines

        The Garbage & The Flowers

        Cinnamon Sea

          ‘Cinnamon Sea’ is the perfect introduction to one of the most mysterious, ever-morphing underground bands from New Zealand. The Garbage and the Flowers make their long awaited return with another psychedelic masterpiece from the band that gave us 1997's cult dreampop gem 'Eyes Rind As If Beggars'. A hybrid fusion of the Velvets, Elephant 6 and any God-fearing stoned strummers you can think of, with a nod to Charlie Manson’s bedside balladry to boot.

          On their return, the band hone their songcraft with tracks like ‘Eye Know Who You Are’, a tantalising piece of Mazzy Star on steroids, a spiralling sonic rumble, that reaches a miasmic high on every hummed chorus. It opens the Pandora’s box of this release, a sleight of ear collection of five songs from this cosmology-observing Australia-based outfit. Tracks like ‘Red Star’ exist in a land where sound levels are destroyed by savage birds. ‘On The Radio’ trips into an untuned lagoon. There’s a quasi-religious zeal to proceedings, a nod to Sterling Morrison’s Velvet strum elsewhere, everything that would have been key to the Elephant 6 conglomerate not so long ago, maybe, if you can even imagine, My Bloody Valentine unplugged.

          ‘Cinnamon Sea’ was recorded in an abandoned courthouse in Freyerstown, a ghostly village in Victoria’s Goldfields in Southeast Australia, where you’re more likely to meet giant grey kangaroos bounding on its dusty main street than tottering prospectors these days. It unravels with claustrophobic glee as we traverse the structured climes of exemplary songwriting seasoned with the salt of improvisation. This from a band who previously released an album famously dubbed ‘Stoned Rehearsal’. It closes with the track ‘Jacob B’, a melancholy tale that’s a hybrid of Manson’s troubled tunes and the psychedelic folk songs of Quicksilver’s Dino Valente.

          File under: outsider music for insiders.

          TRACK LISTING

          Side A
          Eye Know Who You Are
          Cinnamon Sea
          Red Star
          Side B
          On The Radio
          Jacob B

          Hater

          Sincere

            A reawakening for the Swedish visionaries, Sincere solidifies their impressive trajectory in a fuzzed out haze of dark and arresting shoegaze pop. An expansive trip through noisier, bittersweet pop realms that recalls My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Deerhunter.

            Underpinning everything there’s a continuing sense of drama throughout; richly textured crescendos, chiming guitars and delicate melodies are guided by Caroline Landahl’s tender yet sharpened vocals. Sincere is joyously effervescent, but with a dark underbelly where fury manifests in a swirl of entrancing and propulsive percussion.

            A gorgeous and dazzling piece of aching romanticism, destined to feature on a thousand mixtapes.

            Recorded last year in Malmö, Hater welcomed two new band members and those early day sparks saw them quickly turning demos into fully-formed new songs that appear on the record. Sincere was produced by long-time collaborator Joakim Lindberg and was mixed and mastered by John Cornfield, whose credits include Ride, The Stone Roses and Robert Plant.

            TRACK LISTING

            Side A
            A1 Something
            A2 I'm Yours Baby
            A3 Bad Luck
            A4 Proven Wrong
            Side B
            B1 Brave Blood
            B2 Far From A Mind
            B3 Summer Turns To Heartburn
            B4 Renew, Reject
            B5 Hopes High

            50 Foot Wave

            Power + Light (RSD22 EDITION)

              THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2022 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

              1000 pressed. A much sought-after Kristin Hersh side project. Black Vinyl LP. Back on vinyl for this bracing, ever twitching opus made of seven fluid pieces that fold into one continuous mantra. An essential release from the Throwing Musesí offshoot helmed by Kristin Hersh and Bernard Georges, with Chalk Farmís Rob Ahlers on drums.

              "Menacing, stalking, spirals of lean, hungry riffs." Drowned In Sound 9/10. 



              TRACK LISTING

              1 Medicine Rush
              2 Honeysuckle
              3 Power+Light
              4 Skeleton Key
              5 Broke
              6 Wax, 7 Sun Dog Coma

              50 Foot Wave

              Bath White (RSD22 EDITION)

                THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2022 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                1000 pressed. Rare EP from this much sought-after Kristin Hersh side project. Black Vinyl LP. Back on vinyl for this Kristin Hersh fronted project, a super rare 2016 EP of enchanting and exhilarating sounds that shift from dreamy and emotional melancholy to jagged and almost Neu!-like rhythms that evolve behind her pointed prose and astute one-liners. A rush to the head thatís caustic yet comforting. 

                TRACK LISTING

                1 Bath White
                2 God's Not A Dick
                3 Human
                4 Ratted Out
                5 St.Christopher
                6 Sun Salute

                50 Foot Wave

                Black Pearl

                  ‘Black Pearl’ is the brand new album from 50 Foot Wave: Kristin Hersh’s ‘other’ band - active since 2003, with fellow Throwing Muses’ member Bernard Georges on bass and drummer Rob Ahlers. A sonic trip from the heavy, echoey riff of ‘Staring Into The Sun’ with all of its grunge melancholy and dronecore menace to the perfectly baroque ‘Hog Child’ with its spidery guitar that dissolves into motorik bass and drums.

                  Hailed in various quarters as “an outlet for the material deemed too weird or wild for Throwing Muses”, their “menacing, stalking, spirals of lean, hungry riffs, set alight” as “feedback rips into the fragile melody.”

                  50 Foot Wave continue to traverse the rigid tension of their own sound. They remain detuned and discordant at will.

                  STAFF COMMENTS

                  Barry says: It's been quite the week for heavy new music, with Kristin Hersch's band putting out this absolutely stunning mix of grooving post-rock and angular hardcore on the ever reliable Fire records. Roaringly heavy but imbued with myriad moments of paddling, Isis-like downtuned post-metal business. Really, very good indeed.

                  TRACK LISTING

                  Side A
                  A1 Staring Into The Sun
                  A2 Hog Child
                  A3 Fly Down South
                  A4 Black Pearl
                  Side B
                  B1 Broken Sugar
                  B2 Blush
                  B3 Double Barrel

                  Pere Ubu

                  Nuke The Whales 2006-2014

                    Rewriting the history of music, Pere Ubu continue to confound convention and shift personnel. The next box set in Fire Records’ reissue series, ‘Nuke The Whales’ houses 4 LPs originally released between 2006 and 2014 –
                    'Why I LUV Women’, 'Carnival Of Souls’, ‘Lady Of Shanghai’ and Long Live Pere Ubu!’

                    ‘Nuke The Whales,’ is a nod of respect to a couple in Cleveland who would daub such messages over the big news stations’ advertising boards. “Very few bands display such dedication to constant self-reinvention as Pere Ubu” The Quietus.

                    All four albums have been remixed and remastered by original Pere Ubu member David Thomas. ‘Why I LUV Women’, originally released on Glitterhouse in 2006, gains its first vinyl release. "Spews 11 tunes of arcane lyrics and dense music” shrieked The Cleveland Gazaette.

                    It’s joined by ‘Long Live Pere Ubu’ a soundtrack to a musical adaptation of the play. “Skronking, squalling rhythms and melodic snippets undulating round a pulsating soundscape." Record Collector

                    And ‘Lady From Shanghai’, their Fire debut for Fire in 2013. Originally released on the 35th anniversary of the group's debut, ‘The Modern Dance’, a latter day re-evaluation of the unprompted dance genre.

                    And its follow up ‘Carnival Of Souls’, a haunting “underscore’ to a tale of alienation, it “combines metallic percussion, spare guitars and David Thomas' muttered vocals into something rustic and rickety, yet threatening at a moment's notice.” AllMusic.

                    TRACK LISTING

                    Disc 1 - Why I LUV Women
                    A1 Two Girls (One Bar)
                    A2 Babylonian Warehouses
                    A3 Blue Velvet
                    A4 Caroleen
                    A5 Flames Over Nebraska
                    B1 Love Song
                    B2 Stolen Cadillac
                    B3 Mona
                    B4 Synth Farm
                    B5 Texas Overture

                    Disc 2 - Lady From Shanghai
                    C1 Thanks
                    C2 Free White
                    C3 Feuksly Ma'am, The Hearing
                    C4 Mandy
                    C5 Musicians Are Scum
                    C6 Another One
                    D1 And Then Nothing Happened
                    D2 Road Trip Of Bipasha Ahmed
                    D3 Lampshade Man
                    D4 414 Seconds
                    D5 The Carpenter Sun

                    Disc 3 - Carnival Of Souls
                    E1 Golden Surf II
                    E2 Drag The River
                    E3 Irene
                    E4 Road To Utah
                    E5 Throb Array
                    F1 Visions Of The Moon
                    F2 Dr Faustus
                    F3 Bus Station
                    F4 Carnival
                    F5 Moonstruck

                    Disc 4 - Long Live Pere Ubu!
                    G1 Ubu Overture
                    G2 Song Of The Grocery Police
                    G3 Banquet Of The Butchers
                    G4 Tear Your Eyes Out
                    G5 March Of Greed
                    G6 Big Sombrero
                    G7 Bring Me The Head
                    G8 Alienating The Audience
                    H1 Road To Reason
                    H2 Slowly I Turn
                    H3 Watching The Pigeons
                    H4 The Story So Far
                    H5 Snowy Livonia, Pt 1
                    H6 Elsinore & Beyond

                    Pictish Trail

                    Island Family

                      Island Family is the fifth album from Isle-of-Eigg dwelling electro-acoustic psych-pop wonder Pictish Trail, AKA Johnny Lynch. A strange, unpredictable, sardonic and yet deeply personal record inspired by all from Fever Ray to The Flaming Lips, Liars, Mercury Rev and Beck, Island Family is Pictish Trail’s contrarian view of arcadia; a search for the euphoric in the bucolic, bound up in sometimes conflicting ideas and feelings around nature and environment, sincerity and artifice, escapism and belonging. It’s an album about how no man can remain an island, however hard he might try.

                      Released by Fire Records, with support from Johnny’s own label Lost Map, and produced by long-term collaborator Rob Jones (The Voluntary Butler Scheme, The Gene Dudley Group), ‘Island Family’ opens with its title track, a song of death, ghosts and the ties that bind, fusing abrasive electronic beats with a tongue-in-cheek fireside folk refrain and the haunted ice cream van melody of a digitally reincarnated traditional Scottish jig. A purgative surrender to nature’s whim driven by a clattering machine drumbeat rolled in a puddle of filthy dirty fuzz, ‘Natural Successor’ is five-and-a-half-minutes of cathartic churning bass.

                      ‘In The Land of The Dead’ is an eight-bit glitch-core reflection on island party excesses spasming into existential dread and regret, suitably accompanied by a funereal mariachi band. It’s followed by the epic ‘It Came Back’, the understated verses and arms-aloft falsetto chorus of which are accompanied by a tense, foreboding bass-driven electro hip hop instrumental with (spoiler) a brain-shattering industrial-metal meltdown. ’Melody Something’ is the album’s purest moment, a cautiously uplifting solar-powered-ballad about losing track of time in the cycle of the seasons, and the gap between memory and reality. Shapeshifting closer ‘Remote Control’ is a channel hopping cabin-fever-dream flipping from warped boyband ballad to deep-fried fuzz pop.

                      STAFF COMMENTS

                      Barry says: The latest outing in the Pictish Trail odyssey takes the blippy, 8-bit sounds of 202's 'Thumb World' and winds them around a core of wicker-folk psychedlia and oddball glitched electronics for stalwart label, Fire Records. It's both wonderfully odd and stunningly melodic in parts, but beautifully balanced with just the right amount of syncopated oddity and swimming lysergic folk.

                      TRACK LISTING

                      Side A
                      A1 Island Family
                      A2 Natural Successor
                      A3 The River It Runs Inside Of Me
                      A4 In The Land Of The Dead
                      A5 It Came Back
                      Side B
                      B1 Thistle
                      B2 Melody Something
                      B3 Nuclear Sunflower Swamp
                      B4 Green Mountain
                      B5 Remote Control

                      The Nightingales

                      King Rocker (Soundtrack)

                        Comedian Stewart Lee and director Michael Cumming (Brass Eye, Toast Of London) investigate a missing piece of punk history. Robert Lloyd, best known for fronting cult Birmingham bands The Prefects and The Nightingales, has survived under the radar for over four decades. But how, if at all, does Robert want to be remembered? The anti-rockumentary ‘King Rocker’ weaves the story of Birmingham’s undervalued underdog autodidact into that of the city’s forgotten public sculpture of King Kong, eschewing the celebrity interview and archive-raid approach for a free-associating bricolage of Indian food, bewildered chefs, vegetable gardening, prescription medicines, pop stardom and pop art. All of the highlights from the film are here, along with rarities which won’t appear on any of the deluxe reissues of the Nightingales’ catalogue, among them 7″ versions of “Use Your Loaf”, the Bob Luman hit “Let’s Think About Living” and “Black Country”, a glam remix of crowd favourite “Thick And Thin” and a version of Christy & Emily’s “Ghost” which rivals the Nightingales’ take on TLC’s “Unpretty” for sheer beauty. The only act with roots in the punk era that have gone on to make records more captivating, cutting and entertaining today than at any point in their past; 2022 will be a busy year for the Nightingales, with months of live dates planned, a limited edition remix 12″, deluxe reissues of both ‘Hysterics’ and ‘In The Good Old Country Way’, and a hardcover book collecting Robert’s lyrics.

                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Barry says: A selection of brilliant Nightingales rarities and pieces from the film of the same name, written about Robert Lloyd of The Nightingales and The Prefects. A wonderful audio document in it's own right, and a perfect companion to a very funny film.

                        TRACK LISTING

                        A1 Use Your Loaf (7” Version)
                        A2 Surplus And Scarcity (Live)
                        A3 What A Carry On
                        A4 Let's Think About Living (7” Version)
                        A5 Black Country (7” Version)
                        A6 Ghost
                        B1 Born Again In Birmingham
                        B2 Overreactor
                        B3 Thick And Thin (Glam Version)
                        B4 Chaff
                        B5 The Desperate Quartet
                        B6 Gales Doc

                        The Lemonheads

                        It’s A Shame About Ray - 30th Anniversary Edition

                          Lemonheads’ seminal album ‘It’s A Shame About Ray’, lovingly reissued for it’s 30th Anniversary. The long overdue reissue includes a slew of extra material, including an unreleased ‘My Drug Buddy’ KCRW session track from 1992 featuring Juliana Hatfield, B-sides from singles ‘It’s A Shame About Ray’ and ‘Confetti’, a track from the ‘Mrs. Robinson/Being Round’ EP, alongside demos that are released for the first time on vinyl. 

                          Described by music journalist and author Everett True as “A 30-minute insight into what it’s like to live hard and fast and loose and happy with like-minded buddies, fuelled by a shared love for similar bands and drugs and booze and freedom.”. ‘It's A Shame About Ray’ had a considerable impact back in those heady, carefree days of '92, the record perfectly captures Dando’s ability to effortlessly encapsulate teenage longing and lust over the course of a two-minute pop song.

                          Singles such as 'My Drug Buddy' and the breezy perfect pop of the title track might stand out (plus the add-on of 'Mrs. Robinson' which later copies included), but the album's real strength lies in the tracks in-between; the truly fantastic 'Confetti' (written about Evan's parents' divorce), and the eye-wateringly casual acoustic cover of 'Frank Mills' (from the "hippie" musical Hair), a version that seems to resonate with every ounce of pathos and emotion felt for the lost 1960s generation. To hear Evan Dando sing lines like 'I love him/but it embarrasses me/To walk down the street with him/He lives in Brooklyn somewhere/And he wears his white crash helmet' is to truly appreciate how wonderful and tantalising pop music can be. Then, there's the rush of insurgency and brattishness on the wonderfully truncated 'Bit Part'; the topsy-turvy 'Ceiling Fan In My Spoon'... this was male teenage skinny-tie pop music on a level of brilliance with The Kinks, early Undertones, Wipers.

                          TRACK LISTING

                          It's A Shame About Ray
                          1 Rockin' Stroll
                          2 Confetti
                          3 It's A Shame About Ray
                          4 Rudderless
                          5 My Drug Buddy
                          6 The Turnpike Down
                          7 Bit Part
                          8 Alison's Starting To Happen
                          9 Hannah & Gabi
                          10 Kitchen
                          11 Ceiling Fan In My Spoon
                          12 Frank Mills

                          Essential Extras
                          1 Mrs Robinson
                          2 Shakey Ground
                          3 My Drug Buddy (KCRW Session, 1992)
                          4 Knowing Me, Knowing You (Acoustic)
                          5 Confetti (Acoustic)
                          6 Alison's Starting To Happen (Acoustic)
                          7 Divan

                          Demo Recordings
                          1 It's A Shame About Ray (Demo)
                          2 Rockin' Stroll (Demo)
                          3 My Drug Buddy (Demo)
                          4 Hannah & Gabi (Demo)
                          5 Kitchen (Demo)
                          6 Bit Part (Demo)
                          7 Rudderless (Demo)
                          8 Ceiling Fan In My Spoon (Demo)
                          9 Confetti (Demo)

                          Stealing Sheep And The Radiophonic Workshop

                          La Planète Sauvage

                            René Laloux’s celebrated 1973 sci-fi animation ‘La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet)’, is overhauled with a re-imagined soundtrack by electronic modernists Stealing Sheep and legendary sound innovators The Radiophonic Workshop. This exclusive release is part of Fire Records’ re-imagined score series, and is released on Delia Derbyshire Day 2021.

                            It’s a real pre-Avatar conundrum that Stealing Sheep, with the help of Bob Earland, Dick Mills and Roger Limb from the Radiophonic Workshop, unravel. Creating an ethereal excursion that’s narrated by Roger Limb; like a futuristic Martin Denny, or Dr Who gone ambient techno, with a hint of Forbidden Planet 50 years on. It’s an analogue swirl set in an off-world paradise; a field recording from the future. This is a creative, generation-spanning, union brought together to score this unique cult film.

                            A must for fans of psyche electronica and Stealing Sheep’s formidable ‘Big Wows’ album.

                            ‘La Planète Sauvage’ is a thing of ambient beauty punctuated with electronic earworms that switches from intensely ominous to otherworldly dream like moments.

                            “No institution has had a greater impact on the development of electronic music than the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.” The Vinyl Factory

                            “Stealing Sheep devour a broad range of styles, incorporating everything from the dark dance-pop of Grace Jones to the experimentations of Radiophonic Workshop pioneer Delia Derbyshire and John Carpenter soundtracks.” The Guardian.


                            TRACK LISTING

                            Side A
                            A1 Opening Credits
                            A2 The Chase
                            A3 Saved/Captured
                            A4 The Bracelet
                            A5 Council Of Draags Pt.I
                            A6 Terr & Tiwa
                            A7 The Knowledge Pt.I
                            Side B
                            B1 The Fight
                            B2 The Knowledge Pt. II
                            B3 The Initiation
                            B4 Escape
                            B5 The Big Tree
                            B6 The Ritual
                            B7 The Duel
                            Side C
                            C1 Theft/Zarek
                            C2 The Bird
                            C3 The Free Oms
                            C4 The Purge
                            C5 The Journey To Ygam
                            Side D
                            D1 The City Of Free Oms
                            D2 Robot Attack
                            D3 The Fantastic Planet
                            D4 The Final Battle
                            D5 Terr C6 Council Of Draags Pt.II
                            D6 End Credits

                            Modern Studies

                            We Are There

                              Through the hazy daze of a smoky folk opus, Modern Studies craft rich soundtracks, stuttering Super-8 sketches from a washed-out world of melancholy, hand-tinted and tantalising. Lullaby couplets blossom into gorgeous chamber pop melodies, the drama unfolding behind Emily Scott’s plaintive vocal; part Julie London, part Sandy Denny, a little bit Kate Bush, with a hushed sigh of Joni.

                              Sweeping strings carry them into unchartered terrain on their new album ‘We Are Here’, flying high above their psych-folk roots, it’s an epic journey that’s exquisitely delivered, transcending categories, nodding to Brubeck, Low, Talk Talk, Jim O’Rourke and Pentangle, making music that is ready to cross over in these modern times with songs of substance.

                              TRACK LISTING

                              Side A
                              A1 Sink Into
                              A2 Light A Fire
                              A3 Comfort Me
                              A4 Two Swimmers
                              A5 Wild Ocean
                              Side B
                              B1 Open Face
                              B2 Won't Be Long
                              B3 Mothlight
                              B4 Do You Wanna
                              B5 Winter Springs

                              Josephine Foster

                              Godmother

                                A beautifully observed baroque masterpiece, part dream pop, part futuristic psych-folk with ambient synths and Josephine Foster’s plaintive guitar. Godmother is a slowly unfolding song cycle that marries a myriad of previous musical escapades with electronic experiments.

                                Exploring new horizons on this record, it sees Foster at her most expressive and hypnotic. Now back home in the mountains of Colorado, Josephine’s 20-year journey to this new nirvana becomes enthralled further with a symphony of synths that sound like they are played in some neighbouring netherworld, through cotton gauze. It’s music that’s devotional, spiritual, a fitting soundtrack for any journey within or without, a means to experience places and vibrations beyond the boundary of time and space.

                                Discussing the record, Josephine explains “You may notice me travelling a bit further sonically from our precious earth, aspiring to rise into broader astral perspective, to contemplate the light and origins of it all, as I do believe there is a grand source that is the sum of it all, us all. Performing all the parts on this recording, you may sense me focussing gestures of my singing into the instrumentation, which is a very great relief indeed, as the voice has such grand dreams to be set free.”

                                TRACK LISTING

                                1. Hum Menina
                                2. Sparks Fly
                                3. Guardian Angel
                                4. Old Teardrop
                                5. Flask Of Wine
                                6. Gold Entwine
                                7. Dali Rama
                                8. Nun Of The Above
                                9. The Sum Of Us All

                                Lucy Gooch

                                Rushing EP (Expanded Edition)

                                  Following Lucy Gooch’s acclaimed ‘Rain’s Break’, her first release on Fire Records earlier this year, the artist’s acclaimed debut EP ‘Rushing’ is revisited with new artwork and a brand new track, ‘Orthione’.

                                  “Lucy’s sound marries the etheral qualities of ambient music with buoyant, effortless pop” Crack

                                  ‘Rushing’ in its original shorter five-track incarnation was heralded as a touchstone beneath the cascading torrent of modern times and an oasis for turbulent times. An intimate collection of songs built around Lucy’s emotive vocals and unique ambient dream pop, the newly added stand-out track ‘Orthione’ trips into the esoteric world of Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass; here her voice is the grounding force that travels to a space that heals and grows.

