Lucinda Williams reissues her critically acclaimed 1988 Rough Trade album, out-of-print for 10 years and 25 years since its original release it has been newly remastered.

This 2CD release includes never-before-released album, Eindhoven Live + Bonus Tracks, featuring a live recording from Effenhaar in Eindoven, Neon May 19th, 1989 in addition to previously released bonus tracks.

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1
1. I Just Wanted To See You So Bad
2. The Night's Too Long
3. Abandoned
4. Big Red Sun Blues
5. Like A Rose
6. Changed The Locks
7. Passionate Kisses
8. Am I Too Blue
9. Crescent City
10. Side Of The Road
11. Price To Pay
12. I Asked For Water (He Gave Me Gasoline)

Disc 2
1. I Just Wanted To See You So Bad
2. Big Red Sun Blues
3. Am I Too Blue
4. Crescent City
5. The Night's Too Long
6. Something About What Happens When We Talk
7. Factory Blues
8. Happy Woman Blues
9. Abandoned
10. Wild And Blue
11. Passionate Kisses
12. Changed The Locks
13. Nothing In Rambling
14. Sundays
15. Nothing In Rambling (Live)
16. Disgusted (Live)
17. Side Of The Road (Live)
18. Goin' Back Home (Live)
19. Something About What Happens When We Talk (Live)
20. Sundays (Live)

Lucinda Williams reissues her critically acclaimed 1988 Rough Trade album, out-of-print for 10 years and 25 years since its original release it has been newly remastered.

Mutant, in association with Walt Disney Music and LucasFilm, are proud to present a 20th anniversary celebratory pressing of John William's original score to the iconic final chapter of the Star Wars prequel trilogy - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

Following a powerful return to cinemas this spring, George Lucas' 2005 science fiction epic has continued to capture the hearts generation after generation. Returning for his sixth Star Wars film, John Williams brings the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker to life with a masterful flair. From the opening fanfare's hard pivot to the action packed dogfight, Williams weaves between kinetic adventure, and haunting heartbreak with grace and precision. In a series full of the absolute pinnacle of music ever committed to film, Revenge of the Sith sits proudly side by side, while feeling wholly unique.

Long out of print on physical media, and only being pressed on Vinyl for the second time ever, this limited edition release features incredible original artwork by Matt Ferguson and is pressed on 2x 140gm black vinyl. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Star Wars And The Revenge Of The Sith 
2. Anakin's Dream
3. Battle Of The Heroes
4. Anakin's Betrayal 
5. General Grievous 
6. Palpatine's Teachings 
7. Grievous And The Droids 
8. Padmé's Ruminations
9. Anakin Vs. Obi-Wan 
10. Anakin's Dark Deeds
11. Enter Lord Vader
12. The Immolation Scene
13. Grievous Speaks To Lord Sidious
14. The Birth Of The Twins And Padmé's Destiny
15. A New Hope And End Credits

Kathryn Williams, the folk singer-songwriter long celebrated for her quiet emotional depth and lyrical precision, releases her new studio album ‘Mystery Park’. A deeply personal, intimate collection, ‘Mystery Park’ marks 27 years of making music. It’s a reflective, textured work shaped by time’s shifting tides.

“Kathryn Williams has never made a bad record” Clash Magazine

Known for her delicate, moving voice and poetic songwriting, Williams rose to prominence in 2000 with ‘Little Black Numbers’, the self-released album that earned her a Mercury Prize nomination and became a touchstone for a new generation of British folk. With ‘Mystery Park’, Williams returns to the sparse and affecting sonic palette that marked her early releases ‘Old Low Light’ and ‘Relations’. These are songs made in the quiet margins of motherhood and memory, written over time, and recorded in close creative communion with trusted collaborators.

“This is the most personal record I’ve made,” says Williams. “The artwork is my own painting, based on the willow pattern from my grandmother’s tea sets. Each part of it ties into the songs - a map of memories.”

TRACK LISTING

Thoughts Of My Own
Goodbye To Summer
Gossamer Wings
Tender
This Mystery
Sea Of Shadows
Move Me
Personal Paradise
Knew You Forever
Sunsets
Servant Of The Flame

Originally released 21 May 1980, 'The Empire Strikes Back: Symphonic Suite from the Original Motion Picture Score' presented selections of composer John Williams’ music for STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, which had premiered in theatres just two days before. Performed by The National Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of conductor Charles Gerhardt, the one-disc record was intended to supplement – not compete with – the “official” two-record soundtrack released one month earlier by RSO Records.

This album consists of the Concert Suite from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (The Imperial March, Han Solo and the Princess, Yoda's Theme, and The Asteroid Field), supplemented by several other cues from the film score, including Alfred Newman's Fox Fanfare, plus Maestro Williams’ Main Title/The Imperial Probe, and Training of a Jedi Knight.


To avoid repetition of familiar material, Williams, conductor Charles Gerhardt, and producer George Korngold (son of composer Erich Korngold, one of Williams’ musical heroes) presented new arrangements and orchestrations, performed by 96-member National Symphonic Orchestra.

TRACK LISTING

1. 20th Century-Fox Fanfare
2. Main Title/The Imperial Probe
3. Luke’s First Crash
4. Han Solo And The Princess
5. The Asteroid Field
6. The Training Of A Jedi Knight And “May The Force Be With You”
7. The Battle In The Snow
8. The Imperial March
9. The Magic Tree
10. Yoda’s Theme
11. The Rebels Escape Again
12. Lando’s Palace, The Duel (Through The Window)
13. Finale

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 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 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 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 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 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 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

“Ko te reo Māori, he matapihi ki te ao Māori” goes the Māori whakatauki(proverb) that has guided Aotearoa singer/songwriter Marlon Williams’ (KāiTahu, Ngāi Tai) fourth solo album, 'Te Whare Tīwekaweka'. Translated, it means “The Māori language is a window to the Māori world” and expresses Marlon’s motivation behind his first te reo Māori album. “Through the process of constructing these songs,” Marlon says, “I’ve found a means of expressing my joys, sorrows and humour in a way that feels both distinctly newyet also connects me to my tīpuna [ancestors] and my whenua [land, home].

”Connection lies at the heart of 'Te Whare Tīwekaweka', the album’s five-year process reconnecting Marlon to family, friends and his home town of Lyttelton after a globe-trotting decade establishing his career. The album signifies another step in Marlon’s journey with his ancestral tongue, his ability in the language developing as the songs accumulated in the hours spent with close friend and co-writer, rapper KOMMI.

The language unlocked both a newfound lyrical honesty and a grand sonic vision. Supported by long-time touring band The Yarra Benders, co-producer Mark Perkins (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), the He Waka Kōtuia singers and featuring a collaboration with pop star Lorde, the album traverses Marlon’s familiar folk-country-bluegrass territory, while continuing his exploration of poppier waters and the inherent rhythms of Māori music. The result is a collection at once contemporary and timeless

TRACK LISTING

1. E Mawehe Ana Au
2. Kei Te Mārama
3. Aua Atu Rā
4. Me Uaua Kē
5. Korero Māori
6. KoTēnā Ua
7. Whakamaettia Mai
8. Ngā Ara Aroha
9. Huri Te Whenua
10. Kuru Pounamu
11. Kāhore He Manu E
12. Pānaki
13. Rere Mai Ngā Rau
14. Pōkaia Rāte Marama

Tesfa Williams celebrates his personal ancestry and the diversity of black electronic music with a name change on his Heist Recordings debut.

First things first. T. Williams is now Tesfa Williams. And although the dot is gone after the T, by taking that away, the artist openend up a whole world of meaning, personal storytelling and recognition of his roots.

“Originally when I started "T.Williams" it felt like my African first name Tesfa wouldn't be welcomed in the scene. Something I've experienced in general from school, college, work etc….. I grew up in a Rastafarian family with Carribean heritage and my parents decided to give me and my siblings African names to connect us to our African ancestry. I now feel like I’m ready to embrace this part of me as an artist and share it with the world.”

