If one thing is clear from the offset of revelatory fourth album ‘There’s A Big Star Outside...’, it’s that Swim Deep is no longer the same band you’ve always known.

In some ways, Swim Deep’s fourth album – full of acoustic guitars and floral notes courtesy of a Mellotron keyboard (one of the finest musical exports from their native Birmingham) – has no business being as luscious and evolved as it is. But ‘There’s A Big Star Outside...’ could only have surfaced as a result of such testing years. It takes the youthful dreaming of their debut, and the excitable experimentalism of its follow-ups, and leads it to a more assured space, aided hugely by the input of producer Bill Ryder-Jones, who became a mentor throughout the journey. “A lot of the album, Bill’s drawn out of me,” Ozzy nods. “That sense of boldness and not hiding behind the music that he’s instilled in me has really made the album flourish, and be what I want it to be. It’s a cliché to say, but I feel I’ve been writing towards this record my whole life.”

It’s fitting that this is the message Swim Deep have arrived at, because ‘There’s A Big Star Outside...’ genuinely does feel like a golden moment for the band. Across more than a decade in the industry, they’ve revelled in the highs and weathered the lows – but their fourth feels like an album that exists outside of all that. It’s one that’s less about chasing the next rungs of success and more about really nailing their flag to the mast as artists, as adults, and as a group who were always in it for more than just fleeting scenes and early buzz.

TRACK LISTING

1. How Many Love Songs Have Died In Vegas?
2. Very Heaven
3. These Words
4. Robin
5. Don't Make Me A Stranger
6. First Song
7. Big Star
8. It's Just Sun In Your Eyes
9. So Long, So Far (Marble-Bellied Baby)
10. Fire Surrounds

Recorded at Ardent Studios and released in 1972, the album has gone on to become one of the most influential and iconic debut albums of all time.

This 50th-anniversary indie exclusive edition is pressed on 180-gram metallic gold with purple smoke vinyl and features all-analogue mastering by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl.

The album has been included in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, with the song “Thirteen” featured in its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Feel
2. The Ballad Of El Goodo
3. In The Street
4. Thirteen
5. Don’t Lie To Me
6. The India Song
Side B
7. When My Baby’s Beside Me
8. My Life Is Right
9. Give Me Another Chance
10. Try Again
11. Watch The Sunrise 

Yaya Bey is one of R&B’s most exciting storytellers. Using a combination of ancestral forces and her own self-actualization, the singer/songwriter seamlessly navigates life’s hardships and joyful moments through music. Bey’s new album, ‘Remember Your North Star’ (out June 17), captures this emotional rollercoaster with a fusion of soul, jazz, reggae, afrobeat and hip-hop that feeds the soul. The artist’s knack for storytelling is best displayed in the album’s lead single, “keisha”. It’s an anthemic embodiment of fed-up women everywhere who have given their all in a relationship, yet their physical body nor spiritual mind could never be enough.

Bey’s ability to tap into the emotionally kaleidoscopic nature of women, specifically Black women, is the essence of the entire album. With themes of misogynoir, unpacking generational trauma, carefree romance, parental relationships, women empowerment and self-love, Remember Your North Star proves that the road to healing isn’t a linear one – there are many lessons to gather along the journey.

“I saw a tweet that said, ‘Black women have never seen healthy love or have been loved in a healthy way.’ That's a deep wound for us. Then I started to think about our responses to that as Black women,” Bey says of ‘Remember Your North Star’s title inspiration, an entirely self-written project featuring key production from Bey herself, with assists from Phony Ppl’s Aja Grant and DJ Nativesun. “So this album is kind of my thesis. Even though we need to be all these different types of women, ultimately we do want love: love of self and love from our community. The album is a reminder of that goal.”

The artist’s raw, unfiltered approach threads ‘Remember Your North Star’. “big daddy ya” finds the artist tapping into her inner rapper, channeling the too-cool and confident factor that artists like Megan Thee Stallion and City Girls are well-known for. “reprise” captures women’s exhaustion everywhere, with its lyrical tug-of-war of bettering oneself while trying to cut yourself off from toxic relationships. There’s also “alright” (co-produced by Aja Grant), a soothing, jazz-inspired ditty that showcases Bey’s love for the genre’s icons like Billie Holiday, while the carefree “pour up” highlights the artist’s friendship with DJ Nativesun (the song’s producer) and will immediately rush hips to the dancefloor.

