The Soft Pink Truth (Drew Daniel also of Matmos) grafts chamber music and electronic music into a beguiling new hybrid pop album that evokes mid-20th century film soundtracks with nods to minimalism. 'Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever?' features artwork by Robert Beatty (Tame Impala, The Weeknd). The new album features a host of special guests: Bill Orcutt offers one of his most delicate performances committed to record. Other guests include strings arranger Ulas Kurugullu, harpists Neleta Ortiz and Cecilia Cuccolin, pianists Koye Berry and M.C. Schmidt, strings player Kurugullu, and the Ebu String Quartet, as well as woodwind players by Brandon Wilkins and Evelyn Frances and Zach Rowden of celebrated noise duo Tongue Depressor provides grinding double bass drones. Wedding emotional expression with canny references to the inherited history of recorded music, the chimes, organ and pizzicato strings on 'Phrygian Ganymede' recall Bernard Herrmann’s scores for classic Alfred Hitchcock films, while galloping marimbas lend a sense of screwball comedy on 'L’Esprit de L’Escalier'. 'Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever?' is a singular album that speaks to the prowess of Drew Daniel as a composer and producer, deftly interlacing pop structure and classical timbre while interlacing subtle electronic sound design with gorgeous acoustics. Across the album Daniel embraces a spirit of drama and romanticism that blurs the boundaries between unconscious desire and everyday reality. The Soft Pink Truth has created a sound world of lavish fantasy that acts as a balm and counterpoint to the communal pains of modern life.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mere Survival Is Not Enough
2. And By And By A Cloud Takes All Away
3. Phrygian Ganymede
4. Underneath (I)
5. L'Esprit De L'Escalie
6. Time Inside The Violet
7. Orchard
8. Underneath (II)

Geologist is the nom-de-théâtre of Brian Weitz, whose pursuits have been an active part of the music underground since since he was 15, playing and working in alignment with an organic ensemble of friends that would one day choose to call what they were doing Animal Collective. 'Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights?' migrates from that tradition, containing a number of surprise affects of its own. #1 is that it is the first-ever proper Geologist solo album! For real. Surprise #2 is its pursuit of a musical answer to the not-oft-enuf-ast question: what if, back in the 80s, Ethan James had made a hurdy gurdy album for SST?

Geologist’s affirmative answer to the question begins with another question—'Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights?'. It’s also the first step into a rippling songscape in which his hurdy gurdy gives and takes multiple forms, an epic electro-acoustic textile of many colors cut from the life and times of Brian Weitz. It’s an inspired ride through his phases and stages, with traditional sounds, ritual moods, avant, prog-jazz, kraut, post-punk and minimalist vibes merging in electronic infinity.

TRACK LISTING

1. Oracle Road
2. Tonic
3. RV Envy
4. Not Trad
5. Color In The B&W
6. Compact Mirror/Last
7. Names
8. Government Job
9. Pumpkin Festival
10. Selley Duvall
11. Sonora
12. Last Names (w/Drums – Bonus Track)

For the first time since his viral holiday album ‘A Joyful Sound’ released in 2020, Kelly Finnigan (Monophonics) is back with two new original Christmas songs. ??‘I Can’t Wait (For Christmas Time)’ is a heavy yet laid back cut with a straight ahead pop arrangement. It’s that rust belt soul sound with the kind of harmonies that fuel Southern California cruisers; deep and emotive with just the right amount of instrumentation to push Finnigan’s tender voice forward. The tune also features label mate Kendra Morris and her band on backing vocals. Akin to previous KF releases or gems by The Escorts or The Four Mints, this record is meant for you and yours, wrapped in pretty paper under the tree until Christmas morning.

Then save some room for cookies and the b-side…

'Snowy Night In Ohio' feels like a slow moving midnight train making its way from Cincinnati to Memphis. Inspired by Finnigan’s first winter in Ohio, his love for gospel records, and horn arrangements by Isaac Hayes. This is a true stand out instrumental that oozes ice cold soul. It has a brief vocal message from Finnigan that feels testimonial and heartfelt. Featuring Colemine’s own Terry Cole and Jimmy James, plus Billy Aukstik and Morgan Price. Kelly says to be sure to treat yourself after a taxing year with a record the whole family can enjoy this holiday season. Merry Christmas!

TRACK LISTING

I Can't Wait (For Christmas Time)
Snowy Night In Ohio

The man who never misses is back with another big hit. This time, Danny Krivit drops a double shot of deep-digging NYC energy aimed at the floor. First, he flips Billy Paul's 'East', the first track ever released on Philadelphia International Records, into a taut, bass-driven groover that keeps the spirit but sharpens the energy. Flip it over and you're in early-80s Manhattan as Final Edition's seminal 'Can't Keep Running Away' is retooled into a sleek boogie-funk stomper that is stripped to its rhythmic core and laden with an irresistible hook. As ever, pure Mr. K magic that cannot fail to bring the good times.

TRACK LISTING

East
Can't Keep Running Away

Sofia Isella's 2024 and 2025 EPs, 'I Can Be Your Mother' and 'I'm Camera' on CD together.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Well
2. Sex Concept
3. Cacao And Cocaine
4. The Doll People
5. Unattractive
6. I Can Be Your Mother
7. All Of Human Knowledge Made Us Dumb
8. Us And Pugs
9. I Looked The Future
10. Hot Gum
11. Everybody Supports Women
12. Muse
13. Josephine
14. Dog's Dinner
15. Crowd Caffeine
16. Man Made
17. Orchestrated, Wet, Verboten

Scrutinized in life, mythologized in death, Tupac Shakur remains a subject of immense cultural significance and speculation nearly thirty years after his murder. Despite a multitude of books, documentaries, and even a feature film, much about Tupac’s story remains shrouded and misunderstood.

Like many icons who died tragically young, Tupac the man has long been obscured—his edges sanded down, his complexity numbed—by the competing agendas that surround his legacy. In Only God Can Judge Me, accomplished biographer and New York Times bestselling author Jeff Pearlman tackles his most nuanced subject, telling the definitive story of Tupac Shakur in unprecedented depth. In this authoritative look at Tupac’s life, Pearlman skillfully recreates West Coast hip hop in all its glory, going inside Death Row Records and on the sets of movies like Juice and Poetic Justice to offer the most clear-eyed rendering to date of the man who still casts a shadow over modern hip hop.

But more than just a biography of a complicated figure, Only God Can Judge Me also captures the time and place in which Tupac rose, a singular moment in music history when West Coast hip hop became a phenomenon and transformed popular music. Featuring nearly seven hundred original interviews and never-before-published details from every corner of Tupac’s life, the result offers a truly singular portrait of one of modern pop culture’s most towering figures. Guided by the voices of those who knew and lived life alongside him, Only God Can Judge Me captures the layers of a man who, even thirty years after his death, remains as elusive as ever. 

After an incredible year with their debut album 'Who Let The Dogs Out' — released in January and followed by what felt like a thousand sold-out shows and countless festival appearances across the globe — Lambrini Girls cemented their place as one of the most talked-about, loved, hated, debated and celebrated bands of the year. The record has become a fixture on end-of- year lists from fans, press and record stores alike.

Now, 'Who Let The Dogs Out' returns in a very special end-of-year edition. But this isn’t one of those over- priced deluxe versions — quite the opposite. It’s a stripped-back, black-and-white, DIY, down-to-earth punk rock version, complete with alternative artwork by none other than fellow legend, visual artist David Shrigley.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bad Apple
2. Company Culture
3. Big Dick Energy
4. No Homo
5. Nothing Tastes As Good As It Feels
6. You’re Not From Around Here
7. Scarcity Is Fake (Communist Propaganda)
8. Filthy Rich Nepo Baby
9. Special Different
10. Love
11. Cuntology 101

Greatest hits’ compilation, the first time a complete overview of The Fall’s career has been available on vinyl.

When the CD was originally released it was seen as the most complete and best overview of the bands recorded work and has yet to be bettered.

As with the other Fall re-issues it has been compiled by Daryl Easlea (who also wrote the notes) in conjunction with Fall expert Conway Patton and has been mastered by long time engineer Andy Pearce with art by Becky

The Fall were an English post-punk band, formed in Manchester in 1976. The band existed in some form until 2018, built around its founder and only constant member Mark E. Smith.

Initially associated with the punk movement of the late 1970s, the group's music went through several stylistic changes over the years, but was often characterised by an abrasive guitar-driven sound and frequent use of repetition, and was always underpinned by Smith's distinctive vocals and often cryptic lyrics. The band was noted for its prolific output: they released over 25 studio albums, and more than triple that counting live albums and other releases. They never achieved widespread public success beyond a handful of minor hit singles.

The band were long associated with BBC disc jockey John Peel, who championed them from early on in their career and cited The Fall as his favourite band, famously explaining, "They are always different; they are always the same."

TRACK LISTING

SIDE ONE
1 Repetition
2 How I Wrote 'Elastic Man'
3 Totally Wired
4 Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul
5 The Classical
SIDE TWO
1 The Man Whose Head Expanded
2 Cruiser's Creek
3 Mr Pharmacist
4 There's A Ghost In My House
5 Hit The North
6 Victoria
SIDE THREE
1 Telephone Thing
2 Free Range
3 Lost In Music
4 Behind The Counter - Single Version
5 Touch Sensitive
SIDE FOUR
1 Theme From Sparta FC - Single Version
2 Blindness
3 Bury
4 New Facts Emerge

Two slices of brilliant, Gospel disco from Reginald O'Neal Cuie. Originally released on 33rpm 7" (not the most wonderful format), Athens of the North scut the tape onto a loud 12 inch for the first time. A strong two sider, (500 12" only)

TRACK LISTING

1. I Can Do All Things Through Christ Jesus Which Strengthen Me
2. Let This Mind Be In You Which Is Also In Christ Jesus

‘3, 10, WHY, WHEN.’ is the third studio album from Jamie Woon, his first since 2015’s Mercury Prize nominated ‘Making Time’.

Co-produced by Jamie and Grammy award-winning Swedish producer Martin Terefe, the release comes after Jamie’s notable time away from the public sphere, reminding us of his distinctive talent. Soulful and catchy as ever, this album sees Jamie explore themes of meaning and purpose with startling vulnerability. Tight songwriting meets expansive, genre-hopping moods. Woon’s previous work includes collaborations with Disclosure, Lil Silva, Elmiene, Holly Walker, and Burial.

Includes the singles ‘Heavy Going...’ & ‘When’.

TRACK LISTING

1. All (The Way)
2. Place N Time
3. Pulling On A Thread
4. A Velvet Rope
5. Heavy Going…
6. Peace Of Mind
7. When
8. The Heart’s Mountaines
9. Ghost
10. What’s The Matter

Reissue of Sofia Isella's 'I Can Be Your Mother', the 2024 EP also features b-side stand alone singles and includes hit tracks 'All Of Human Knowledge Made Us Dumb' and 'Hot Gum'.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Well
2. Sex Concept
3. Cacao And Cocaine
4. The Doll People
5. Unattractive
6. I Can Be Your Mother
7. All Of Human Knowledge Made Us Dumb
8. Us And Pugs
9. I Looked The Future
10. Hot Gum
11. Everybody Supports Women

Karate’s first five years, boxed in classic Numero fashion and annotated by frontman Geoff Farina. Collaging DC posthardcore, De Stijl, and Django Reinhardt, this five LP set includes their self-titled debut, In Place of Real Insight, The Bed Is In The Ocean, period 7”s, and previously unissued 1993 demo. 41 late millennium accounts of 2AM bike rides, punk house floors, skinny dipping, regrettable tattoos, and Interstate 95 commuting, all remastered from the original tapes and housed in sturdy tip-on sleeves for the discerning Karate enthusiast. Don’t drown.

TRACK LISTING

LP1 S/T
A1 Gasoline
A2 If You Can Hold Your Breath
A3 Trophy
A4 What Is Sleep?
A5 - - -
B1 Bad Tattoo
B2 Every Sister
B3 Bodies
B4 Caffeine Or Me?