Tesfa Williams is an artist with a long history in UK club music. Long before his critically acclaimed debut album in 2024 ‘Raves of future past’, he was knee-deep in the UK grime scene and throughout the years, he has built a strong reputation in UK funky, soulful house and Garage with remixes of Latch for Disclosure and Sam Smith (yes, that track), bumping originals on Strictly Rhythm, Local Action with Julio Bashmore, and much more. On his debut for Heist, we see the artist dig deep into his black roots and deliver an EP that celebrates his eclectic sound with 4 originals full of high notes.

The ’Beyond today’ EP kicks off with ‘Moments Ahead’, a classic filter-house jam with lovely soulful chops and the perfect amount of grit. It’s the type of funky, peak-time house track that will ignite any dancefloor with its irresistible groove. ‘Get it together’ sees the artists layer some classic R&B vocals over an infectious warehouse groove. It’s the kind of track that’ll grab anyone’s attention on a first listen. The breakbeat loop in the background gives the percussion its dry immediacy and the sparse melodic hits and irresistible vocal chops turn this track into an absolute dancefloor monster.

On the flip, the London producer merges his love for soulful house with contemporary electronics on ‘Brighter life’. There’s something deliciously breezy about this song, where the vocals, chord hits, sweeps, and hits deliver a groove that’s laidback and powerful at the same time. The electronic parts of this track are cleverly laid out to contrast the syrupy sweet vocal and underline the class of the artist’s ability to effortlessly blend genres.

The EP closes with ‘Futures’, a bottom-heavy late-night burner much in the style of Dam Swindle’s 2023 Heist outing ‘Soul’s lament’ or the percussive goodness of Alma Negra tracks such as ‘Conversation’. There’s a nice blend of trippy electronics and driving Rhodes hits, which makes this a track perfect for those moments you simply want to go deep, heads-down, and feel the music.

With ‘Beyond Today’, Tesfa Williams has written a piece of music that pays homage to so many of the genres that have influenced him as well as to his black roots. ‘Beyond Today’ is a contemporary club record that oozes positive energy just the way we like it and we can’t wait to play this one out to all of you.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Moments Ahead
A2. Get It Together
B1. Brighter Life
B2. Futures

Patchwork Inc. is a multi genre music collective based in Chicago. Inspired by the intricate and repetitive patterns on a quilt, deep grooves are stitched together with vibrant threads of analog synths, fat bass, Fender Rhodes, and a plethora of percussion to form a uniquely personal piece of art.

“Whatever Makes You Happy,” comes on like one of those unseasonably warm days in late fall. Flute, synth, and congas flutter like a cool breeze before giving way to a sunny and sultry hook. North Carolina native Taylor Williams brings a D'angeloesque vocal to a Roy Ayers style instrumental resulting in a mosaic of neo-soul and jazz-funk.

The record's flipside evokes more of an idyllic fall day. The kind of day where you can throw on your favourite jacket and endlessly stroll down a tree-lined path as amber leaves fall to the ground. Chicago journeyman and musical prodigy Wyatt Waddell effortlessly layers his voice over the backbeat of “Last Forever,” resulting in a medium-fidelity banger that could be confused for a I Want You-era Marvin demo.

For Fans Of... Durand Jones & The Indications, Mayer Hawthorne, Pale Jay, Aaron Frazer, Monophonics, Thee Sinseers, Lady Wray.

Produced and co-written by Blake Rhein of Durand Jones & The Indications.

First Patchwork Inc. title to be released under Colemine Records.

TRACK LISTING

Whatever Makes You Happy
Last Forever

'Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles From Abbey Road' features 12 Beatles songs that include classic hits such as 'Can’t Buy Me Love,' 'With A Little Help From My Friends' and 'Something.' Williams and her band also take on beloved deeper tracks such as 'I’m So Tired,' 'I’ve Got A Feeling,' and 'Yer Blues.' Being raised on the blues in the South, the latter is a song Williams was clearly meant to sing. Recorded at The Beatles' legendary studio in London, the new collection serves as Vol. 7 of her celebrated Lu’s Jukebox series and is the first new volume in almost four years.

While many great artists have recorded in the hallowed Abbey Road Studios, as it turns out, Williams is the first major artist to actually record Beatles’ songs there aside from the Fab Four themselves.

As an acclaimed, award-winning singer/songwriter for more than four decades, Williams’ music has been highly influential and covered by a multitude of artists. Williams is also an extraordinary interpreter who, like all great interpreters, has the ability to inhabit a song and make it her own. She does just that throughout this selection of Beatles tracks, as she has done on each Lu’s Jukebox volume.

TRACK LISTING

1 Don't Let Me Down
2 I'm Looking Through You
3 Can't Buy Me Love
4 Rain
5 While My Guitar Gently Weeps
6 Let It Be
7 Yer Blues
8 I've Got A Feeling
9 I'm So Tired
10 Something
11 With A Little Help From My Friends
12 The Long And Winding Road

Experience the divine power of gospel music with the reissue of the legendary album Together by Gloster Williams and The King James Version. Originally released in 1977 on Gospel Roots Records, this seminal work is now re-released for the first time on vinyl, courtesy of Regrooved Records.

Together captures a moment in gospel music that is both timeless and transcendent. Led by the dynamic Gloster Williams, The King James Version choir brings an electrifying blend of traditional gospel with hints of soul and R&B, creating a sound that uplifts and inspires. This album is famed for its stirring harmonies, powerful lyrics, and the passionate delivery that fans and newcomers alike will find deeply moving.

Highlights of the album include the soaring title track, "Together," which has been a staple in gospel music playlists for decades, celebrated for its message of unity and spiritual upliftment. Each song on the album is crafted with care, featuring intricate arrangements and a raw emotional energy that captures the essence of gospel music's golden era.

This reissue is a meticulously remastered version that enhances the original recordings while preserving the authentic sound that made Together a must-have for gospel collectors and enthusiasts. It's pressed on high-quality vinyl to deliver the best listening experience, ensuring that the richness of the choir’s vocals and the depth of the instrumentation are beautifully rendered.

Don't miss this opportunity to own a piece of gospel history. The reissue of Gloster Williams and The King James Version’s Together is a testament to the enduring power of gospel music to console, celebrate, and connect us. Add this vital record to your collection and let its messages of faith and fellowship fill your home with joy and inspiration.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Get Ready For This
A2. What Good Is A Song
A3. No, No One
A4. He Loves You Interlude
B1. There's Not A Friend (Part One)
B2. Touch My Life
B3 . Monologue) Together
B4. There's Not A Friend (Part Two)

Volume 2 from the Jackin' Disco crew promises to deliver something other than murder on the dancefloor despite the Sophie Ellis-Bextor flip; paring the disco pace back to a downer-tempo, albeit still delivering ample energy to fit on a single slice of 7" wax. The edit on the A-side is sourced from not from Bextor's breakout disco-dance hit but rather her equally-as-good, classic feature cut 'Groovejet' by producer Spiller. On the B comes an equally loopy, happy-to-be-jacked bootleg of Carol Williams' 'Love Is You'.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Spiller - Groovejet (feat Sophie Ellis Bextor)
B1. Carol Williams - Love Is You

‘Willson Williams’ witnesses the meeting of two likeminded musicians who’ve built their successful, independent careers on inventive folk instrumentation, reflective and sincere lyricism, and not a small amount of self-deprecation. Their modest confessionals, written poetically and over nostalgic and atmospheric melodies, are as relatable as ever, and together they find new ways to unpack their feelings.  

One overarching theme on the album is that of grief, when the writing process saw them both, tragically, in mourning for separate loved ones; Dan for his brother Karl and his friend Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit, and Kathryn for her friend, comedian and BBC Radio 4 presenter Jeremy Hardy. They explain that “the initial premise and starting point for us was discussions and open conversations on bereavement. We’d both recently lost friends who were also in the public eye, and we talked about the strange place between personal loss and the communal grieving of a public figure”. Contrastingly, the music on ‘Willson Williams’ is warm, heartfelt and even cheerful, an opposing nature that is completely in keeping with both their humour and candidness.