                                  TRACK LISTING

                                  Side A
                                  1. My Lights Kiss Your Thoughts Every Moment
                                  2. Rushing
                                  3. Stalagmites & Helicitites

                                  Side B
                                  4. Sun
                                  5. There Is A Space In Between
                                  6. Orthione

                                  The Dream Syndicate

                                  What Can I Say? No Regrets... Out Of The Grey + Live, Demos & Outtakes

                                    The Dream Syndicate’s 1986 album is back on CD for the first time in 24 years. Hidden inside of ‘Out of the Grey’ are some of Steve Wynn’s strongest songs - “Slide Away” is delightful pop, “Now I Ride Alone” is moody and intense “like the hardboiled typewriting of novelists Jim Thompson, Ross MacDonald, and James Cain” that Wynn dug back in July ‘85. The epic “Boston” imagines the era in which Van Morrison was holed-up in that city circa 1967-68 writing the songs that comprised Astral Weeks while “50 in a 25 Zone” is a vehicle for a band-driven, slow burn groove.

                                    Deliciously remastered with new liner notes from the band’s historian Pat Thomas, the package compiles 51 songs spread across 3 CDs, including a previously unreleased live album (from July 1985) and many unreleased demos and out-takes. The deluxe reissue also features interviews with Steve Wynn, Mark Walton, Paul Cutler, and Dennis Duck - plus plenty of rare photos.

                                    Discs 2 and 3 reveal a wealth of unreleased material – including a never-before-heard July 1985 live album which has the ‘balls to the wall’ energy hard not captured in the studio. The songs were so fresh on that July night - they had not been recorded in the studio yet. On Disc 3, you’ll hear alternate versions of several Out of the Grey songs recorded as ‘demos’ before the album versions. These studio versions also have the raw energy of the live show, plus the band plays rare cover versions by Pink Floyd, Cream, Santana, Green on Red, Alice Cooper, Temptations, and Dolly Parton.

                                    51 songs including 34 never-before heard Dream Syndicate recordings – released under the title of: What Can I Say? no regrets... Out of the Grey + live, demos & outtakes… in other words, you need this!

                                    TRACK LISTING

                                    Disc 1 – Out Of The Grey
                                    1 Out Of The Grey
                                    2 Forest For The Trees
                                    3 50 In A 25 Zone
                                    4 Boston
                                    5 Blood Money
                                    6 Slide Away
                                    7 Dying Embers
                                    8 Now I Ride Alone
                                    9 Drinking Problem
                                    10 Dancing Blind
                                    11 You Can't Forget
                                    12 Let It Rain
                                    13 Cinnamon Girl
                                    14 Ballad Of Dwight Frye
                                    15 Shake Your Hips
                                    16 I Won't Forget
                                    17 The Lonely Bull

                                    Disc 2 - Live At Scorgies NY, 1985
                                    1 Out Of The Grey (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    2 50 In A 25 Zone (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    3 That's What You Always Say (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    4 Slide Away (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    5 Dancing Blind (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    6 Blood Money (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    7 Dying Embers (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    8 It Hits You Again (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    9 Now I Ride Alone (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    10 John Coltrane Stereo Blues (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    11 Still Holding Onto You (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    12 When You Smile (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)
                                    13 Days Of Wine And Roses (Live At Scorgies NY, 1985)

                                    Disc 3 - Odds & Sods
                                    1 Here On Earth As Well (Demo, 1985)
                                    2 Dancing Blind (Demo, 1985)
                                    3 Blood Money (Demo, 1985)
                                    4 Dying Embers (Demo, 1985)
                                    5 Slide Away (Demo, 1985)
                                    6 It Hits You Again (Demo, 1985)
                                    7 Now I Ride Alone (Demo, 1985)
                                    8 Eighteen
                                    9 Another Brick In The Wall
                                    10 Brain Damage
                                    11 Out Of The Grey Waltz
                                    12 The Munster's Theme Song
                                    13 Sixteen Ways
                                    14 Papa Was A Rolling Stone
                                    15 Low Rider
                                    16 Papa Jam
                                    17 I Ain't Got Nobody
                                    18 Jeannie's Afraid Of The Dark
                                    19 Badge
                                    20 Dancing Blind (Live At The Stone SF, 1984)
                                    21 Blood Money (Live At The Stone SF, 1984)

                                    The Groundhogs

                                    Roadhogs: Live From Richmond To Pocono

                                      An essential rock artefact tracing The Groundhogs from their pre - ‘Thank Christ For The Bomb’ blues roots to the final live show for the classic line up of Tony McPhee (guitar and vocals), Pete Cruikshank (bass) and Ken Pustelnik (drums). Never before heard recordings from the Warner Brothers’ vaults including a vintage 1969 set from their show at the Richmond Athletic Ground (AKA The Crawdaddy Club) and their final explosive set at the Pocono Raceway track. Includes the live debut of what would become the anthemic ‘Cherry Red’ and McPhee’s seismic destruction of ‘Amazing Grace’. A career-spanning gem from the ultimate heavy rock power trio book-ending 976 days and 250-plus live shows. “In their stage act they concentrate on being as heavy and as hard-hitting as possible.” The Scene magazine. “Performing on stage we feel that the emphasis is on excitement so we play the numbers that involve the greatest amount of movement and dynamics,” Tony McPhee told Star Pop.

                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      A1 Cherry Red (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
                                      A2 Mistreated (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
                                      A3 Natchez Burning (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
                                      B1 BDD (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
                                      B2 Times (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969) 
                                      C1 Still A Fool (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969) Side 
                                      D1 Group Intro (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)
                                      D2 No More Doggin' (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969) 
                                      E1 Eccentric Man (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 8th July 1972)
                                      E2 Music Is The Food Of Thought (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)
                                      E3 Cherry Red, Split Part 2 (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972) 
                                      F1 Still A Fool, Amazing Grace (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)

                                      The Jazz Butcher

                                      Dr Cholmondley Repents: A-sides, B-Sides And Seasides

                                        A new four CD box set gathering A-sides, the would-be hits along with B-sides, tangential 12-inch tracks (the C-sides), and an excellent session for Los Angeles radio station KCRW from 1989.

                                        Includes over a dozen indie chart hits including ‘Southern Mark Smith’, ‘Girl Go’, ‘The Human Jungle’, ‘16 Years’ plus a host of truly eclectic Butcher tunes from his early Glass recordings through his time at Creation.

                                        This collection follows the much-praised ‘The Wasted Years’ covering his time at Glass and ‘The Violent Years’ at Creation expanded CD sets. An essential alternative world view, tracing pop culture through the kaleidoscope of the ‘80s and beyond, filled with a unique brand of wit and wisdom.

                                        “The Jazz Butcher is one of the most brilliant incisive pop writers that Britain has produced since the glory days of Ray Davies and Pete Townshend” Alan McGee, Creation.

                                        “Northampton’s cheekiest troubadour is best known for his twisted, obsessive songs. Tunes which focus a little unhealthily on dead authors, dead actors, elephants, tigers, chickens and Mark E Smith.” Louder Than War

                                        TRACK LISTING

                                        Disc 1 - A Sides
                                        1 Southern Mark Smith (Original 45)
                                        2 The Jazz Butcher Meets Count Dracula (B-side Of Mark Smith)
                                        3 Marnie (Miaow Mix)
                                        4 Roadrunner (12" Version)
                                        5 Real Men (12" Version)
                                        6 The Human Jungle (12" Extended Mix)
                                        7 Hard (12" Version)
                                        8 Angels (12" Version)
                                        9 Spooky (12" Extended Mix)
                                        10 New Invention (12" Version)
                                        11 Girl Go (12” Mix)
                                        12 We Love You (the Great Awakening) (12" B-side)
                                        13 Sweetwater (Australian 7" Single)
                                        14 Sixteen Years (CD Single Version)

                                        Disc 2 - B Sides
                                        1 Rain (Roadrunner B-side)
                                        2 D.R.I.N.K. (Roadrunner B-side)
                                        3 Water (What A Nice Way To Turn 17 Compilation)
                                        4 The Jazz Butcher Meets The Prime Minister (Real Men 12" B-side)
                                        5 Death Dentist (Human Jungle B-side)
                                        6 The Devil Is My Friend (Human Jungle B-side)
                                        7 South America (Distressed Gentlefolk CD Only Track)
                                        8 Grooving In The Bus Lane (Hard 12" B-side)
                                        9 Partytime (Hard 12" B-side)
                                        10 Mersey (Angels 12" B-side)
                                        11 Blame (Spooky 12" B-side)
                                        12 Excellent! (Girl Go 12" Version)
                                        13 President Chang (Von Daemmerung Remix)
                                        14 Vodka Girls (Abus Dangereux Magazine Compilation)
                                        15 Truck Of Fear (Sixteen Years CD Single Version)

                                        Disc 3 - C-Sides (Or Bottom Of The Barrel)
                                        1 Conspiracy (12" Version)
                                        2 Forever (Conspiracy 12" Version)
                                        3 Peter Lorre (Conspiracy 12" B-side)
                                        4 Big Old Wind (Conspiracy 12" B-side)
                                        5 City Of Night (50,000 Glass Fans Can't Be Wrong Compilation)
                                        6 Vienna Song (Hard 12" B-side)
                                        7 Lost In France (Gunfire And Pianos Compilation)
                                        8 The Hairbrush And The Tank
                                        9 Thing (Hard 12" B-side)
                                        10 Rebecca Wants Her Bike Back (Angels 12" B-side)
                                        11 Almost Brooklyn (New Invention 12" B-side)
                                        12 May I? (Speedy Gonzalez 12" B-side)
                                        13 Affection (12" Version)
                                        14 Over You (Speedy Gonzalez 12" B-side)
                                        15 Girls Who Keep Goldfish/Sweet Jane (Marnie 12" B-side)
                                        16 Cowgirl Fever (Marnie 12" B-side)
                                        17 Knocking On Heaven’s Door (Speedy Gonzalez 12" B-side)

                                        Disc 4 - Seaside
                                        (Live On KCRW, Santa Monica, December 1989)
                                        1 New Invention (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        2 Chickentown (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        3 Angels (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        4 Bad Dream Lover (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        5 Burglar Of Love (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        6 Girl Go (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        7 Mister Odd (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        8 The Jazz Butcher Meets The Prime Minister (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        9 Moscow Drug Club (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        10 Caroline Wheeler’s Birthday Present (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        11 King Of Joy (Live KCRW Session 1989)
                                        12 Looking For Lot 49 (Live KCRW Session 1989)

                                        Marta Del Grandi

                                        Until We Fossilize

                                          ‘Until We Fossilize’ is the debut album from Marta Del Grandi, an eclectic singer songwriter from Italy. This is an award-winning jazz vocalist set in new territory, crossing borders of genre and style from West Coast ‘60s to ambient exotica, from plaintive Lynchian etherealism to dramatic Morricone scores. Marta gathers influences from near and far to create a unique genre-splicing style who’s now travelling her own unique and unchartered path.

                                          Newly signed to Fire Records, this debut is an unravelling of time and distance; a breath taking journey from mainland Europe to the Far East and back again, delivered as an eerie, soundtrack by a captivating vocalist. A self-produced gem; filled with lush strings and electronic ambience and an eclectic vocal that transcends boundaries.

                                          Lead single ‘Amethyst’ takes inspiration by the myth of Amethyst, filled with Greek mythology, touching the wildest manifestation of imagination, it’s the story of a woman who frees herself from the expectations imposed on her by patriarchy. Composed with Indian drummer Tarun Balani, Marta sounds like Sandy Denny backed by Eno on Gamelan with a nod to Sun Ra.

                                          ‘Until We Fossilize’ is a lyrically aware set of dramas littered with life-affirming couplets over gorgeous, dramatic turns.

                                          “It’s modern and ancestral at the same time.”

                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                          Patrick says: Del Grandi flirts with exotica, ambient, Mediterranean and West Coast moods on this LP, providing an accidental Balearic hit.

                                          TRACK LISTING

                                          Side A
                                          A1 Taller Than His Shadow
                                          A2 Shy Heart
                                          A3 Amethyst
                                          A4 Swim To Me

                                          Side B
                                          B1 Somebody New
                                          B2 Lullaby Firefly
                                          B3 Birdsong
                                          B4 Totally Fine

                                          Arizona Amp & Alternator

                                          Arizona Amp And Alternator

                                            1000 copies pressed. Fist time on vinyl. Double debut from Howe Gelb’s one-off project that features members or Arcade Fire, Grandaddy, Scout Niblett and M Ward among others. Featuring extensive notes and interviews with the collaborators, exploring how the whole thing was put together.

                                            TRACK LISTING

                                            Side A.

                                            1 Velvet And Pearl
                                            2 Where The Wind Turns The Skin To Leather
                                            3 AAAA (1)
                                            4 Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys.

                                            Side B.

                                            5 Man On A String
                                            6 Bottom Of The Barrel
                                            7 AAAA (2)
                                            8 Can Do Girl.

                                            Side C.

                                            9 Blue Blue Marble Girl
                                            10 Baby It's Cold Outside
                                            11 Re-Entry
                                            12 Loretta And The Insect World
                                            13 AAAA (3)
                                            14 Talula And The Last Straw.

                                            Side D.

                                            15 Vows
                                            16 AAAA (4)
                                            17 Recital
                                            18 The Leaving You. 

                                            Pictish Trail

                                            Natural Successor - Inc Django Django Mix

                                              A purgative surrender to nature’s whim driven by a clattering machine drumbeat and rolled in a puddle of filthy dirty fuzz, ‘Natural Successor’ is the riotous new single from isle of Eigg based Scottish psychedelic electronic-pop ogre Johnny Lynch AKA Pictish Trail.

                                              Set for release on limited-edition 12” vinyl by Fire Records, with support from Johnny’s own label Lost Map Records, it’s the first taste of a set of brand-new Pictish recordings produced by longterm collaborater Rob Jones (The Voluntary Butler Scheme, The Gene Dudley Group).

                                              The 12” single features exclusive remixes by Django Django and Makeness

                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Matt says: Always nice to hear from the driving force that is Johnny Lynch. "Natural Successor" is soaring psychedlic rock with stadium potential. Django Django jump on board with a baggy, ALFOS-friendly tweak too. Then Makeness twist things up with a frenzied jungle refix.

                                              TRACK LISTING

                                              A1. Natural Successor
                                              A2. Natural Successor (Instrumental)
                                              B1. Natural Successor (Django Django’s Fazed And Confused Mix)
                                              B2. Natural Successor (Makeness Remix)

                                              Come

                                              Don't Ask Don't Tell - Expanded Edition

                                                In 1994 Come responded to the difficult-second-album stereotype with the hypnotic, intense and emotional masterpiece ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’. Featuring the original line-up of Thalia Zedek, Chris Brokaw, Sean O’ Brien and Arthur Johnson, the Boston band broadened their sound by slowing down the tempos and creating a dense urban stream of consciousness that mixes noise, city blues and… catharsis. The album hits you immediately as one of the greatest dissident records ever made.

                                                Lovingly remastered, this expanded edition includes 'Wrong Sides', an additional albums worth of b-sides and unreleased tracks, including the band's very first single 'Car' and their last recorded song, 'Cimarron', featuring this core line-up. These gems showcase the rawness and incredible growth of a band completely in command of their songwriting and at the same time paying homage to some of their punk roots with beautiful renditions of Swell Maps 'Loin Of The Surf' and X's 'Adult Books'. Also Includes new artwork with unearthed photos and fresh liner notes by the band.

                                                Dissident from traditional rock this is a band playing music that thematically and structurally seems to pull from old Europa, from Eastern folk and modernist classical music as much as US and UK rock. Dissident from traditional ideas about singing and songwriting Thalia’s (ex of Live Skull) presence on songs like ‘Yr Reign’ and the astonishing closer ‘Arrive’ isn’t the pushy self-aggrandizement of a lead singer but the internal voice of the eternal migrant, someone who knows about survival, hiding, how living between multiple worlds can become its own refuge of distance, its own sanctuary of unbelonging Don’t Ask Don’t Tell emerged from a period of cohesion, a break from the tight and hectic touring schedule Come had been plunged into after the acclaim accorded 11:11, and you can hear that increased focus in every moment the layers of guitars and feedback are even more precise, the structuring of songs takes on a new openness and ambition, and the whole narrative arc of the record from ‘Finish Line’ to ‘Arrive’ is more exquisitely realised and sequenced.

                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                Don't Ask Don't Tell - Disc 1
                                                A1 Finish Line
                                                A2 Mercury Falls
                                                A3 Yr Reign
                                                A4 Poison
                                                A5 Let's Get Lost
                                                B1 String
                                                B2 German Song
                                                B3 In/Out
                                                B4 Wrong Side
                                                B5 Arrive

                                                Wrong Sides - Disc 2
                                                A1 Car
                                                A2 Last Mistake
                                                A3 Submerge
                                                A4 Loin Of The Surf
                                                A5 SVK
                                                B1 German Song (Demo)
                                                B2 Adult Books
                                                B3 Who Jumped In My Grave
                                                B4 Angelhead
                                                B5 Cimarron

                                                Vanishing Twin

                                                Ookii Gekkou

                                                  There’s a mystery to Vanishing Twin – from their name to the multitude of sounds that inhabit their music. They don’t sound like many but they hint at plenty. ‘Ookii Gekkou’ (Japanese for Big Moonlight) is the sound of ordinary life under a different set of rules, a record conceived and created in dark times – a sort of dream catcher for all the madness of the past year.

                                                  Vanishing Twin explore new ground on ‘Ookii Gekkou’ incorporating elements of afrofunk, outer jazz and avant-garde, all while referencing Sun Ra to Alice Coltrane, Martin Denny to Morricone, Can’s Holger Czukay to meditative Gamelan, or The Free Design, to library music of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Locked into their strangely-accessible groove is a history of ‘other’ sound, a crafted hauntology that evinces something completely new.

                                                  Hurricanes, organisms, vibes, bells, and percussive rallies purvey throughout ‘Ookii Gekkou’, each infiltrated with influences as diverse as Piero Umiliani, Art Ensemble of Chicago and ELO among others. Indeed, even a cursory earful adds to an ever-expanding palette of sound, no mean feat for the newly-trimmed quartet of songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas, drummer Valentina Magaletti, bassist Susumu Mukai, and synth/guitar player Phil MFU, this reduction resulting in no fewer ideas and even bigger steps. Vanishing Twin is a conundrum in these fragmenting times; familiar, yet different; appealing to this world, but from another, parallel one.

                                                  “A band that fearlessly floats in the hazy space between the real world and an imagined one, blurring the line between warmly nostalgic and eerily haunted” Pitchfork.

                                                  “One of the most original and exciting acts of the moment” The Quietus.

                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                  Barry says: Both 'Choose Your Own Adventure' and 'Age Of Immunology' were big hits in the shop, and the superb new one from is sure to go down similarly well, though it further diversifies the psychedelic wooze of both into loungy jazz, avant pop and bright proggy synth. It's a wonderful progression and a superb, typically brilliant listen.

                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                  Side A
                                                  A1 Big Moonlight (Ookii Gekkou)
                                                  A2 Phase One Million
                                                  A3 Zuum
                                                  A4 The Organism

                                                  Side B
                                                  B1 In Cucina
                                                  B2 Wider Than Itself
                                                  B3 Light Vessel
                                                  B4 Tub Erupt
                                                  B5 The Lift

                                                  Modern Studies

                                                  Life Flows In Endless Song / The Body Is A Tide (Double EP) - Love Record Stores 2021 Edition

                                                    Love Record Stores Edition available instore from 10am on Saturday September 4th, any remaining copies will be available on online from 9pm on the same day.
                                                    Limited to one per person.

                                                    ‘Life Flows In Endless Song / The Body Is A Tide’ EP is released on vinyl for this year’s Love Record Stores on 4th September 2021.
                                                    Following the release of ‘The Weight Of The Sun’ LP, Modern Studies shift from light to dark over two new EPs brought together as six track 12-inch ‘Life Flows In Endless Song / The Body Is A Tide’, a record that further cements their reputation for innovative craftsmanship. ‘Life Flows In Endless Song’ showcases the band’s increasingly expansive sound, swelling with orchestrated drama behind the rich vocal pairing of Emily Scott and Rob St John, before their otherworldly dreaminess is pin-pricked at its height by Emily’s beautiful alto on ‘The Failing Light’. ‘The Body Is A Tide’ hails from ominous darker terrains, scratching further into their own psyche; it’s heady and baroque, ornate and super-detailed, an opus that climaxes with ‘High Hymn Summers’ and its slowly-rolling drone, created by processing all the songs from ‘The Weight of the Sun’ played at once. "The EP nods at the idea of our collective bodies weathering rough times, played out with massed strings, prepared guitars, slow bass grooves, hypnotic drums, wobbling saw, xaphoon and mellotron. We shook off our usual song structures in favour of something repetitive, slow and heavy; life flows in endless song." 

                                                    Pere Ubu

                                                    Pennsylvania - Reissue

                                                      From the turn of the millennium, ‘Pennsylvania’ was the eleventh studio album from this uncompromising and influential group, presenting their dark take on pop music. This edition is newly remixed by David Thomas in 2021 and reissued on Fire Records. “Everyone talked about our artiness and our unlikeableness, people completely ignored for decades me saying, ‘We’re a pop band’.” David Thomas. With ‘Pennsylvania,’ Pere Ubu welcome you to a barely recognisable secret country drawn out of its own spectral geography... This is much more than just music.

                                                      “[Pere Ubu] were still creating great works of abstract art, pushing the limits of rock ‘n’ roll to twist into avant-garde explorations of the darkest recesses of the human mind” Classic Rock // “From the beginning they obviously understood the nuts and bolts of popular music, and then loosened them.” Mojo

                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                      Side A
                                                      A1 Woolie Bullie
                                                      A2 Highwaterville
                                                      A3 SAD.TXT
                                                      A4 Urban Lifestyle
                                                      A5 Silent Spring
                                                      A6 Mr Wheeler
                                                      A7 Muddy Waters

                                                      Side B
                                                      B1 Drive
                                                      B2 Indiangiver
                                                      B3 Monday Morning
                                                      B4 Perfume
                                                      B5 Fly's Eye
                                                      B6 Wheelhouse

                                                      Pere Ubu

                                                      St. Arkansas - Reissue

                                                        Pere Ubu's darkest and most dramatic statement, ‘St Arkansas’ remains a work of offhand brilliance by a band who often seem capable of miracles. This edition is newly remixed by David Thomas in 2021 and reissued on Fire Records. Following ‘Pennsylvania’, ‘St Arkansas’ (2002) was Pere Ubu’s next studio album featuring a travelogue of characters encountered on the Mighty Road from Conway Arkansas to Tupelo Mississippi, I-40 to US 49 to State 6. “I drove the route and wrote down what the Road was telling me.” David Thomas. Pere Ubu are the mainstream.