LP2 In Place Of Real Insight
C1 This, Plus Slow Song
C2 New Martini
C3 Wake Up, Decide
C4 It’s 98 Stop
D1 New New
D2 The New Hangout Condition
D3 On Cutting
D4 Die Die
D5 Today Or Tomorrow

LP3 The Bed Is In The Ocean
E1 There Are Ghosts
E2 The Same Stars
E3 Diazapam
E4 The Last Wars
E5 Bass Sounds
F1 Up Nights
F2 Fatal Strategies
F3 Outside Is The Drama
F4 Not To Call The Police

LP4 Demo
G1 Cherry Coke
G2 Remembering To Forget
G3 Hard Song
G4 First Time
H1 Dating Is Stupid
H2 Starfish
H3 Schwinn
H4 Remembering Reprise

LP5 7” And EPs
I1 Death Kit
I2 Nerve
I3 Cherry Coke (7inch Version)
J4 The Schwinn (7inch Version)
J5 Operation: Sand
J6 Empty There

David Bowie 6. I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002 - 2016) is the sixth in a series of box sets spanning Bowie’s career from 1969. The eighteen-piece vinyl box set is named after the closing track on ★ (BLACKSTAR), Bowie’s final studio album. The box sets include newly remastered versions (except ★ and No Plan), with input from David’s co-producer Tony Visconti.

Exclusive to each of the box sets are Montreux Jazz Festival and Re:Call 6. The former was recorded on the 18th of July 2002 at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival and among the 31 tracks features a full performance bar one song of one of Bowie’s most revered albums, Low.

Re:Call 6 features 41 non-album / alternative versions / b-sides and soundtrack songs, including tracks never previously available on vinyl.

An accompanying book features previously unseen notes, drawings and handwritten lyrics from Bowie and photos by Sukita (who took the set’s cover shot), Jimmy King, Frank W. Ockenfels 3, Markus Klinko, Mark ‘Blammo’ Adams and more as well as memorabilia, technical notes about the albums from co-producer Tony Visconti and design notes from Jonathan Barnbrook.

Celestial Echo (miche & Stu Clark) team up with Divine Disco’s Greg Belson to continue their 7-inch series spotlighting Detroit’s powerhouse gospel, soul and R&B label — HOB (House of Beauty).

This second 7-inch gives us two more in-demand killers:

Side A: Messiahs of Glory - “Can’t Find No Other Love"
Lp only before, this track makes its way to a 45 for the first time, super feel good soulful number. Uptempo with a glorious vocal, this one is built for the discerning dancefloor.

Side B: The Royal Travelers - “Jesus Hold My Hand”
raw, soulful and defining of the era. Rarer than rare and never before sold online, it’s a heavy dose of funky gospel oozing with breaky drums and soul.

Fully licensed and remastered, this 7-inch comes housed in a custom Celestial Echo / Divine Disco series sleeve with a faithful reproduction of the HOB label.

Founded in 1956 by Mrs. Carmen Murphy, HOB wasn't just a label — it was a beacon. From the basement of her beauty salon on Detroit’s West Side, she ran one of the most important Black-owned gospel imprints of the 20th century. At a time when both the music industry and the country were stacked against her, Mrs. Murphy built a sanctuary for soul — a Black woman-owned business and creative hub in volatile times. Pressed and distributed by Prime Direct Distribution.
Don’t miss — buy or cry. Volume 2 continues the journey.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Messiahs Of Glory - Can’t Find No Other Love
B1. The Royal Travelers - Jesus Hold My Hand

FUTVRST debuted in 2022 with a Star Creature 7" alongside label mainstay and fellow Bay Area funker E. LIVE. Their latest release finds the duo a slightly updated but possibly backdated disco affair. The drum machine has been traded for acoustic kit and some synth swaps for six stringers. The A Side serves up a California tribute, vo-coded slapper that would make Moroder catch a stank face. The B-Side delivers supreme disco boogie ala their idol Nile Rodgers with Grade A songwriting and excellently delivered vocals from studio collaborator Danke. Where as their first outing was geared for the heads, this sophomore single will be turning all heads, ears first to the dancefloor. Star Creature continue to dominate! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Futvrst join Introverted Funk this week and steer the Star Creature mothership back to its original themes - heavy hitting modern boogie and electro-funk.

TRACK LISTING

A. Los Francisco
B. You Can't Stop Me 

For our 100th Eccentric Soul 45, Numero returns to our Ohio roots with three replica 45s from the Capsoul universe.

Capsoul’s crown jewel group harmony quartet Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr cut just two records in their short time together, but the quartet’s “You Can’t Blame Me” has endured as a classic example of the raw and unhinged soul sound that Numero is known for.

Eccentric Soul from the heart of it all.

TRACK LISTING

A. You Can't Blame Me
B. You're All I Need To Make It

Barry Can’t Swim’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. Following the success of his debut album 'When Will We Land?', Barry has continued to solidify himself as one of the most exciting names in electronic music today and his new album 'Loner' further cements that. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Grand, crescentic electronic music that's filmic and evocative, packed full of moments of divine calm and shadowy drive. Though this is predominantly an electronic album, there are wisps of tropicalia and African percussion, bringing to mind the rhythmic acoustics of Bonobo or Caribou. A beautifully produced, uplifting journey.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Person You’d Like To Be
2. Different
3. Kimpton (with O’Flynn)
4. All My Friends
5. About To Begin
6. Still Riding
7. Cars Pass By Like Childhood Sweethearts
8. Machine Noise For A Quiet Daydream (feat. Séamus)
9. Like It’s Part Of The Dance
10. Chosen
11. Marriage
12. Wandering Mt. Moon

Chicago's Peven Everett has long had a cult following for his own unique, live take on House music. The co-producer and vocalist of Gabriel, which was not only one of the most legendary soulful house tracks of the 90’s but also helped define the two step/garage sound. In 2002 he released 'I Can't Believe I Loved Her' on King Street Sounds offshoot label, Nite Grooves, a soulful piece lamenting a love that went wrong. The track was a worldwide hit and quickly earned itself classic status amongst DJ’s and dancers alike. Both the Original and Calypso Mix are featured on this special charity reissue with all proceeds from this release being donated to Peven’s GoFundMe to help with his lung cancer treatment. Essential!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Main Mix
B1. Calypso Mix

FCL's "Can We Try" gets remixed and remastered for 2025 including flips from Jimpster, Ben Hixon & Deetron

San Soda and Red D are back on the block with this remastered remix package of "Can We Try", a soul-drenched dancefloor meditation that taps into the timeless tension of love and longing. With its raw vocal hooks (courtesy of Lady Linn), analog warmth, and stripped-down groove, the original cut is pure FCL: emotionally rich, effortlessly deep, and aimed straight at discerning dance floors.

Bringing fresh heat to the 2014 original, three heavyweights of house and techno step in for remix duties - each reworking the track in their own signature style:

Jimpster injects his trademark deep, jazzy finesse, flipping "Can We Try" into a swirling, soulful roller - lush pads, Moog flourishes, and enough swing to keep bodies moving and hearts locked in.

Ben Hixon, the Dallas-based underground wizard, lays down a chunky, hardware- heavy rework full of crunchy drums and woozy funk. It's lo-fi soul with hi-fi intent.

Deetron closes it out with a peak-time bomb - big room pressure, hypnotic bass, intense stabs and the kind of tension-release dynamics that only a true craftsman can deliver.

This limited-edition white label 12" vinyl is circulating in the wild - no frills, no hype, just a nod to those who know. Pressed loud and cut for the floor, it’s already making waves in the bags of tastemaker DJs from Berlin to Brooklyn.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Can We Try (2025 Remaster)
A2 Can We Try (Jimpster Remix)
B1 Can We Try (Ben Hixon Remix)
B2 Can We Try (Deetron Dub)

Over the course of nearly a decade making music, Alicia Jeanine and Jed Smith have charted a distinctive course through the history of pop, evoking influences as varied as the 60s folk of early Fairport Convention and Vashti Bunyan, the sunshine pop of Margo Guryan and Laura Nyro, and indiepop touchstones like Dear Nora, Marine Girls and Dolly Mixture.

Their new album, 'How Long Can It Last', finds Jeanines grappling with themes of personal upheaval and self-excavation, adding weight to their finest set of songs yet. With Alicia’s lyrics incisively interrogating connections, ruptures, and time and its reverberations, songs like 'Coaxed a Storm', 'What's Done Is Done', and 'On and On' combine rich melody with co-composer Jed’s crisp arrangements (along with contributions from longtime live show bassist Maggie Gaster) to stellar effect.

Where 'How Long Can It Last' really shines is, as always, in the songs. While the themes are sometimes heavy, the melodies and harmonies are simply heavenly, elevating these economical songs to give each the feeling of a lost classic. From the first notes of opener 'To Fail' to jaunty closer 'Wrong Direction', this album announces itself as the work of a band in full command of their art (and craft).

TRACK LISTING

1. To Fail
2. You Can’t Get It Back
3. You’ll Figure It Out
4. Coaxed A Storm
5. That’s What You Say
6. What’s Done Is Done
7. On And On
8. What’s Lost
9. What You Do
10. One Art
11. Satisfied
12. How Long Can It Last
13. Wrong Direction

Adeen Records is back with its 'The Bird' series and this time Cad73 is the one at the buttons. First up he flips the age old classic 'Love and Happiness' into a smooth and seductive sound with lush chords and warming melodies. Flip it over and you will find a rework of 'How Can I Forget You' which becomes a Northern Soul great with big hooks and driving rhythms that will get big reactions in the club. Two different but equally effective and cultured cuts.

TRACK LISTING

Love & Happiness
How Can I Forget You

Next one up from Manchester label It's All Pop Music, Tallulah Guard's 'How Can You Hold Me?'. Tallulah Guard is a singer-songwriter driven by a desire to tell stories. Their song-writing is a method of making sense of queerness, relationships, uncertainty, and growth. With playfully honest lyrics, anthemic choruses, and 90s alt-rock flair, Tallulah walks the line between critical introspection and soaring power. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Clear Cut
2. Line In The Sand
3. Strawman
4. Army Of One (Of Many)

Ajay Saggar has been making music under the moniker Bhajan Bhoy for the last 5 years, releasing several albums and touring around the globe. As a member of both Water Damage and CHELA, he appeared on 3 consecutive nights at Le Guess Who? festival in November 2024. Bhajan Bhoy’s music “plough a peak time psychedelic furrow; from lazy interstellar ragas to lysergic dance music, mellow psychedelic rock and all sorts of kosmische mutations” (The Slow Music Movement).

“Summer In St. Mary’s” is an album of beautiful and highly meditative and minimalist compositions with repetitive motifs, played on a 19th century church organ in the 15th century church of St. Mary’s in the small village of South Cowton in North Yorkshire (U.K.).

It’s an incredibly beautiful church with a rich history. Built in the 1450s by Sir Richard Conyers (who also built his castle on the hill opposite), this handsome church, like the castle, is sturdy in character. Inside the church are the alabaster effigies of Sir Richard Conyers and his two wives. The church is unused but maintained by the the Churches Conservation Trust. Inside is a church organ built by the The Packard Company, who were based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. I dated this particular organ by finding the serial number that had been scratched into the back of the organ, and via a wonderful website setup by a fan of the organ company, could see that it was built somewhere between 1896 - 1898!