TRACK LISTING

1. Arrow
2. Grace
3. R U 4 Real
4. Our Best
5. Shelf
6. Wish
7. Sweetest Wine
8. Weekend
9. Sing Out
10. Elvis
11. Big Nothing

Los Angeles-based visual artist and musician Lionel Williams was born and raised in a family of musicians - he is the grandson of soundtrack composer John Williams. Since 2010, he has been releasing music as Vinyl Williams. After three albums released on No Pain In Pop (Lemniscate, 2012) and Chaz Bundick's Company (Into, 2015 and Brunei, 2016), Vinyl Williams joined French label Requiem Pour Un Twister for his fourth album Opal released in 2018. Throughout his art, both musical and visual, Lionel Williams explores the syncretistic territory between reality and dreams, between earth and space. "Music is a chance to transmute qualitative opposites into the center, to dissolve all illusions of duality", he says. Since chaos and disorder are an illusion, Vinyl Williams is trying to reach a new state of celestial harmony on Opal. The result is an album fueled with mysticism and space age utopia, ten kaleidoscopic lush pop songs that takes you into a transcendental journey on an opal marbled vinyl limited to 500 copies.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sanctuary Spells
2. Noumena
3. Spirit Of Now
4. Lansing
5. Aphelion
6. Florian Veridiction
7. Nether Congrenes
8. None With Other
9. Eternity
10. Millenial Ballroom

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams’ classic 1998 album 'Car Wheels On A Gravel Road' is now on vinyl for the first time. The album won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album and features the songs 'Can’t Let Go' and 'Car Wheels on a Gravel Road'.

TRACK LISTING

1. Right In Time
2. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
3. 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten
4. Drunken Angel
5. Concrete And Barbed Wire
6. Lake Charles
7. Can't Let Go
8. I Lost It
9. Metal Firecracker
10. Greenville
11. Still I Long For Your Kiss
12. Joy
13. Jackson

Chicago house artists don't come much bigger or more accomplished than Boo Williams. The man has a famous signature sound that is full of party but never short on class. His chunky drums are always the foundational element and they come embellished with superb synth work. This new EP on Pariter finds him lean into tech with the loopy acid squelches of '303 Effect' keeping you in suspense, 'Acid Smoke' layering soft 303 lines into a punchy deep house cut and then comes the EP highlight, 'Extension Time'. It's a zoned-out roller with tender piano chords turning you inwards for deep reflection as the rubbery drums keep things moving.

TRACK LISTING

303 Effect
Acid Smoke
Extension Time

After the success of A.A. Williams’ 2022 album, ‘AsThe Moon Rests’, which placed in both Kerrang and Metal Hammer’s Top 10 Of The Year lists, Williams reissues two of her beloved older records: 2020’s ‘Forever Blue’ and 2021’s ‘Songs From Isolation’.

TRACK LISTING

A1. All I Asked For (Was To End It All)
A2. Melt
A3. Dirt
A4. Fearless
B1. Glimmer
B2. Love & Pain
B3. Wait
B4. I'm Fine

Willie Williams’ seminal ’No One Can Stop UsNow’ is a cover of Ashford and Simpson’s soul /disco classic ‘Ain’t No Stopping Us Now’, and is simply one of the greatest, most soulful reggae / disco cuts ever made. This is the latest in the series of special edition 12”s of all-time classic Studio One party bombs available on super loud 12”. First released on Studio One in 1979, this party anthem features the sublime keyboards of Jackie Mittoo alongside the awesome studio group, The Brentford All Stars (here working under the name The Brentford Disco Set). 100% essential monster Studio One tunes that rock any dancefloor

TRACK LISTING

No One Can Stop Us Now
No One Can Stop Us Now (Version)

A.A. Williams returns with new album 'As The Moon Rests', her second album with Bella Union. It's the follow up to 2020's Forever Blue, the London-based singer-songwriter’s album debut, a brilliantly dramatic, unique and intimate walk on the dark side that fused bold and smouldering hues of post-rock and post-classical. By turns, it was glacial and volcanic, blissful and violent, through moments of disarming quiet and explosive volume, equally appealing to alt-rock and metal camps.

“Traditionally, your second album is the worry: you don’t want to create something that people don’t like as much,” A.A. Williams contends. “But I must create music I like myself, and I’ve had more time on this record; I’ve felt more confidence and conviction. As The Moon Rests is heavier and softer, there’s more texture and weight, and a string ensemble. It’s Forever Blue times ten!”

TRACK LISTING

1. Hollow Heart
2. Evaporate
3. Murmurs
4. Pristine
5. Shallow Water
6. For Nothing
7. Golden
8. The Echo
9. Alone In The Deep
10. Ruin
11. As The Moon Rests

Lionel "Vinyl" Williams is an American multimedia artist based in Los Angeles, his music is deeply intertwined with his other media of expression (graphic design, interactive website and videos) with whom he shapes a consistent immersive new-age-infused psychedelic universe

Vinyl Williams' celestial pop is part of the construction of his own 'Cosmopolis', an ideal city, where the skyline is drawn by marvellous organic architecture and monumental ancient structures, where while walking on twisted paths, you can hear indistinctly lush vocals, iridescent gauzy keyboard harmonies, and rolling rhythms. Without acknowledging it, you are floating, your soul can ramble, free to imagine.

Musically, 'Cosmopolis' is a synthesis of Williams' craze, his contemporary dreampop production, 60s sunshine pop influences, Brasilian Tropicália hints, jazz chords, and complex arrangement. He continues to dig deep into his parallel universe, which he has developed with a rare consistency. From chaos emerges harmony and incredible pop songs.

For fans of: Triptides, Gold Celeste, Toro y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, GUM, Tame Impala, Swin Mountain, Chris Cohen, Morgan Delt, Dungen, Dumbo Gets Mad, Pond, Maston, Holy Wave, Arthur Verocai, The Free Design, The Association, Once And Future Band...

TRACK LISTING

Probable Cause
Beaming
Exopalace
Modern Arch
Paracosm
Solar Coaster
Telaculum
Precious Star
Saturnalia
Ode To Artifice
Hyperbolic

My Boy, the third solo record from New Zealand singer/ songwriter Marlon Williams, announces an artist emerging anew. Gone is the solemn, country-indebted crooner with the velvet voice – in his place comes a playful, shapeshifting creature. Following the release of his second album, 2018’s Make Way For Love, Williams’ toured the world, playing major festivals and collaborating with Lorde, Yo-Yo Ma and Florence Welch.

He also forged a fledgling acting career with roles in films The True History of the Kelly Gang and Netflix series Sweet Tooth, as well as a cameo in Oscar winning film A Star Is Born. My Boy parlays this flush of worldly experience into a vivid record as spirited and kinetic as the unfolding life of its performer. “I’ve always explored different character elements in my music,” says Williams. “And the more I get into acting, the more tricks I’m learning about representation and presentation. To get braver and bolder with exploring shifting contexts and new ways of doing things.”

As the pandemic paused global travel, Williams found himself at home in New Zealand, reconnecting with family and friends. Soon new demos and lyrical themes emerged: of self-identity and escapism; tribalism and a gnarled family tree; and ruminations on the role of masculinity and mateship. Co-produced with Tom Healy and recorded at Roundhead Studios in New Zealand, My Boy finds Williams’ leading a new band through a set of genre-hopping tunes: from the cheery sway of ‘My Boy’ and chugging ‘80s noir sheen of ‘Thinking Of Nina’, to the charging synth of ‘River Rival’, and the sultry pop jam ‘Don’t Go Back.’ All this sonic and emotional whiplash is intentional, and ultimately My Boy sees Williams having fun, even while interrogating the behaviors of himself and those around him.