There is no fakeness when it comes to Bey’s music, and her authenticity can be partly attributed to her upbringing in Jamaica, Queens. Early childhood memories included watching her father (pioneering ‘90s rapper Grand Daddy I.U) record in his studio – which also doubled as Bey’s bedroom – and listening to records by soul legends Donny Hathaway and Ohio Players around the house. Beginning at age nine, the artist’s father would leave space for her to write hooks to his beats, using her favorite artists like Mary J. Blige and JAY-Z as inspirations.

Bey quickly grew out of New York City and moved to D.C. at age 18. Calling it her second home, the city further ignited the artist’s creativity as she worked at museums and libraries, as well as tapping into poetry and attending protests. Her first release ‘The Many Alter - Egos of Trill’eta Brown’ in 2016 that incorporated a digital collage and a book, was praised by Solange’s Saint Heron agency, FADER, Essence, and many more. Bey followed up with fellow critically acclaimed projects like 2020’s ‘Madison Tapes’ album and 2021’s ‘The Things I Can’t Take With Me’ EP – the first release on Big Dada’s relaunch as a label run by Black, POC and minority ethnic people for Black, POC and minority ethnic artists – that received support from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, NPR, Harper’s Bazaar, FADER, HotNewHipHop, Dazed, Clash, FACT, Crack Magazine, The Line of Best Fit and Mixmag.

In 2021, Bey was also profiled by Rolling Stone for their print magazine, contributed to the publication’s The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, and curated a playlist for Document Journal. The artist’s “september 13th (DJ Nativesun Remix)” and “made this on the spot” singles received strong radio support from BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC 1 Xtra’s Jamz Supernova. Last May, Bey was interviewed on BBC 1Xtra and performed three tracks for Jamz Supernova’s “Festival Jamz” including The Things I Can’t Take With Me’s “fxck it then” and “september 13th” that December.

Bey is also a critically acclaimed multidisciplinary artist and art curator, creating the artwork for her music through collages of intimate photos and self-portraits. In 2019, her work was featured in the District of Columbia Arts Center’s “Reparations Realized” exhibit and Brooklyn’s Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA)’s “Let the Circle Be Unbroken” exhibit. She also completed multiple fine art residencies with MoCADA, curating programs that reflect the same theme that drives her music: the Black woman's experience.

‘Remember Your North Star’ continues Bey’s personal and artistic evolution as she strives to be a soundboard for Black women everywhere. “I feel empowered in music because I can transform anything that happens to me into something that is valuable. Music helps me to see the value in what's going on in my life,” she explains. “There’s a spirit in music. It’s a culture and I'm in that community, contributing my story which keeps us connected.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Seriously, get on this! Landing somewhere between Green Tea Peng, Amy Winehouse and Erykah Badu (!!) with that adoration for retroistic jazz and soul influences showered in sunshine and delivered with her own highly individualistic, localized vocal flow. She's also provocative, stylish and outspoken, making her a perfect star for 2022. Gonna blow up!

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Intro
2. Libation
3. Big Daddy Ya
4. Keisha
5. Nobody Knows
6. Alright
7. Meet Me In Brooklyn
8. It Was Just A Dance
9. Pour Up (feat. DJ
Nativesun)
10. Uh Uh Nxgga

 Side B
1. Reprise
2. Rolling Stoner
3. Don't Fucking Call Me
4. I'm Certain She's There
5. Street Fighter Blues
6. Mama Loves Her Son
7. Either Way
8. Blessings

Big Star formed in 1971, and in their brief 4 years together, created 3 albums that consistently make “Best of All-Time” lists. 18 years after officially disbanding, original members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens joined forces with The Posies’ Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow for a live performance, which led to a tour (documented on Omnivore Recordings’ Live In Memphis), and years of concerts. While the live shows were a joy and surprise, a bigger surprise happened in 2005. After over a decade playing together: a new studio album. As Ryko A&R’s Jeff Rougvie said. “It was the easiest approval for a project I ever got.” In Space featured new 12 tracks (11 originals and a cover of The Olympics’ “Mine Exclusively”) recorded where Big Star began, at the classic Ardent Studios.