I discovered the church in the summer of 2022, whilst on a visit, that summer, to unusual buildings in North Yorkshire with my mum. I saw the organ tucked away in a corner and immediately was drawn to playing it, and heard the amazing sound that emanated from it, and the seeds of an idea to record on it were sown. Over two long days in the summer of 2023, I composed and recorded a number of long compositions. Spending those long hours in the church gave me a stereophonic impression of the auditory surround. Inspired by the “natural musics” of the house’s structure (its acoustics, creaks, wind blowing through the wooden doors and room tone) and the history of it (stain glass windows, effigies of Sir Richard Conyers and his two wives, Latin inscription above the doors), I fell into a spell of playing music in a very open and free manner for many hours that, within the confines of this very special building, felt transcendent and astral.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Eschewing Bhajan Bhoy's usual widescreen psychedelic fare somewhat for an entirely minimalistic sound palatte seems like it could easily sacrifice some of BB's usual seismic intensity, but 'Summer In St. Mary's' is a completely absorbing, dizzying wonder.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Sir Richard Conyers
Alice Wycliffe

Side B
Piscina
Font

Side C
Funeray Helmet
Gauntlet

Side D
Custom
Parvis

Ramiro Rodriguez—Son Bayoú accordionist–shouted into the microphone: "We started at the pulga and now we're here!" The crowd erupted. He adjusted his red Hohner accordion to lead his band into a blistering rendition of Andres Landero's "La Pava Congona."

"Here" was the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston: the Bayou City's preeminent modern arts museum which invited the group to perform their barrio cumbia inside their hallowed spaces. When I first met them, formerly as Reyno Sabanero, they had in fact originated within Houston's pulga circuit—a network of Mexican flea markets where cumbia, the people's music of Latinoamérica, has long lived and thrived. I later hired them to perform at a Colombian Independence Day celebration I produced, where, along with two friends and deejays—Miles Ake of San Francisco and Felipe Galván of Houston—we spun cumbia on wax before the band stormed the stage with hand drums and accordions. A group of Colombians in the crowd asked what part of Colombia they came from. "Nah pues, somos de Greenspoint," Rodriguez quipped: the Northside neighborhood where they proudly hailed.

Led by Rodriguez and Juan Torres, Reyno Sabanero morphed into Son Bayoú: an update on their roots sound with a nod to their H-town pride. Few cumbiamberos cite Andres Landero and DJ Screw as inspirations. But then again, Landero and Screw—icons of the pop underground, the latter a patron saint in Houston's signature "chopped and screwed" sound—share more in common than the disparate genres might suggest. "Soy Landeristo, 100 percent," Rodriguez affirmed. His style descends from Andres Landero: the San Jacinto-born squeezebox renegade whose prolific 1960s-1980s recordings for mythical Colombian labels, from Fuentes to Tropical, define the sabanera tradition. As sophomores, Rodriguez and Torres, whose exposure to tropical music stemmed from early years in Monterrey—a cumbia capital with deep cultural ties to Houston—knew in their foremost band ambitions they'd pivot from synth-heavy Tejano cumbia around them to produce something as Colombiano roots as possible. Friends from Monterrey brought sonidero mixtapes. On YouTube, they streamed Soundway Records' impressive anthology, The Original Sound of Cumbia, learning of faraway accordion kingpins from Anibal Velásquez to Aniceto Molina. Son Bayoú—hand-making güiros in high school, disciples of originators—is less a rehash of the Andean past as a new sabanera variant where la costa collides into the swampy concrete jungles of Screwstonia.

TRACK LISTING

1. Flor Campestre
2. Playas Embrujadas

Mr Bongo proudly presents the third album by Melbourne/Naarm multi instrumentalist, Don Glori, entitled 'Paper Can't Wrap Fire'

A kaleidoscopic genre- surfing odyssey that brings together the worlds of jazz, soul and funk. Feeling both contemporary and classic, familiar yet novel, it's an assured third release that sees an artist in full flight, showcasing their creative prowess and the uniqueness of their musical voice.

Steering in a new direction, Don Glori (aka Gordon Li) has delved headfirst into his songwriting with 'Paper Can't Wrap Fire'. Deftly showcasing his talents as a writer and bandleader, he brings with him a whole host of friends from the creative crossroads that is Naarm. It's an album enriched with more soul, R&B, and funk- oriented songs than his previous jazz- rooted productions, yet there's still plenty of jazz material for those familiar fans of Don's earlier works.

It's a journey infused with a glistening jazz finesse, layered with nourishing vocal harmonies and powered by an instantly relatable human soul. Recorded over two hot summer days in Rolling Stock Studios in Collingwood, Naarm, the lineup of musicians is built up of Don's friends and family. Featuring the backbone team of Tim Cox, Al Kennedy, Joel Trigg, Robyn Cummins and Lachlan Thompson, who were part of Don's touring band before he relocated to London, and a stunning selection of vocalists in the form of ML Hall, Ruby Dargaville, Isadora Lauritz, and Bianca Kyriacou. Also gracing the album are trumpeter extraordinaire Audrey Powne, saxophonist Joshua Moshe, and Alcides Neto who sprinkles some Brazilian magic into the record.

Taking influence from artists including Azymuth, SAULT, Jordan Rakei and Lynda Dawn, as well as from London musical beacons such as NTS and Total Refreshment Centre, Don has run with this, leaned in and come out with a record truly unique to himself and his distinctive core, with no mask necessary.

TRACK LISTING

Disaster
Brown Eyes (Ft. ML Hall)
Flicker (Ft. ML Hall, Bianca Kyriacou)
Janet (Ft. ML Hall)
Song For Ants
Power
Precious
Ron Song
Saturn's Return

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.

DJ Koze’s 'Music Can Hear Us' is, according to the artist, a 64-minute trip into space and back.

An album that races like a runaway rollercoaster in a zigzag through a parade of planets, from which magicians like Damon Albarn, Soap&Skin, Ada, Sophia Kennedy, Markus Acher von The Notwist und Marewrew wave. This record is the most potent legal drug currently available on the open market.

A cosmic synapse rodeo with an incredibly high density of wonder, a place you didn’t even know existed.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Universe In A Nutshell
2. Pure Love (feat. Damon Albarn)
3. Der Fall (feat. Sophia Kennedy)
4. Wie Schön Du Bist (feat. Arnim Teutoburg-Weiss & The Düsseldorf Düsterboys)
5. Tu Dime Cuando (feat. Ada & Sofia Kourtesis)
6. The Talented Mr. Tripley
7. What About Us (feat. Markus Acher Of The Notwist)
8. Unbelievable (feat. Ada)
9. A Dónde Vas? (feat. Soap&Skin)
10. Vamos A La Playa (feat. Soap&Skin)
11. Die Gondel (feat. Sophia Kennedy)
12. Brushcutter (feat. Marley Waters)
13. Buschtaxi (Album Version)
14. Aruna
15. Umaoi (feat. Marewrew)

Bonus 7":
1. Pure Love Day (feat. Damon Albarn)
2. Pure Love Night (feat. Damon Albarn)

The Notations smash “What More Can I Say” returns to the mother format with their all-time lowrider tail-pipe dragger “I’m Still Here” on this limited, twin-smash Numero Classics 45. Sampled by NxWorries, Anderson.Paak, redveil, and Snoop Dog, these Notations hits are sure to tickle the trainspotters and old-timers alike.

TRACK LISTING

I'm Still Here
What More Can I Say

Ben LaMar Gay’s de facto debut album, Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun, was International Anthem's attempt to introduce the legendary Chicago composer / improvisor / renaissance man to the rest of the world with a compilation of tracks from “7 albums he made over 7 years but never made the effort to actually release. ” The material showcases Gay’s penchant for genre-hopping—from Reich-ian soundscape voyages to Don Cherry-esque polyrhythm treks to Jorge Ben-style vocal-and-string earworms—while keeping his singular musical voice in focus.

In the years since its release, this long OOP collection has become a touchstone, foreshadowing the breadth and scope of Ben LaMar Gay’s output since. The songs-between-the-songs warped Soul Americana madness and beauty of Open Arms To Open Us, the unhinged long form freedom of Certain Reveries—each fresh mode would defy expectation if without the context established by Downtown Castles. To quote the OG press release, “to call it ‘eclectic’ would only scratch the surface. This music is everything.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Vitis Labrusca
2. Muhal
3. Music For 18 Hairdressers: Braids & Fractals
4. Jubilee
5. A Seasoning Called Primavera
6. Miss Nealie Burns
7. Me, Jayve & The Big Bee
8. Uvas
9. Galveston
10. Swim Swim
11. Kunni
12. Melhor Que Tem
13. Gator Teeth
14. 7th Stanza
15. Oh No...Not Again!

Annie & The Caldwells are a family that plays a powerful disco soul from West Point, Mississippi, led by Annie Caldwell (who sings) and her husband of the last fifty years Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr. (who plays guitar).

Annie is backed by daughters Deborah Caldwell Moore [Pronounced de-BOR-ah, or BORA, not debra, you white ass] and Anjessica Caldwell and goddaughter Toni Rivers; their eldest son Willie Jr. is on the bass and youngest son Abel Aquirius is on the drums.

'Can’t Lose My (Soul)' is their new album 40 years in the making … and it’s already gotten rave reviews in MOJO and The Guardian even before it’s been announced.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Bold, bright soul music that's thoughtful but jubilant, full of orchestral swells and huge, powerful vocals. While the music is decidedly different from the equally celebratory William Onyeabor LP, also on Luaka Bop, they definitely share an uplifting air. A wonderfully rich, hugely enjoyable listen.

TRACK LISTING

1. Wrong
2. Can’t Lose My Soul
3. I Made It
4. Don’t You Hear Me Calling
5. I’m Going To Rise
6. Dear Lord

Modernized disco boogie cover of Klique's 80s classic tune, with vocals by Boston's own Saucy Lady and UK's legendary talent Omar, all masterfully crafted by Yuki Kanesaka as the musical director and producer alongside Saucy Lady on the arrangement. The track not only features a full live brass section and strings with talents from Japan and Boston, it also features Curtis Williams of Kool & the Gang on alto, while David Frank of the mega duo The System on the Oberheim and Moog adding the authentic boogie spice.Piano overdubs recorded by another production and engineering legend Carl Beatty known as the studio pioneer of all the major label R&B performers of the 70s, 80s, and 90s including Luther Vandross, Aretha, Melba Moore, Mass Production and more. All of which create the melange of groove that the funk universe desperately needs.On the flip side, French Producer and DJ heavyweight Young Pulse brings a whole new take on the original mix with added vocal layers by Young Pulse himself he brings a more broken beat, house flavor to the classic tune which will undeniably electrify the dance floors.

TRACK LISTING

A1. I Can’t Shake This Feeling
B1. I Can't Shake This Feeling (Young Pulse 'Baby Powder' Remix)

Who doesn't love a bit of sophisticated soul? We certainly do and it's always good to hear some reworks of the soul great's finest cuts for the dancefloor. And that's what we have here on a new 7" that opens with a disco version of 'Cherish the Day' and doesn't go hard, instead building in some gentle drums and lo-fi melodies, swooning vocals and a mystical late night sense of romance. On the flip, we get a lovers rock version of 'Nothing Can Come Between Us' which adds plenty of lovely guitar lines to bring that island vibe while the shuffling drums lock you in gently.

TRACK LISTING

Cherish The Day (Disco Version)
Nothing Can Come Between Us (Lovers Rock Version)

Includes 2 bonus tracks recorded during the Bright Future sessions - ‘Once A Bunch’, formerly released only as a JCD exclusive track and 'Who Can Say' previously unreleased.

TRACK LISTING

1. Once A Bunch
2. Who Can Say

The long-awaited release of a fan favourite, 'Live In Keele 1977', is the latest in Can’s series of live albums, released on Mute and Future Days.

'Live In Keele 1977' is the newest release in a series of live albums that have been unearthed from the Spoon Records vaults and from fan recordings, then painstakingly assembled by founding member Irmin Schmidt and producer and engineer René Tinner.

This album is a dynamic document of late-period Can. Recorded in March 1977, the core line up of Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Michael Karoli, and Holger Czukay is augmented by the addition of Rosko Gee (Traffic) on bass. Gee’s recent addition to the line-up meant that Holger Czukay was freed up from bass duties to perform “waveform radio and spec. sounds”, manifesting here as otherworldly sounds, samples and what one reviewer of a later show described as “moontalk to a white continental telephone.”