TRACK LISTING

1. My Boy
2. Easy Does It
3. River Rival
4. My Heart The Wormhole
5. Princes Walk
6. Don’t Go Back
7. Soft Boys Make The Grade
8. Thinking Of Nina
9. Morning Crystals
10. Trips
11. Promises

Lu's Jukebox is a six-volume series of mostly full-band performances recorded live at Ray Kennedy's Room & Board Studio in Nashville, TN. Each volume features a themed set of songs by other artists curated by the multi-Grammy award winner, Lucinda Williams. The series aired as ticketed shows through Mandolin in late 2020 with a portion of ticket sales benefitting independent music venues struggling to get by through the pandemic. Like thousands of artists, Williams cut her teeth and developed her craft by playing in small, medium and large clubs throughout the country, and the world. These venues are vital to the development of artists and their music. Williams has never forgotten her roots, and often performs special shows in some of her favorite halls. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Street Fighting Man
2. The Last Time
3. Get Off My Cloud
4. Paint It Black
5. Play With Fire
6. No Expectations
7. Dead Flowers
8. Salt Of The Earth
9. You Gotta Move
10. Moonlight Mile
11. Time Waits For No One
12. Sway
13. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
14. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
15. Sympathy For The Devil
16. You Can't Always Get What You Want

First Word Records is very pleased to present a brand new full-length album from Sarah Williams White! Emanating from the "hilly fields of Lewisham" in South London, Sarah Williams White is a singer songwriter, multi instrumentalist and producer. Her sound is a unique blend of psych-soul, folktronica and experimental synth-pop.

Sarah released her acclaimed debut album 'Of The New World' on First Word in 2015, which was written, produced and performed by Sarah from her home studio, with the assistance of drummer, engineer & husband, Timmy Rickard. Her projects have seen support from the likes of Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone & Chris Hawkins (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), FIP Radio, Clash & The Guardian, to name a few, and she's toured the UK with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Golden Rules (Lex). There have been additional collaborations with label-mate Quiet Dawn (on the 2021 compilation / EP 'A Family Affair') and with her brother, Paul White - a revered producer in his own right, with credits including Danny Brown and Sudan Archives.

Following a hiatus, Sarah now brings us her sophomore album, 'Unfathomable'. A project that offers up escapism from the mundane, enticing us to connect with our natural planet in this prevalent time, via the eyes of a new mother.

In her words, Sarah states that the album is "about escape. It's about deflating the ego by looking up to the endlessness of outer space, connecting with the greatness of mother nature, and loving how unfathomable the universe and life itself is".

11-tracks in all, including the recent singles 'Nebula', 'Green' and 'Monsters', this opus sees Sarah's buttery lathing of vocals merged with cutting beats and atypical pop sensibilities across the project, again entirely self-produced from home, defining her as one of the UK's most irresistible DIY psych-soul talents.

With a voice reminiscent of Peggy Lee, tapestried harmony akin to Hiatus Kaiyote, beats fit for Little Dragon, and experimental production evocative of Kate Bush, Sarah Williams White's signature genre-defying sound invites us into a world uniquely hers.

TRACK LISTING

1. Nebula
2. Oh!
3. Monsters
4. Spectrum Of Light
5. Those Ones
6. Green
7. Greetings
8. How I Need You
9. 364
10. Unfathomable
11. Exit Lyra

Composer, producer, percussionist Jamire Williams applies sound collage practice to modern jazz composition, beat production, MC/vocalist features, and his uniquely impressionistic drumming style to make the deeply spiritual But Only After You Have Suffered – an album as akin to minimalist painting as an art-house film soundtrack or a classic hip-hop mixtape.

"Williams shows himself to be an inspired crafter of sound." – Pitchfork

A creative collaborator of Solange Knowles and a first-call drummer for the likes of Jeff Parker, Blood Orange & Moses Sumney, on his new album Williams brings together artists from his hometown of Houston (vocalists Corey King, Lisa E. Harris, Fat Tony, Jawwaad Taylor), those he became close to over several years living in LA (Sam Gendel, Zeroh, Mic Holden, Josh Johnson, fellow International Anthem artist Carlos Niño), and other creative partners from his life-long Journey in sound (Chassol, Svet, Kenneth Whalum).

TRACK LISTING

A1. Hands Up
A2. Bow (feat. Corey King)
A3. Gly (feat. Mic Holden)
A4. Just Hold On
A5. Take Time, Look Up (Jawwaad Speaks)
A6. Safe Travels (feat. Fat Tony & Zeroh)
A7. C'est Un Mot
B1. For The Youth (feat. Corey King)
B2. Pause In His Presence (feat. Lisa E. Harris & Sam Gendel)
B3. No One Knows
B4. When It Gets Dark (feat. Kenneth Whalum)
B5. And Then The Anointing Fell

Making her stage debut in April 2019 and selling out her first headline show at London’s prestigious Southbank Centre less than a year later, A.A. Williams hit the ground running. Similarly, the acclaim for her performances and her music has been unanimous from the start. After one self-titled EP and a collaboration with Japanese post-rockers MONO, the London-based singer-songwriter signed to Bella Union and released her stunning debut album, Forever Blue, in July 2020. That Southbank show would prove to be the last time she would take to the stage for a long while as the world struggled to cope with unforeseen and extreme challenges. Never a musician to sit still, the classically trained multi-instrumentalist focused her creativity on arranging - firstly, by stripping back to the most delicate bones on her Songs from Isolation covers record, and now with a complete reimagining of her own material as the four songs from her debut EP become Arco.

Not many musicians have the ability - or indeed bravery - to rework a collection of their own full band 'rock' songs into a string-and-voice arrangement. A.A. Williams, however, is not like many musicians and the minimalism of Arvo Pärt and Gorecki has long since sat beside Vaughan Williams' folk-inspired classical work as important influences on her music. Indeed, the intention with the EP was for Williams to challenge herself by not retaining guitars and drums, meaning arco had to be truly reimagined with a full string ensemble. As Williams describes it: "The main focus of the arrangements is trying to maintain the authenticity of the original songs that, whilst embodying some of the more familiar elements of the full-band settings, draws focus on the voice." Conducting the ensemble of string musicians in the studio, A.A. Williams has evolved her own compositions with new instrumentation and arrangements, encapsulating the singular vision of a unique artist.

TRACK LISTING

1 Control
2 Cold
3 Terrible Friends
4 Belong

Originally released on the Ovide label from Houston, Texas in 1970 and currently going for around £175, if you can find a copy.

Get Your Point Over is a brass-led funky dancer that beautifully compliments Sebastian Williams’ soulful vocal style, while the flipside, I Don't Care What Mama Said (Baby I Need You), is a slower groove that lets that vocal really soar, arriving complete with a groovy psychedelic guitar break before Williams testifies to his lady amid some punchy brass stabs.

Two stellar tunes from Sebastian Williams (aka Roger Williams of no-hit wonders The Quarter Notes), whose solo recording career amounted to just three 45s, all five years apart, along with a couple of releases as Sebastian And The House Rockers and finally, in 1975, just Sebastian.

Imagine vintage Tavares lead singer Chubby Tavares at his gritty best with a funky brass section in a soulful Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes- styled blast. Both tracks mastered from the original sound source for maximum soul sound

TRACK LISTING

1. Get Your Point Over
2. I Don’t Care What Mama Said (Baby I Need You)

Celebrating 10 years since his first album, Tom Williams releases his most eclectic project to date. 'Follow The Leader' represents a departure from his previous output, and is comprised of a collection of songs which comment on pre- and post-lockdown life, providing beautifully crafted snapshots of modern Britain.

Having released six studio albums to date, Tom Williams has built a passionate fanbase of discerning music lovers since his first album, Tom Williams & The Boats Too Slow ten years ago. His 2017 album All Change was voted by BBC 6 Music Recommends as one of their Top Ten Albums Of The Year, and his last album 2019s What Did You Want To Be? which was produced by Tim Rice-Oxley, was described by The Guardian as surging, vintage pop-rock and championed extensively by Jo Whiley at BBC Radio 2, Steve Lamacq and Lauren Laverne at BBC 6 Music, Huw Stephens at Radio 1, Q Magazine and Clash.