The new line up was creating a new chapter for the band while minding and honoring its past. With original vinyl going for outrageous prices, In Space returns as an LP on translucent blue vinyl, and expanded CD with 6 bonus tracks including “Hot Thing” (previously available on the out-of-print Big Star Story) and 5 previously unissued demos and alternate mixes. Packaging contains liner notes from Rougvie, original album co-producer/engineer Jeff Powell (who also cut the new vinyl), assistant Ardent engineer Adam Hill, and surviving band members Jon Auer, Ken Stringfellow, and Jody Stephens. Expanded and remastered, In Space finally returns to earth. Prepare to blast off again

• Remastered and restored performance originally recorded and broadcast in 1974.
• On LP officially for the first time.
• New liner notes from authors Robert Gordon and Rich Tupica.
• Liners include an interview with bassist, John Lightman.

Big Star recorded their second album, Radio City, as a trio, after the departure of founding member Chris Bell. When it came time to tour, original bassist Andy Hummel decided to return to school to pursue his engineering education. With this departure, Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens recruited fellow Memphis native John Lightman to take over on bass duties, and the band readied their live set. That set is on display as Big Star recorded a radio session at Ultrasonic Studios in New York for broadcast on the city’s preeminent WLIR. Nearly two decades later, those recordings were issued as Live in 1992. Omnivore Recordings is proud to reintroduce those recordings, restored and remastered from the original tapes, as Live On WLIR, on CD—and, its first official release on LP.

The 15 track set features material from the band’s two releases, as well as a cover of “Motel Blues” by Loudon Wainwright III (which originally appeared on his classic 1971 sophomore release, Album II). With new, updated liner notes from Memphis writer/filmmaker, Robert Gordon (who won a Grammy® for his essay in 2010’s Big Star boxed set Keep An Eye On The Sky) and an interview with John Lightman by Chris Bell biographer Rich Tupica (There Was A Light: The Cosmic History Of Big Star Founder Chris Bell), Live On WLIR enters the Big Star canon in the form it deserves. Because, you know, you get what you deserve.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. September Gurls (Live On WLIR)
2. Way Out West (Live On WLIR)
3. Mod Lang (Live On WLIR)
4. Don't Lie To Me (Live On WLIR)

Side B
1. O My Soul (Live On WLIR)
2. Interview (Live On WLIR)
3. The Ballad Of El Goodo (Live On WLIR)
4. Thirteen (Live On WLIR)

Side C
1. I'm In Love With A Girl (Live On WLIR)
2. Motel Blues (Live On WLIR)
3. In The Street (Live On WLIR)
4. You Get What You Deserve (Live On WLIR)

Side D
1. Daisy Glaze (Live On WLIR)
2. Back Of A Car (Live On WLIR)
3. She's A Mover (Live On WLIR)

Record Store Day/Black Friday saw the release of the first in a series of three volumes of double LPs that will contain the entire, critically acclaimed Big Star Complete Third boxed set. Volume 2, titled Roughs To Mixes continues the journey, featuring rough mixes from producer Jim Dickinson, as well as Ardent’s John Fry, with over 15 previously unissued tracks. Almost every song on this collection is making its vinyl debut.

Included are Lesa Aldridge’s take on The Velvet Underground’s “After Hours,” and a version of “For You” with vocals from Alex Chilton (songwriter and Big Star drummer Jody Stephens sang the iconic album version.)

This release is the bridge from the early demos, and the listener can feel the progression toward what would be listed as one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time—Big Star’s Third.

Listening to "Radio City" it's hard to believe that it was largely ignored on its release in 1974. Its heady combination of (future) Brit pop melodies and well crafted songs was probably a little unfashionable in a world obsessed with the stadium rock of Led Zep and it's only since the band's demise that they've received the recognition that eluded them in the short time they were together. Soft rock with jangly guitars and sweet vocal harmonies - what's not to like!?