1977 was a difficult period for Can; their recently released eighth studio album, 'Saw Delight', had been badly received and although posterity has been kinder to the album, the reviews on release were savage. Journalist, broadcaster and author Jennifer Lucy Allan’s meticulous research of the time, place and context of the performance on the accompanying sleeve notes led her to declare of the album: “On paper, unremarkable. In practice, a precious hunk of sonic material.” Before going on to remind us that “The heads know – forums and published books alike agree – that ‘76-’77 is the best of the Can live years (Keele included). A couple of the tracks from this show have been included on fan-made “best of” live bootlegs over the years. And wow, are they right”.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Yet another entry in the Can live series, once again showcasing one of the greatest live psychedelic bands of all time. This time sees late-era Can in arguably their best live period, and sounds perfect too. What more could you want.

TRACK LISTING

1. Keele 77 Eins
2. Keele 77 Zwei
3. Keele 77 Drei
4. Keele 77 Vier
5. Keele 77 Fünf

A trio of Kansas City soul sweepers, from the sprawling midwest burg’s storied Cavern, Damon, and Forte concerns. Bump and the Soul Stompers’ 1970 sweet soul double sider 'I Can Remember' was a tail pipe-dragging, low rider classic in the making, had it ever been released. A few years later Jerald “Bump” Scott took his new group to Cavern’s subterranean confines to cut the group harmony masterpiece 'Living In The Past', but remained unissued prior to Numero’s discovery of the Cavern tapes. As disco was cresting at the top of the next decade, Sharon Revoal tracked her James Brown meets James Bond stepper 'Reaching For Our Star' - the last 45 released on Marva Whitney’s peerless Forte label.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Can Remember
2. Standing On The Outside

Introducing New Gaze's latest double single release, featuring the heartfelt "All We Can See" and the haunting "Dystopian Days”. This London-based classic-pop trio - Andrés Alcover, Rollo Ellison, and Julian Bayliss—offers a captivating blend of radiant melodies and poignant lyrics, making these tracks essential additions to any music collection.

TRACK LISTING

A1. All I Can See
B2. Dystopian Days 

A collection of warmly melodic electronic sketches, with tracks alternately drifting beatless on the breeze or underpinned by lo-fi drums, sometimes barely held together with a delicate construction of odd synth patches and ping-pong percussion. Each piece is short and to the point, a record of perfect miniatures. Whilst this description may sound utopian, the album is conceived around themes of late stage capitalist brutality, hyper consumerism, online doom and alogorhithmic apocalypse. Beauty in the face of planetary collapse and 24/7 livestreamed genocide.

Rumoured to have been discovered by Aphex Twin sleeping on a park bench in Tokyo, Raczynski first appeared on the scene in 1999 with 3 albums in that year alone. He went on to explore hallucinatory, bassbin-rattling IDM, outsider junglism and traditional Polish folk music amongst other paths, collaborated with Björk, produced a soundtrack for a PlayStation game, and remixed the likes of Autechre, Jonsi, and CLIPPING. In 2019, Disciples began looking after his Rephlex era catalogue, putting together the Rave 'Till You Cry compilation of unreleased gold from the vaults, and reissuing his classic Samurai Math Beats LP. His last studio album, ADDLE, came out on Planet Mu in 2022.

"Bogdan was a massive inspiration for some of my tracks on the Drukqs album, the fact he was doing it all on a shit PC tracker… totally amazing. This was before 99.9 percent of people used the computer for everything. His records are so underrated." - Aphex Twin

TRACK LISTING

1. Gearee
2. Newdiv
3. Fairalign
4. Coughyspns
5. Bangsaft
6. Djstus
7. Hundrecision
8. Zownthram
9. Visionsrevisions
10. Bowgh
11. Fallybli
12. Faq
13. Yewt
14. Shttwobe
15. Sicksicksicks
16. Deweyedair
17. Rew
18. Gauq

Among the many near-mythical figures of the Manchester music scene, he's known as the Nearly Man. You'd expect a drummer to have better timing.

Yes, he parted ways before The Patrol became the Stone Roses. Yes, he turned down The Smiths. Yes, Noel Gallagher asked if he fancied joining his band.

Right place, right time, wrong choices? Timing is everything.

But the beat goes on and while Simon Wolstencroft can see what might have been, cultivating bitterness bears no fruit. And 'Funky Si' has tasted the nectar.

Spending an unlikely 11 years in The Fall and hooking up with his old mate Ian Brown during his solo days, You Can Drum But You Can't Hide reflects on a life driven by a passion for playing.

Taking you from the warehouses of Manchester and the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to the high rises of Tokyo, this book hands you a backstage pass to an evocative age that restored pride to the city of Manchester. With humour and detail, Si's memoir recounts a fascinating tale of drumming and drugs, friendships and fall outs, but, above all, a love of music.

Head over to Strata Books where you can hear Simon reading excerpts & enjoy a soundtrack of some of the less well-known bands featured in the book, including The Patrol and Freak Party.

SSW Mayu, a multi-talented singer who has appeared in musicals and TV dramas, covers the classic songs of yesteryear as a single cut from a compilation album by Cafe Music!

TRACK LISTING

1. You Gotta Be (Slow Night Mix)
2. Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) [Lovers Reggae Mix]

Brooklyn underground rap heroes Tanya Morgan drop a two-track heatrock of a 7-inch that lights up dancefloors while maintaining their true-school status with clever wordplay and progressive beats.

Since breaking on to the blog-era rap scene in 2006 with their debut LPMoonlightingand solidifying their status in 2009 with the now-legendaryBrooklynati, Tanya Morgan has represented the best of underground hip-hop. Your favorite rapper's favorite group, they combine trademark witty wordplay with tough, headnodding beats that demand rewinds and repeat listens. Bouncing back in recent years withRubber Souland other one-off cuts, the duo of Donwill and Von Pea has teamed with producer 6th Sense and quietly set about building the next chapter of their rock-solid legacy.

"Move It Or Lose It" is the latest manifestation of Tanya Morgan, a cut that is neither throwback nor trend chasing, but does double duty on the dancefloor as well as a headphone banger. Irresistibly funky, with Mathien's guitar and vocal the icing on top, and riding at a perfect tempo to get dancers bubbling, it got immediate attention from DJs when the group teased the digital version online.

The double A-side single continues on the flip with "Don't Look Up," another grown-man rap (as Von Pea asks, "How you want the old me acting brand new?") set to 6th Sense's progressive uptempo beat that recalls Q-Tip's adventurous recent productions, and featuring Mia Jae on vocals driving the chorus. Donwill's commentary on getting older and wiser in the music industry hits home to any of us who've been around the block: "Slow growth while the roots spread / Somebody said rap group's dead / They prolly wrote it as a sponsored ad."

Both cuts are primed to move feet and represent the continued lineage of quality underground hip-hop, proudly coming straight from the heart of Brooklyn as a collab with BK-based indy vinyl masters Names You Can Trust.

TRACK LISTING

1. Move It Or Lose It (feat. Mathien)
2. Don't Look Up (feat. Mia Jae)

80s alt country punk outfit, Lone Justice, with Maria McKee, Ryan Hedgecock, Marvin Etzioni and Don Heffington are in full flight with the release of a brand new 7”.

Taken from their forthcoming album, Viva Lone Justice, ‘Teenage Kicks’ is a rambunctious slice of punk angst that sounds like it was recorded in one take. It’s a timeless anthem with a joyous riff that explodes into a hail of feedback. A favour returned as Maria McKee, the songwriter of Feargal Sharkey’s only solo hit ‘A Good Heart’, Lone Justice cover The Undertones’ Peel-approved favourite with the artwork of the single being a nod to the original. “As much as we loved Merle Haggard, George Jones, and many other authentic hard core Country artists, we were also deeply impacted by Punk; from the Velvet Underground (we were playing "Sweet Jane" live as early as 1983) to the MC5 ("Sister Ann" is on the album "Viva Lone Justice").”

Backed with ‘Nothing Can Stop My Loving You’ that’s cut with a wild, squeezebox-powered interpretation of the George Jones and Roger Miller country stomp. “Speaking of George Jones, here's one written by George Jones and Roger Miller. Two of our favorites! We played this song at nearly every show starting in 1983. This ragged and right live recording captures the fire from a sold out show at The Palace in Los Angeles and features Jo-El Sonnier on lead accordion documenting the only time Sonnier played with LJ. "Nothing Can Stop My Loving You" is the only live track on Viva Lone Justice." 

TRACK LISTING

A1 Teenage Kicks
B1 Nothin' Can Stop My Lovin' You 

Can You Hear Me Dreaming? is KUČKA’s second album for LUCKYME®. Her decade-plus of experience in the studio shines through on 12 tracks of laser-cut electronic production and irresistible pop songwriting. Slipping out of autobiographical mode and into other people’s stories, she explores the far reaches of her “cartoon brain”, riffing on a personal moodboard of everything from surreal creatures and rainy cityscapes to tattoos and “cute-ugly” pottery.

KUČKA is the solo project of electronic producer and songwriter Laura Jane Lowther. A Los Angeles transplant from Western Australia, with roots in the northwest of England, KUČKA is a self-powered producer, songwriter and vocalist who has collaborated with artists as varied as Flume, SOPHIE, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Mount Kimbie and Vince Staples since her electrifying debut EP in 2012.

TRACK LISTING

1. Wasting Time (til The End Of The World)
2. Heaven
3. Can’t Help It
4. Cry Cry Cry
5. Heavyweight
6. Communal Reverie Ft PESH
7. Mountain
8. One More Night Ft Flume
9. Wedding
10. Messed Up
11. Gross Body Ft PESH
12. Not There

"We Can Live Together is the first full LP by Earthtones on Wonderwheel. The title is a message, a prayer, and a vision for humanity. It is a reminder that we are in this life together, that love binds us all, and it is only the ideologies and social systems built to prohibit our ability to recognize how close we are that hold us back. We can live, together. The record is based in Folkloric Futurism, a movement that explores the convergence of global folk traditions with technology. Channeling the influence of proto House & Techno pioneers like Mr. Fingers, Kevin Saunderson and Inner City, Earthtones combines analog synthesizers & vintage drum machines with folkloric vocals and instrumentation in a way uniquely his own. It's a celebration of the intersection of past and future, here and there, ancestry and technology. It celebrates themes of spirituality, feminism, love, and most of all, peace. Highlights include "Ọ̀sanyìn", a prayer to the Orisha Ossain, with Maikel Alberto Salazar of rumba super-group Obbatuké on vocals. Recorded in Santiago De Cuba, the track is evocative of Mala's classic "Mala In Cuba" album that broke down barriers between electronic music & traditional music. "La Mujer Serpiente", having seen a sellout 7" last year features Polaris prize winning artist Lido Pimienta-behind the live cumbia rhythms, bass synths, analog keys, 808 drums & guitars, the vision of this track is one of uplifting womxn and femmes everywhere. Ancestral and contemporary Colombian voices are present on the mid-tempo dancefloor track that is the single "Limones" with Semblanzas Del Rio Guapi, Oliwa & the chugging analog rap soundscapes of "Quiero Que Mami" with Verito Asprilla . The album also touches into ambient moments ("Song of the Wind" , Waves") – inspired by friends Carlos Nino, Matthew David, Colloboh and the vibrant West Coast environmental sound movement.

TRACK LISTING

1. Deià Dream
2. Osanyìn (feat. Maikel Alberto Salazar)
3. La Mujer Serpiente (feat. Lido Pimienta & Oliwa)
4. Quiero Que Mami (feat. Verito Asprilla)
5. Limones (feat. Oliwa, Numu & Semblanzas Del Rio Guapi)
6. Deià Dream II
7. Selam (Dub) [feat. Etsegenet Mekonnen]
8. Salta La Cuerda (feat. Huaira)
9. Song Of The Wind
10. Selam (feat. Etsegenet Mekonnen)
11. Waves

The acclaimed Can live series continues with the release of Live In Aston 1977, available via Mute and Future Days (the new EU label created by Spoon Records).