Follow The Leader signifies a departure from Williams previous output. Self-produced, the album boasts rich orchestral sounds and full band performances, mixed with claustrophobic drum machines, synthesizers and deep sub bass sounds.

Lu's Jukebox is a six-volume series of mostly full-band performances recorded live at Ray Kennedy's Room & Board Studio in Nashville, TN. Each volume features a themed set of songs by other artists curated by the multi-Grammy award winner, Lucinda Williams. The series aired as ticketed shows through Mandolin in late 2020 with a portion of ticket sales benefitting independent music venues struggling to get by through the pandemic. Like thousands of artists, Williams cut her teeth and developed her craft by playing in small, medium and large clubs throughout the country, and the world. These venues are vital to the development of artists and their music. Williams has never forgotten her roots, and often performs special shows in some of her favorite halls.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Games People Play
2. You'll Lose A Good Thing
3. Ode To Billy Joe
4. I Can't Stand The Rain
5. Misty Blue
6. Main Street Mission
7. You Don't Miss Your Water
8. It Tears Me Up
9. Rainy Night In Georgia
10. Take Me To The River
11. Still Long For Your Kiss

Cyclical chime and post-punk rumble from former Charlottefield man T House, taking in the strange majesty of Lungfish and the dread of The For Carnation. Sweet Williams exists as a vehicle for the creative endeavours of Thomas House (b. 1980, Eastbourne, England). Perhaps best known for the group Charlottefield with whom his unique musical language was developed, House has also been a part of musical projects as diverse as the thunderous gloop of Sloath, the sinister folk of Haress and the bottomless musical universe that is Joeyfat. House’s musical back catalogue could read like a treasure map of underground European music if you wished it to and were eager enough to follow it (you should).

It is one such collaboration that spawned this new Sweet Williams record that you hold here – digitally – in your (virtual) hands. Sick and frustrated with the UK, House and his French partner moved to Zaragoza Spain in 2018 where House had formed a tight relationship with legendary post-punk group Picore (House playing guitar and bass for the group now since 2008). When younger, it is easy to buy into the idea that a band is a gang and roles within are sacred and fixed. This begins as an easy dogma to follow, but as time moves along (and you are moved with it), it becomes impossible to adhere still to those rules. People come and go. Life takes over. This is enough to make most people stop making music altogether. House experienced something of a revelation when it came time to put together Sweet Williams: the limitations of any given time would be embraced and treated as a collaborator, as opposed to a saboteur. Sweet Williams would work like a band, except fate and circumstance would be the only permanent member, the only creative director.

So - this new Sweet Williams record was made in Zaragoza with the instrumental core of Picore as the band. Circumstance and limitations were fully embraced. Participants forced to be open to what was thrown at them. The result is 8 songs recorded almost live, 2 guitars, bass, drums, vocals. The same as Sweet Williams records that have come before but yet completely different. To these ears, there is a greater intensity to the musical interplay, with fewer moments of tranquillity or respite than previous records. The band appears giddy with the excitement of the moment and how spectacular and free they sound together. Awkward rhythms become soothingly pulse-like through repetition. Aggressive guitar clang and dissonance becomes beautiful through inspired interplay, strings ringing out against each other like bells drawn from some uncanny sense memory. A gruff voice is initially interpreted as an aggressor but soon becomes a friend and a guide.

It is a wild ride. Tempting though it is to throw musical comparisons about, this record isn’t really one for genre classification. House seems to be playing a longer game than that. It instead feels like part of a body of work in the great tradition of bands like The Fall or Pere Ubu, or labels such as 4AD or Touch & Go. That’s not to say it sounds anything like those reference points but rather that it’s the latest step of a conscious creative journey that embraces change and fortunes (good and bad) in order to make a body of work that becomes its own genre, despite great variation within. “Of course we’d normally be trying to get you to come out and see us play these songs live. You could replicate the experience by drinking too much, sleeping in your clothes, not showering and then putting the new LP on, about early evening” Sweet Williams

TRACK LISTING

1. Dead Singer
2. Steal It
3. Stopper
4. Five Perfect Darts
5. Woods Demand
6. White Table
7. Slide Right Off
8. Fucked Away 

Award-winning, revered singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams is working to help independent music venues during this time with the announcement of Lu’s Jukebox. Scheduled as a sixepisode series of mostly full-band, HD video performances in-studio, Lu’s Jukebox will feature a themed set of songs by other artists curated by the multi-Grammy award winner. The first episode kicks off on October 22nd with Running Down A Dream: A Tribute To Tom Petty, featuring songs from his celebrated career in advance of his 70th Birthday.

TRACK LISTING

1. Rebels
2. Runnin' Down A Dream
3. Gainesville
4. Louisiana Rain
5. I Won't Back Down
6. A Face In The Crowd
7. Wildflowers
8. You Wreck Me
9. Room At The Top
10. You Don't Know How It Feels
11. Down South
12. Southern Accents
13. Stolen Moments

Following excellent reviews for her debut album Forever Blue, A.A. Williams announces news of Songs From Isolation, a 9-track LP of cover versions. The Songs From Isolation project began at the beginning of the UK’s nationwide lockdown in March. A.A. Williams took songs suggested by fans and created a series of videos presenting the tracks with stripped-down instrumentation, recorded and filmed from her home in North London. The album represents a continuation of the project into a full collection of recordings and features cover versions of The Cure, Pixies, Deftones, Nick Cave, Gordon Lightfoot, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and more.

TRACK LISTING

1 Lovesong
2 Where Is My Mind?
3 If You Could Read My Mind
4 Creep
5 Nights In White Satin
6 Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)
7 Every Day Is Exactly The Same
8 Into My Arms
9 Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans

On May 8th three-time Grammy Award winner Lucinda Williams unabashedly takes on some of the human, social and political issues of our day with her boldest and most direct album to date, Good Souls Better Angels. During the course of her celebrated four-decade, pioneering career Williams has never rested on her laurels as she continues to push herself as a songwriter. On Good Souls Better Angels, she has much she needs to get out. In 2014 and 2015, Williams released two critically acclaimed double albums back to back with Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone and The Ghosts Of Highway 20, respectively.

Both releases found her experimenting with arrangements, vocals, song structure and personal subject matter. On Good Souls Better Angels, Williams changes course and chooses to forgo the personal and narrative-based songcraft that has become synonymous with her name and instead speaks to some of the injustices permeating our society. The new songs cut straight to the core with frank and honest commentary on domestic abuse (“Wakin’ Up”), the constant barrage of news (“Bad News Blues”) the dangerous, quick to judge and convict aspects of social media (“Shadows & Doubts) and the haunting reality of the “Man Without A Soul”.

Williams recorded Good Souls Better Angels backed by her remarkable, long time band, featuring Butch Norton (drums), Stuart Mathis (guitar) and David Sutton (bass). The rock-solid unit propels the music with both fire and finesse, particularly on the raw blues number “You Can’t Rule Me”, which kicks off the album with equal parts attitude and swing. Good Souls Better Angels also features some of Williams’ most intimate and up front vocals on record. She addresses the pain of depression on the achingly beautiful “Big Black Train” and tenderly delivers a poignant song of hope with “When The Way Gets Dark”. She encourages us to push forward on the path of promise and perseverance on the deeply soulful and moving album closer “Good Souls”. Good Souls Better Angels marks the first time Williams’ husband/manager Tom Overby is credited as a co-writer on many of the new songs. The album was co-produced by Williams, Overby and Ray Kennedy, who last worked with Williams on her 1998 landmark album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. 