                                                        “Immediate, energised and claustrophobic.. It's difficult to think of a more important band.” Mojo.

                                                        “Straddling the extremes of pure, uncompromising modern art and pure, uncompromising loud rock.” The Sunday Times.

                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                        Side A
                                                        A1 The Feverered Dream Of Hernando DeSoto
                                                        A2 Slow Walking Daddy
                                                        A3 Michele
                                                        A4 333
                                                        A5 Hell

                                                        Side B
                                                        B1 Phone Home Jonah
                                                        B2 Lisbon
                                                        B3 Mr Steve
                                                        B4 Where's The Truth
                                                        B5 Dark

                                                        Josephine Foster

                                                        Blood Rushing

                                                          Tenth anniversary reissue of Josephine Foster’s lauded ninth album ‘Blood Rushing’. The North American Colorado based singer-songwriter has lent her warbling mezzo-soprano and interpretive wit to nearly two decades of self-produced recordings. Foster’s songs are rooted in early American folk-blues as well as classical art song and Tin Pan Alley. A rock-ballet chanté, the music is set to a Pueblo drum's metapulsing Pan-American heartbeat. Recorded in Colorado by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes) with the collaboration of her partner Spanish guitarist Victor Herrero, and musicians Paz Lenchantin (The Entrance Band), Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw) and Ben Trimble (Fly Golden Eagle). A story within a story, ‘Blood Rushing’ is a glimpse into the world of Blushing, a heteronym of the artist Josephine Foster. “North American folk linage from Jean Ritchie and Hedy West through to the present, via the chugging, churning electronic (folk) rock of The Velvet Underground, all the time infused with a joyous communal warmth.”

                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                          A1 Waterfall
                                                          A2 Panorama Wide
                                                          A3 Sacred Is The Star
                                                          A4 Child Of God

                                                          B1 Blood Rushing
                                                          B2 The Wave Of Love
                                                          B3 O Stars
                                                          B4 Geyser
                                                          B5 Underwater Daughter
                                                          B6 Words Come Loose

                                                          Lucy Gooch

                                                          Rain's Break EP

                                                            An exploration of repression, longing and ‘otherness’ amidst illusory landscapes, ‘Rain’s Break’ EP is inspired by the early technicolour films of Powell and Pressburger. Lucy Gooch uses synthesisers and vocal layering to concentrate elements of each film’s score and narrative into songs which move through different moods of yearning and renewal:
                                                            “I first experienced their strange cinematic worlds in childhood, and they stayed with me, like waking dreams – their vibrancy seemed to capture the hidden emotional lives of everyday people. The films’ fantastical sets were often met with the complexities of the inner female experience, as portrayed by each heroine. People wrestling with post-war isolation, changing attitudes to women and sexual repression alongside their struggle to establish equality and autonomy of their own lives.”

                                                            So, it is amidst 1940’s austerity that these films were an escape, an over-rich backdrop of possibilities. A snatched piece of dialogue, the film’s score, the crackle of uncertainty all succumbs to the layered ambience of Lucy’s music as she traces moods of yearning and renewal on ‘Rain’s Break’ EP.

                                                            Originally from Norfolk, Lucy studied Fine Art and later moved to Bristol to join the emerging ambient scene there - gradually developing her writing and finally releasing her debut ‘Rushing’ EP in early 2020. Over the past year, she’s dipped into a wealth of long gone celluloid as the basis for a filmic journey, a five song EP that relives formative movies in her unique take on ecclesiastical pop.

                                                            ‘Ash and Orange’ emerged after listening to old recordings of women’s choirs from the 1930’s, their stoic sopranos circling churches and halls. In two parts, it touches on an everyday person’s hidden life that leads to an emotional breaking-down. A change from Lucy’s trademarked looping style it takes its inspiration from choral composition.

                                                            ‘Chained To A Woman’ by contrast, is more playful, nodding to ‘80s synth pop, a homage to some degree to Blue Nile, pop music tinged with melancholy.

                                                            “I sought to stick to that tradition of talk-singing the verses, and it seemed to fit in with the feeling of the song, which is more ambiguous. I wanted the words to be about being devoted to something, like family, a person or religion and all the things that come with that kind of devotion.”

                                                            Inspired by the monsoon scene at the end of Black Narcissus (1947), the title track ‘Rain’s Break’ takes its lead from the weather to reflect an emotional journey.

                                                            “That amazing tradition in early film of using weather to reflect the character’s emotional journey - it seems cliched now but at the time it was revolutionary. This is my attempt at trying to recreate the feeling of total surrender to drama, of something totally sensual.”

                                                            This is music that takes you places, shifts focus, paints large canvases.

                                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                                            Barry says: There are all sorts of musical touchstones flying out of the player for this one. It's essentially widescreen ambient music but with a focus on the walls of echo and reverb-effected synths more akin to shoegaze. Slowly building into crescentic waves of layered tones, brilliantly warm but undeniably massive.

                                                            TRACK LISTING

                                                            Side A
                                                            1 Rain's Break
                                                            2 It Brings Me Back To You
                                                            3 Chained To A Woman

                                                            Side B
                                                            4 6AM
                                                            5 Ash And Orange

                                                            Television Personalities

                                                            Some Kind Of Happening: Singles 1978-1989

                                                              “Treacy is the outsider's outsider, committed to a raw honesty, constantly bearing witness to his own suffering, his own weakness and fallibility.” The Quietus // A comprehensive remastered collection of all of the Television Personalities’ ground-breaking single releases from the Peel-approved ‘14th Floor’ through to the effervescent ‘Salvador Dali’s Garden Party’ EP. Includes the super rare Creation flexi, the TVPs as The Gifted Children, and the even rarer Caff 45 where the band tackle Stock, Aitken And Waterman.Purists will also find two shelved 45s for the Dreamworld label plus their take on Syd Barrett’s ‘Apples And Oranges’ from the ‘Beyond The Wildwood’ tribute album. Features the seminal ‘Where’s Bill Grundy Now’ and the self-effacing ‘Part Time Punks’ alongside a host of pop culture-bating gems. A celebration of the songwriting of Dan Treacy

                                                              TRACK LISTING

                                                              Side One

                                                              01 - 14th Floor
                                                              02 - Oxford St., W.1
                                                              03 - Part Time Punks
                                                              04 - Where's Bill Grundy Now?
                                                              05 - Happy Families
                                                              06 - Posing At The Roundhouse
                                                              07 - The Prettiest Girl In The World
                                                              08 - If That's What Love Is

                                                              Side Two

                                                              01 - Smashing Time
                                                              02 - King And Country
                                                              03 - I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives
                                                              04 - Arthur The Gardener
                                                              05 - Three Wishes
                                                              06 - Geoffrey Ingram
                                                              07 - And Don't The Kids Just Love It!

                                                              Side Three

                                                              01 - A Sense Of Belonging
                                                              02 - Paradise Estate
                                                              03 - How I Learned To Love The Bomb
                                                              04 - Then God Snaps His Fingers
                                                              05 - Now You're Just Being Ridiculous

                                                              Side Four

                                                              01 - She's Only The Grocer's Daughter
                                                              02 - A Girl Called Charity
                                                              03 - Salvador Dali's Garden Party
                                                              04 - The Room At The Top Of The Stairs
                                                              05 - This Time There's No Happy Ending
                                                              06 - Part One: Fulfilling The Contractual Obligations

                                                              Howe Gelb

                                                              Hisser (RSD21 EDITION)

                                                                THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2021 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY JUNE 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                                                                IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 6PM ON THE SAME DAY (SATURDAY JUNE 12TH).


                                                                1500 pressed on Creamy White vinyl & DL card. First time on vinyl since 1998 for this magnificent patchwork collage of the Giant Sand main manís eclectic muses; a cut and paste gem, meandering, melancholy and beautiful. Classic solo album from Giant Sand's main man Howe Gelb circa 1998, re-issued with new liner notes and remastered on cream vinyl. A catch-all collection from the much-travelled troubadour that brings together a wealth of personal recordings edited into an intriguing ponder wander through the manís thinking.

                                                                A truly intoxicating set of songs buoyed by Howe Gelb's prosaic prose and effortless use of the mind-bending one-liner. ìíHisserí is the vision of a truly unique and engaging talent, and in its pure heart and soul lies a masterpiece.
                                                                College Music Journal // Pure genius and usually chaotic, Howe Gelb is a cottage industry often labelled the Godfather of alternative country. BOMB magazine // There are wonderful glimpses of what Gelb is capable of when heís not rushing off to dabble with the next nugget in a seemingly inexhaustible flow of ideas. The Line Of Best Fit // One of those albums that could have a semi-permanent spot next to the hi-fi for late-night playing. The Independent 

                                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                                Side A. 1 Temptation Of Egg 2 4 Door Maverick 3 This Purple Child 4 Shy Of Bumfuck 5 Propulsion 6 Catapult 7 Creeper.
                                                                Side B. 8 Tanks Rolling Into Town 9 Halifax In A Hurricane 10 Living On A Waterfall 11 Like A Store Front Display 12 Explore You 13 Nico's Lil Opera 14 Thereminender 15 Hisser 16 Intro Speck 17 Soldier Of Fortune 18 Lull 19 Short Way To End The Day

                                                                Half Japanese

                                                                I Guess I'm Living: The Charmed Life Tapes (RSD21 EDITION)

                                                                  THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2021 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY JUNE 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                                                                  IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 6PM ON THE SAME DAY (SATURDAY JUNE 12TH).


                                                                  1000 copies pressed on Yellow vinyl & DL card. Fist time on vinyl. All-enveloping superbly alternative third take on 1988's Charmed Life album featuring previously unissued versions and a half dozen previously unreleased songs. Includes brand new liner notes and an interview with Jad and David Fair.

                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                  Side A. 1 Said And Done (Alternate Version) 2 Evidence (Alternate Version) 3 Vietnam (Alternate Version) 4 Love At First Sight (Alternate Version) 5 Snake Line (Alternate Version) 6 Fun For All 7 Face Rake (Alternate Version) 8 Later In A Magazine (Alternate Version) 9 Red Dress (Alternate Version) 10 Charmed Life (Alternate Version 1).
                                                                  Side B. 1 Day And Night With Angie 2 Madonna Nude (Alternate Version) 3 Ashes On The Ground 4 T For Texas 5 I'll Change My Style (Alternate Version) 6 Fortunate (Alternate Version) 7 Please Crawl Out Your Window 8 30 Seconds In Heaven 9 Charmed Life (Alternate Version 2)

                                                                  Kristin Hersh

                                                                  Wyatt At The Coyote Palace (RSD21 EDITION)

                                                                    THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2021 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY JUNE 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                                                                    IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 6PM ON THE SAME DAY (SATURDAY JUNE 12TH).


                                                                    2xLP Ltd edition Double GOLD vinyl & DL card. Released for the first time on vinyl, Wyatt At The Coyote Palace is pressed on double gold vinyl.

                                                                    An essential vinyl release of the Throwing Muses mainstays 2016s CD and essay book that featured stories from her life's most perception-altering junctures (NPR).
                                                                    As memoirs, her albums are so intensely personal... as art, theyíre arguments for the value of unapologetic individuality - Pitchfork.

                                                                    This music reminds you how alone you are; it consoles you through its insolubility, comforts you by jabbing you in the chest and letting you know how complex the struggle is, how inaccessible we are to each other but just how universal our pain can be. - The Wire.

                                                                    This sonically rich and fragmented record references to Hersh's past material and sees her perform on guitar, bass, drums, piano, horns and cello. There's a mysticism and sense of life wonderment throughout ëWyatt At The Coyote Palace that also has death as a central theme rather than the contemplation of death itself it's reaching the end of something and beginning a new life. 


                                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                                    Side A. 1 Bright 2 Bubble Net 3 In Stitches 4 Secret Codes 5 Green Screen 6 Hemmingway's Tell.
                                                                    Side B. 7 Detox 8 Wonderland 9 Day 3 10 Diving Bell 11 Killing Two Birds 12 Guadalupe.
                                                                    Side C. 13 American Copper 14 August 15 Some Dumb Runaway 16 From The Plane 17 Sun Blown 18 Elysian Fields.
                                                                    Side D. 19 Soma Gone Slapstick 20 Cooties 21 Christmas Underground 22 Between Piety And Desire 23 Shaky Blue Can 24 Shotgun

                                                                    Bardo Pond

                                                                    Volume 1 (RSD21 EDITION)

                                                                      THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2021 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY JUNE 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                                                                      IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 6PM ON THE SAME DAY (SATURDAY JUNE 12TH).


                                                                      1000 only pressed on limited edition ORANGE Vinyl & DL card.

                                                                      Super rare self-released recordings from 2000, from the Philadelphia psych rockers; a must-have insight into their long, strange trips. Collated from a limited run original CDr, remastered and double-dosed for maximum sound. A viral jam session remastered onto vinyl for the very first time.

                                                                      "The missing link between John Cage's 4'33 and Merzbow's ultimate noise; a grinding cacophony tempered with motorik precision. Immerse yourself in the gloopily transcendental pleasures of the world's finest purveyors of psych-rock magnificence."The Quietus.

                                                                      "Few contemporary bands understand psychedeliaís weird mix of weightlessness and heaviosity better than Bardo Pond." Uncut.

                                                                      A deconstructed masterclass that concludes with the mystical rampage of Into Something Else, a ten-minute slice of sludge blues at its gnarliest. Bardo Pond are no ordinary band." Drowned In Sound.




                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                      Side A. 1 Sit Sleep 2 Cymbals 3 Syn Dept.
                                                                      Side B. 4 Before 5 Into Something Else

                                                                      Marina Allen

                                                                      Candlepower

                                                                        Marina Allen glides on angelic highs, surfing the husky deep; she is one of the great new voices of her generation. Writing songs that carry notes from other realms; these are kitchen table tales about love and fear, the capturing of the wild heart, sketching the breaking of dawn, bringing real life back to life. Every song on stunning debut album ‘Candlepower’ is a tick box of influences, asides, inspirations, quickfire theories, storylines and melodic progressions that galvanise a chemical reaction for each dramatic scene that unfolds on this genre-traversing seven song epic.

                                                                        One listen to opening track ‘Oh, Louise’ underlines the range of Marina’s talent, it’s a filmic play on words, with an arrangement that’s like a Kate Bush dream sequence. It’s the perfect foil for the plaintive strum of ‘Sleeper Train’, a haunting, folky paean fit for Judee Sill brought up to date with some echoey electric guitar; or the conversational ‘Believer’; with a nod to Joni Mitchell in the lyrics it sounds every bit like Simon And Garfunkel at their Big Apple best listening to the ‘7 O’Clock News’ re-imagined on Sunset. The stuff of legend for a voice that surfs many musical tangents, hovers, and persists, that stings with honesty; morphing from Karen Carpenter’s gentle reverence to Laura Nyro’s soulful grit, moving through the phases like some possessed Dada performance artist before throwing in a melody from Joni at her jazziest or from the close harmonies of the lamented Roches when they flipped out with Robert Fripp. ‘Candlepower’ is a juxtaposition of melodies, an achingly beautiful set of songs set against the clank of the mundane world, a beguiling commentary on the everyday and everywhere. It’s all here, in under 20 minutes… every second counts.

                                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                                        A1 Oh, Louise
                                                                        A2 Original Goodness
                                                                        A3 Belong Here
                                                                        A4 Sleeper Tran
                                                                        B1 Believer
                                                                        B2 Ophelia
                                                                        B3 Reunion

                                                                        The Chills

                                                                        Scatterbrain

                                                                          New studio album from the Dunedin (NZ) songsmiths helmed by the enigmatic Martin Phillipps with artwork by Trees’ David Costa. Dunedin’s finest, The Chills release their seventh studio album ‘Scatterbrain’, a glorious self-examination of Martin Phillipps’ songwriting hot (ish) on the heels of the hugely successful ‘Snowbound’ (2018) and the critically-acclaimed movie ‘The Chills: The Triumph And Tragedy Of Martin Phillipps’ a year later. “It’s about artistic integrity, self-realisation, self-acceptance and a reflection on mortality.” The Guardian Now in 2021, Phillipps is now taking stock of things – everything. Yes, everything.

                                                                          The result is this triumphant new Chills’ album ‘Scatterbrain’, a thought-provoking and evocative take from a man who has lived through good times and bad. A mature and honest reflection on life, destiny and the fate of our times delivered in beautiful melodies with Phillipps’ trademarked incisive turn of phrase. Viewed from the perspective of a man understanding his age and indeed his own mortality, the new album takes a mature look at matters arising with a side order of perspective. ‘Scatterbrain’ is a life passing before your ears as uncertainty increases and fake news rumbles on; during which aliens invade, Phillipps scales the walls beyond abandon as he probes the minutiae of worlds within worlds and the hourglass fills. A landmark album from one of the great modern song writers, it’s pure pop music for the new normal and we can’t wait to see how it ends…

                                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                                          Side A

                                                                          A1 Monolith
                                                                          A2 Hourglass
                                                                          A3 Destiny
                                                                          A4 Caught In My Eye
                                                                          A5 You're Immortal

                                                                          Side B

                                                                          B1 Little Alien
                                                                          B2 Safe And Sound
                                                                          B3 Worlds Within Worlds
                                                                          B4 Scatterbrain
                                                                          B5 The Walls Beyond Abandon

                                                                          One of the North-West’s finest exponents of otherworldly pop has landed back on earth with an album of shimmering space age bliss. Elements of disco, new wave and krautrock are undoubtedly present in Flock, but Jane never relies on genre tropes to carry her work. Instead, she harnesses familiar rhythmic devices and choices of instrumentation in her own distinctive way. And while comparisons could be drawn between Jane and contemporaries like Vanishing Twin and Gwenno, she has undeniably staked out her own domain within the realm of off-kilter synth pop.

                                                                          Throughout Flock Jane demonstrates her delicate vocal agility over a series of hypnotic loops and clever synthesis. The lazy disco strut of “The Revolution Of Super Visions” sets up a jangling interplay between Jane’s sweetly sung declamations, new wave style guitar interjections and Cowley-esque synth squelch. While “Modern Reputation” is propelled forwards by a Broadcast style motorik rhythm with electronics whirring in the background and mantra-like vocal loops swirling in a strange ecstasy.

                                                                          In the title track Jane’s gauzy vocals reverberate over the ebb and flow of a loose knit groove, while in “Sunset Dreams” ornate guitar riffs weave in amongst a haze of twinkling chimes and fizzing sawtooth synthesis. The album culminates in a moment of escapist pop euphoria with final track “Solarised”, laden with cascading arps and irresistible vocal hooks. Once again Jane has succeeded in creating something playful, fresh and unpretentious which is in equal parts a fun and intelligent listen. All hail the cosmic synth queen! 


                                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                          Barry says: This new outing from Jane Weaver sees Jane and co skirting the outer reaches of Disco, Synth-pop and ambient to stunning effect, rich with hooks but unmeasurably deep, it's one that will reveal more and more with each listen. Unsurprisingly superb.

                                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                                          Side A
                                                                          A1 Heartlow
                                                                          A2 The Revolution Of Super Visions
                                                                          A3 Stages Of Phases
                                                                          A4 Lux
                                                                          A5 Modern Reputation
                                                                          Side B
                                                                          B1 Flock
                                                                          B2 Sunset Dreams
                                                                          B3 All The Things You Do
                                                                          B4 Pyramid Schemes
                                                                          B5 Solarised

                                                                          Virginia Wing

                                                                          Private LIFE

                                                                            One of the year's most daring and true pop records, private LIFE comes as the result of Virginia Wing living through, and with, huge personal emotional and mental traumas. It is a document of how the very process of music creation in a group can be of huge therapeutic benefit to people. The three members of Virginia Wing have explored the depths of their creative and artistic inspirations within performance, production and composition, and have made a candid and brash pop record that speaks clearly about hope, desperation, impulse, addiction, urge and shame.

                                                                            More tumultuous than its predecessor, private LIFE knocks hard. The evolution of Virginia Wing’s sound continues to build on the broad creative flow of the last album whilst being another audacious contribution to contemporary pop. The drums are huge and playfully unquantized. Edits are both assured and heavy handed, the instrumentation lightly mediates the two and finds itself on the edge of collapse alongside them. The icy facade of Merida Richards’ words are still front and centre, but are contrasted by dense, multilayered improvisations, vying for attention throughout the record. Over ‘I’m Holding Out For Something’s relentless juggernaut of 90’s R’n’B beats, Richards examines the relentless hope and desperation glued to modern consciousness, and speaks of how we often find the answer, or the route through, right at the breaking point. Subsequently, ‘St Francis Fountain’ compounds the issue, observing that often our own coping mechanisms can grow into full blown traumas of their own. Virginia Wing’s last record opened its arms into euphoric light, private LIFE invites you through a door and closes it. It examines what we’re doing at night, on our own, after work. What we do to enjoy ourselves, to cope, to be together, to be alone. It shines a dim blue light on what might be happening, causing us anxiety, stress and desire.

                                                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                            Barry says: Virginia wing bring another nuanced slab of moody synth-indie, with 'Private Life' displaying all of the superb songwriting prowess which made 2018's 'Ecstatic Arrow' such a heavy hitter, but with a more world-weary experience and depth of feeling. Superb stuff.

                                                                            TRACK LISTING

                                                                            Side A
                                                                            A1 I’m Holding Out For Something
                                                                            A2 Moon Turn Tides
                                                                            A3 Soft Fruit
                                                                            A4 Michael Returns To The Garden
                                                                            A5 99 North
                                                                            A6 Return To View

                                                                            Side B
                                                                            B1 St. Francis Fountain
                                                                            B2 Private Life
                                                                            B3 Half Mourning
                                                                            B4 Lucky Coin
                                                                            B5 OBW Saints
                                                                            B6 I Know About These Things

                                                                            Rats On Rafts

                                                                            Excerpts From Chapter 3: The Mind Runs A Net Of Rabbit Paths

                                                                              The third album from Dutch punk-laced noiseniks adds new maturity and a conceptual feel that pulls the extremes of their sound together. A psychefuelled journey into the id punctuated with rhythmic kabuki modal mood swings, thunderstorms, digital beeps, traffic noise, and just plain old beautiful cacophonous reverb-drenched sound when needed.