The series was overseen by founding member Irmin Schmidt and producer/engineer René Tinner, who delicately worked on restoring the archival recordings to the best quality for current modern technology. This record captures the band’s 1977 performance in Aston and features Schmidt (keyboard & synths), Jaki Liebezeit (drums), Michael Karoli (guitars), Holger Czukay (wave receiver & spec.sounds), plus Rosko Gee (bass), who appears for the first time in the series.

This release features sleeve notes by former Sex Pistol, Glen Matlock, sharing his first-hand experience of witnessing CAN's live show.

Live In Aston follows the release of Live In Paris 1973, the first in the series to feature Damo Suzuki’s vocals [“…among the greatest documents of their untouchable alchemy…” – Record Collector 5*]; Live In Brighton 1975 [“Pure dynamite… keep them coming” – MOJO]; Live in Stuttgart 1975, [Uncut’s Reissue of the Year, #2 in MOJO’s Reissues of the Year, #7 in The Wire’s Archive Reissues of the Year plus more]; and Live In Cuxhaven 1976, which again featured heavily in the Reissues of the Year.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The latest in the lineup of beautifully presented live outings from Can's extensive history. this time sees the cosmic psychedelic overlords take on Aston in Birmingham with great, very psychedelic results.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklist
A1 Aston 77 Eins
A2 Aston 77 Zwei
B1 Aston 77 Drei
B2 Aston 77 Vier

CD Tracklist
1 Aston 77 Eins
2 Aston 77 Zwei
3 Aston 77 Drei
4 Aston 77 Vier

GRAMMY award-winning, multi-platinum rock band Kings of Leon are coming back big with their 9th full-length studio album, Can We Please Have Fun. As the title suggests, it’s a document of one of this era’s great rock & roll bands cutting loose, trying new things, and, yes, having some fun. Recorded at Dark Horse studio and produced with new collaborator Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Florence + the Machine) the album sees a new side of Kings of Leon. On the new album, the band harkens back to their gritty origins while simultaneously finding new gears. It’s the sound of a band unified in vision and purpose, freed from any expectations, and the album the band says they’ve always wanted to make.

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1. Ballerina Radio
2. Rainbow Ball
3. Nowhere To Run
4. Mustang
5. Actual Daydream
6. Split Screen
Side B:
1. Don’t Stop The Bleeding
2. Nothing To Do
3. M Television
4. Hesitation Gen
5. Ease Me On
6. Seen

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Previously unreleased and unheard, this 2LP live concert will be available on limited edition colour vinyl and packaged in a numbered trifold gatefold.

I've Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand represents a singular moment in the band's history. Recorded on the final night of their '98 tour in support of the eponymous LP, Acetone was in peak form. recorded live on 16 track ADAT, the band pulled from all corners of their catalog in a nearly 80 minute set that veers from serenity to recklessness, culminating in an epic 13-minute medley of "I'm Gone / Miserlou" that should put to eternal rest the notion that this was a "slowcore" band.

TRACK LISTING

Rumble
Cindy
Another Minute
If You Only Knew
Every Kiss
I've Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand
All The Time
In The Light
All You Know
Waltz
Sunny Side Of Heaven
Barefoot On Sunday
I'm Gone
Miserlou
Come On
Endless Summer

More Than Words Can Tell is the new duets album from Victoria Liedtke and Jason Ringenberg. The project sees the duo deep dive into the early songwriting partnership of Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, cherry-picking musical gems and little heard tracks from their expansive back catalogue.

Coined the “Godfather of Americana” by Mojo magazine, the former Jason and The Scorchers frontman Jason Ringenberg was awarded a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance’ by the Americana Music Association in 2009 and was intrigued when Liedtke approached him with the project idea. As Ringenberg states, “When Victoria contacted me about being the ‘Porter’ in this project, I was super excited. The Dolly-Porter duets are some of the finest duets ever recorded in country music history. I am a huge fan of them. Once we dove into the project, I was supremely impressed by the production ethic and creative ambition that Victoria brought to the table. She didn’t slavishly copy the originals. In fact, she and her team created entirely new interpretations of those classic songs.”

Victoria and Jason recorded the album at Vale Studios in Worcester, UK in the Summer of 2022 with a predominantly UK based band. The band features CJ Hillman on electric guitar and slide guitar (Billy Bragg/Yola), John Parker on double bass (Nizlopi), Lewis ‘Burner’ Pugh on acoustic guitar and Tim Protey-Jones on drums (First Time Flyers) as well as a plethora of guest musicians throughout.

Originally from Oklahoma, Victoria moved to the UK eight years ago and now resides in the Yorkshire Dales.

“What made this project so fun was being able to bring together these incredible UK musicians that come from the worlds of Americana, Country, Folk and Pop and inject these 50 year old classic American country songs into this musical melting pot.”

Liedtke continues "Both Jason and I don’t traditionally sit in that world either, so all of that combined has resulted in a colourful and beautiful collection of songs.”

TRACK LISTING

Life Rides The Train
More Than Words Can Tell
Sounds Of Nature
Carolina Moonshiner
The Fire That Keeps You Warm
Come To Me
The Pain Of Loving You
The Last Thing On My Mind
Beneath The Sweet Magnolia Tree
You
Tomorrow Is Forever

Stix Records, a sub-label of Favorite Recordings, presents the 3rd release from its new Mellow Reggae Series project. Following two stunning covers of Bobby Caldwell and Player alongside label mates Ethel Lindsey, Mato is now taking over the famous hit by Sylvia Striplin, this time inviting his longtime friend and singing partner, Lady Gatica.

Produced by Roy Ayers in the early 80s , “You Can’t Turn Me Away” is one of Sylvia Striplin's sweetest moments of slow, smoochy soul music. So good it had to be covered by Erykah Badu, now we see Lady Gatica take on this mighty record with unbelievably dreamy results.

Almost perfect for a 'mellow reggae' retake, Mato adds lilting guitar, balmy keys and a palm tree elegance that'll have you endlessly rocking in the hammock as the afternoon turns into evening.

Limited copies. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Paul says: Love this mellow reggae twist on the Sylvia Striplin / Erykah Badu jam! Just in time for beer garden season!

TRACK LISTING

A. You Can’t Turn Me Away (Mato Reggae Mix)
B. You Can’t Turn Me Away (Mato Dub Version)

Mute and Spoon Records present the next instalment of the curated CAN live concert series, LIVE IN PARIS 1973—the first in the series to feature Damo Suzuki's vocals.

The series was overseen by founding member Irmin Schmidt and producer/engineer René Tinner, who delicately worked on restoring the archival recordings to the best quality for current modern technology. This record captures the band’s 1973 performance in Paris and features Irmin Schmidt on keyboard & synths, Jaki Liebezeit on drums, Michael Karoli on guitars, Holger Czukay on bass, and Damo Suzuki on vocals for one of his final shows with the band.

Available on double vinyl and 2-disc CD, with exclusive sleeve notes by journalist Wyndham Wallace.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Paris 1973 sees one of the last live shows that the great Damo Suzuki did with Can, and thus sees the band in one of it's most famous shows, in the most coveted lineup. It's perfectly recorded too, and captures the band at their incendiary best. The latest in a stunning series.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Paris 73 Eins (Part 1)
B1 Paris 73 Eins (Part 2)
C1 Paris 73 Zwei
C2 Paris 73 Drei
D1 Paris 73 Vier
D2 Paris 73 Fünf

RIYL: Estelle, Mamalarkey, Crumb, Men I Trust, Faye Webster, Clairo, Taphari, Childish Major, Samia, McKinley Dixon, Arlo Parks, Anjimile.

"Benét does a great job of using the instrumentals in their music to better capture the feeling they want to convey." - Flood Mag.

'Can I go again?', the debut full-length album by Richmond, VA-based singer-songwriter Benét (Benét Nutall) is a diverse collection of contemplative, tightly-crafted indie-pop, rock, and soul tracks as emotionally resonant as they are immediate and infectious. These tracks are equally worthy of processing heart break, gaming with your friends, or finding strength in solitude growth in time requires an embrace of seriousness as well as unbridled, shameless joy.

Benét’s debut EP, 'Game Over' (2021), was an honest effort at self-reflection through electronic dance and disco atmospheres the titular question of their debut album serves as a reset on the arcade game with more knowledge, maturity, and assurance as Benét moves into more organic instrumental accompaniment and refined songwriting. The ebullient and sharp guitar riffs and driving bassline of “Insensitive” lift Benét’s vocals as they sing about feelings of nervousness, desire, and ultimately overcoming both with assuredness. Benét gets to flaunt satisfying personal growth in “Overpowering” over a smooth bassline and strutting beat. “No Alarm” offers another look at Benét’s lyrical vulnerability, moving back and forth between self-consciousness in the verses and a shimmering string emphasized certainty in the chorus.

Benét’s music has always been influenced by the environments around them and the people who they choose to create with. The album is a result of roughly three years of writing and recording at various times with different groups of friends and musical partners in Richmond, VA with Jacob Grissom, Christian Lewis, Neal Perrine, and John Trainum, in Philadelphia with Kyle Pulley and Danny Murillo, and in New York with Carlos Truly.

'Can I go again?' is about taking and recognizing time, growing deliberately, and expressing delight and nervousness with confidence. Benét uses Can I go again? To work through their own place amidst inspiring, confusing, difficult, and beautiful human connectivity and present these unforgettable, catchy, emotional songs with the hope the audience can listen and do the same.

TRACK LISTING

1 The Real Me
2 Missn’ Out
3 Overpowering
4 No Alarm
5 Things Change
6 Insensitive
7 Facts
8 If It Happens Again
9 Lose U
10 Try (Alt Version)

Iron & Wine’s Who Can See Forever is an accompanying live record to the film of the same name. Captured at Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, the soundtrack features nineteen songs from the twenty plus year career of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Having found inventive ways to re-invent his catalog live over the years, Who Can See Forever offers new and fresh versions of Iron & Wine songs including “The Trapeze Swinger”, “Boy With a Coin” and “Naked As We Came.” The film - initially intended as a live concert film - evolved into a visual portrait capturing Beam during a creative outburst that earned him four Grammy nominations in four years. Like his music, the film touches on universally personal themes as Beam juggles being an artist, husband and father. Taken as one, the soundtrack and film are a fascinating first-time glimpse behind-the-scenes of Iron & Wine.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Trapeze Swinger
2. Boy With A Coin
3. Woman King
4. Thomas County Law
5. House By The Sea
6. About A Bruise
7. Sodom, South Georgia
8. Last Night
9. Monkeys Uptown
10. Wolves (Song Of The Shepherd's Dog)
11. Grace For Saints And Ramblers
12. Dearest Forsaken
13. Glad Man Singing
14. On Your Wings
15. Passing Afternoon
16. Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car
17. Naked As We Came
18. Call Your Boys
20. Muddy Hymnal

Barry Can’t Swim’s highly anticipated debut album is finally here. Those who have liked Barry’s output to date will love this full length. It showcases both sides of his artistry - his ability to write dancefloor-ready party bangers and also his more downtempo, piano-led pieces. These two sides will also come to life throughout 2023 and beyond on stage, with a stacked diary of both traditional DJ shows and his very first full band live shows. Every album track was written and crafted with it’s position within the full length piece of work in mind - it’s an album designed as such, rather than a collection of songs thrown together.

Silky, airy, uplifting production which is sure to give you tingles and rushes of rose tinted nostalgia. The upfront production is paired with pop-like sensibilities and bucket loads of sentiment; delving into the vast tropes of electronic music that have preceded it whilst offering the listener something that is undeniably brand new and looking forwards. Incredible! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A gloriously fresh and fun new album that should appeal to fans of Real Lies, Avalanches, DJ Seinfeld, Ross From Friends and Anthony Szmierek. Album highlight for me, "Some Deadbeat Gospel" is an incredible piece - a epochal ode to night club culture from Somedeadbeat paired, skewed and twisted into BCS's bouncy synthetic house soundbed.