TRACK LISTING

1. You Can't Rule Me
2. Bad News Blues
3. Man Without A Soul
4. Big Black Train
5. Wakin Up
6. Pray The Devil Back To Hell
7. Shadows And Doubts
8. When The Way Gets Dark
9. Bone Of Contantion
10. Down Past The Bottom
11. Big Rotator
12. Good Souls

Rumbling, angular post-punk FFO: The For Carnation, Lungfish, The Breeders, My Bloody Valentine, Hey Colossus. "it's the ugliness of this that makes it beautiful to me" - Jon Hillcock, BBC 6 Music // The Sweet Williams on new album Where Does The Time Come From is one Thomas House, a South coast native guitarist and songwriter whose bands have a habit of dissolving. This latest LP contains ten post-punk infused songs of an almost brutalist nature, House's music in its purest form, performed almost entirely by himself.

The first single is 'Ride A Gold Snail', a rumbling post-rock juggernaut that sets a backwards drum beat to a filthy, holding pattern bassline, with guitar amps on the verge of burning out and elliptical, elusive lyrics. "It's probably my most romantic song," says House. The video was shot and assembled in Zaragoza, Spain, the town House calls home since October of 2018 In 2016, the Sweet Williams line-up responsible for the open, organic sound of that year's album 'Please Let Me Sleep On Your Tonight' dissolved in a potent formula of work, babies, babies and work. Armed with a clutch of new songs and no time to break in a new band, House repaired to Agricultural Audio in the heart of rural Sussex with trusted producer Ben Hampson and set to work. The resulting recordings reflected House's fascination with, and horror for, busted mechanics; in place of the live band's fluid, entropic interplay, structured patterns lurch and correct, a crowbar jammed in every gear. "It doesn't represent a performance," he explains. "It represents the songs as I hear them in my head." However, the record was not conceived in a bathysphere.

These compositions could be seen as the culmination of twenty-plus years playing in countless bands, from the incandescent fury of House's old vehicle Charlottefield, to the discipline honed on guitar in post-punk stalwarts Joeyfat, to a newfound confidence in vocal texture and melody in Haress. Lyrical themes cover love, dread, betrayal, bliss, injustice, death, sex, the end of the world. You might struggle to ascertain the narrative. House takes an impressionistic approach to his subject matter. "My dad read me Elidor and The Owl Service when I was sick as a kid. And his own made up stuff. There's another world behind this one." After the bracing opening two tracks, the celebratory 'Stop It I'm Killing You' and its stinging hangover 'Stunt Freeze', the album proceeds to its dusky heart. By the time of 'Two Golden Sisters', House's hands barely brush the strings of his guitar as he croons to the memory of a long lost love.

TRACK LISTING

1. Stop It I'm Killing You
2. Stunt Freeze
3. Fifties
4. RF
5. Very Long Division
6. Ride A Gold Snail
7. Rusted Mouth
8. Two Golden Sisters
9. Facing East
10. Discomforter

“Well, this is the largest amount of people we’ve ever had in a room to watch us, so it feels pretty damn special,” Marlon Williams says, sitting down to the piano during the first night of two sold-out shows at the historic Auckland Town Hall. May 25th, 2018 was special in many respects. Williams had returned home to New Zealand to close a 60-date world tour for his new album, Make Way For Love. He shared the stage with his second family, The Yarra Benders, with the two evenings at Auckland Town Hall serving as a fitting cap after having toured the globe together over the course of two album campaigns.

Across the past several years on the road, the Marlon Williams live show has taken on an almost mystical status — not just for Williams’ extraordinary voice, but also for the hypnotic command he has over an audience, his seamless blending of genres, and the effortless, instinctive relationship he shares with his band. Live at Auckland Town Hall showcases Williams at his finest, performing a set that includes songs from his acclaimed self-titled debut album, as well as 2018’s Make Way For Love, and standalone single, “Vampire Again.” The live album also includes previously unreleased covers of Barry Gibb, Yoko Ono, the late Lhasa De Sela, and a Williams live favorite, “Portrait of a Man” by Screaming Jay Hawkins.

Live at Auckland Town Hall captures an artist both early enough in his career to be humbled by the occasion, and developed enough to present a stunning catalogue of music and quality of performance. As Williams’ first official live release, Live at Auckland Town Hall feels sure to enter the canon of great live albums in the years to come, a dazzling snapshot of Marlon Williams’ musical singularity.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
1. Come To Me
2. I Know A Jeweller
3. Everyone’s Got Something To Say
4. Beautiful Dress
5. I Didn’t Make A Plan
6. The Fire Of Love

SIDE B:
7. Is Anything Wrong?
8. Can I Call You
9. Dark Child
10. I’m Lost Without You
11. What’s Chasing You

SIDE C:
12. Party Boy
13. Carried Away
14. Vampire Again
15. Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore
16. Make Way For Love

SIDE D:
17. Love Is A Terrible Thing
18. Portrait Of A Man
19. When I Was A Young Girl

Having taken a break from the music industry to teach in 2015, Tom was offered a week-long artist residency in the music department of Leeds Beckett University, and on the condition the university provided him with a band, Tom accepted the post and entered into one of the most creatively inspiring periods of his career, and resulted in the critically acclaimed album ‘All Change’. The new album ‘What Did You Want to Be?’ was recorded in January 2018 in East Sussex at Tim Rice-Oxley’s (Keane) home studio. Written under a year since ‘All Change’ came out, the album came from a series of intense, ‘20 song days’ that Rice-Oxley encouraged Tom to throw himself into.

TRACK LISTING

Run Down
Rock & Roll
Dawned On Me
Graveyard
Stay Afloat
Keeping It In
Early Morning Rain
Some Time
It’s Dark Now
Crying At The TV
Real Slow

After three albums released on No Pain In Pop (Lemniscate, 2012) and Chaz Bundick’s Company (Into, 2015, Brunei, 2016), Vinyl Williams has joined French label Requiem Pour Un Twister for his fourth album: Opal. Throughout his art, both musical and visual, Lionel Williams is always exploring the syncretistic territory between reality and dreams, between earth and space. For him “music is a chance to transmute qualitative opposites into the center, to dissolve all illusions of duality”. As “chaos and disorder is an illusion”, with Opal, Vinyl Williams is trying to reach a new state of celestial harmony. The result of which is an album fuelled with mysticism and space age utopia, ten kaleidoscopic lush pop songs that takes you into a transcendental journey.

For fans of: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Toro Y Moi, Todd Rundgren, Morgan Delt, Mild High Club, Triptides, Homeshake and Connan Mockasin

TRACK LISTING

Sanctuary Spells
Noumena
Spirit Of Now
Lansing
Aphelion
Florian Veridiction
Nether Congrenes
None With Other
Eternity
Millenial Ballroom

First official reissue of the extremely rare full-length album by Lagos-based bandleader Shina Williams. Clean copies of the original currently sell for up to £500.

The record was born in 1979 when Shina put Biddy Wright, Fred Fisher, Saliu Alabi, Prince Bola, Tutu Shoronmu, Tunde Willimas and several other decorated Nigerian musicians - who played with the likes of Fela Kuti, SJOB Movement, Sonny Okoson, King Bucknor amongst others - together to record. The result is ‘African Dances’, a timeless fusion of afrobeat, electronics, boogie and disco.

Includes his most well-known song, ‘Agboju Logun’ that Williams knew was ground breaking - “I want to show the whole wide world that Africa is alive with modern musicians to reckon with anywhere,”. This album version is a different mix to the two-track 12” that came out under on Earthworks, Rough Trade in 1984.