                                                                              The ‘third chapter’ refers to the last five years that the Dutch band have spent creating their “difficult” third album. Each song spins a yarn; there are plagues, dreams, wind and fire, ‘mythical’ characters, and the search for the secret government warehouse. Lead single, Tokyo Music Experience, resonates with a conveyor belt-propelled modal guitar, reflecting the halcyon days of Japanese super-productivity; a mesmerising mantra, infected with news bulletin on-thehour bleeps underlining its time-sensitive nature; a pristine super-commercial anthem to drive loyalty and reinforce solidarity with the party!

                                                                              Having been described as creating “underground noise with a bracing, warped pop appeal” (Mojo), their new album is a coming-of-age post-classic with a unique worldview - inspired by Van Dyke Parks (Song Cycle) Scott Walker (3 & 4), Moondog (Elpmas), White Noise (An Electric Storm) and Beach Boys (Smile).

                                                                              If their previous effort (Tape Hiss) was their very own sketch of a sketch for an incomplete concept album, a noisy reaction to their previous life, then ‘Excerpts From Chapter 3..’, with all its interlaced intricacies, is the realisation of their transition from punk-spiked-pop to psyche-pop protagonists. Evolving, testing, infectious...

                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                              Barry says: This wild and superb outing from Rats On Rafts shows that the bands playful spirit and whimsical melodies don't have to give way when things get serious. A brilliantly deep and eminently enjoyable third outing.

                                                                              TRACK LISTING

                                                                              Side A
                                                                              1 Prologue: Rain
                                                                              2 A Trail Of Wind And Fire
                                                                              3 Second Born Child
                                                                              4 Tokyo Music Experience
                                                                              5 The Rise And Fall Of The Plague
                                                                              6 Another Year

                                                                              Side B
                                                                              7 Fragments
                                                                              8 The Disappearance Of Dr. Duplicate
                                                                              9 Excerpt Taken From Chapter 3
                                                                              10 Where Is My Dream?
                                                                              11 Part One: The Long Drought
                                                                              12 Part Two: Crossing The Desert
                                                                              13 Epilogue: Big Poisonous Shadows

                                                                              Bonus Dinked Edition 7":
                                                                              1. Tokyo Music Experience (Single Edit)
                                                                              2. Osaka

                                                                              Half Japanese

                                                                              Crazy Hearts

                                                                                Half Japanese return with another thrilling ride into unknown charters encountering beasts, celebrities, and menaces.

                                                                                Purveyors of noise and indie rock for over four decades, Half Japanese have inspired generations of fans from musicians and critics alike.

                                                                                Now set to release their 19th studio album ‘Crazy Hearts’ continues with their detuned, outsider pop capturing you in the way that only Jad Fair ever can.

                                                                                A philosophical psych-tinged journey, these whip-smart observations are uplifting with life-affirming sentiments (‘Wondrous Wonder’) that we are familiar with. They meld melodic classic rock riffs with heavier bass lines and darker, more twisted tones on ‘My Celebrity’ and ‘A Phantom Menace’.
                                                                                Their last excursion saw Uncut praising them for their “unchanged, more ecstatic musings on love and science fiction” that continues to resonate here.

                                                                                Half Japanese deliver another well-wrought album with their usual DIY ethos and art punk spirit at its core (‘Undisputed Champions’), all whilst wearing Jad’s heart firmly on its sleeve (‘Crazy Hearts’).
                                                                                Recorded across various studios in Spain, France and the US, Jad Fair is accompanied by his longstanding band members John Sluggett, Giles Vincent Rieder, Mick Hobbs and Jason Willett. Mastered by Brian Pyle and mixed by Jason Willett of the band. Album includes artwork from American illustrator and cartoonist, Gary Panter and David Fair.

                                                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                                                1. The Beast Master
                                                                                2. Wondrous Wonder
                                                                                3. Dark World
                                                                                4. And It Is
                                                                                5. My Celebrity
                                                                                6. Late At Night
                                                                                7. Undisputed Champions
                                                                                8. Crazy Hearts
                                                                                9. As Best You Can
                                                                                10. A Phantom Menace
                                                                                11. A Job Well Done
                                                                                12. Let It Show

                                                                                Josephine Foster

                                                                                No Harm Done

                                                                                  Brand new album from Colorado’s freewheelin’ melodist Josephine Foster.

                                                                                  Revolving between her adopted Spain and her native American West, Josephine was stationed this spring in Nashville with maverick guitarist and comrade-in-arms Matthew Schneider. The result: ‘No Harm Done’, a spacious and enveloping love letter of an album.

                                                                                  Eight new slow-burning songs branch forth from idiosyncratic country folk blues, sung with sibylline wit and a hint of the absurd, awash in sensually anachronic lyricism.

                                                                                  “The Wheel of Fortune”, nearly a title track by virtue of its refrain: 'No harm will come/if there's no harm done', are words of a homebound wanderer finding refuge in healing stillness with her beloved, having 'time to kill' in the midst of 'hard times to feel at home'. All delivered with calm sagacity upon the pedestal of Mr. Schneider's pedal steel and underscored by a knowing trebled chorus in Foster's lower register. Going nowhere never felt like so righteous of a destination before.

                                                                                  Devotion in all its permutations, spiritual to carnal, are seamlessly explored.

                                                                                  In 'Conjugal Bliss', overtones of the 12-string and autoharp gently interplay, sounding like some unearthed Carter family wedding hymn (it bears the subversive subtitle '69' ) while 'How come, Honeycomb?' bounces low in the hips like a sultry old music hall number à la Harry Nilsson. The obliquely sapphic 'Leonine', it's unquiet harp scaling right out of ancient Lesbos, dreams of a kingless land; in 'Sure Am Devilish', a stargazer humbly confesses to a lowercase lord. 'Old Saw', the mesmeric album closer, is a medium's petition to cross the threshold and merge with the holy spirit.

                                                                                  Josephine's enigmatic voice captured once more by frequent co-producer Andrija Tokic in his analog Bomb Shelter studio, where layers of her guitar, piano, organ entwine with Schneider's 12-string, pedal steel and electric bass to rouse a spectral yet full blooded band. The ensuing cycle of songs pulse and glow within the ruins and deep fundamental roots of American song.

                                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                                  Side A
                                                                                  1 Freemason Drag
                                                                                  2 The Wheel Of Fortune
                                                                                  3 Conjugal Bliss
                                                                                  4 Love Letter

                                                                                  Side B
                                                                                  5 Sure Am Devilish
                                                                                  6 Leonine
                                                                                  7 How Come, Honeycomb?
                                                                                  8 Old Saw

                                                                                  Bardo Pond

                                                                                  On The Ellipse - RSD Edition

                                                                                    The sixth album by Bardo Pond, a critically revered space rock masterpiece, lovingly reissued on double purple vinyl for the first time since 2003.

                                                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                                                    Jd
                                                                                    Every Man
                                                                                    Dom’s Lament
                                                                                    Walking Clouds
                                                                                    Test
                                                                                    Night Of Frog

                                                                                    The Lemonheads

                                                                                    Lovey

                                                                                      Ltd edition BOOKBACK CD companion to the Deluxe vinyl reissue of The Lemonheads ‘Lovey’ for Record Store Day 2020, housed in a bookback sleeve with expanded liner notes and unseen photos – this is the definitive document of Dando’s first steps towards the mainstream. The lovingly repackaged CD is accompanied by a second disc, ‘Triple J Live at the Wireless’, an unearthed radio session taken from their 1991 trip to Australia.

                                                                                      The major label debut for Evan Dando’s Lemonheads from 1990, following three “ramshackle punk” (©Select magazine) albums for Taang! Pivoted on a more approachable set of sweet melodies still rife with punky spirit. A light and dark album, polished in the arrangements, nodding to the excess of American culture (Manson and Gummi Bears), hectoring Reagan’s drug laws (‘Lil’ Seed’), riffing on everyday life.

                                                                                      Remastered with a freshly-dusted off second album featuring a full radio session recorded during their trip to Australia to promote the album and their gorgeous cover of Gram Parsons’ ‘Brass Buttons’.

                                                                                      “Like Hüsker Dü when they were at their most ferocious or REM when they were at their most Byrdsian hypnotic.” NME

                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                      Disc One
                                                                                      The Lemonheads - Lovey
                                                                                      1 Ballarat
                                                                                      2 Half The Time
                                                                                      3 Year Of The Cat
                                                                                      4 Ride With Me
                                                                                      5 Lil Seed
                                                                                      6 Stove
                                                                                      7 Come Downstairs
                                                                                      8 Left For Dead
                                                                                      9 Brass Buttons
                                                                                      10 (The) Door
                                                                                      11 Untitled

                                                                                      Disc Two
                                                                                      The Lemonheads - Live At The Wireless
                                                                                      1 Come Back D.A.
                                                                                      2 Stove
                                                                                      3 A Song For You
                                                                                      4 Come Downstairs
                                                                                      5 Nighttime (Big Star Cover)
                                                                                      6 Year Of The Cat
                                                                                      7 Ride With Me
                                                                                      8 Die Right Now

                                                                                      Dead Famous People

                                                                                      Harry

                                                                                        Back in the 80s Dons Savage of Dead Famous People joined her first band Freudian Slips which soon ended so she along with fellow Freudian Slip refugee Biddy Leyland could pursue their own talents. A chance encounter with Flying Nun's spiritual guru, Chris Knox, led to a one-off deal with the label that resulted in a five-song EP, ‘Lost Persons Area’. Moving to London in 1986 the fabled "Flying Nun sound" began making an impact outside New Zealand. The release of near-perfect compilations by The Clean and The Chills except Dead Famous People were a little early for that buzz. Stumbling into a deal with Utility Records, Billy Bragg and legendary manager Pete Jenner. Dons later started singing with new combo, Saint Etienne, her vocals feature on the original version of their cover version hit, ‘Kiss And Make Up’, as well as a cover of Gil Scott-Heron's ‘Winter In America’. Around this same time, Martin Phillipps of The Chills asked Dons requested she sing on ‘Heavenly Pop Hit’. Dons soon returned home to Auckland without an outlet for her music, three decades later Fire tracked her down and the rest is history. Now set to release her new album ‘Harry’, it’s more philosophical than her earlier work. It feels like the right one for a world of apocalyptic pandemic, uncertainty and quarantine. Dons' power over melody and knack for profundity remains unchanged since Dead Famous People's original incarnation. A rare record in a time of musical factionalism and a world divided into camps of willful obscurity and grotesque mockeries of stardom and art, it’s a document of unadorned perfection.

                                                                                        "Bob bought a DFP single which we both really liked, we were drawn to the mystery of the band's name and the melancholy tone of Dons' voice." Pete Wiggs - Saint Etienne.

                                                                                        “There was a sense of excitement that something special was happening." Martin Phillipps – The Chills.

                                                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                                                        Side A
                                                                                        A1 Looking At Girls
                                                                                        A2 Goddess Of Chill
                                                                                        A3 Safe And Sound
                                                                                        A4 Turn On The Light
                                                                                        A5 Dead Birds Eye

                                                                                        Side B
                                                                                        B6 Groovy Girl
                                                                                        B7 The Great Unknown
                                                                                        B8 Dog
                                                                                        B9 To Be Divine
                                                                                        B10 Harry

                                                                                        Graham Reynolds

                                                                                        The Lodger

                                                                                          Part of Fire’s ongoing series of re-imagined soundtracks. Following on from Fenella, Jane Weaver’s score for Marcell Jankovics’ ‘Feherlofia’, and Death and Vanilla’s reworking of ‘The Tenant’ and ‘Vampyr’. A specially recorded soundtrack for Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary Ripper-based drama by multi-award-winning composer Graham Reynolds (Where Do You Go, Bernadette/A Scanner Darkly). ‘The Lodger’ – based on Marie Belloc Lowndes’ 1913 novel with a nod to the infamous Jack The Ripper case – set many hearts racing when visiting the East End of London and an unexpected fog descended.

                                                                                          The drama was afoot, and the tension has been further escalated with a re-imagined score by multi award-winning composer, bandleader, and innovative improvisor, Graham Reynolds. This tale of murder and suspense set on the streets of terrorised London is eerily completed as Reynolds’ sweeps from light to dark; it’s playful in places, haunting, a tease – like Hitchcock at his best. Nowhere is safe, even the seemingly innocuous ‘Police Station’ which is accompanied by a brooding piece of maniacal piano that underpins a gloriously evocative theme; a haunting and suggestive muse that stutters with tension. It’s another Reynolds’ master stroke on the heels of his score for Richard Linklater’s ‘Where Do You Go, Bernadette’, his work on Ballet Austin’s ‘Grimm Tales’ and his contribution to ‘The Sound Of Science’, a multimedia collaboration with Kronos Quartet’s former cellist Jeffery Zeigler.

                                                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                                                          Side A

                                                                                          A1 - The Lodger
                                                                                          A2 - When He Sits At The Table
                                                                                          A3 - Golden Curls
                                                                                          A4 - Tempting Providence
                                                                                          A5 - You Will Not Rest

                                                                                          Side B

                                                                                          B1 - The Satchel
                                                                                          B2 - Keep Your Handcuffs Hidden
                                                                                          B3 - Police Station
                                                                                          B4 - A Kiss On The Hand
                                                                                          B5 - The Chase

                                                                                          Tobin Sprout

                                                                                          Empty Horses

                                                                                            Artist, illustrator, writer and lo-fi innovator, Tobin Sprout was the super-productive partner of Robert Pollard in the legendary Guided By Voices. The gifted songwriter returns with a pensive, expansive part autobiographical new album ‘Empty Horses’. Here he’s part Townes Van Zandt, part John Prine, part Robbie Robertson at his retrospective best.

                                                                                            The album is a meticulously observed study of America and Americana (not the music, but the state of mind). An alternative American Songbook, if you will, a collection of laments to simpler times and the struggle for what’s right, peppered with an examination of faith and the search for a sense of justice. Close up and personal, ‘Empty Horses’ is a poignant carefully etched experience, a rolling journey in modern times, nodding back to tradition, a personal snapshot filled with honesty.

                                                                                            ‘Empty Horses’ is released on vinyl LP and also a deluxe bookback CD, beautifully packed with 24 pages of paintings and lyrics by Tobin Sprout, a true collectors piece for fans of Tobin’s music and art.

                                                                                            “The perfect aural encapsulation of melancholy: in turns somnambulant, romantic and all-consuming” Rolling Stone.



                                                                                            “Raw, honest and often revelatory” Consequence Of Sound

                                                                                            TRACK LISTING

                                                                                            Side A
                                                                                            1 Wings Prelude
                                                                                            2 The Return
                                                                                            3 Breaking Down
                                                                                            4 On Golden Rivers
                                                                                            5 The Man I Used To Know

                                                                                            Side B
                                                                                            6 Every Sweet Soul
                                                                                            7 Empty Horses
                                                                                            8 Antietam
                                                                                            9 All In My Sleep
                                                                                            10 No Shame

                                                                                            Throwing Muses

                                                                                            Sun Racket

                                                                                              ‘Sun Racket’ is the brand new album from legendary Boston trio Throwing Muses, consisting of Kristin Hersh, David Narcizo and Bernard Georges. The follow up to 2013’s ‘Purgatory/Paradise’ is an outpouring of modal guitars, reverbed shapes, echoey drums and driving bass set behind Kristen Hersh’s well-thumbed notebook of storylines. A ten-song opus of suitably wrought tales set against a wall of sound that’s at once calm and ethereal before building into glorious cacophonous crescendos. When Throwing Muses wrote their last album, they were shattered. Pieces were coming and going, elements repeating and charging the whole. “It sounded beautiful jumping around like that”.

                                                                                              Two-minute songs reappearing as twisted instrumentals or another song’s bridge. They mimicked the effect live which kept them on their toes. Whatever was happening was already over in other words. ‘Sun Racket’ is the opposite. It refused to do anything but sit still. It says, “sit here and deal”. “All it asked of us was to comingle two completely disparate sonic vocabularies: one heavy noise, the other delicate music box. Turns out we didn’t have to do much. Sun Racket knew what it was doing and pushed us aside, which is always best. After thirty years of playing together, we trust each other implicitly but we trust the music more” - Kristin Hersh And so, they continue. Business unusual.

                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                              Barry says: Throwing Muses bring us their newest selection of gritty, fuzzed-out rock and / or roll, classic rock tinged melodies and deep, bluesy grooves. It's an intoxicating and exciting mix, and one that hasn't tempered any over time.

                                                                                              TRACK LISTING

                                                                                              1 Dark Blue
                                                                                              2 Bywater
                                                                                              3 Maria Laguna
                                                                                              4 Bo Diddley Bridge
                                                                                              5 Milk At Mcdonald’s
                                                                                              6 Upstairs Dan
                                                                                              7 St Charles
                                                                                              8 Frosting
                                                                                              9 Kay Catherine
                                                                                              10 Sue's

                                                                                              Josephine Foster

                                                                                              This Coming Gladness (RSD20 EDITION)

                                                                                                THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2020 RELEASE AVAILABLE ONLINE ONLY AS PART OF THE AUGUST 29TH DROP DAY AT 6PM.
                                                                                                LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.


                                                                                                Black Vinyl.Essential reissue of Josephine Foster's crucially revered classic 'This Coming Gladness' ñ for the first time on vinyl since 2008.Comes with brand new artwork and housed in a reverse board sleeve with a download card.

                                                                                                Brigid Mae Power

                                                                                                Head Above The Water

                                                                                                  Brigid Mae Power paints expansive songs that are effortless, hypnotic and folk-oriented like Judee Sill, Bill Callahan and Sharon Van Etten.

                                                                                                  The third album from the celebrated singer/songwriter, ‘Head Above The Water’ is a coming of age opus featuring a ground-breaking amalgamation of traditional folk and country - an engaging blend of strings, bouzouki, piano and Power’s distinctive vocal make this an achingly beautiful body of work.

                                                                                                  Recorded in analogue studio The Green Door in Glasgow with Alasdair Roberts co-producing alongside Brigid and Peter Broderick. It’s a continuing tale of everyday survival; more diverse, different, a bigger canvas, with broader brushstrokes…

                                                                                                  Country and traditional folk rub shoulders, making for a juxtaposition of threads, with added instrumentation from five musicians lured into the studio to provide larger dynamics.

                                                                                                  “Power meditates on the dichotomy that’s always existed in her work, melding atmospheric bliss and stark desperation.” Pitchfork.

                                                                                                  “Power invokes the elements, either in contrast to internal weather or in sympathy with it.” The Guardian.

                                                                                                  “Haunting and haunted” (The Line Of Best Fit), ‘Head Above The Water’ continues in that vein becoming more ethereal, more personal and even more alluring.

                                                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                  Side A
                                                                                                  A1 On A City Night
                                                                                                  A2 Wearing Red That Eve
                                                                                                  A3 Wedding Of A Friend
                                                                                                  A4 Not Yours To Own
                                                                                                  A5 I Was Named After You

                                                                                                  Side B
                                                                                                  B6 We Weren't Sure
                                                                                                  B7 You Have A Quiet Power
                                                                                                  B8 I Had To Keep My Circle Small
                                                                                                  B9 The Blacksmith
                                                                                                  B10 Head Above The Water

                                                                                                  Giant Sand

                                                                                                  Ramp

                                                                                                    A Deluxe remastered edition of Giant Sand’s 1991 album ‘Ramp’ with a second disc featuring the Mad Dog sessions from earlier that same year. “Convertino's brush-work and Burns' upright bass provide the perfect foundation for Gelb's parched voice and chaotic guitar, and guests include Rainer, Victoria Williams and country veteran Pappy Allen. It’s one of Giant Sand's strongest and most complete albums.” The Quietus // Featuring piano lounge music for an off-world colony interrupted by an onslaught of guitar when needed, it’s light and dark and the better for it, a musical journey on a road less travelled. With Gelb’s lyrical invention to the fore: “His thoughts unfold in long, rolling sentences that don't always follow conventional rules of grammar or syntax.” The Quietus // The Tucson sound at it very best.

                                                                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                    Disc 1

                                                                                                    1 Warm Storm
                                                                                                    2 Romance Of Falling
                                                                                                    3 Wonder
                                                                                                    4 Welcome To My World
                                                                                                    5 AntiShadow
                                                                                                    6 Neon Filler
                                                                                                    7 Jazzer Snipe
                                                                                                    8 Z.Z. Quicker Foot
                                                                                                    9 Seldom Matters
                                                                                                    10 Resolver
                                                                                                    11 Nowhere
                                                                                                    12 Always Horses Coming
                                                                                                    13 Patsy's Blues

                                                                                                    Disc 2 - Live At Mad Dog Studios – 30th January 1991:

                                                                                                    1 Back To The Black And Grey
                                                                                                    2 Trickle Down System
                                                                                                    3 Bible Black, Book II
                                                                                                    4 Still Too Far
                                                                                                    5 Romance Of Falling
                                                                                                    6 Can’t Find Love
                                                                                                    7 Shadow To You

                                                                                                    Modern Studies

                                                                                                    The Weight Of The Sun

                                                                                                      New album from kosmiche folk-rock quartet Modern Studies. A glorious compendium of haunted disco hallelujahs, mercurial krautrock chorales, cosmic pop adagios and euphoric, resilient, anthems. ‘The Weight of the Sun’ sees principal songwriters Emily Scott and Rob St John further their warm, esoteric field studies with Pete Harvey and Joe Smillie, as previously reconnoitred on ‘Swell To Great’ (2016) and ‘Welcome Strangers’ (2018).

                                                                                                      “The exact point where Fairport Convention meet Jim O’Rourke at a remote Scottish railway station.” Tim Burgess.

                                                                                                      “Melancholic magic… recalls Johnny Marr’s hazier reveries and the febrile, electrified folk of Polly Harvey’s Let England Shake.” UNCUT

                                                                                                      There is a strange familiarity, and a welcome strangeness, in the quiet alchemy of Modern Studies.