TRACK LISTING

1. When Will We Land?
2. Some Deadbeat Gospel (feat. Somedeadbeat)
3. Sonder
4. How It Feels
5. Sunsleeper
6. Woman
7. I Won’t Let You Down (feat Falle Nioke, Blackboxx)
8. Always Get Through To You
9. Tell Me What You Need (feat. Just Lil)
10. Dance Of The Crab
11. Define Dancing

The Wytches need very little introduction, but it is with no little excitement that we welcome back Brighton’s purveyors of melody for album number four – all raucous and unruly, yet glistening with jagged edged poetic wistfulness and undeniable emotional clout.

The former Transgressive/ Heavenly Records act return with their fourth studio album in September on Alcopop! Records this year - and it's definitely their best yet, all raw-throat punk, stoner/doom psych, riffing swagger, and perhaps just the tiniest hint of delicious folk twinkling... Just get it in your ears. It’s glorious.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The Wytches 4th outing is awash with the sort of grotty lo-fi rock we've come to know from the Brighton outfit, but imbued with a gothic intensity and grunge-leaning heft that we've not heard before. Clattering semi-rhythmic noises burst into huge choral passages and tearing surfy guitar lines.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Zep Step
Maria
Sloped Old Tower
Bats
Unsure
Side B
Spark
Something To Fall Back On
Our Guest Can't Be Named
Bill Blood
Fool

An antidote to the tough-guy hardcore spreading from CBGB’s, emo outliers Native Nod’s unique genre juxtaposition of damaged art-rock, daring/naive songwriting, and raw, poetic vocals have set them apart from the glut of early-’90s post-hardcore. Compiled here are the band’s trio of seminal 7” EPs for the Gern Blandsten label, with liner notes by Jenn Pelly and scores of unseen photographs and ephemer a.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Bread
High Tide In Alaska
Back To Mimsey

Side B
Answers
Crossings
Tangled
Lower GI Bleed
Runner

Can I Communicate With the Unknown? is the new album from Go By Ocean, moniker of Northern California based singer/songwriter/producer Ryan McCaffrey. Co-produced alongside Tim Bluhm (The Mother Hips) and David Glasebrook, the album features contributions from a wide cast of characters, ranging from the tight knit community of Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads to the wider West Coast indie-rock scene, including members of The Mother Hips, Sugar Candy Mountain, ALO, Tea Leaf Green, and more. Building upon McCaffrey’s catalog of songs, the new album finds inspiration in the down-to-earth music of 1970’s Marin County, when songwriters like Michael Hurley and Jesse Colin Young lived out in Olema and Point Reyes, the kind of places where songs blow in on the breeze from the Pacific Ocean. Lyrically, the album trace’s a hero’s journey as the narrator struggles with addiction, eventually finding peace and freedom in a tumultuous world, wrestling with metaphysical and spiritual ideas along the way. Highly anticipated new album from Go By Ocean, co-produced by Tim Bluhm of The Mother Hips. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Say Man
2. Goin’ To Die
3. Should Have Known
4. One True Golden Heart
5. Ballad Of A Masquerade
6. Roberta
7. Ascending Ghosts
8. Free
9. Autumn Days In Olema
10. Right Moon

Names You Can Trust continues its years-long revival work with one of Panama's most gifted and legendary soul artists, Ralph Weeks, returning the singer to the studio for another brand new recording that highlights the now 80-year old's still silky vocals and masterful songwriting. Up for the challenge with their own studio savoir-faire is a most fitting and genuine purveyor of modern day soul themselves, Ben Pirani and The Means of Production, whose output on Palmetto Street Recording and Colemine Records has already achieved high praise and collectible status in just a few years. The mission, record two unreleased home studio demos that were penned and tracked in the early 1980's and recently excavated from Ralph's extensive archive of personal songs. These original compositions were faithfully given the full treatment and arrangement they never received, but always deserved. The A-Side, "Nobody Loves Me (Like You Do)", a quintessential Ralph testimonial of love, now shines alive and energized against the backdrop of a funky Latin soul dancer. The B-Side, "Got To Keep On Trying" is one of Ralph's many unpublished monster ballads, a deep and heartfelt tear jerker reminiscent of his classic hits from yesteryear. Now, forty plus years later, both songs can finally be released into the world, and ultimately serve as another testament to Ralph's prolific yet private musical career and legacy.

TRACK LISTING

1. Nobody Loves Me (Like You Do) [feat. Ben Pirani & The Means Of Production]
2. Got To Keep On Trying (feat. Ben Pirani & The Means Of Production)

Formed in 2019, Lifeguard are Asher Case (bass, vocals), Isaac Lowenstein (drums, percussion), and Kai Slater (guitar, vocals). At its core, Lifeguard is a punk band. Their music is loud and energetic. It’s also, at its core, visceral and hypnotic. For the Chicago-based trio that can include repetition and blasts of speaker cone-shredding feedback. Their songs adeptly balance melody and chaos, rhythm and drone. Hooks and noise are held to the same standard. Both have to stick.

They’re a young band, but they’ve already found a place at the forefront of an important emerging music community in their hometown. They are quite prolific. In just three years, Lifeguard has put out a full-length, two EPs, and two 7” singles.

Crowd Can Talk and Dressed in Trenches are closely related. They were recorded in separate sessions, but at the same studio (Electrical Audio) and with the same engineer (Mike Lust) and within the space of 12 months. Each finds the band refining its voice – honing songs that are succinct, hooky, and propulsive. There's a newly disciplined attention to detail. Lifeguard write together through collaboration and improvisation, but they’ve learned to streamline their sound, to make each hook, beat, and gesture purposeful.

On each record, there are echoes of underground guitar bands from decades past. This is not record-collector music, though. It’s the product of a present-day community. Lifeguard are, first and foremost, a performing band and the songs are written to stand up in that moment.

“More than old records – before that, before anything – we’re influenced by live shows and people around us,” explains Slater. “The inspiration comes from playing shows with people and having that mind-blown moment of seeing some friend play at Schubas or Book Club,” adds Lowenstein. “It’s happening on these tiny little scales of seeing kids play live and [knowing] this is something new and interesting.”

TRACK LISTING

Crowd Can Talk

New Age (I’ve Got A)
I Know I Know
Fifty Seven
Typecast

Dressed In Trenches

17-18 Lovesong
Alarm
Ten Canisters (OFB)
Shutter Shutter
Tell Me When

‘Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?’ is the debut project from Paul Simonon (The Clash, Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad and The Queen); and Galen Ayers (singer-songwriter who amongst other artistic projects released the rightly acclaimed solo album ‘Monument’).

The roots of the album began in lockdown as Simonon relocated to a remote Mallorcan fishing village, where he spent his time, painting, and writing songs. Over an 18-month period he worked with local musicians, playing and busking in the streets of Palma with his friend Ayers.

What emerged is a collection of ten uplifting songs which collectively present a snapshot of pan-European music culture - and an album that journeys across the continent, influenced by French chansons, Spanish pop and English sea shanties; evoking scenes stretching from Edgware Road to Hydra Island; and painting pictures of everything from elegant Parisian cafes to drunken tourists in Magaluf to the ghosttown chill of an out-of-season holiday destination.

‘Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?’ features an array of top tier talent. Produced by the legendary Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T-Rex, Sparks) with a band made up of Simon Tong (The Verve, The Good, The Bad and The Queen), Sebastian Rochford (Polar Bear, David Byrne, Patti Smith), Dan Donovan (Big Audio Dynamite), and Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz…) playing melodica.

Madison’s latest project, I Hope You Can Forgive Me, represents an evolution in her career as she finds ways to improvise and self-produce in the midst of an ever changing global pandemic landscape. I Hope You Can Forgive Me builds upon that next step sonically while exploring themes of love, self preservation, fear, and conjuring. What comes out of this work and Madison’s career thus far is a commitment to leave - leave fear and doubt behind in order to make space for what is next to come, all with a sense of style, fun, and invitation to dance through it

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: McFerrin presents a beautifully manicured selection of new soul ballads, musically edging towards the glimmering guitars and shimmering percussion of Chic but with her stunning athletic vocals bringing things into funky R&B territory.

TRACK LISTING

1. Deep Sea
2. Fleeting Melodies
3. Testify
4. Run
5. God Herself
6. OMW
7. (Pease Don’t) Leave Me Now
8. Stay Away (From Me)
9. Utah
10. Goodnight

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2023 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

This is Honey Bane's first vinyl release in 40 years. Music's biggest rebel turned her back on the scene in 1983, after a string of successful punk/new wave singles. Violence Grows is Bane's 1978 debut, which she wrote at just 14 years old. She recorded it under her band, Fatal Microbes. The single has been reissued, with digitally remastered audio and pressed on limited edition, "bruised" black and blue 12 inch vinyl. This is the first ever coloured vinyl in Bane's catalogue of work.

Dedicated 21st Century polymath Kay Logan continues to expand her soundworld in every direction at once with her Helena Celle alias. A maximalist internal landscape of broken Jungle patterns, distorted synths and heavily warped instrumentation bent out of cognisance, If You Can’t Handle You At Your Worst, Then I Don’t Deserve Me At My Best is Logan’s most danceable, most fun and most gloriously congealed record to date.

Conceived in part as a response to her 2016 debut release If I Can’t Handle Me At My Best, You Don’t Deserve You At Your Worst, 2023’s update employs similar principles (degrading technology, the joy of chance, an outsider’s gaze onto the dance floor, an embracing of the occult) to delirious effect. If “I Can’t Handle” was lo fi and fragile in its technoid recasting of dance music, here Logan’s confidence allows a frantic playfulness that retains the spontaneity of all her output. It’s the work of a creative spirit revelling in the possibilities of sound, rhythm, texture and pattern. Helena Celle’s music opens up psychic space in front of the listener and invites them in. In this world, sounds and tropes once recognisable are rendered fractal, spectral and continually melting in and out of recognition. Simply put, Helena Celle might be detouring Drum & Bass, Techno and Breakbeat with a prankster’s grin but the result is pure ecstasy crushed into a part of the listener’s consciousness hitherto untroubled.

Opener I Did It My Way pokes fun at Sinatra but the message is clear, Helena Celle has no regrets. Sounding like a Jungle track shorn of a MC and deep fried in greasy acid, it uses cassette compression effects to push the sound far beyond the red. A breakbeat suffers multiple lashings of noise solos, heavily filtered synths and white noise blowing a crazy gale across the stereo pan. Ennobled Reception Of The Excellector (My Face When Mix) approximates French House perhaps or 90s dance chart music as performed by a rotting homunculus gurgling down the phone. It’s really that fun and carefree. Real Time... takes a stab at a kind of Techno EBM Cold Wave with no desire to sound like any of it, with waves of tape hiss rising up from some dark shore to wash over proceedings. Fellow sound artist and musician Jennifer Walton guests on the last track on Side A, an epic, fuzzed out Noise and rhythm excursion into cyber breakdown. Snow-Filled Chalice Of My Magonian Exile (titles of the year so far, right?) builds into a wall of beats, pads, manic, haywire synth patterns and a world-ending, distorted riff that points to an appreciation of Metal. The track posits all of reality as one massive computer game played by gods and this is the track played at the Game Over screen. A pixelated, fantastical club track that would simply eviscerate any club it was played in.

The whole of Side B is given over to a 20 minute epic, Original Besttrack (Abe’s Oddysee Extended Mix). A cohesive summation of the previous 4 tracks but stretched out, it recalls Aphex Twin’s furthest out tracks albeit boiled underwater, every element blown out so that even the ambient passages scramble brains and re-wire expectations. The restless, overwhelming music is glazed with a patina of hiss that renders the whole almost meditative: over the 20 minutes there is so much information to digest your brain starts plugging in directly to the music, settling in and accepting the mania as it comes. At the other end you’re wondering how you coped without it.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Though Helena Celle's musical output is undeniably made for a certain subset of electronic music appreciators, this new project sees Kay Logan's pieces get hefty reworks, morphing the intimidating scattered electronic shards into lo-fi techno, rolling industrial and fractured experimental house.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Did It My Way
2. Ennobled Reception Of The Excellector (My Face When Mix)
3. Real Time (Five Track Pentangle Edgelord Mix)
4. Snow-Filled Chalice Of My Magonian Exile (ft Jennifer Walton)
5. Original Besttrack (Abe's Oddysee Extended Mix)

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)

Mute and Spoon Records present 'Live In Cuxhaven 1976', the third album of the curated Can live concert series. Available in full for the first time on blue vinyl, CD and digitally.