TRACK LISTING

Cunny Jam Wayo
Agboju Logun
Gboro Mi Ro

Known for his effortlessly distinctive voice, Make Way For Love marks Marlon's exponential growth as a songwriter. Throughout 11 original songs, he explores new musical terrain and reveals himself in an unprecedented way in the wake of a fractured relationship. While Make Way For Love draws on Marlon's own story, it captures the vagaries of relationships we've all been through: the bliss, ache, uncertainty, and bitterness. Like the best breakup records, Make Way For Love doesn't shy away from heartbreak, but rather stares it in the face, and mines beauty from it. Delicate and bold, tender and searing, it's a mightily personal new step. Make Way For Love was recorded with producer Noah Georgeson and his backing band, The Yarra Benders, in North California's Panoramic Studios after several weeks of pre-production in his native Lyttelton, New Zealand with regular collaborator Ben Edwards. The finished result is an expansive record that moves Marlon several paces from "country" - the genre that's been affixed to him more than any in recent years - with forays into cinematic strings, reverb, rollicking guitar, and at least one quiet piano ballad.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Heartfel odes, tinkling keys and powerful confident guitars weave into an engrossing and confident whole. Superbly written melodies and pitch-perfect production make this a sure-fire winner.

TRACK LISTING

Come To Me
What's Chasing You
Beautiful Dress
Party Boy
Can I Call You
Love Is A Terrible Thing
I Know A Jewller
I Didn't Make A Plan
The Fire Of Love
Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore
Make Way For Love

Mercury-nominated singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams releases a ‘soundtrack album’ to a brand new novel by best-selling author Laura Barnett, that follows the life of a fictional singer. Greatest Hits, the hotly-anticipated follow-up to Barnett’s novel The Versions of Us, was published in June 2017 and now the brand new album by Kathryn Williams – Songs from the Novel Greatest Hits, is released.

Up from the sea-lap pebbles of the Sussex coast, cupped like metal-fire in the clutching cauldron of the Brighton downs dwells the throb, purr, snarl and roar of Sweet Williams. A band whose grooves warm like loving wine, whose riffs swagger and lurch with all the seeming bonhomie of a sailor new on shore-leave, and yet like a stray dog which you imagined you could tame, those same riffs are liable in the end to wind up biting you on the arse.

Convened by ex-Charlottefield vocalist and guitarist Thomas House and assembled from a collection of musicians whose other projects, both former and current (including those of House himself), spread like marble veins throughout the strata of the vibrant wealth of the Brighton alternative music scene, Sweet Williams have, since their debut album Bliss, consolidated a sound which has become ever richer and ever more compelling. The progress of that journey began to be illustrated at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 with the release of the two download EPs Two Clocks and You might Be Singing to Yourself the former part live recording, part Spanish studio recordings and the latter recorded by the band at home in Brighton. Now with the completion of their second full studio album that progress is made most apparent.

To watch the band live is to be swept up in a musical embrace which even at its most savage and complex moments, even at its most disorientating never feels less than natural and right. But that natural feel and the infectious immediacy of the sound belie the exquisite intricacies of the arrangements and the sheer bloody hard work and endeavour therein. Andy Thomas’ head-sway bass, grinds and syncopates in lip-curl licks which knit with the beautiful fascination and disarming power of Tom Barnes’ drums to launch a tightly woven, complicated raft for the two guitars of House and Sarah Dobson to sail upon. Guitars which work at odds with each other at times in aggressive counterpoint opposition, only to then come together as friends in shimmering, lush accord, guitars which hang chords upon the air like velvet valve-mist but which, at any moment, will turn on a penny into sharp, murderous clamour and rage. Atop all this like a watchful hawk, sit the vocals of Thomas House. Sometimes hanging back, sometimes malevolent, always unbowed, forever defiant, they range from the laconic and gently stated through to unbridled, vicious howls.

You should grab a hold of this new album, you should grab a hold of it at the first chance you get and whilst you listen to it, whilst it takes root and begins to grow within your heart like an old friend, keep your fingers crossed that they’ll be bringing their sublime guitar magic to someplace near you soon. 

TRACK LISTING

1 Endless Love
2 The Deer Song
3 Ex-Circus
4 Ghost Waves
5 Half-Stripped
6 Please Let Me Sleep On Your Tonight
7 Come Swimming
8 Two Clocks
9 …

Marlon Williams’ self-titled album features majestic rendering of such diverse touchstones as classic orch-pop ballad ‘Lost Without You’ and conceptual 1974 vintage nugget ‘Silent Passage’.

These covers blend seamlessly with novelistic noir standouts ‘Strange Things’ and ‘Dark Child’ (cocredited to childhood choral pal Tim Moore), which deliver gallows humour with a widescreen groove.

Marlon was nominated for five New Zealand Music Awards (equivalent to The Brits / Grammys) and an ARIA award (Australian Ivor Novello) and won Best Male Solo Artist and Best Newcomer 2015 for the New Zealand Music Awards.

TRACK LISTING

Hello Miss Lonesome
After All
Dark Child
I’m Lost With Out You
Lonely Side Of Her
Silent Passage
Strange Things
When I Was A Young Girl
Everyone’s Got Something To Say

After releasing ‘Easy Fantastic’, his acclaimed third LP with The Boat on Moshi Moshi Records last year, Tom Williams jumped ship to explore a stripped back solo venture that focuses entirely on the charming intensity of his lyrical songwriting and the minimal arrangements provided by a close circle of friends. The “New House” mini-album follows “New Guitar” (released in March this year) and both feature seven new songs each, all written over the past two years and put to tape at 2kHz Studios in Crouch End, London with Ian Grimble (The Fall, Manic Street Preachers, Siouxie And The Banshees). The collection of songs give an intimate insight into Tom’s transition from band to solo artist, his relocation from Tunbridge Wells to St Leonards and eventually settling in the new house which became the central point to the stories tying all these songs together. Playing with Tom on many of the tracks and also on stage is Ant Vicary from The Boat as well as Sarah Maycock, Fiona Keeler and Catherine Black on piano, vocals and cello respectively. 

Vinyl Williams is the moniker of Lionel Williams, 25 year old Los Angeles based artist and experimental-pop musician. ‘Into’ - his startlingly accomplished second album - effortlessly fuses psych, krautrock, ambient and shoegaze into a transcendental whole.

The record ripples outward into blissful sonic geography. Lead track ‘World Soul’ sounds like celestial soul music; ’Gold Lodge’ floats on jazzy chords and a propulsive baseline; ’Greatest Lives’ and ‘Iguana City’ are loungey new age jams that continually unfold; ‘Xol Rumi’ closes the album in an etheric motorik voyage. Uniquely, all the album’s 14 tracks are written, performed and produced solely by the multi-instrumentalist Williams.

Williams is highly influenced by the archetypal forces of ancient initiation, multi-religious symbolism, and Jung's take on psycho-analysis. He interweaves these ideas into a vacuum of supernatural and futuristic realms of sound & colour; aiming to create a paradoxical menage of “sonic matrices” deliberately designed to have a beneficial psycho-physical effect on the listener. It is the singular sound of a restless creative scrying these concepts to conjure a uniquely personal & intuitive experience.

The interactive visual elements for each song on the album create a constellation of simulated synesthesia, impressions of multi-sensuous realms beyond the senses. Williams employed scientific illuminism (the method of science & the aim of religion) in the process of creating the virtual worlds as well as soundscapes – to generate an entire mysterious planet of harmony & equilibrium.

His music’s amorphous sensation is a constant across all Williams' artistic mediums. He has exhibited his similarly ethereal art across New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Seoul, and created official videos for Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Tears For Fears, Young Magic, and Dub Thompson.

Vinyl Williams on Into:
“Into’ was made to help subconsciously stimulate as well as soothe the listener into a critically neutral / balanced mental state. The main technique employed was through the incorporation of opposites into the sound & visual, such as meditative abrasiveness.”

Williams is the grandson of film composer John Williams and the son of Mark Towner Williams, drummer for Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Tina Turner, and Air Supply; his mother Leah was a classical pianist. He grew up in a Mormon community in Utah, USA. As a direct reaction to religious dissonances experienced in Utah, he has experimented with audio as a pragmatic healing tool. He also created one of the world’s first truly interactive music videos (players could explore an environment and manipulate individual elements of audio with their movements.