                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                      Side A
                                                                                                      1. Photograph
                                                                                                      2. Run For Cover
                                                                                                      3. Heavy Water
                                                                                                      4. She
                                                                                                      5. Corridors
                                                                                                      6. Signs Of Use

                                                                                                      Side B
                                                                                                      7. Brother
                                                                                                      8. The Blue Of Distance
                                                                                                      9. Back To The City
                                                                                                      10. Jacqueline
                                                                                                      11. Spaces
                                                                                                      12. Shape Of Light

                                                                                                      Josephine Foster

                                                                                                      I'm A Dreamer

                                                                                                        Popping up unassumingly in the second season of the popular series ‘End Of The F**cking World’ on Netflix and Amazon. This new release is sided with exclusive B-side ‘All Glow Now’. Taken from her 2013 album of the same name, ‘I’m A Dreamer’ beckons with a gentle hand, each note clear and crisp. ”Another stellar effort” (NME) the album “collects together a set of early country-esque songs” (The Quietus) and is produced by Andrija Tokic. The song sits comfortably at home in salon or saloon with its delicately arranged piano, woozy harmonica and soul-searching lyrics. “A masterclass in songwriting that perfectly invokes old Americana” Time Out // The North American Colorado based singersongwriter breathes new life into archaic forms, embodying the cultural archelogy of Harry Smith’s old weird America. She has lent her warbling mezzo-soprano and interpretive wit to nearly two decades of self-produced recordings. Her songs are rooted in American folkblues as well as classical art song and Tin Pan Alley. (E. Gades)

                                                                                                        Las Kellies

                                                                                                        Suck This Tangerine

                                                                                                          Argentinian grrl group Las Kellies return with new album ‘Suck This Tangerine’ out 27th March on Fire Records and will be touring Europe in Spring 2020. Sucking you in, Las Kellies takes us straight back to the party reminding us of what we’ve been missing with their libidinous mix of garage, punk and dub. Thrashing it out on the dancefloor, ‘Suck This Tangerine’ deals with the difficulties of a society in never ending crisis (‘Funny Money’) to the highs and lows in relationships (‘He’s Who’, ‘Let You Go’) and there’s a guest appearance from ex-Kellie Julia Worley on ‘Close Talker’. Recorded at home in Buenos Aires, the chemistry of the duo’s formative years remains as does their febrile new wave post-punk sound soaked in fiery dance beats and dub-pop. Their first release since 2016’s ‘Friends & Lovers’ was “impressively varied” (The Vinyl District) whilst “seamlessly melding psych/fuzz pop, post-punk attitude and dance beats” (Louder Than War). Las Kellies are Cecilia Kelly (bass, guitars, vocals) and Silvina Costa (drums, percussion and vocals). "Absolutely love 'em" Lauren Laverne

                                                                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                          1. Closer
                                                                                                          2. Funny Money
                                                                                                          3. Baby
                                                                                                          4. He's Who's
                                                                                                          5. Matrixland
                                                                                                          6. Despite.
                                                                                                          7. Charade
                                                                                                          8. Rid Of You 
                                                                                                          9. Weekdays
                                                                                                          10. Let You Go 
                                                                                                          11. White Paradise
                                                                                                          12. Close Talker

                                                                                                          Bardo Pond

                                                                                                          Bardo Pond - Repress

                                                                                                            Critical praise from Pitchfork, Clash, The Wire, Q Magazine and more upon release. New inverted LTD edition artwork. Fire re-issue Bardo Pond’s eponymous eighth studio album from 2010, their debut for Fire from way back when. A lysergic brain wrestler in which the Pennsylvanian drone outfit perfect their modal sound. Teasing the artistry of LaMonte Young and Terry Riley into a guitar shaped cauldron, the album’s compulsive reverbed guitar shapes slowly simmer behind Isobel Sollenberger’s esoteric vocals “Like hearing a tannoy at a station in the voice of Jesus.” The Quietus. A claustrophobic stuttering raga interlocks with their psychedelic leanings best exemplified on ‘Cracker Wrist’ which sounds like something that’s intentionally always just about to happen/and/or spin back in time. Featuring lengthy fully nurtured play offs between the quintet ‘Bardo Pond’ is a heady statement that’s like the most wholesome kind of vegan-friendly mushroom trips. Pitchfork reckons they’re “playing fuzzed out stoner dreams.” Vice’s musical brother Noisey likens them to “Fugazi On Acid.” Allmusic intervenes with: “These are epic, soaring psychedelic ambient power-drone rock noise melodies where partially buried, distant female vocals are laced throughout a roaring, murky/sludge guitar soundscape

                                                                                                            TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                            1 Just Once
                                                                                                            2 Don’t Know About You
                                                                                                            3 Sleeping
                                                                                                            4 Undone
                                                                                                            5 Cracker Wrist
                                                                                                            6 The Stars Behind
                                                                                                            7 Wayne’s Tune

                                                                                                            Islet

                                                                                                            Eyelet

                                                                                                              A Powys trio whose free-spirited invention and exuberant intensity flows through experimental pop: hypnotic, exhilarating and defiantly unique. The Welsh band Islet return with the release of their long-awaited new album.

                                                                                                              Eyelet was recorded at home tucked away in the hills of rural Mid Wales. It took form the months following the birth of band members Emma and Mark Daman Thomas’ second child and the death of fellow band member Alex Williams’ mother. Alex came to live with Emma and Mark, and the band enlisted Rob Jones (Pictish Trail, Charles Watson) to produce.

                                                                                                              ‘Caterpillar’ described by Emma as “a song for my unborn child”. It's followed by syncopated lullaby ‘Good Grief’ with its haunting keyboard hook and icy percussion thawed by Emma’s yearning vocals about the quiet strength of generations of women. With nods towards Arthur Russell and Jenny Hval, ‘Geese’ is a mini symphony of driven electronica inspired by Welsh cultural theorist Raymond Williams’ novel People Of The Black Mountains.

                                                                                                              Young Fathers inflected rhythm can be heard on ‘Radel 10’ that accompanies the multi-tracked variations of Emma and defiant lyrics that were inspired in part by The Good Immigrant - the landmark anthology of essays on race and immigration by BAME writers.

                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Barry says: Islet were one of the first bands I saw play when I moved to Wales, and remained a mainstay on my shelves since that day. Whilst their groove has morphed, and the frenetic energy has both waxed and waned, the output has remained undeniably brilliant. 'Eyelet' is on the more relaxing side, but absolutely glimmers with astoundingly written pop songs and immersive, soaring heft. Their greatest work to date, in a catalogue of gold.

                                                                                                              TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                              Side A
                                                                                                              A1 Caterpillar
                                                                                                              A2 Good Grief
                                                                                                              A3 Treasure
                                                                                                              A4 Geese
                                                                                                              A5 Sgwylfa Rock

                                                                                                              Side B
                                                                                                              B1 Radel 10
                                                                                                              B2 Clouds
                                                                                                              B3 Florist
                                                                                                              B4 Moon
                                                                                                              B5 No Host
                                                                                                              B6 Gyratory Circus

                                                                                                              Bold, weird, wild, wired, sonically luxurious yet never losing touch with its DIY-‘til-I-die roots, Thumb World is a voyage to the outer rings of Pictish Trail’s mind at its darkest, funniest and most inventive – a plugged-in, fuzzed-out, fucked-up contemplation on, as he puts it, “life repeating and gradually degrading, the inevitable cyclical nature of things, and the sense of their ultimately being no escape.”

                                                                                                              Expect alien abductions, thumping beats, Trump-haired pigs, paternal panic, astronaut sex, bad acid trips, worse hangovers, lashings of distortion and a lot of anthropomorphic thumbs. “Our opposable thumbs are the things that separate us from most other animals on Earth,” Pictish explains, of the fat digit symbolism, “they are also the things that we use to swipe on screens, to separate ourselves from our normal lives, but which in turn trap us within an artificial reality.”

                                                                                                              Produced and mixed by Rob Jones, featuring string arrangements from Kim Moore and drumming from Alex Thomas (Squarepusher, Anna Calvi, Air), Thumb World is Pictish Trail’s most collaborative album to date.

                                                                                                              An audio-visual dialogue with Swatpaz, AKA Scottish artist Davey Ferguson – the man behind the Turbo Fantasy series and an entire episode of cult TV phenomenon Adventure Time – furnished Johnny with not just a graphic aesthetic for the album, but even helped him to shape the sound of the finished record. “I sent Davey a work-in-progress mix of the album,” Johnny says, “he came back with sketches in which he had reimagined Thumb World as an 80’s arcade game. Some of the songs are centered around specific visual images, inspired by Davey’s sketches.”

                                                                                                              Due for release on Fire Records on February 21, 2020. Four years in the making, Thumb World is the much-anticipated follow-up to his critically acclaimed Scottish Album of the Year Award public vote winner Future Echoes.

                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Barry says: This definitely falls solidly within my realm of interests,

                                                                                                              videogame aesthetic [x]
                                                                                                              superb production [x]
                                                                                                              brilliantly written tunes [x]

                                                                                                              It's got it all, and only goes to show how the super talented Johnny Lynch keeps smashing it out of the park. Ace stuff.

                                                                                                              TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                              Side A
                                                                                                              1 Repeat Neverending
                                                                                                              2 Double Sided
                                                                                                              3 Pig Nice
                                                                                                              4 Lead Balloon
                                                                                                              5 Fear Anchor

                                                                                                              Side B
                                                                                                              6 Slow Memories
                                                                                                              7 Bad Algebra
                                                                                                              8 Heart Eyes
                                                                                                              9 Turning Back
                                                                                                              10 Thumb World

                                                                                                              “What Black Lips do so well is tease the horror out of wholesomeness and recast golden-age rock’n’roll in a strange, discomforting light” Pitchfork.

                                                                                                              “Cosmic country that comes strutting off a dusty back porch with gritted teeth” Consequence Of Sound.

                                                                                                              It’s country music but not as we know it which begs the question: Have these Bad Kids of 21st Century rock ’n’ roll finally grown up on their ninth studio album? Are they at peace with themselves? Have they made a record their parents could listen to? The Black Lips new album ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ continues to flick the middle finger to one and all. This ain’t another gaggle of bearded southern sons fleeing their collective suburban upbringings and collegiate music education. There aren’t the usual clichés about drinking, honkytonks, and heartbreak. These are, after all, the same Black Lips who rescued the waning garage punk subgenre by not sounding or dressing their musical predecessors. They also dug contemporary hip-hop and punk and actualized themselves Like so many dramatic moments in the Black Lips career, ‘Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart’ was born out of crisis. The band’s stylistic evolution through decades of prolific touring and recording took them where no garage punk band had gone before - huge venues, network television shows, and major music festivals. Here Black Lips are at their grimiest, most dangerous and equipped with the best collection of songs since the aughts. Skidding onto the asphalt in a shower of sparks, they roll on with an unapologetic southern-fried twang, pacing the beast, every now and then dropping a psycho howl into the rubber room madness lurking underneath the truckstop fireworks. This ain’t your granny’s country album. And conversely this ain’t your mama’s Black Lips.

                                                                                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                              Barry says: Just as the thigh-slapping hoedown starts, it fades away into rich psychy rock and swinging blues riffage. Black lips have always been one of the most distinctive bands that start with 'Black___' (of which there are A LOT), and 'In A World That's Falling Apart' provides a feelgood alternative to that exact scenario. Turn it up and don't stress. Black Lips got this.

                                                                                                              TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                              1. Hooker Jon
                                                                                                              2. Chainsaw
                                                                                                              3. Rumbler
                                                                                                              4. Holding Me Holding You
                                                                                                              5. Gentleman
                                                                                                              6. Get It On Time
                                                                                                              7. Angola Rodeo
                                                                                                              8. Georgia
                                                                                                              9. Odelia
                                                                                                              10. Dishonest Man
                                                                                                              11. Locust
                                                                                                              12. Live Fast Die Slow

                                                                                                              Josephine Foster And The Supposed

                                                                                                              All The Leaves Are Gone

                                                                                                                Could it be that the world is finally ready for the tempestuous folk-rock opera that is "All the Leaves are Gone?" In 2004, only the truly informed and forward-thinking heads "got" this mini masterpiece. Critics scratched their heads and usually resorted to comparisons of past artists, like ol Grace Slick and her Great Jefferson Society, Fairport Convention (but which era? SURELY Judy Dyble's early reign?), and at best, Shirley Collins. A few fans attempted to connect the record to even more obscure "freak folk/rock" like Mellow Candle, Fear Itself, or Trees. "All the Leaves are Gone" was made by unique personalities not concerned with influences or copying any bygone era. Surely, some things are in our DNA or even early childhood, as Josephine Foster's roots in opera manifest themselves as much as any other influence in this organic song cycle. Sure, guitarist Brian Goodman may have heard Richard Thompson before, but his alchemical and molten guitar spray is purely his own, in tunings and intervals still not meant for normal humans to understand, mostly because his 2004 guts were poured into every sublime note (I think even Brian himself never even understood how good he was). That fiery emotion is also in every nuance of Foster's songs--like life, there's disquieting, jagged moments of unease, and there's calm both before and after the storm. There are moments of utter gentleness along the journey---because yes, every concept album should be a voyage, and this is one everyone should take. - Steve Krakow

                                                                                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                Well-Heeled Men
                                                                                                                The Most Loved One
                                                                                                                All The Leaves Are Gone
                                                                                                                Nana, Deathknell
                                                                                                                Silly Song
                                                                                                                Jailbird (Hero Of The Sorrow)
                                                                                                                Worried And Sorry
                                                                                                                Who Will Feel Bitter At The Days End?
                                                                                                                John Ave
                                                                                                                Seen From The Gray Train
                                                                                                                Don't Wait Mary Jane
                                                                                                                (You Are Worth) A Million Dollars

                                                                                                                Jane Weaver

                                                                                                                Loops In The Secret Society - Deluxe Edition

                                                                                                                  This unique package successfully archives the key elements of Jane’s ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ tour. Housed in a concise limited-edition pocket-compendium the new CD version brings Jane’s fully realised ‘Loops Variations’ and sonic installations into your own environment with new illustrations based on the songs by Andy Votel and DVD featuring the experimental film installation featured on the tour by Nick Farrimond. When science fiction turns science fact the effect can be truly momentous. The state demands that no-one wants an unlicensed machine-hum from an outbuilding; no-one wants clever prose mapping the future, no-one wants “music” that is attention-seeking, soul-defining, beneficial, Biblical, baroque and beautiful.

                                                                                                                  No-one told Jane Weaver that. Jane Weaver’s multi-layered synthetics evolved into a welcoming slew with 2014’s ‘The Silver Globe’, continuing through to 2017’s ‘Modern Kosmology’. ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ is a re-imagined journey through parts of both albums, with new ambient pieces primed and polished; with new tangents explored in a lab-friendly blossoming of the Weaver vision that travels yet further into the psych of our future. A continuous experience with one-line observations set in glorious sense-stimulating sound. That source material was then united in an expansionist experiment in late 2018. The ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ tour fused unrelated sounds set off against sympathetic new textures, tones and drones; hot-housed into an idealistic soundscape that formed the conducive parts of the imminent album of the same name. Co-conspirators include Henry Broadhead, PJ Phillipson and Andy Votel. Renegades all, headed by the enigmatic Weaver all under surveillance. 

                                                                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                  1 Element (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  2 Milk Loop
                                                                                                                  3 Arrows (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  4 Found Birds
                                                                                                                  5 H>A>K (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  6 Did You See Butterflies (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  7 Sun House
                                                                                                                  8 I Wish (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  9 Mission Desire (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  10 Battle Ropes
                                                                                                                  11 Found Birds
                                                                                                                  12 Slow Motion (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  13 Margins
                                                                                                                  14 Cells (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  15 Code (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  16 Signs Are Rising
                                                                                                                  17 Ravenspoint (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  18 Sous Le Même Soleil, Vie Disparu Dans Le Ciel (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  19 Majic Milk (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                  20 Conduit
                                                                                                                  21 Ivana Vessel
                                                                                                                  22 Battle Ropes

                                                                                                                  Giant Sand

                                                                                                                  Glum

                                                                                                                    A conceptual masterpiece, complete with a second disc capturing a classic KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic session just prior to the original album’s release in 1994, plus five bonus tracks available for digital download. An epic windswept desert dry encounter with one of America’s greatest bands that traverses genres and styles to create a complete masterpiece. “While the guitars still squall and roar, they're used more sparingly, erupting to devastating effect in gloomy, low-key songs.” The Quietus // Emotional and uplifting, and always thought provoking, the band’s line up of Howe Gelb, latter day Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino are joined by Victoria Williams, Pete Holsapple, Chris Cacavas, Pappy Allen and Lisa Germano, the whole shebang produced by Daniel Lanois protégé Malcolm Burn. “Giant Sand move to the darker side of their emotional stew. Within is jazz, country, folk, blues even Glam, we’re led to believe the mainstay is downbeat but the result is monumental

                                                                                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                    A1 Glum
                                                                                                                    A2 Yer Ropes
                                                                                                                    A3 Happenstance
                                                                                                                    A4 Frontage Road
                                                                                                                    A5 Painted Bird

                                                                                                                    B1 1 Helvakowboy Song
                                                                                                                    B2 Spun
                                                                                                                    B3 Left
                                                                                                                    B4 Faithful
                                                                                                                    B5 Bird Song
                                                                                                                    B6 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

                                                                                                                    C1 World Stands Still – KCRW SESSION
                                                                                                                    C2 I Wish You Love - KCRW SESSION
                                                                                                                    C3 Interview - KCRW SESSION
                                                                                                                    C4 Lester Lampshade - KCRW SESSION

                                                                                                                    D1 Get To Leave - KCRW SESSION
                                                                                                                    D2 Left - KCRW SESSION
                                                                                                                    D3 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - KCRW SESSION
                                                                                                                    D4 Interview - KCRW SESSION
                                                                                                                    D5 Instrumental - KCRW SESSION

                                                                                                                    Fenella

                                                                                                                    Fenella

                                                                                                                      ‘Fenella’ is the latest project from Jane Weaver - musical polymath and one of the most respected electronic composers of recent times - and her long-term bandmates Peter Philipson and Raz Ullah.

                                                                                                                      Having already released three critically-acclaimed LP’s within the last five years Weaver’s creativity continues to expand ever further into the (modern) kosmos with this reimagined soundtrack to Marcell Jankovics’ cult animation Fehérlófia.

                                                                                                                      Released in 1981, Fehérlófia is a remarkable animation based in ancient folklore with a narrative culled from mythical tales of the Scythans, Huns and Avars.

                                                                                                                      Weaver’s richly emotional and psychedelic music offers a perfect contemporary dialogue with Jankovics’ astonishing visual aesthetic.

                                                                                                                      A mixture of ambient textures, menacing drones and spine-tingling vocals combine to create a lavish soundscape saturated with hypnotic moods and cinematic atmosphere.

                                                                                                                      Fenella’s self-titled LP is a continuation of Fire Records re-imagined score series.

                                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                      Barry says: F'in-ell-a, this is good. As you'd expect, a project from Raz, Jane and Peter being anything but wonderful would be a rare day indeed, but this woozy slab of arpy psychedelia is pushing the boundaries. Intricate but easily digested, this rich tapestry of fizzing oscillators and analogue saturation is a gift straight from the white mare's mouth. AT LEAST 250ug of pure joy.

                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                      Side A
                                                                                                                      Slow Swoop
                                                                                                                      Three Heads Rising
                                                                                                                      Bright Curse
                                                                                                                      Occurring In Waves
                                                                                                                      Triangular Journey
                                                                                                                      The Seed
                                                                                                                      Pendulum
                                                                                                                      Shard Of Glass
                                                                                                                      Truly Seduced

                                                                                                                      Side B
                                                                                                                      The Spectacle
                                                                                                                      Battle
                                                                                                                      Echo Chamber Of Your Heart
                                                                                                                      Strength In Air
                                                                                                                      Rotation Wells
                                                                                                                      Gilded Griffin
                                                                                                                      Transfiguration Into One

                                                                                                                      Groundhogs

                                                                                                                      Thank Christ For The Bomb

                                                                                                                        A hugely influential album cited as the embryo for punk, grunge and beyond. Featuring epic 1970 concepts from this far reaching trio much praised by Underworld’s Karl Hyde, Captain Sensible, Stephen Malkmus and a host of others. ‘Thank Christ For The Bomb’ is a visionary tale of cold war fear, alienation and everyday drama. “This is a masterpiece!” New Musical Express.

                                                                                                                        A thinking man’s rumination on alienation, the album is a game of two halves; side one tackling the thermo nuclear threat while side two traces riches to rags alienation in everyday London. First of a trio of ground-breaking albums that steered the band from the Blues into a heavier, more prog-based sound and a true reflection of their much-praised live sound. 

                                                                                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                        Side A:
                                                                                                                        1 Strange Town
                                                                                                                        2 Darkness Is No Friend
                                                                                                                        3 Soldier
                                                                                                                        4 Thank Christ For The Bomb.

                                                                                                                        Side B:
                                                                                                                        5 Ship On The Ocean
                                                                                                                        6 Garden
                                                                                                                        7 Status People
                                                                                                                        8 Rich Man, Poor Man
                                                                                                                        9 Eccentric Man

                                                                                                                        Kristin Hersh

                                                                                                                        Crooked

                                                                                                                          “Her significant solo output has been remarkable” Drowned In Sound. Following a special vinyl release for this year’s Record Store Day celebrating its tenth anniversary, ‘Crooked’ will be reissued on black vinyl and CD on 27th September.

                                                                                                                          ‘A figurehead for feminist indie rock’ (Classic Rock), Kristin Hersh achieved a music and publishing first when her eighth solo album was initially released as a multi-media book in 2009. Hersh’s “poetic, provocative and puzzling songcraft” (The Washington Post) makes ‘Crooked’ a stunning record. The resplendent, melancholic ‘Flooding’ came to Hersh in the form of song but was also a premonition of the imminent death of close friend and musician Vic Chesnutt. Mainstay in her recent live shows, ‘Mississippi Kite’ is snarly and unsettling whilst the spectral psychedelic tones of ‘Rubidoux’ stem from a 50foot Wave car ride and a late-night recording session. The songs still lead the way hitting Hersh fully formed but it’s her beguiling raspy vocals paired with guitar, and any other instrument that she chose to play on this album, that has a beautiful intensity that’s jarring, unpredictable and inherent in her music. “She's still as powerful a presence as she ever was.” Pitchfork… 

                                                                                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                          1. Moan
                                                                                                                          2. Sand
                                                                                                                          3. Glass
                                                                                                                          4. Mississippi Kite
                                                                                                                          5. Fortune
                                                                                                                          6. Coals
                                                                                                                          7. Crooked
                                                                                                                          8. Krait
                                                                                                                          9. Flooding
                                                                                                                          10. Rubidoux 

                                                                                                                          HTRK

                                                                                                                          Nostalgia

                                                                                                                            HTRK’s seminal debut gets a new cut to white vinyl with white sleeve and gloss cover. An abrasive record shrouded in sonorous pulses, deafening feedback and tension-soaked reverb that immerses you deep into their world. HTRK’s lo-fi post-punk, post-industrial noise-electronica echoes Suicide, Throbbing Gristle and Joy Division. "Nostalgia" took inspiration from the sound and imagery of David Lynch, The Birthday Party and electronic artist Pita. Rowland S Howard’s ‘Teenage Snuff Film’ was also cited as a big influence, HTRK notably caught the post-punk legend’s attention with their live gigs which saw him endorse the band and go on to co-produce their next release "Marry Me Tonight". A compelling introductory statement that delves into their guilty nostalgia for the nihilistic energies rampant in the 80s underground. 'An agitated haze of addictive ambivalence instead of the swagger and violence of their influences, the overall feeling is of beautiful disharmony'.