Originally recorded on tape, this carefully restored live album comprises the 1976 show in the format of a story with a beginning, middle and end, bringing CAN’s performance to life. The series was overseen by founding member Irmin Schmidt and producer/engineer René Tinner, who delicately worked on restoring the archival recordings to the best quality for current modern technology.

These albums have been released alongside a succession of interviews discussing the band’s live shows. The YouTube series comprise interviews with journalist/author Pascal Bussy, Mute’s Daniel Miller, music critic Nick Kent, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, and Andy Hall and René Tinner who were both involved with recording Can’s live shows.

TRACK LISTING

1. Cuxhaven 76 Eins
2. Cuxhaven 76 Zwei
3. Cuxhaven 76 Drei
4. Cuxhaven 76 Vier

Two major soul sides, one from the Twinight catalogue, one from Capsoul. Velma Perkins is the sister of guitarist, songwriter and producer Al Perkins (whose Atco 45, ‘Nothing Is Impossible’, was a big Northern sound). A successful songwriter in her own right under her married name Vee Allen, ‘Yes, My Goodness, Yes’ was the flipside of her only Twinight single, her 1970 debut 45 ,‘I’ll Always Love You’.

With more than a touch of Diana-era Supremes, it’s a gorgeous uptempo groove with typical Twinight horns and a funky guitar that could well be Al himself lending a hand. It’s a super rare 45 that never seems to come up for sale these days. Cut with Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum and Durr’s debut single for Capsoul, ‘You Can’t Blame Me’.

Signed to the label by DJ and singer Bill Moss (his ‘Sock It To ‘Em Soul Brother’ on Pama is a corker) as The Revelations, the band changed name and cut two 45s before disappearing. A super soulful funky mid-tempo tune that lets all five (even though there are just four names in their chosen name) vocalists lay down a super plush soundtrack. Punctuated with strings, it’s a magnificent full-on sound that goes for over £30 on seven inch.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Velma Perkins - Yes, My Goodness Yes
B1. Hawkins Johnson, Tatum & Durr - You Can't Blame Me

Nowadays, voice memos, videos, and pictures chronicle our lives in real-time. We trace where we’ve been and reveal where we’re going. However, Suki Waterhouse catalogs the most intimate, formative, and significant moments of her life through songs. You might recognize her name or her work as singer, songwriter, actress but you’ll really get to know the multi-faceted artist through her music. Memories of unrequited love, fits of longing, instances of anxiety, and unfiltered snapshots interlock like puzzle pieces into a mosaic of well-worn country, ‘90s-style alternative, and unassuming pop.

She writes the kind of tunes meant to be grafted onto dusty old vinyl from your favorite vintage record store, yet perfect for a sun-soaked festival stage. Her first album for Sub Pop, I Can’t Let Go, is a testament to her powers as a singer and songwriter. In Suki’s words: “The album is called I Can’t Let Go because for years it felt like I was wearing heavy moments on my sleeve and it just didn’t make sense to do so anymore. There’s so much that I’ve never spoken about. Writing music has always been where it felt safe to do so. Every song for the record was a necessity. In many ways, I’ve been observing my life as an outsider, even when I’ve been on the inside. It’s like I was a visitor watching things happen.”

Growing up in London, Suki gravitated towards music’s magnetic pull. She listened to the likes of Alanis Morissette and Fiona Apple, and Oasis held a special place in her heart. She initially teased out this facet of her creativity with a series of singles, generating nearly 20 million total streams independently.

Nylon hailed her debut track, “Brutally,” as “what a Lana Del Rey deep cut mixed with Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides, Now’ would sound like.” In addition to raves from Garage, Vice and Lemonade Magazine, DUJOR put it best: “Suki Waterhouse’s music has swagger.”

Suki is constantly consuming artists of all stripes, and, in the lead-up to making I Can’t Let Go, she was particularly drawn to the work of Sharon Van Etten, Valerie June, Garbage, Frazey Ford, Lou Doillon, and Lucinda Williams. After falling in love with Hiss Golden Messenger’s Terms of Surrender, she reached out to its producer Brad Cook (Bon Iver, War On Drugs, Snail Mail, Waxahatchee) to help define the sound of I Can’t Let Go.

On I Can’t Let Go, Suki not only catalogs her life up to this point, but she also fulfills a lifelong ambition. “When I’ve been stuck or feel out of touch with a sense of inner meaning and outer purpose, I’ve found both through searching my memories and finding those events buried in the shadowy areas of the psyche where they were ignored,” she says. “So many times of change in my life have required return visits—especially at the transitions through to the next stages. The album is an exploration of those moments when there is nothing left to lose. What is left and can’t be thrown away is the self.”

TRACK LISTING

Moves
The Devil I Know
Melrose Meltdown
Put Me Through It
My Mind
Bullshit On The Internet
Wild Side
On Your Thumb
Slip
Blessed

A 50th anniversary release of the classic 1970 LP from Van Der Graaf Generator. Newly remastered from the original first-generation master tapes. Includes rare poster.

'The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other', is technically the second Van Der Graaf Generator album, but is the first with the full band. Recorded in late 1969 at the cutting edge Trident Studios, 'The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other' was listed at #15 on Q & Mojo's "Top 40 Cosmic Rock Albums". An absolute classic of British progressive space rock.

A nine-track compilation gathering David era-appropriate rarities and B-sides, all of which were previously available only on 7”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Queen Of Hearts (Demo)
2. What Would You Do
3. Do All Words Can Do
4. Into The Light
5. Byrdsdale Garden City
6. What They Didn't Know
7. The Truest Road
8. Remember Me
9. Octavio Made The Bomb

Brand new 7” from Leeds' finest! A taster from their next full-length LP due out later in the year Ever been interrogated by the punk rock police? Are you manufactured by a company? Is your band real or plastic? Have you ever paid a thousand quid for a poster? Can the kids be trusted with rock n roll? Answers on side A.

Over eighteen boundless albums as experimental as they are pop, Deerhoof has continuously quested for radical sounds and daring storytelling. 2020’s Future Teenage Cave Artists explored fairytale visions of post-apocalypse, welding intrinsic melodies with absurdist digital recording methods. Its sequel Love-Lore, a live covers medley, channeled futurist mid-century artists Parliament, Sun Ra and Stockhausen, to name a handful into a patchwork love letter to the anti-authoritarian expressions that inspire the band.

Galvanized by the challenge of unifying many styles of music, Deerhoof landed on their next record’s concept: baroque gone DIY. Actually, You Can is a genre-abundant record that uses technicolor vibrancy and arpeggiated muscularity to offer a vital shock from capitalism’s purgatorial hold. “In the United States now, to be a moral person means to be a criminal, whether it has to do with a general strike or forming a union or Black Lives Matter protests,” clarifies Saunier of the album’s countercultural embrace of liberation. “If you follow the rules, you’re guilty. That’s the spirit we were trying to express: an angelic prison bust, a glamorous prison bust.” It’s a condemnation of America’s mundanity, replacing violence with the heartfelt power of mutualism.

With state lines and oceans separating band members, Deerhoof not only reinvented their sonic and thematic credo, but also their recording process. Deerhoof’s players are not strangers to home-recording their individual parts, and have long embraced composing via file trading. But 2020’s halt to touring kicked off their longest separation from playing together, foregrounding new priorities. As the group’s combined demos became increasingly layered, bassist and vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki put her foot down, insisting the new album should replicate concert energy. Visualizing the quartet on huge stages with past tourmates Radiohead and Red Hot Chili Peppers, Saunier fugue-arranged his bandmates’ complex demos into songs to make an audience smile and dance. He sought out far-traveling delays, heavy playing, and unique panning to evoke the power of outdoor music. Matsuzaki scrutinized spots that would betray the conceit, eliminating anything that took away from the sound of onstage grandeur. “We spent so much time imagining playing together in the process of recording, it’s almost like a false memory of us playing this music together,” Saunier marvels.

For Deerhoof’s members to continually uncover new corners of their own talent requires deep wells of gratitude, not only for each others’ creativity but for the freedom their career affords. But by embracing each other’s art with curiosity, Deerhoof authors a musical alphabet that continues to astound and inspire, a unique lexicon expanding limitlessly with each album. For new listeners and decades-long devotees, Deerhoof’s electrifying, generous approach to collaborative worldbuilding on Actually, You Can is an emboldening call to support our communities with renewed strength, infinite love, and the resilience to keep exploring.

TRACK LISTING

1. Be Unbarred, O Ye Gates Of Hell
2. Department Of Corrections
3. We Grew, And We Are Astonished
4. Scarcity Is Manufactured
5. Ancient Mysteries, Described
6. Plant Thief
7. Our Philosophy Is Fiction
8. Epic Love Poem
9. Divine Comedy

The Twilight Sad’s third full-length, No One Can Ever Know, marks a sonic shift for the band. Freshly inspired by a listening diet of Cabaret Voltaire, Can, Liars, Magazine, Autechre, and Public Image Limited, the band turn to a dark, synth-heavy sound for No One Can Ever Know; the resulting LP shares thematic and sonic space with the most innovative offerings from Depeche Mode, The Cure, or even Nine Inch Nails. “We wanted to be a lot more spontaneous, get outside our comfort zone - not to fall back into repeating what we’ve done previously,” explains guitarist Andy MacFarlane. “So we moved to London for a month to record at The Pool and got Andrew Weatherall involved to bounce ideas off and to generally reassure us of the direction we were already progressing in – toward a sparser sound, with a colder, slightly militant feel.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Alphabet
2. Dead City
Side B
3. Sick
4. Don’t Move
Side C
5. Nil
6. Don’t Look At Me
7. Not Sleeping
Side D
8. Another Bed
9. Kill It In The Morning

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)

“Live In Brighton 1975” is the second album of a curated series of CAN live concerts. Available in full for the first time on triple vinyl, double CD and digitally. Originally recorded on tape, this carefully restored live album comprises the entirety of the show in the format of a story with a beginning, middle and end, bringing CAN’s performance to life. Limited edition triple Gold vinyl in triple gatefold sleeve plus a 2CD edition in card pack with 16 page booklet, both with extensive sleeve notes.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's not much I can tell you here that you won't already know.. this is the second wonderfully pressed collection from Can of live performances following 'Live In Stuttgart' that was released in May. There are very few musicians that could pull off this level of out-there musicianship, and this is a wonderful and accurate document of their live legacy. Essential.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Brighton 75 Eins
A2 Brighton 75 Zwei
A3 Brighton 75 Drei
B1 Brighton 75 Vier
B2 Brighton 75 Fünf
C1 Brighton 75 Sechs
C2 Brighton 75 Sieben

AVAILABLE ONLINE ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27TH FROM 8AM.

LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

A crazy 22-track collection containing some of the biggest dance craze hits from the Philadelphia label that got the world dancing in the early 1960sIncludes tracks by Cameo Parkway’s biggest stars: Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Dee Dee Sharp, The Orlons and The Dovells as well as R&B greats Don Covay and The Turbans. Twelve Top 40 hits including three number 1 chart toppers!Chubby Checker’s original hit version of “The Twist,” which has the distinction of being the only single of the rock era to reach number 1 twice in two consecutive years, is included. Features an essay by acclaimed rock & roll and R&B historian John Broven. Mastered from the original master tapes from ABKCO’s Cameo Parkway archive
Bespoke printed inner bags including extensive liner notes and period photos.

How Beautiful Life Can Be, recorded at Parr Street Studios, Liverpool. In the company of producers, James Skelly and Chris Taylor, pushes The Lathums’ remarkable story into the next, even more exciting phase. The Great Escape, having been previously self-released by the young band, emerges from the album sessions in sparkling, new form, whilst retaining the melodic stardust that caused the first rumblings of the social-media led stampede to their early gigs.