TRACK LISTING

1. Gold Lodge
2. Space Age Utopia
3. Ring
4. World Soul
5. Hall Of Records
6. The Tears Of An Inanimate Object
7. Iguana City
8. Greatest Lives
9. Zero Wonder
10. Axiomatic Mind
11. Eter Wave Agreement
12. Plinth Of Uncanny Design
13. Allaz
14. Xol Rumi

After releasing Tom Williams and The Boat’s acclaimed 3rd LP ‘Easy Fantastic’ on Moshi Moshi Records, Tom is jumping ship to explore a stripped back venture called ‘New Guitar’, one that focuses entirely on the charming intensity of his lyrical songwriting and the minimal arrangements provided by a close circle of friends.

The first single ‘New Guitar’ is revealed here in the form of a live performance at Replay Acoustics, the place where Tom found the Guitar that “all kinds of new songs fell out” of. The first song that did, is about moving down to the sea and serves as a perfect introduction to the project. The mini-album features more songs written over the past two years and studio versions (available upon release) were put to tape at 2kHz Studios in Crouch End, London with Ian Grimble (The Fall, Manic Street Preachers, Siouxie And The Banshees). Footage from these sessions was captured to create The Making-of “New Guitar” Mini Album Documentary directed by Jake Cunningham, giving a insight into Tom’s transition from band to solo artist, his relocation from Tunbridge Wells to St Leonards and the pivotal instrument that ties all these songs together.

This release see’s Tom accompanied by Ant Vicary from The Boat as well as Sarah Maycock, Fiona Keeler and Catherine Black on piano, vocals and cello respectively. It is released on Tom’s own Wire Boat Recordings label.

TRACK LISTING

1. New Guitar
2. Oh Boy
3. Tuesday Morning
4. Open Mic
5. She's Everything
6. I've Been Thinking
7. 1992

As a rule, you can divide music into three categories - the kind that aims for the head, the kind that aims for the heart and the kind that aims for the hips. Forging two of those connections at once is pretty impressive, but connecting on all three? That’s a rare accomplishment indeed, one that Lucinda Williams manages on her 11th studio album, 'Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone'.

'Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone', the first release on Lucinda Williams’ own Highway 20 Records label, is easily the most ambitious creation in a body of work that’s long on ambition. Williams leaves no emotional crevice left unexplored, drinking deeply from a well of inspiration that culminates with an offering that overflows with delta-infused country soul.

Williams wrings every drop of affirmation from uplifting tracks like the empowering “Walk On” (a loping paean to life’s most sustaining aspects, the fleeting and the permanent) and every whit of dark beauty from songs such as “This Old Heartache” (a stark reminder that churning psychic waters can lurk beneath a placid surface).

Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone, an excerpt from a poem written by her father, Miller Williams

Musicans playing on the album include: Tony Joe White, Greg Leisz, Bill Frisell, Pete Thomas & Davey Faragher (Elvis Costello), Val McCallum (Jackson Brown), Stuart Mathis (Wallflowers), Ian Mclagan (Small Faces), Doug Pettibone and Jakob Dylan

Devon started recording Gilding The Lily with long-time associate Jorge Elbrecht (Lansing-Dreiden, Violens, Ariel Pink) immediately after completing Euphoria, and over the intervening two years the songs steadily evolved, mirroring changes in Williams’ life that include marriage and multiple intercontinental relocations!

From album opener “Deep In The Back of Your Mind” through first single “Flowers” and the lushly romantic “Will You Let Go Of My Heart?” Williams has honed his trademark blend of power-pop, orchestrated soft-rock and layered, melodic jangle-pop to a perfect edge. The elegant “Games” is a great example of what Devon does best — complex emotions played against a driving pop tune. It’s these contrasts that enliven Gilding The Lily and the consummate skill with which Williams arranges and executes his beautiful songs that mark him as a truly unique talent.

TRACK LISTING

1: Deep In The Back Of Your Mind
2: Games
3: All I Gave To Do
4: Pendulum
5: Flowers
6: Around In A Maze
7: Puzzle
8: Rabbit Hole
9: Will You Let Go Of My Heart?
10: Lost My Concentration
11: Gilding The Lily

After five years as a band, encompassing five EPs and two albums, Kent-based six-piece Tom Williams & the Boat might appear fully-formed but, with the release of their second album, ‘Teenage Blood’, they’re only just beginning to reveal their true colours.

‘Teenage Blood’ is made up of ten tracks that Tom says reflect a new sense of focus for the band. After becoming obsessed with the idols of pop-rock’s history, such as Tom Petty, Teenage Fanclub, The Band and Loaded-era Velvet Underground, Tom decided to write songs that take the traditional song structures of that genre – repeated choruses, catchy hooks – and fill them with a subversive lyricism, touched upon in the debut release.

The result is a tight, narrative set of tracks that don’t so much form a concept as a series showing the progression of doomed love affairs – moving from youthful naïveté in ‘Too Young’ into ‘There’s A Stranger’s gut-punch realisation of the death of a romance (‘the best song I’ve ever written’, says Tom) and finally the ‘rolling credits’ of ‘Emily’, a depiction of the (re)birth of a new relationship. Teenage Blood’s consistent focus and narrative drive make for a more cohesive album than Too Slow; a mixture of the black and white polarity of their debut that explores new, captivating shades of grey - the spaces in between pop and alternative music, love and hate.

Tom Williams and the Boat return following a summer that has seen them play across the UK at various festivals including five sets at Glastonbury and high profile sets at Latitude and Lounge On The Farm with an EP of new material recorded throughout August. The band are currently putting the finishing touches to their debut album, due for release in Spring 2011.

Lead track "See My Evil" has been raising eyebrows amongst fans, who now number the likes of Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson, taking their well known ear for a melody into new and darker musical territory and saw The Fly rapt with ‘an unexpected dark dynamism, and an all-round righteous fury’ whilst Likesounds thrilled to a track so ‘massive and loaded with hooks’ when they caught the band live at the Buffalo Bar. Coupled with "Get Older", a bluesy confessional burning with the anger of a young Nick Cave, the two tracks further demonstrate Tom Williams and the Boat as one of the most inventive songwriting teams around. With the dark mood persisting into the groove of "Strong Wheels", threaded gossamer like with a sinewy guitar line there is still space for the release of "Kick the Cat" and the warped confessional of "In Love".

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: This EP is all over 6 music at the moment, and deservedly so - it's ace!

TRACK LISTING

1. See My Evil
2. Get Older
3. Strong Wheels
4. In Love
5. Kick The Cat

"Carefree", Devon Williams' debut album, has a melodic complexity that belies its immediacy, and descends from a lineage of great music. Those yearning for a return to intelligent pop music — songs as gratifying on their 1,963th listen as they are memorable after their first — need look no further. Over the course of a year and a half, Williams recorded at three different studios around Los Angeles, walking away with a handful of songs each time. Laying down multiple guitar tracks — making as many as ten different mixes for some songs — Williams scrutinized every moment to achieve his ideal sound. Songs such as "A Truce" or "Honey" presumably come from a lifelong fan of greats such as Nilsson and Chilton, Cope and Downes, Lennon and McLennan.

Having wowed us all with the ace "Oh My Gosh", Man Like Me returns with live favorite "Wine And Dine". On the flip the grind-tastic grime groove of the original is whisked up into a fierce and frolicsome slice of electrohouse by Tsuba boy Williams.

Local artist.

Desmond Williams' work with legendary dub engineer Scientist caught the ear of Thievery Corporation, and he's been part of the ESL set up ever since. This album is a perfect distillation of the ESL sound - dubwise, easy, bossa and jazz-edged grooves inna global-downbeat stylee.

"Musings of a Creek Dipper" sees Williams in her usual low key, patched jeans, reflective introversion. She has a fragile quality to her vocals, reminiscent of a rustic Rickie Lee jones but with no urban abrasiveness. An intriguing performer whose work unfolds on each subsequent listen.

Although a much larger production than her 1998 album "Musings of a Creek Dipper", Victoria Williams has lost none of her down home Louisiana on her latest release "Water to drink", she has the same concerns and preoccupations as usual with an all pervading Christian compassion.