                                                                                                                            TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                            A1 - Hate Rock Trio
                                                                                                                            A2 - Look What’s Been Done
                                                                                                                            A3 - Look Down The Line

                                                                                                                            B1 - Look At That Girl
                                                                                                                            B2 - Look At Her
                                                                                                                            B3 - You Injured Me
                                                                                                                            B4 - I’m All Broke Up 

                                                                                                                            Giant Sand

                                                                                                                            Recounting The Ballads Of Thin Line Men

                                                                                                                              It’s 33 and a third years since the seminal Giant Sand and its country cousin The Band Of… Blacky Ranchette entered the studio to lay down their second albums. Yes. Both bands had recorded their second albums each. Two sides of the multi-faceted hyper-productive Howe Gelb. “I was turning 28,” he recalls, “and had been wanting to make and release albums since my early 20s, but only recently had figured out how. It was time to make up for lost time.”

                                                                                                                              Time was of the essence. That thin line between then and now has seen journeymen Giant Sand release 27-ish albums, their latest, ‘Recounting The Ballad Of The Thin Line Men’ turning the clock back to 1986’s ‘Ballad Of A Thin Line Man’, picking over the bones and making a whole new soup. All these years on, the latest incarnation of Giant Sand: Howe Gelb (guitars, piano) Tommy Larkins (drums) and Thøger Lund (bass), have dusted off the old vinyl and re-imagined those heady days – they’ve polished these buried gems, reignited some truculent tirades and rekindled an ageless angst. The revamp re-orders the tracks, drops a couple and adds ‘Reptillian’, a previously lost song hailing from their album’s 25th anniversary re-issue, a tune that opens proceedings and basks in all its crinkly glory. There’s also two takes of ‘Tantamount’. The unique thing about Giant Sand’ is they make it all their own, they sound like no-one else. The songs remain the same, but somehow completely different. Howe: “We were a fine storm. The greatest storm in terms of tumultuous velocity and pelting bluster. It proved unstoppable... for a minute”.

                                                                                                                              TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                              1 Reptillian
                                                                                                                              2 Hard Man To Get To Know
                                                                                                                              3 Desperate Man
                                                                                                                              4 You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory
                                                                                                                              5 Tantamount
                                                                                                                              6 Who Am I
                                                                                                                              7 Body Of Water
                                                                                                                              8 Graveyard
                                                                                                                              9 The Chill Outside
                                                                                                                              10 Thin Line Man
                                                                                                                              11 Tantamount Blast (Bonus Track)

                                                                                                                              Hater

                                                                                                                              Four Tries Down / It's A Mess

                                                                                                                                “Swoony Swedish indie-pop.” Record Collector. Two new tracks from Malmo’s much-praised Hater. “One of the best bands in the world” Gorilla Vs Bear. Hot on the heels of last year’s ‘Siesta’, their second studio album and first for Fire Records. It’s a compelling slice of angular pop music; dysfunctional, dreamy, tempting, and teasing. ‘Four Tries Down’ presents an acute hand-tooled angular rasp, with its chiming guitar chopped out against a disengaged rhythm, topped with the dreamy ambience of Caroline Landahl’s whispered confessional that cuts through the mesmerising hum. ‘It’s A Mess’ is more subtle, with a teenage Nico admitting to inevitable boyfriend trouble. Drums rattle before cutting down to the basics to let Landahls pontificate as it all goes wrong – it’s a beautiful mess. Beautiful. “Nostalgic for ‘90s indie pop innocence.” MOJO Set for release this Autumn, 7" 'Four Tries Down' coincides with Hater’s first US tour. “Too noisy to be indie pop, too sweet to be post punk.” Clash.

                                                                                                                                Modern Studies And Tommy Perman

                                                                                                                                Emergent Slow Arcs

                                                                                                                                  Modern Studies’ much praised ‘Welcome Strangers’ album from 2018 re-imagined by designer / musician Tommy Perman. “A heady compendium of haunted disco lullabies for foggy urban woodland raves and psychotropic campfire sing-alongs,” said The Quietus of the original Perman (Random Audio Therapy Unit, Cybraphon) re-invents it as a series of modern electronic compositions, like Brian Eno, John Carpenter and Tangerine Dream’s offspring hanging out with Aphex Twin’s twin. “My solo work follows an analytical documentary style and much of it has taken the urban environment as inspiration.” On their previous work together as Water Of Life, The Vinyl Factory claimed Perman and Rob St John’s music as "a fascinating and ambitious project that tests the boundaries of what we perceive as music in the environments we live in". A Frankenstein moment? A monster of ambient ardour, ‘Emergent Slow Arcs’ is something else. An electronic homage, a mystical re-telling that sounds so askew from the sum of its parts it has a life all of its own, traversing an arc previously unchartered. 

                                                                                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                  A1 Ephemeris Mist
                                                                                                                                  A2 Faraway Hills
                                                                                                                                  A3 Celestial Dance
                                                                                                                                  A4 Moonshot

                                                                                                                                  B1 Ghost Skies
                                                                                                                                  B2 Spectral Cannon
                                                                                                                                  B3 Edgeland Duet
                                                                                                                                  B4 Sunup Shutdown

                                                                                                                                  Television Personalities

                                                                                                                                  Some Kind Of Happening (Singles 1978-1989)

                                                                                                                                    A comprehensive remastered collection of all of the Television Personalities’ ground-breaking single releases from the Peel-approved ‘14th Floor’ through to the effervescent ‘Salvador Dali’s Garden Party’ EP. Includes the super rare Creation flexi, the TVPs as The Gifted Children, and the even rarer Caff 45 where the band tackle Stock, Aitken And Waterman. Purists will also find two shelved 45s for the Dreamworld label plus their take on Syd Barrett’s ‘Apples And Oranges’ from the ‘Beyond The Wildwood’ tribute album. Features the seminal ‘Where’s Bill Grundy Now’ and the self-effacing ‘Part Time Punks’ alongside a host of pop culture-bating gems. A celebration of the songwriting of Dan Treacy

                                                                                                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                    Disc One -

                                                                                                                                    01 - 14th Floor
                                                                                                                                    02 - Oxford St., W.1
                                                                                                                                    03 - Part Time Punks
                                                                                                                                    04 - Where's Bill Grundy Now?
                                                                                                                                    05 - Happy Families
                                                                                                                                    06 - Posing At The Roundhouse
                                                                                                                                    07 - The Prettiest Girl In The World
                                                                                                                                    08 - If That's What Love Is
                                                                                                                                    09 – Miracles Take Longer
                                                                                                                                    10 – Apples And Oranges
                                                                                                                                    11 - Smashing Time
                                                                                                                                    12 - King And Country
                                                                                                                                    13 - I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives
                                                                                                                                    14 - Arthur The Gardener
                                                                                                                                    15 – Painting By Numbers
                                                                                                                                    16 – Lichtenstein Girl
                                                                                                                                    17 - Three Wishes
                                                                                                                                    18 - Geoffrey Ingram
                                                                                                                                    19 - And Don't The Kids Just Love It!
                                                                                                                                    20 - Biff, Bang, Pow!
                                                                                                                                    21 - A Picture Of Dorian Gray (Live)

                                                                                                                                    Disc Two -

                                                                                                                                    01 - A Sense Of Belonging
                                                                                                                                    02 - Paradise Estate
                                                                                                                                    03 - How I Learned To Love The Bomb
                                                                                                                                    04 - Then God Snaps His Fingers
                                                                                                                                    05 - Now You're Just Being Ridiculous
                                                                                                                                    06 - She's Only The Grocer's Daughter
                                                                                                                                    07 - A Girl Called Charity
                                                                                                                                    08 - Salvador Dali's Garden Party
                                                                                                                                    09 - The Room At The Top Of The Stairs
                                                                                                                                    10 -This Time There's No Happy Ending
                                                                                                                                    11 - Part One: Fulfilling The Contractual Obligations
                                                                                                                                    12 - I Still Believe In Magic
                                                                                                                                    13 – Respectable
                                                                                                                                    14 – Privilege
                                                                                                                                    15 – Me And My Desire
                                                                                                                                    16 - My Imaginary Friend
                                                                                                                                    17 - I Remember Bridget Riley

                                                                                                                                    Television Personalities

                                                                                                                                    Some Kind Of Trip (Singles 1990-1994)

                                                                                                                                      “Television Personalities have been England's great forgotten band for too long.” Melody Maker // A comprehensive remastered collection of all of the Television Personalities’ ground-breaking single releases from the evocative ‘Strangely Beautiful’ EP through to the dark introspective terrain of ‘Far Away And Lost In Joy’. Includes the super rare ‘Favourite Films’ 12-inch (only previously available on12-inch vinyl) plus the exquisite ‘Goodnight Mr Spaceman’ and ‘You, Me And Lou Reed’ EPs. Sequenced in chronological release order including every track and remix, embracing a host of pop culture threads from art, music and writing with all the ironic wit and wisdom of a master tunesmith – a veritable L-shaped room of pop desire. A further celebration of the songwriting of Dan Treacy. 

                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                      CD1 -

                                                                                                                                      1. Strangely Beautiful (7" Mix)
                                                                                                                                      2. Reaching For The Stars
                                                                                                                                      3. Not Even A Maybe
                                                                                                                                      4. Strangely Beautiful (Chill Out Reprise)
                                                                                                                                      5. She's Never Read My Poems (7"mix)
                                                                                                                                      6. The Day The Dolphins Leave The Sea
                                                                                                                                      7. Christ Knows I Have Tried
                                                                                                                                      8. She's Never Read My Poems (12" Mix)
                                                                                                                                      9 - Favourite Films
                                                                                                                                      10 - The Dream Inspires
                                                                                                                                      11 - Happy All The Time (Ten Years Ahead Of Its Time Version)
                                                                                                                                      12. We Will Be Your Gurus (7” Mix)
                                                                                                                                      13. An Exhibition By Joan Miro
                                                                                                                                      14. Love Is Better Than War…

                                                                                                                                      CD2 -

                                                                                                                                      01. Goodnight Mr Spaceman (12” Mix)
                                                                                                                                      02. If I Was Your Girlfriend
                                                                                                                                      03. She Loves It When He Sings Like Elvis
                                                                                                                                      04. Goodnight Mr Spaceman (Lost In Space Mix)
                                                                                                                                      05. You, Me And Lou Reed.
                                                                                                                                      06. My Imaginary Friend
                                                                                                                                      07. I Remember Bridget Riley
                                                                                                                                      08. I Wish You Could Love Me For What I Am
                                                                                                                                      09. I Don’t Want To Live This Life
                                                                                                                                      10. Far Away And Lost In Joy
                                                                                                                                      11. Do You Know What They’re Saying About Me Now?
                                                                                                                                      12. I Get Frightened

                                                                                                                                      When science fiction turns science fact the effect can be truly momentous. The state demands that no-one wants an unlicensed machine-hum from an outbuilding; no-one wants clever prose mapping the future, no-one wants “music” that is attention-seeking, soul-defining, beneficial, Biblical, baroque and beautiful. No-one told Jane Weaver that.

                                                                                                                                      Jane Weaver’s multi-layered synthetics evolved into a welcoming slew with 2014’s ‘The Silver Globe’, continuing through to 2017’s ‘Modern Kosmology’. ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ is a re-imagined journey through parts of both albums, with new ambient pieces primed and polished; with new tangents explored in a lab-friendly blossoming of the Weaver vision that travels yet further into the psych of our future. A continuous experience with one-line observations set in glorious sense-stimulating sound.

                                                                                                                                      That source material was then united in an expansionist experiment in late 2018. The ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ tour fused unrelated sounds set off against sympathetic new textures, tones and drones ; hot-housed into an idealistic soundscape that formed the conducive parts of the imminent album of the same name.

                                                                                                                                      Co-conspirators include Henry Broadhead, PJ Phillipson and Andy Votel. Renegades all, headed by the enigmatic Weaver – all under surveillance.

                                                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                      Andy says: Beautiful reinterperations of tracks from Jane's last two albums, interspersed with new ambient style pieces to make a brand new album in its own right. Gorgeous.

                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                      1 Element (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      2 Milk Loop
                                                                                                                                      3 Arrows (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      4 Found Birds
                                                                                                                                      5 H>A>K (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      6 Did You See Butterflies (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      7 Sun House
                                                                                                                                      8 I Wish (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      9 Mission Desire (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      10 Battle Ropes
                                                                                                                                      11 Found Birds
                                                                                                                                      12 Slow Motion (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      13 Margins
                                                                                                                                      14 Cells (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      15 Code (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      16 Signs Are Rising
                                                                                                                                      17 Ravenspoint (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      18 Sous Le Même Soleil, Vie Disparu Dans Le Ciel (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      19 Majic Milk (Loops Variation)
                                                                                                                                      20 Conduit
                                                                                                                                      21 Ivana Vessel
                                                                                                                                      22 Battle Ropes

                                                                                                                                      Lemonheads

                                                                                                                                      Take It Easy

                                                                                                                                        The Lemonheads bring together two unique takes on The Eagles’ ode to romance and the road, ‘Take It Easy’. From their ‘Varshons II’ album that brought together intriguing takes on everyone from Nick Cave and The Bevis Frond through to John Prine, Yo La Tengo, Lucinda Williams and Paul Westerberg. Version One is a piece of itchy white line fever, switching gears as the eight-track spirals on, a singalong variation with a right arm tan – all alt-country and joyous, with an undertone of pain and remorse. Evan: “‘Take It Easy’ is kinda rough. It was my girlfriend's idea, but it was my idea to make it sound anaemic and bloodless... enjoy!” Version two is a Matthew Cullen production – a suicide mix, with Schneider and Hutter sharing the wheel, as the road map heads right into the soundtrack of Tron – that’s Satnavs for you… 

                                                                                                                                        'Vanishing Twin is songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas, drummer Valentina Magaletti, bassist Susumu Mukai, synth/guitar player Phil MFU and visual artist/film maker Elliott Arndt on flute and percussion; and on this album they have made their first artistic statement for the ages. Some of its great power comes from liberation. The album was produced by Lucas in a number of non-standard, non-studio settings. ‘KRK (At Home In Strange Places)’ summons up the spirit of Sun Ra’s Lanquidity and Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio was simply recorded on an iPhone during a live set which crackled with psychic connectivity on the Croatian island of Krk. The magical Morricone-esque lounge of ‘You Are Not an Island’, the blissed-out Jean-Claude Vannier style arrangement of ‘Invisible World’ and burbling sci fi funk ode to a 1972 cult French animation, ‘Planète Sauvage’, were all recorded in nighttime sessions in an abandoned mill in Sudbury.

                                                                                                                                        The only two outsiders to work on the recording were ‘6th member’ and engineer Syd Kemp and trusted friend Malcolm Catto, band leader of the spiritual jazz/future funk outfit The Heliocentrics, who mixed seven of the tracks (with Lucas taking care of the other three). Vanishing Twin formed in 2015 - their first LP, Choose Your Own Adventure, which came out on Soundway in 2016; followed by the darker, more abstract, mostly instrumental Dream By Numbers EP in 2017. The band explored their more experimental tendencies on the Magic And Machines tape released by Blank Editions in 2018, an improvised session recorded in the dead of night, offering a glimpse into their practice of deep listening, near band telepathy, and ritually improvised sound making. These sessions formed the basis of The Age Of Immunology.

                                                                                                                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                        Emily says: Vanishing Twin have returned this year with a second album of transcendent psychedelic pop. Drawing on far reaching influences in a similar manner to Stereolab, they incorporate elements of krautrock, tropicália and lounge into their expansive soundworld. The comparisons which can be drawn between the two bands are abundant - you can even hear echoes of Lætitia Sadier in Cathy Lucas’ pure, unaffected lead vocals. But the output of Vanishing Twin is not simply derivative. Its members are unique artists in their own right, and their collective sound already bears its own significance.
                                                                                                                                        Listening to ‘The Age Of Immunology’ feels like drifting off to a strange, mythological world somewhere in the unknown depths of space. Each track glides effortlessly into the next and is steeped in dreamlike imagery. In “KRK (At Home In Strange Places)” Lucas’ vocals weave around a loose, polyrhythmic groove and soaring string arrangements. The acoustic guitar steadily sets the pulse in “You Are Not An Island”, suspended above gently glowing electronics and hints of Reichian minimalism. And “Planète Sauvage” is an ode to the cult animated sci-fi film of the same name, featuring a french spoken word monologue which gives way to cinematic strings and a curious synth-organ solo.
                                                                                                                                        It seems Vanishing Twin are a group intent on creating music that defies borders and dissolves genre into genre. Perhaps they fit into an alternative definition of “World Music”, with their influences which reach as far around the globe as their combined nationalities - Belgian, Japanese, Italian, French and American. Who knows where their psychedelic voyage will take them next? For now, let’s delight in their twinkling, cosmic splendour.

                                                                                                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                        1 KRK (At Home In Strange Places)
                                                                                                                                        2 Wise Children
                                                                                                                                        3 Cryonic Suspension May Save Your Life
                                                                                                                                        4 You Are Not An Island
                                                                                                                                        5 The Age Of Immunology
                                                                                                                                        6 Magician’s Success
                                                                                                                                        7 Planète Sauvage
                                                                                                                                        8 Backstroke
                                                                                                                                        9 Invisible World
                                                                                                                                        10 Language Is A City (Let Me Out!)

                                                                                                                                        The inventors of lo-fi indie rock return with a 15-track blast of melodic melancholy, all delivered by the smudged middle finger of Dinosaur Jr original Lou Barlow - 'The auteur of the subterranean lovesick blues.' (Houston Press).

                                                                                                                                        Their first studio album since 2013’s "Defend Yourself" and their first release with Fire Records, Lou Barlow and team return with a smorgasbord of beautifully dysfunctional tunes harking back to their finest college rock anthems.

                                                                                                                                        It’s Barlow at his introverted songwriting best; matter-of-factly delivering a stream of self-questioning stories, punctuated by detuned guitars, spine-tingling time changes and throwaway one liners. A grainy post grunge postcard wrapped in bittersweet melodies with an aftertaste that’s pure heartbreak.

                                                                                                                                        More songs about growing up wrong for those who continue to act surprised at life itself - all illegibly handwritten and lovingly submitted to vinyl.


                                                                                                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                        1. Phantom
                                                                                                                                        2. Celebrate The Void
                                                                                                                                        3. Follow The Breath
                                                                                                                                        4. Medicate
                                                                                                                                        5. See-Saw
                                                                                                                                        6. Vacation
                                                                                                                                        7. Stunned
                                                                                                                                        8. Fool
                                                                                                                                        9. Raging River
                                                                                                                                        10. Sunshine
                                                                                                                                        11. Act Surprised
                                                                                                                                        12. Battery
                                                                                                                                        13. Belief
                                                                                                                                        14. Leap Year
                                                                                                                                        15. Reykjavik

                                                                                                                                        New album from the Malmo-based trio of Marleen Nilsson, Anders Hansson and Magners Bodin.

                                                                                                                                        Following the critically-acclaimed ‘To Where The Wild Things Are’ from 2015 and their haunting collection of soundtracks in between.

                                                                                                                                        “Lush and enveloping, reminiscent of Curt Boettcher and Margo Guryan.” The Wire. 

                                                                                                                                        “Fantastically eerie.” Clash.


                                                                                                                                        Exposing the trio’s love of all things retro with a nod to everything from Fun Boy Three to Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Contonou, while still roaming somewhere between an ambient Eno and Cocteau Twins at a late-night soiree. A unique, individual sound: Longer, more plush and pampered; more hypnotic and haunting, mixing mellotron and affected guitar with a refined rhythm. Electronic melancholy at its most evocative, riddled with super-memorable motifs and melodies that nestle in reflective echo.

                                                                                                                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                        Barry says: Death and Vanilla have eschewed their classic sound slightly for a more open and airy offering, channelling the vibes of 70's soundtracks, hazy psychedelia and tie-dyed synthplay as well as their more direct offerings mixed in for good measure. Definitely the soundtrack to the summer. Stunning stuff.

                                                                                                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                        1. A Flaw In The Iris
                                                                                                                                        2. Let's Never Leave Here
                                                                                                                                        3. Mercier
                                                                                                                                        4. Eye Bath
                                                                                                                                        5. The Hum
                                                                                                                                        6. Nothing Is Real
                                                                                                                                        7. Vespertine
                                                                                                                                        8. Wallpaper Pattern

                                                                                                                                        Bardo Pond

                                                                                                                                        Big Laughing Jym

                                                                                                                                          THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2019 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 13th ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON. IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 12.01AM SATURDAY APRIL 20th.

                                                                                                                                          1000 only. Purple vinyl edition. First time on vinyl since initial press in 1995. ‘Big Laughing Jym’ follows 1994’s ‘Bufo Alvarius’ and between 1996’s ‘Amanita’, inducing tenebral states with their sludgy yet beguiling psychedelic rock. On “"Dispersion" and "Clearhead" whirlpools of bass, feedback-clogged flute, and John and Michael Gibbons' high-dosage, irradiated guitars, are definitive Pond.” (AllMusic). The record also includes ‘Hummingbird Mountain II (A Return Trip’) and ‘Dragonfly’. “Playing fuzzed out stuff of stoner dreams since the mid ‘90s.” Pitchfork // “Today they stand as an elder statesman at the epicentre of an international underground of psychedelic extremists” Sunday Times // “They’re still making jaw-droppingly visceral spine-tingling music” Shindig // Track List 1 - Dispersion 2 - Respite 3 - Clearhead 4 - Champ 5 - Soaked 6 - Hummingbird Mountain II 7 - BLJ

                                                                                                                                          The Lemonheads

                                                                                                                                          Can't Forget / Wild Child

                                                                                                                                            LTD pressing of AA 7" single. 1000 pressed. “No strangers to a cover, The Lemonheads perfect the art” NME // Limited edition pressing of AA 7” single, ‘Can’t Forget’ is the lead single, and Yo La Tengo cover, from the new Lemonheads album. AA-side is unreleased cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Wild Child’ this is an exclusive and not on the album. Produced by Matthew Cullen and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Beastie Boys, Nirvana, The Ramones). It’s nearly ten years since The Lemonheads strummed to a halt on their ninth studio album, a perky well received set of covers that brought together many unlikely bedfellows (Gibby Haynes produced, Kate Moss did a cameo vocal). The band’s follow up repeats the formula with Evan way out upfront, his emotive slow maturing vocal making sense of another wide-beam playlist. He really has become one of the great expressive singers. “Heartfelt songs and a honey voice with which to sing them” GQ // “Boppy, overcast alt-rock delivered at a fast clip and sung in a whiskey tenor” Pitchfork // Track List A – Can’t Forget AA – Wild Child

                                                                                                                                            Television Personalities

                                                                                                                                            Some Kind Of Trip: Singles 1990-1994

                                                                                                                                              THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2019 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 13th ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON. IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 12.01AM SATURDAY APRIL 20th.

                                                                                                                                              2000 only. Gatefold Sleeve, Double LP + Bonus DL tracks. Singles collection. “Television Personalities have been England's great forgotten band for too long.” Melody Maker // A comprehensive remastered collection of all of the Television Personalities’ ground-breaking single releases from the evocative ‘Strangely Beautiful’ EP through to the dark introspective terrain of ‘Far Away And Lost In Joy’. Includes the super rare ‘Favourite Films’ 12-inch (only previously available on12-inch vinyl) plus the exquisite ‘Goodnight Mr Spaceman’ and ‘You, Me And Lou Reed’ EPs. Sequenced in chronological release order including every track and remix, embracing a host of pop culture threads from art, music and writing with all the ironic wit and wisdom of a master tunesmith – a veritable L-shaped room of pop desire. A further celebration of the songwriting of Dan Treacy. Track List Side One 1. Strangely Beautiful (7" mix) 2. Reaching For The Stars 3. Not Even A Maybe 6. The Day The Dolphins Leave The Sea 7. Christ Knows I Have Tried Side Two 8. She's Never Read My Poems (12" mix) 9 - Favourite Films 10 - The Dream Inspires 11 - Happy All The Time (Ten Years Ahead Of Its Time Version) 12. We Will Be Your Gurus (7” mix) 13. An Exhibition By Joan Miro 14. Love Is Better Than War Side Three 15. Goodnight Mr Spaceman (12” mix) 16. If I Was Your Girlfriend 17. She Loves It When He Sings Like Elvis 19. You, Me And Lou Reed.

                                                                                                                                              Howe Gelb

                                                                                                                                              Gathered

                                                                                                                                                A wandering troubadour in search of treasured happenstance.” Quietus / The 24th solo studio album from Giant Sand mainman Howe Gelb. Following two much-praised jazz-tinged ‘Future Standards’ collections, a wider bet captures Gelb’s discordant phrasings and clever romantic lyricism. Joined by a host of collaborators from all over the world, including M. War, Gabriel Naim Amor, Fernando Vacas, Juan Panki, The Lost Brothers, Anna Karina, JB Meijers, Kira Skov and Gelb’s own daughter Talula.

                                                                                                                                                Focussing on Gelb’s celebrated song-writing style, filled with emotive tunes and heart-warming arrangements invariably offset by gorgeous discordant moments. A chance meeting of the indie/alt country Sinatra annotated by clever wordplay, teased by tongue twisters and an earthy ramble. “Gelb’s long-held fascination with words, particularly the way certain ones rub up against one another or encourage an allusive phrase, usually stretched over an odd meter, is a joy.” Uncut… Previous press coverage from Pitchfork, Mojo, Q, Clash, Uncut, NPR and more. 

                                                                                                                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                1 On The Fence
                                                                                                                                                2 A Thousand Kisses Deep Feat. M. Ward
                                                                                                                                                3 Not The End Of The World Feat Anna Karina
                                                                                                                                                4 Anna
                                                                                                                                                5 Give It Up
                                                                                                                                                6 The Open Road
                                                                                                                                                7 Moon River Feat. Talula Gelb
                                                                                                                                                8 Flyin’ Off The Rails
                                                                                                                                                9 Gathered Feat. Pieta Brown
                                                                                                                                                10 All You Need To Know
                                                                                                                                                11 The Park At Dark
                                                                                                                                                12 My Little World
                                                                                                                                                13 Presumptuous Feat. Kira Skov
                                                                                                                                                14 Storyteller
                                                                                                                                                15 Steadfast (CD And Download Card Only) 

                                                                                                                                                Half Japanese

                                                                                                                                                Invincible

                                                                                                                                                  “Still creating some of the most engaging recordings of their lives, and that's truly something to believe in.” AllMusic… New studio album from Michigan’s greatest outsider combo. An inspiration to Kurt Cobain, post grunge deep thinkers and veterans of the “Can’t Play/Will play” fraternity. Pop music for those outside of pop music. Songs for those still bedevilled by one liners and abrasive melodies. Thematically succinct tales of puppet people, vampires and the walking dead juxtaposed with discerning love songs and eternal affection.

                                                                                                                                                  “Half-Japanese are a respected institution. They've been making noise since the late '70s.” Pop Matters “Innocent abandon is still at the heart of the band” Pitchfork. An off-kilter classic that shouldn’t sound right but ultimately does, in the best tradition of The Residents, Richman, Johnston, Brain Wilson at his most bamboozled and any number of out there talents. Uncategorizable, joyous, detuned, quizzical, alluring, childlike, charming, innocent, questioning – invincible. New album from Half Japanese, an inspiration on Kurt Cobain. Jad Fair of Half Japanese has previously collaborated with Teenage Fanclub, Moe Tucker (Velvet Underground) and Daniel Johnston. 

                                                                                                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                  1 Swept Away
                                                                                                                                                  2 Love Explosion
                                                                                                                                                  3 The Puppet People
                                                                                                                                                  4 Return Of The Vampire
                                                                                                                                                  5 Or Ever Will
                                                                                                                                                  6 No More
                                                                                                                                                  7 All At Once
                                                                                                                                                  8 The Walking Dead
                                                                                                                                                  9 Forever In My Heart
                                                                                                                                                  10 What Are You Gonna Do?
                                                                                                                                                  11 It's Here
                                                                                                                                                  12 Invincible
                                                                                                                                                  13 No Wonder
                                                                                                                                                  14 It Has Me
                                                                                                                                                  15 Indestructible

                                                                                                                                                  The Lemonheads follow up the critically acclaimed ‘Varshons’ from nearly ten years ago with another eclectic collection of covers.

                                                                                                                                                  Produced by director Matthew Cullen and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Beastie Boys, Nirvana, The Ramones), their tenth studio album brims with the slowly-matured vocal of Evan Dando as he lures a host of personal faves to his melodic lair. He really has become one of the great expressive singers of our time.

                                                                                                                                                  ‘Varshons 2’ is a hokey jukebox filled with unique versions of Yo La Tengo, Nick Cave, The Bevis Frond, NRBQ, The Eagles, Paul Westerberg, The Jayhawks, Lucinda Williams and John Prine.

                                                                                                                                                  Like Hank Williams slumped in his car between gigs, strumming and hollering, reasoning and weeping, humming it on over, Evan and his Lemonheads make every tune their own.

                                                                                                                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                                  Barry says: Though it's been ten years in the making, the second iteration of their 'Varshons' series sees The Lemonheads covering a host of excellent originals with style and grace. Where else could you get a masterful combo of John Prine and Nick cave on the same LP? Not many places i'd wager. A superb second outing, and yet more proof of the Lemonheads' continuing relevance.

                                                                                                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                  1 – Can’t Forget
                                                                                                                                                  2 – Settled Down Like Rain
                                                                                                                                                  3 – Old Man Blank
                                                                                                                                                  4 – Things
                                                                                                                                                  5 – Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness
                                                                                                                                                  6 – Abandoned
                                                                                                                                                  7 – Now And Then
                                                                                                                                                  8 – Magnet
                                                                                                                                                  9 – Round Here
                                                                                                                                                  10 – TAQN
                                                                                                                                                  11 – Unfamiliar
                                                                                                                                                  12 – Straight To You
                                                                                                                                                  13 – Take It Easy

                                                                                                                                                  Spacemen 3

                                                                                                                                                  Sound Of Confusion

                                                                                                                                                    New version with updated packaging / digipack format. Spacemen 3’s debut album "Sound Of Confusion", released in 1986, was a blistering affair - establishing their love of the two-chord song and also expressing their admiration for the likes of MC5, The 13th Floor Elevators and The Stooges. Sound of Confusion was 7 tracks of overdriven assault, with a strange bleakness and despair creeping through the hypnotic sprawl. R Hunter Gibson would later say: "It boosts the value of unlit rooms, unpaid debts and unfeigned terror and it would rather tackle the gradients than settle for level best. 

                                                                                                                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                    1 Loosing Touch With Your Mind
                                                                                                                                                    2 2.35,
                                                                                                                                                    3 Little Doll,
                                                                                                                                                    4 MaryAnne,
                                                                                                                                                    5 Roller Coaster,
                                                                                                                                                    6 Hey Man,
                                                                                                                                                    7 OD Catastophe.

                                                                                                                                                    Spacemen 3

                                                                                                                                                    The Perfect Prescription

                                                                                                                                                      New version with updated packaging / digipack format. Spacemen 3's second album is a remarkable departure from the band's 1986 debut, "Sound Of Confusion". Reduced to a trio (guitarists / keyboardists Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember, Jason "Spaceman" Pierce, and bassist Pete Bassman) following the departure of the first album's drummer, Spacemen 3 makes an asset out of the newfound lack of percussion, giving "The Perfect Prescription" a considerably less rock-oriented sound with much more open space in its varied, subtle arrangements. 

                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                      1. Take Me To The Other Side
                                                                                                                                                      2 Walkin' With Jesus
                                                                                                                                                      3 Ode To Street Hassle
                                                                                                                                                      4 Ecstasy Symphony
                                                                                                                                                      5 Feel So Good
                                                                                                                                                      6 Things'll Never Be The Same
                                                                                                                                                      7 Come Down Easy
                                                                                                                                                      8 Call The Doctor
                                                                                                                                                      9 Soul 4
                                                                                                                                                      10 That’s Just Fine 

                                                                                                                                                      Bardo Pond

                                                                                                                                                      Bardo Pond

                                                                                                                                                        The self titled album Bardo Pond is the first new release from Philadelphia's psychedelic rock unit to be released on Fire.

                                                                                                                                                        'The first time I saw Bardo Pond, I was, as probably most people are when they first encounter this batch of beatific weirdos, horribly unprepared. To describe the experience as "psychedelic" is an understatement on the order of saying that whacking oneself in the nuts with a ball-peen hammer is "mildly irritating." Needless to say, priorities were rearranged, etc.

                                                                                                                                                        Fast-forward 15 yrs, and Bardo Pond have put out many LPs, most of them named after hallucinogens that make you throw up all night and see things - which was kind of them, I always thought. Let ya know what you were in for. All of this recorded output is pretty staggering to me, because, without exception, they seemed able to toss a lasso around some sort of ineffable hoodoo that felt like it was a million yrs old. If Carl Sagan would have 1.) smoked a little more weed and 2.) not croaked, I'm hoping he would have cut a BP track onto that gold LP that they put on the Voyager units. Would've been a way better representation of the best parts of the human spirit than Chuck Berry, I say.

                                                                                                                                                        Anyhoo. One night not long ago in the Bardo Compound in Philly, Michael says in a kinda offhanded way, "Hey man, you wanna hear this? ..." And there I was, being bathed in the songs you've got in yr grubby little mitts right now.

                                                                                                                                                        I was, once again, unprepared.

                                                                                                                                                        This cauldron is a bit of a different brew. It made total sense to me (as it will to you) when he later told me the name of the LP is just "Bardo Pond." Why? It's a distillation. Two decades of playing together have sandblasted away everything unessential and left us with what we have here. It was like no one else before them had ever gotten near the plagal cadence, not Lou Reed or the Stooges or 2,000 yrs of church music. They invented it all over again, independent of any of that, after gawd knows how many yrs of flailing away and burning themselves up.

                                                                                                                                                        I fucking love these songs. And while I hate writing almost as much as I hate third-degree burns, I have to say it is a joy to be able to tell you about this record. I feel like Neil Fucking Armstrong.

                                                                                                                                                        It took years for them to get here, but this record is the most goddamned beautiful thing they've ever done. Sorry for the superlatives. But really, the only thing left for them to do at this point is explode'. - Fire Records.

                                                                                                                                                        John Gibbons: Guitars
                                                                                                                                                        Michael Gibbons: Guitars
                                                                                                                                                        Isobel Sollenberger: Voice, flute
                                                                                                                                                        Clint Takeda: Bass, next-level comedy
                                                                                                                                                        Aaron Igler: Electronics
                                                                                                                                                        Jason Kourkounis: Drums

                                                                                                                                                        with
                                                                                                                                                        Jeremiah Misfeldt: Farfisa
                                                                                                                                                        Dan Baltzer: Harp


                                                                                                                                                        A highly personalised sociopathic gem delivered as a futuristic rewriting of how music works, a melodious breeze with a tail wind of venomous din. A ten-track album, her tenth studio set.

                                                                                                                                                        Enveloping the juxtaposition of the concept of ‘dark sunshine’, a brooding solo record creating with friends to expand her off-kilter sonic vision; a squally, squeaky mix of discordant beauty.

                                                                                                                                                        Feedback and phasing gyrate from simply strummed normality, imagine Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine cranking up a Dylan couplet. Messing with both extremes of the sonic spectrum: atonal and arrhythmic, a unique sound and a glorious return to form for one of alternative rock’s true innovators.

                                                                                                                                                        “Sometimes the most subversive thing I can do musically is adhere to standard song structure, sometimes the creepiest chords are the ones we’ve heard before, twisted into different shapes, and sometimes a story is lived a thousand times before we can ride it like a roller coaster. Nothing wholly unfamiliar is gonna make you look twice. When you can describe a record as being “deceptively” anything, you’re hinting at the sociopathic nature of music. Something I love. Imagine truly buying your own sunshine and charm, but also your darkness and violence; the two sides of your psychology showing each other off in relief. Songs can do that...we can’t, really. Darkness we’ve seen.” Kristin Hersh, July 2018.

                                                                                                                                                        “She's still as powerful a presence as she ever was.” Pitchfork

                                                                                                                                                        “The prodigious output and commitment to quality is pretty staggering, but then Kristin Hersh is a very, very special musician.” The Quietus.

                                                                                                                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                        1. LAX
                                                                                                                                                        2. No Shade In Shadow
                                                                                                                                                        3. Halfway Home
                                                                                                                                                        4. Fox Point
                                                                                                                                                        5. Lethe
                                                                                                                                                        6. Loudmouth
                                                                                                                                                        7. Gin
                                                                                                                                                        8. Tulum
                                                                                                                                                        9. Breathe In
                                                                                                                                                        10. Lady Godiva

                                                                                                                                                        Hater

                                                                                                                                                        Siesta

                                                                                                                                                          Hater’s powerful vulnerability and charm has seen them rise quickly through the ranks earning kudos from NPR (Austin 100), Stereogum (Best New Bands Of 2017), The Fader, BBC6 Music, BBC Radio 1 and more. Effortless and assured, the Scandi quartet drift eloquently into well-structured and stunning melodies. Resolute in their sound, ‘Siesta’ is the perfect soundtrack for that summer romance and the inevitable break up. Heartbreak has never sounded so sweet!.

                                                                                                                                                          Produced by Joakim Lindberg (Yast and Hey Elbow) at Studio Sickan within old railway sheds outside of Malmö Sweden. Hater tackle their personal experiences of life, love and relationships yet through their shared songwriting there's a togetherness. Synth pop earworm ‘It’s So Easy’ contrasts the slower paced 'I Wish I Gave You More Time Because I Love You' that blends beautiful sweeping sax from Inge Petersson Lindbäck. Hater “boast Marr-esque guitars and vocals reminiscent of fellow Swedes and The Concretes” (Norman Records) whilst having the pop sensibilities of The Chills, Alvvays, Snail Mail and Makthaverskan.

                                                                                                                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                          1. From The Bottom Of Your Heart
                                                                                                                                                          2. It's So Easy
                                                                                                                                                          3. I Wish I Gave You More Time Because I Love You
                                                                                                                                                          4. Closer
                                                                                                                                                          5. Fall Off
                                                                                                                                                          6. I Sure Want To
                                                                                                                                                          7. Things To Keep Up With
                                                                                                                                                          8. Your Head Your Mind
                                                                                                                                                          9. Why It Works Out Fine
                                                                                                                                                          10. The Mornings
                                                                                                                                                          11. Cut Me Loose
                                                                                                                                                          12. All That Your Dreams Taught Me
                                                                                                                                                          13. Seems So Hard
                                                                                                                                                          14. Weekend

                                                                                                                                                          Josephine Foster

                                                                                                                                                          A Wolf In Sheeps Clothing

                                                                                                                                                            ‘A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing’ (2006) is an unusual album, first because it does things with classical music that aren’t usually done. The songs Josephine Foster sings here are classical pieces, written (the texts are German poems) by some of the greatest German composers of the 19th century, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Hugo Wolf. “Foster has found perhaps the most appropriate vehicle yet for her singular and affecting talents – 19th century German art-songs, wholly reconstructed here via Foster’s skeletal arrangements of voice and guitar” Pitchfork. Remastered and repackaged with new artwork

                                                                                                                                                            TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                            1. An Die Musik
                                                                                                                                                            2. Der König In Thule
                                                                                                                                                            3. Verschwiehene Liebe
                                                                                                                                                            4. Die Schwestern
                                                                                                                                                            5. Wehmut
                                                                                                                                                            6. Auf Einer Burg
                                                                                                                                                            7. Nähe Des Geliebten

                                                                                                                                                            Bark Psychosis

                                                                                                                                                            Codename: Dustsucker - 2024 Repress

                                                                                                                                                              Following the reissue of ‘Hex’ in late 2017, Fire Records reissue Bark Psychosis’ second studio album ‘///Codename:Dustsucker’ (2004) “which finds the band in remarkable form” (Pitchfork). Arriving ten years after the band disbanded, the long-awaited and criminally overlooked follow up brings with it an evolution of their sound. Their experimentations are layered with blissed out electronics, shoegaze, post-rock and jazz are still at its fore as are Sutton’s crystalline vocals. Languid and brooding, the soundscapes are dark and sustained while their “trademark cocoon of limpid, rippling guitar figures and jazzy adornment is buffeted by sharp leftward turns” (Uncut). Recorded in Graham Sutton’s East London DustSuckerSound studio between 1999 and 2004, it features contributions from Talk Talk sticksman Lee Harris and ‘found drumming’ from ex-band member Mark Simnett. 

                                                                                                                                                              TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                              1 From What Is Said To When It's Read
                                                                                                                                                              2 The Black Meat
                                                                                                                                                              3 Miss Abuse
                                                                                                                                                              4 400 Winters
                                                                                                                                                              5 Dr. Innocuous / Ketamoid
                                                                                                                                                              6 Burning The City
                                                                                                                                                              7 INQB8TR
                                                                                                                                                              8 Shapeshifting
                                                                                                                                                              9 Rose

                                                                                                                                                              Half Japanese

                                                                                                                                                              Why Not?

                                                                                                                                                                Half Japanese have returned to peel further layers from their onion. They have a new album that's a square further on in their unpredictable musical snakes and ladders board. ‘Why Not?’ is a magical thing – it’s Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’ recorded in a cupboard, it’s an ode to love, it’s a Wire song with two duelling guitarists being Zappa on helium, it’s Parquet Courts in a tantrum, it’s The Crickets contorted into? and The Mysterians, it’s everywhere and nowhere, baby, it’s where it’s at. On ‘Why Not?’ nuances are mused, situations explained, questions asked.

                                                                                                                                                                Outside, zombies and demons roam and everyday aliens emerge from spaceships: it’s a technicolor film transcribed by Jad Fair and friends John Sluggett, Gilles-Vincent Rieder, Mick Hobbs and Jason Willett, their faces at the cracked window of their subterranean habitat looking out at the real world. They’re on a high from their last release: “After all these years, his wiry voice still hits every song with a shock that’s equal parts joy buzzer and defibrillator, each barely in-key bleat alternating between laughable and life-affirming,” said Pitchfork of their last opus ‘Hear The Lion Roar’.

                                                                                                                                                                To which All Music added that “after nearly 40 years of music-making, they're still creating some of the most engaging recordings of their lives, and that's truly something to believe in.” ‘Why Not?’ goes further. It’s an even more intense concoction, it’s further out there. It contains pieces of fluffy thought-provoking music, a bag of sentiments delivered with a real sense of wonderment at how the normal world revolves; all powered with heart and soul, some crunchy guitars, a cello and reverb set-to-kill infiltrating their storytelling. ‘Why’d They Do It?’ quizzes track 11. Because they can. 

                                                                                                                                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                                                Barry says: Why not indeed?

                                                                                                                                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                1. The Future Is Ours
                                                                                                                                                                2. The Face
                                                                                                                                                                3. Why Not?
                                                                                                                                                                4. Amazing
                                                                                                                                                                5. Demons Of Doom
                                                                                                                                                                6. A Word To The Wise
                                                                                                                                                                7. Bring On The Night
                                                                                                                                                                8. Zombie Island Massacre
                                                                                                                                                                9. Better Days
                                                                                                                                                                10. Spaceship To Mars
                                                                                                                                                                11. Why'd They Do It?
                                                                                                                                                                12. Magic
                                                                                                                                                                13. Falling

                                                                                                                                                                Death And Vanilla

                                                                                                                                                                Vampyr

                                                                                                                                                                  A Standard LP and CD release will follow later. Now re-issued as a double vinyl package, ‘Vampyr’ is full of “eerie haunted ambience” (©The Guardian), an atmospheric and spaced out 78 minutes that galvanizes Moog, glockenspiel, zither and vibraphonette in a beautiful piece of claustrophobia, a timeless slice of suitably scary sound filled with an unnerving sonic vibe that sticks in the psyche. “The retro leaning Scandi duo fire up their Moogs and mellotrons, sonic archaeologists with a hauntological bent.. there is an alluring sexiness to their avant-Kraut Moog-pop excursions.” 

                                                                                                                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                  A1. Vampyr Pt.1
                                                                                                                                                                  B1. Vampyr Pt.2
                                                                                                                                                                  C1. Vampyr Pt.3
                                                                                                                                                                  D1. Vampyr Pt.4
                                                                                                                                                                  D2. Vampyr Rehearsals

                                                                                                                                                                  Modern Kosmology sees Jane Weaver's melodic-protagonist channeling new depths of creative cosmic energy within. After the huge critical acclaim of 2012's “Fallen By Watchbird”, followed by 2014's exploratory "Silver Globe" LP winning her unanimous "record of the year accolades" and hefty measures of radio play-listing Jane Weaver's conceptual trajectory has sent her neo-kosmische penchants to the point of no-return. Jane Weaver's unwaning yearning for psychoactive pop energy has just reached a new level of magnetism. As snowclones go, Modern Kosmology is the new Silver. Another Spectrum to add to the tension.

                                                                                                                                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                  A1 H>A>K
                                                                                                                                                                  A2 Did You See Butterflies?
                                                                                                                                                                  A3 Modern Kosmology
                                                                                                                                                                  A4 Slow Motion
                                                                                                                                                                  A5 Loops In The Secret Society
                                                                                                                                                                  B1 The Architect
                                                                                                                                                                  B2 The Lightning Back
                                                                                                                                                                  B3 Valley
                                                                                                                                                                  B4 Ravenspoint
                                                                                                                                                                  B5 I Wish

                                                                                                                                                                  Pere Ubu

                                                                                                                                                                  The Art Of Walking

                                                                                                                                                                    Released in 1980, ‘The Art Of Walking’ sees Pere Ubu ‘moving even further from the conventions of rock music - and from their own past - but still moving forward, without a doubt, and losing none of their integrity as a group.’ (Melody Maker, Chris Cutler). The album features in new box set, ‘Architecture Of Language 1979-1982’, released in March. It gathers together ‘New Picnic Time’ with its companion releases, ‘The Art Of Walking’ and ‘Song Of The Bailing Man’ plus LP of extras, ‘Architectural Salvage’. Coed Jail! Live dates mark the release of the box with a set list drawn exclusively from the recordings of 1975-1982. Tom Herman, guitarist from 1975 to 1979 and from 1997 to 2002, rejoins the band for the tour. The line-up is David Thomas, Tom Herman, Robert Wheeler, Michele Temple and Steve Mehlman. Wheeler and Temple have been in Pere Ubu since 1994, Mehlman since 1995. 

                                                                                                                                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                    01 Go
                                                                                                                                                                    02 Rhapsody In Pink
                                                                                                                                                                    03 Arabia 04 Misery Goats
                                                                                                                                                                    05 Young Miles In The Basement
                                                                                                                                                                    06 Loop
                                                                                                                                                                    07 Rounder
                                                                                                                                                                    08 Birdies
                                                                                                                                                                    09 Lost In Art
                                                                                                                                                                    10 Horses
                                                                                                                                                                    11 Crush This Thorn 

                                                                                                                                                                    Rats On Rafts / De Kift

                                                                                                                                                                    Rats On Rafts / De Kift

                                                                                                                                                                    The best act I've ever seen at a festival" Paul Thomson, Franz Ferdinand. Rats On Rafts have joined forces with legendary underground Dutch punk band De Kift - Zaandam punk vs Rotterdam punk! A playful revisioning of each other’s music which began at Metropolis Festival in 2013. The record brings together songs from Rats On Rafts critically acclaimed second album ‘Tape Hiss’ and De Kift’s huge catalogue. The two bands locked themselves up for a month to record a completely analogue album. Together they will play this material live on tour. Instantly recognisable as Rats ‘Last Day On De Zon’ is shot through with brass - enter De Kift. Dark, dub infused ‘Meggy’ sees Rats bringing their explosive and unrelenting rolling crescendos. ‘Sleep Little Links 2 3 4’ is uplifting with the addition of brass whilst folk tinged ‘Dit Schip’ sees them bring further depth to the collaboration. Energetic and raw, the spirit of their festival performances prevails throughout. De Kift have released music for three decades with father Heijne only retiring in 2013, brothers Marco & Ferry Heijne and cousin Pim remain alongside co-founder and drummer Wim. The nine piece brass ensemble have released eleven albums, collaborated in theatre, film and various media projects which has seen them win a number of Dutch awards across film and music. Both formats have unique sleeves made from recycled LP/CD sleeves, with the front and back cover printed and stuck on to the recycled sleeve. The band have assembled and fulfilled each one themselves. 

                                                                                                                                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                    1. Last Day On De Zon
                                                                                                                                                                    2. Voorbij
                                                                                                                                                                    3. Brass Poison Face
                                                                                                                                                                    4. Dit Schip
                                                                                                                                                                    5. Powder Monkey
                                                                                                                                                                    6. Melk En Benzine
                                                                                                                                                                    7. Moonlight Flit
                                                                                                                                                                    8. Meggy
                                                                                                                                                                    9. Swan Song
                                                                                                                                                                    10. Sleep Little Links 2 3 4 

                                                                                                                                                                    Death And Vanilla

                                                                                                                                                                    Death And Vanilla EP (Reissue)

                                                                                                                                                                      The first release for the Swedish Psychedelic dream-pop band, their self-titled EP caught the attention of French label ‘Hands In The Dark’. They originally released EP in 2010 on CD an extremely limited edition run of 100 copies. The EP is reissued on blue vinyl to match the cover alongside the ‘From Above’ 7” and their self-titled debut long player.

                                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                      01 Ghosts In The Machine
                                                                                                                                                                      02 Godspeed
                                                                                                                                                                      03 Run Rabbit Run
                                                                                                                                                                      04 The Colour Of Space
                                                                                                                                                                      05 Ascend And Descend
                                                                                                                                                                      06 The Dödens Vaniljsås Theme
                                                                                                                                                                      07 Between The Circles

                                                                                                                                                                      Death And Vanilla

                                                                                                                                                                      Death And Vanilla Album (Reissue)

                                                                                                                                                                      Marleen Nilsson and Anders Hansson AKA Death and Vanilla released their first full length self-titled eponymous debut LP in 2012. It radiates sophisticated retro-futuristic psych-pop whilst channeling their passion for hauntology, library, krautrock and radiophonic music. Mastered by Linus Sjölund at RED audio it was initially released on French label ‘Hands In The Dark’ which like their EP sold out on pre-order.

                                                                                                                                                                      Fire Records now release the album on black/yellow splatter vinyl and CD alongside the ‘From Above’ 7” and their self-titled debut EP. 

                                                                                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                                                      Andy says: Krauty, moog, hushed, library baroque pop that breezes along in a sultry fashion.

                                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                      01 Rituals
                                                                                                                                                                      02 Dreams Of Sheep
                                                                                                                                                                      03 Cul-De-Sac
                                                                                                                                                                      04 Somnambulists
                                                                                                                                                                      05 The Unseeing Eye
                                                                                                                                                                      06 From Elsewhere
                                                                                                                                                                      07 Library Goblin
                                                                                                                                                                      08 The Clearing
                                                                                                                                                                      09 The Unseeing I

                                                                                                                                                                      Released in 1982, 'Song of the Bailing Man' is an ‘inspired, invigorating, confounding, disturbing... yeah, one hell of a swinging way to go. Still the futility Ubu must have felt making far sighted music in a chronically near-sighted world is pressed hard into these grooves.’ (Melody Maker, David Fricke).

                                                                                                                                                                      The album features in new LP box set, ‘Architecture Of Language 1979-1982’, released in March. It gathers together ‘New Picnic Time’ with its companion releases, ‘The Art Of Walking’ and ‘Song Of The Bailing Man’ plus LP of extras, ‘Architectural Salvage’. Spring dates mark the release of the box with a set list drawn exclusively from the recordings of 1975-1982. Tom Herman, guitarist from 1975 to 1979 and from 1997 to 2002, rejoins the band for the tour. The line-up is David Thomas, Tom Herman, Robert Wheeler, Michele Temple and Steve Mehlman. Wheeler and Temple have been in Pere Ubu since 1994, Mehlman since 1995. 

                                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                      01 The Long Walk Home
                                                                                                                                                                      02 Use Of A Dog
                                                                                                                                                                      03 Petrified
                                                                                                                                                                      04 Stormy Weather
                                                                                                                                                                      05 West Side Story
                                                                                                                                                                      06 Thoughts That Go By Steam
                                                                                                                                                                      07 Big Ed’s Used Farms
                                                                                                                                                                      08 A Day Such As This
                                                                                                                                                                      09 The Vulgar Boatman Bird
                                                                                                                                                                      10 My Hat
                                                                                                                                                                      11 Horns Are A Dilemma

                                                                                                                                                                      Building on the breakthrough of her “Glacial Glow” album, and coming off of tours opening for St. Vincent and The Jesus Lizard (something that only makes equal sense for Noveller), guitarist and filmmaker Sarah Lipstate emerged with what AllMusic called “an incredible and complex statement, and one that clearly stands as a challenge to herself and her audience alike.”

                                                                                                                                                                      The album. “No Dreams” would continue to elevate her songwriting and soundscaping to new heights, with Pitchfork raving; “Sarah Lipstate creates miniature musical worlds, places that you feel like you’ll never leave as long as the record is playing.” Lipstate, a former member of Parts & Labour and Cold Cave, as well as a collaborator with such luminaries as Lee Renaldo and Jim Thirlwell, along with being a member of both Rhys Chatham’s Guitar Army and Glenn Branca’s 100 Guitar Ensemble, has emerged as one of the most exciting and interesting guitarists of this era. “No Dreams” cements her as a talent on the rise. Originally released as a limited edition on the experimental label Important Records, following the success of her most recent “Fantastic Planet” album, Fire Records is reissuing the album on 180 gram vinyl to a wider audience. 

                                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                      1. Fighting Sleep
                                                                                                                                                                      2. Mannahatta
                                                                                                                                                                      3. No Dreams
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Purchase
                                                                                                                                                                      5. Gathering The Elements
                                                                                                                                                                      6. Rue De Montmorency
                                                                                                                                                                      7. The Fright
                                                                                                                                                                      8. Outro 

                                                                                                                                                                      Blank Realm's transformation across the Australian mystic from sprawling spaced out psychotic punk blues, through the startling maverick pop psychedelia of ‘Go Easy’ to the widely acclaimed ‘Grassed Inn’, continues in its unrelenting quest for that quintessential synergy of chiming pop anthems.

                                                                                                                                                                      Hook-laden throughout they unleash their wild yet tender new album ‘Illegals In Heaven’ which offers up freaked out reflections on life, love and circumstance. As knowing as the Chills or the Pretenders, loner ballads are as gnarled and world weary as Dylan in a cacophony as bruised as Royal Trux yet with the playfulness of Half Japanese.

                                                                                                                                                                      Recorded and produced with Lawrence English (head of the Room40 label) on a late night at The Plutonium studio in Brisbane, the album sees them on their first foray into a recording studio. While it wasn’t exactly Abbey Road, it truly captures the chaos and majesty of the band’s formidable live shows.
                                                                                                                                                                      It would be all too easy to say that ‘Illegals In Heaven’ is their finest work to date, but the simple truth is that Blank Realm have been without peers for a trilogy of albums, so it just might be as Sarah huskily intones, "Gold" too.

                                                                                                                                                                      “Blank Realm are still bent on mixing the diamonds with the rough, and on Grassed Inn that particular swirl is at its most intoxicating.” Pitchfork 8/10

                                                                                                                                                                      “Balancing the arty with the party to make for a set of danceable, hook-filled songs that bubble and bloom with an almost biological rampancy, shooting out tendrils of strange, snaking melody in every direction like vines enveloping a ruin” Guardian 4*

                                                                                                                                                                      “A cracking selection of scuzzy, fuzzy psych-rock songs that recall Royal Truax and Sonic Youth” Uncut 8/10

                                                                                                                                                                      “Blank Realm generate scruffy, VU’s-Sister-Ray-loving grooves, coloured up with blooping synths, and yowling, way-off vocals” Mojo 4* 


                                                                                                                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                                                      Andy says: Catchy but cool as you like jangle'n'fuzz psych pop/rock from down-under. A big hit on the shop stereo.

                                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                      1. No Views On It
                                                                                                                                                                      2. River Of Longing
                                                                                                                                                                      3. Cruel Night
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Costume Drama
                                                                                                                                                                      5. Dream Date
                                                                                                                                                                      6. Flowers In Mind
                                                                                                                                                                      7. Gold
                                                                                                                                                                      8. Palace Of Love
                                                                                                                                                                      9. Too Late Now

                                                                                                                                                                      Josephine Foster And The Victor Herrero Band

                                                                                                                                                                      Anda Jaleo / Perlas

                                                                                                                                                                      Bringing together both of Josephine Foster and the Victor Herrero Band’s Spanish albums in one place, with a previously unreleased track. Anda Jaleo was originally released in 2010. Federico Garcia Lorca's popular folk song collection "Las Canciones Populares Espanolas" was banned under Franco's dictatorship and today the music survives but marginally within the Spanish sub-conscious.

                                                                                                                                                                      Taking their cue from Lorca and La Argentinita's infectious 1931 recording of the songs, Josephine Foster and her partner Spanish musician Victor Herrero arranged the poetically rich collection for their acoustic band, formed while living in the Grenadine Sierra. Anda Jaleo is the band's live recording of "Las Canciones"; a visceral celebration of the persistence of popular anonymous song.

                                                                                                                                                                      This new edition includes an additional track not featured on the original release, an interpretation of ‘Sones de Asturias’. La colección de "Canciones Populares Españolas" recopiladas y armonizadas por Federico García Lorca fue censurada en tiempos de Franco, y hoy en día la música sobrevive aunque de una manera vaga en el subconsciente del pueblo español. Inspirados por la contagiosa grabación de las canciones de Lorca y La Argentinita de 1931, Josephine Foster y su compañero el músico español Víctor Herrero han arreglado esta poética y rica colección para su banda acústica , formada mientras vivían en la sierra de Granada. Anda Jaleo es la grabación en directo de su versión de "Las Canciones"; una celebración visceral de la canción popular anónima y su persistencia. Following from Anda Jaleo, Josephine Foster and the Victor Herrero Band created a superb follow-up entitled Perlas (Pearls). It is a jewel of a collection, with songs and poems selected by Josephine herself, gathered from dusty old scores and brought vividly to the present with warm performances full of flesh-and-blood emotion. Made with a variety of stringed instruments and simple percussion, the songs were recorded live in the studio on to analogue tape by Paco Loco in Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain. Foster breathes new life into timeless traditional melodies, drawing from the Spanish-folk traditions of Castile, the Basque, Santander and the Costa Brava.

                                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                      Anda Jaleo:
                                                                                                                                                                      1. Los Cuatro Muleros
                                                                                                                                                                      2. Los Pelegrinitos
                                                                                                                                                                      3. Las Morillas De Jaen
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Anda Jaleo
                                                                                                                                                                      5. Las Tres Hojas
                                                                                                                                                                      6. Los Mozos De Monleón
                                                                                                                                                                      7. Sevillanas Del Siglo XVIII
                                                                                                                                                                      8. Los Reyes De La Baraja
                                                                                                                                                                      9. El Cafe De Chinitas
                                                                                                                                                                      10. Zorongo
                                                                                                                                                                      11. Nana De Sevilla
                                                                                                                                                                      12. Sones De Asturia……

                                                                                                                                                                      Perlas :
                                                                                                                                                                      1. Puerto De Santa Maria
                                                                                                                                                                      2. Sangre Colorada
                                                                                                                                                                      3. Cuando Vienes Del Monto
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Cuatro Pinos
                                                                                                                                                                      5. Peregrino
                                                                                                                                                                      6. Dame Esa Flor
                                                                                                                                                                      7. En Esta Larga Ausencia
                                                                                                                                                                      8. Abenámar
                                                                                                                                                                      9. Perlas
                                                                                                                                                                      10. Brillante Estrella

                                                                                                                                                                      Fire Records are delighted to announce the addition of Sterling Roswell to the fold. The former Spacemen 3 drummer and multi-instrumentalist self-released and sold out of a limited run of 300 copies of the album earlier in the year to great acclaim, including a rave review in Mojo (as well as a pick by Andrew Weatherall in the same magazine) and it was album of the month in Rough Trade Shops who described the album like this: "Lavishing in pop structures but drawing in myriad influences to the wondrous black hole, The Call Of The Cosmos features some shimmering spaciousness but also sleazy exotica-themes, not unlike a Lee Hazelwood production infected with Joe Meek's ghost.

                                                                                                                                                                      Roswell's own songwriting and voice recalls a solar-fried Bobby Gillespie, an artist he no doubt originally influenced with the Spacemen 3. Elsewhere, there's truly psychedelic excursions into outsiderdom which come off like The Seeds mutating ever larger into lysergic-dipped monsters." Any attempt to categorize Sterling Roswell, runs the risk of misrepresenting a true radical. Artist, musician, poet and producer, Roswell is all of these and more and over the years he has embraced a myriad of artistic forms to great effect. For the live shows he will be joined by the band The Psychedelic SRB featuring a rotating collective of musicians including the fantastic George Frakes (lead guitar), Syd Kemp (bass) and Tucker Nelson (drums). They not only bring the album The Call Of The Cosmos to the live stage but in the midst have created their own unique space age sound.

                                                                                                                                                                      Live appearances, both solo and with The Psychedelic SRB, always hold audiences spellbound and is THE act to see in this new age of psychedelia. The Call of the Cosmos features the singles 'Interplanetary Spaceliner','Give Peace Another Chance' and 'a remix of The Girl From Orbit', cementing the elements which have infused Sterling's work since his days with Spacemen 3, his multi instrumental driving force behind The Darkside and his innovative psychedelic soundscapes as a studio engineer and producer. The album stands testament to a new message for Interplanetary Peace and features a truly fitting tribute to the late, great front man of THE SEED, Sky Sunlight Saxon with a cover of the song 'Tripmaker', which was originally featured in the Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda movie The Trip in 1968. "Baudelaire once wrote, 'music excavates heaven'. Listen to this record and you might just have to agree." Andrew Weatherall / Mojo

                                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                      1. Interplanetary Spaceliner
                                                                                                                                                                      2. Give Peace Another Chance
                                                                                                                                                                      3. The Girl From Orbit In Dub
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Asteroid No. B – 612
                                                                                                                                                                      5. Island Of Ether
                                                                                                                                                                      6. Tripmaker
                                                                                                                                                                      7. Outskirts Of Infinity
                                                                                                                                                                      8. Counter Clock World
                                                                                                                                                                      9. Time Is Of The Essence

                                                                                                                                                                      Robert Pollard, head lunatic of the Guided By Voices' asylum, has a surfeit of original thoughts. (Most people are lucky to have even one, ever). That this even needs to be expressed is evidence enough for its "truth," as only obvious or obviously untrue things can ever hope to be true. Or to approach the truth. Something Pollard does with uncanny regularity, and which is further on display on every track on the gloriously unkempt, roiling-with-ideas More Lies From The Gooseberry Bush, the second record Pollard has released under the nom-de-rock Teenage Guitar.

                                                                                                                                                                      Here's a song title: "Matthew's Ticker and Shaft a. come to breakfast b. the girl's c. division of swans d. when death has a nice ring." It starts with distorted guitar over a primitive snare-and-bass-drum beat (all instruments on all songs played by Pollard), shifts into an out-of-tune piano clumping along a simple seven-chord progression, lurches into a wall of distorted guitar as two tracks of Pollard wail wide-panned in each speaker, before finally resolving in a pretty harpsichord (or some synthesized version thereof) figure inelegantly trips over itself before trailing off into the next track: "The Instant American," which presents a multi-tracked Pollard vocals chanting over a background of what sounds like a bunch of people at a party drinking. These are not the two strangest tracks on the fifteen-song album, which clocks in at just over thirty minutes.

                                                                                                                                                                      If there are times when Pollard's musical ambition seems to overwhelm his ability to present his ideas coherently, that's a feature, not a bug. The spazzy machine-generated beat of "A Guaranteed Ratio," the ham-handed church organ of "Good Mary's House," the off-key crooning, the awkwardly plucked possible-banjo on "All You Fought For" the general (but not always) sloppiness, the rumbling toms and slashing power chording of "New Light": it's all of a piece, and that piece adds up to a sense of urgency and what sounds an awful lot like unconstrained joy suffusing every single track on More Lies From The Gooseberry Bush. For those who like their Pollard stately, tuneful, and elegiac – sure, he can do that without effort, but that's not what Teenage Guitar is about. Teenage Guitar is about trying hard without seeming to try hard.

                                                                                                                                                                      The result is that rare thing: a completely original album. Which is also a true delight, a sky-blue gem, a timeless and untimely cabinet of wonder. And by some few miles the greatest musical artifact your ears will have the pleasure of encountering this year.

                                                                                                                                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                                                                                                                                      CD DISC 1 & LP – More Lies From The Gooseberry Bush:

                                                                                                                                                                      1. Go Around (The Apartment Dwellers)
                                                                                                                                                                      2. Spliced At Acme Fair
                                                                                                                                                                      3. A Guaranteed Ratio
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Good Mary's House
                                                                                                                                                                      5. Skin Ride
                                                                                                                                                                      6. Full Glass Gone
                                                                                                                                                                      7. All You Fought For
                                                                                                                                                                      8. Gear OP
                                                                                                                                                                      9. No Escape
                                                                                                                                                                      10. Matthew's Ticker And Shaft
                                                                                                                                                                             A. Come To Breakfast
                                                                                                                                                                             B. The Girls Arrive
                                                                                                                                                                             C. Division Of Swans
                                                                                                                                                                             D. When Death Has A Nice Ring
                                                                                                                                                                      11. The Instant American
                                                                                                                                                                      12. Normalized
                                                                                                                                                                      13. New Light
                                                                                                                                                                      14. Birthplace Of The Electric Starter
                                                                                                                                                                      15. A Year That Could Have Been Worse

                                                                                                                                                                      DISC 2 – Force Fields At Home:
                                                                                                                                                                      1. Court Of Lions
                                                                                                                                                                      2. Come See The Super Moon
                                                                                                                                                                      3. Current Pressings Colors And Styles
                                                                                                                                                                      4. Still Down Stairs
                                                                                                                                                                      5. 8 Bars Of Meaningless Mathilda
                                                                                                                                                                      6. Harvest Whale
                                                                                                                                                                      7. Strangers For A Better Society
                                                                                                                                                                      8. It Takes A Great Promise
                                                                                                                                                                      9. It Doesn't Mean I'm Underground
                                                                                                                                                                      10. Baby Apple
                                                                                                                                                                      11. Peter Pan Can
                                                                                                                                                                      12. Alice And Eddie (Fabulous Child Actors)
                                                                                                                                                                      13. Alfred Never
                                                                                                                                                                      14. Gymnasium Politics
                                                                                                                                                                      15. Atlantic Cod
                                                                                                                                                                      16. Suburban Cycle Saccharine
                                                                                                                                                                      17. Postcard To Pinky
                                                                                                                                                                      18. Let Me


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