Kick-started by growing pains and life’s unlucky twists, fuelled by the simple salvation of six guitar strings and supercharged by the fans that found them slogging their gear into the north of England’s pubs and small venues, The Lathums story may turn out to be the perfect not-all-nice-guys-finish-last tale.

It was only in the summer 2019 that the band’s fuse was lit by Tim Burgess, who offering them a late slot at Kendal Calling where, inside 24 hours, social media chatter caused their audience to spill into the field beyond their tent. A year later they had achieved their first UK Album Chart Top 20 for vinyl-only EP compilation, The Memories We Make, recorded their debut appearance for Later… With Jools Holland and joined the BBC Sound Poll 2021 list of tipped acts at the end of a year that skidded on the black ice of a global pandemic but, somehow, left the band on their feet.

For a band whose singing songwriter had never been to a gig before playing his own, yet incomprehensibly carried a trunk load of sensitively-crafted, empathetic, sing-a-long anthems straight into their first rehearsal, The Lathums have flown at nosebleed speed to where they are now.

Hailing from Wigan on the overlooked fringes of Greater Manchester, The Lathums are Alex Moore, casting a new outline of the modern frontman, singing alongside student of the Marr-esque jangle guitar, Scott Concepcion, rapid-fire, wise-cracking bassist, Jonny Cunliffe (aka: Bass Mon Jon) and the steady, rhythmic, wise head, Ryan Durrans on drums. Pithily described by those closest as ‘like The Inbetweeners in a Shane Meadows film’, they are four bright, wild flowers growing between grey paving stones. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: This new LP is sure to continue the meteoric upwards trajectory of The Lathums, swimming with influences from The Smiths, The Coral and 90's Britpop into a wonderfully upbeat and undeniably melodic full-length. This Wigan quartet are definitely going places.

TRACK LISTING

1. Circles Of Faith
2. I’ll Get By
3. Fight On
4. How Beautiful Life Can Be
5. The Great Escape
6. I Won't Lie Side B
7. I See Your Ghost
8. Oh My Love
9. I’ll Never Forget The Time I Spent With You
10. I Know That Much
11. Artificial Screens
12. The Redemption Of Sonic Beauty

Geoffrey O'Connor, one time frontman for euphoric guitar pop band Crayon Fields, returns with his first solo album in seven years - but is it really a solo album? For As Long As I Can Remember is a suite of duets with some of Australia's most iconic modern singers, including Jonnine (HTRK), Sarah Mary Chadwick, Laura Jean, Sui Zhen and more. The album explores late night tales of unsublimated desire, a synth-pop cocoon world where obsessions drift slowly into the rear view mirror and exert an unsteadying backwards pull. Geoffrey's duet partners do not proffer easy love or solace, rather they challenge him, gently put him down, or glance back at a history of faded passion.

Other guests include Nicole Thibault of Chapter artists Thibault, Jess Ribeiro, June Jones, Summer Flake's Steph Crase, Sienna Thornton (Cyanide Thornton) and Mystery Guest's Caitlyn Lesiuk. Sydney funk sophisticate Donny Benet appears on bass on two tracks. Since his previous solo album, 2014 critic favourite Fan Fiction (written up by Pitchfork, Spin, All Music and elsewhere), Geoffrey has released Crayon Fields comeback album No One Deserves You (2015) and an expanded reissue of 2009 classic All the Pleasures Of the World. He has also produced albums for Sarah Mary Chadwick, June Jones, Summer Flake and others. Geoffrey has appeared on records by The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and Donny Benet, been remixed by Chet Faker, and was a member of Melbourne psych pop band Montero

TRACK LISTING

1. For As Long As I Can (with Jonnine)
2. Foolish Enough (with Laura Jean)
3. What A Scene (with Sui Zhen)
4. Renee (with Sienna Thornton)
5. Strange Feeling (with Sarah Mary Chadwick)
6. Precious Memories (with Remember Sarah Mary Chadwick)
7. Catwalk (with Caitlyn Lesiuk)
8. Tired Of Winning (with June Jones)
9. Shelley Duvall (with Nicole Thibault)
10. Tunnel Of Love (with Jess Ribeiro)
11. Love Is Your Best Friend (with Stephanie Crase)

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2021 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY JULY 17TH 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 JULY 17TH).

Unreleased track(s)

Live in Stuttgart 1975 is the first of a curated series of Can live concerts available in full for the first time on vinyl, CD and digitally. Originally recorded on tape, these carefully restored live albums will comprise the entirety of each show in the format of a story with a beginning, middle and end, with Can’s performances taking on a life of their own.
Available on triple vinyl and double CD. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's really not much that can be said about live Can material that you wouldn't already know, but it's safe to say that this sounds superb and is the perfect recreation of a perfectly sculpted live Can show from the comfort of your own home. An intoxicating and transportive collection, and an essential document of one of the greatest Krautrock pioneers in the biz.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Stuttgart 75 Eins
A2 Stuttgart 75 Zwei
B1 Stuttgart 75 Drei (Part 1)
B2 Stuttgart 75 Drei (Part 2)
C1 Stuttgart 75 Drei (Part 3)
C2 Stuttgart 75 Vier
C3 Stuttgart 75 Fünf

CD TRACKLIST
1 Stuttgart 75 Eins
2 Stuttgart 75 Zwei
3 Stuttgart 75 Drei
4 Stuttgart 75 Vier
5 Stuttgart 75 Fünf

A classic Vee-Jay side from 1965 that originally sneaked out on the Bay Area Wee label. The original goes for around £100, the second Wee press for £75, while the Vee-Jay version is 50 quid a throw. That said, copies are few and far between these days.

Featuring an upbeat, brass-powered Temptationslike harmony with a call and response, a deep sax wail and a piano motif pushing it forward towards a glorious middle eight that breaks into a Gospel roll out.

Powered by Ric-Tic-like drum rolls; a euphoric soulful classic split into two essential parts.

The Ballads were a four-piece from Oakland, across the bridge from San Francisco, featuring Freddie Hughes, who would later sign to Wand. The band themselves almost made it, charting in 1968 with the Willie Hutch-produced ‘God Bless Our Love’ but this earlier recording is the business.

Both sides remastered from the original sound source.

TRACK LISTING

I Can’t See Your Love (For The Tears In My Eyes) Pt.1
I Can’t See Your Love (For The Tears In My Eyes) Pt.2

'Happening Right Now' feature in Shindig (March 2021) Legendary New York author and musician joins Andalusian troubadours for a startling record of gospel, rhythm and futuristic punk folk blues. A powerful statement of love and protest Get ready for an adult dose of Old Testament gospel, smoldering songs of freedom, salvation, and lots of love - hollering and deep country crooning, twisted blues, plantation tunings, African percussion, and outer-space spirituals - this is a new breed of rhythm and roots music, a sonic manifesto for these crazy times!

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A brilliantly energetic and varied coalition of clashing folk-punk, frenetic distorted 12-bar and galloping Americana. It's an intoxicating and rich juxtaposition of chaos and beauty, and a must-listen for anyone who likes the more esoteric ends of any of the above.

Countdown Records (via Acid Jazz) are proud to announce the release of the label’s first 7” single in over 30 years. And what could be more apt than the single that never was by label favourites Makin’ Time?

Produced by The Truth and 9 Below Zero’s Dennis Greaves and Mick Lister, this was to have been the West Midland group’s debut single for Countdown.

Featuring the group’s original members, it remained unreleased when that line-up changed and Countdown’s parent label Stiff decided in a change of direction, aiming the group at the pop charts.

Featuring two highlights of their early live set - the Fay Hallam composed ‘Honey’ and ‘Take What You Can Get’, written by Martin Blunt.

The 7” comes in an exclusive Countdown sleeve so make sure to get your copy now.

TRACK LISTING

Honey (Original Version)
Take What You Can Get (Original Version)

Previously Unreleased Disco-Soul-Funk Album With Mixes By Kenny Dope. The Gatefold LP Includes Extensive Liner Notes And A Download Card to WAV Files Of The Full Album. CD Contains Instrumentals And Kenny Dope Extended Remixes. Tucked in the back corner of a linen closet in Macon, Georgia since 1979 sat a box that very few people knew existed. Lost and presumed forgotten, this box contained reel-to-reel tapes of the lost album by the band that issued the lauded Black Gold as The Mighty Chevelles in 1977. By 1979, while transitioning to the name Music Makers Band, the band entered Capricorn Studios and recorded this previously-unreleased disco funk opus, finally issued as You Can Be as part of the Now-Again Reserve series. Nearly all songs have been remixed from the original multi-track masters by Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez. Georgia funk and soul historian Brian Poust details the band and album’s story in detailed liner notes in an oversized booklet.

TRACK LISTING

A1. That Look In Your Eyes
A2. You Can Be
A3. Lady In My Dream
A4. Let Me Start Lovin’ You

B1. That’s The Way
B2. Shake Your Booty
B3. That True Love Of Mine
B4. We’re The Band…. 

The album is accompanied by a selection of some of the band’s favourite demo recordings made between 1988 and 1994.

The long awaited and eagerly anticipated new album by BOB captures the band at their peak and includes some of their best material ever committed to vinyl and CD. A 12-track vinyl record is available in coloured and black vinyl and includes digital download of all 28 tracks contained on the double CD version. ‘You Can Stop That For A Start’ is an exclusive album of previously unheard material written and recorded by BOB over a five day period in 1992. The almost legendary archive of unreleased professional and demo recordings by BOB is a rich one, and this release showcases some of the band’s best work.

All the recordings in the set have been newly mixed by songwriters Simon Armstrong and Richard Blackborow, and come packaged in artwork conceived by the band and accompanied by period images and new sleeve notes. 

Potted BOB History:
BOB’s initial line-up was Richard Blackborow (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Simon Armstrong (guitar, vocals).
Jem Morris (bass guitar), joined the duo in 1986 and, augmented with a drum machine, they recorded the band’s first release, a flexi disc, released in 1986 on their own House Of Teeth label, and containing three short songs: “Prune (Your Tree)”, “Groove” and “Brian Wilson’s Bed”. The band gave a copy to John Peel in a fortuitous encounter in the Rough Trade record shop, and he played it many times.
The drum machine was replaced by drummer Gary Connors in 1987, and this line-up recorded 1987’s What a Performance single and the first of three John Peel sessions. The band were now able to take to the UK’s motorway network in their newly acquired ‘vintage’ Transit van, and begin a series of tours that eventually saw them play hundreds of gigs the length of the country and beyond.

Early in 1988, Gary Connors was replaced by former Jamie Wednesday drummer Dean Leggett, and the band recorded their second single, Kirsty, a session for BBC Radio One’s Simon Mayo, and their second John Peel session. Both singles received heavy play by John Peel. The two singles were brought together with the earlier flexi disc as the compilation LP Swag Sack, which was their final release on the Sombrero label. All later records were on their own House Of Teeth label.

In 1989, the band released a single Convenience, which charted well in the NME and Melody Maker indie charts and, more importantly, reached no.31 in John Peel’s Festive Fifty at the end of the year. This was followed by a limited edition/fan club release containing three songs: “Esmerelda Brooklyn”, “I Don’t Know” and “Sink”. After their third and final John Peel session, Morris was replaced by ex-Caretaker Race bassist Stephen ‘Henry’ Hersom, and this final line-up recorded the Stride Up EP in 1990, an LP Leave The Straight Life Behind, the single Tired in 1991, and one last 12”, the Nothing For Something EP in 1992.
BOB became one of the victims of the demise of Rough Trade’s distribution arm, which limited sales of the album and forced the band to tour for an extended period to recoup the album’s costs. A feeling of disillusionment with the ‘business’ side of the music caused a drop in morale, and despite having produced a large body of unreleased work, they disbanded early in 1995.

In February 2014, “Leave the Straight Life Behind” was re-released by British independent label 3 Loop Music as a 2CD expanded edition which included the remastered album plus a bonus CD of all the John Peel and BBC sessions, as well as extra tracks.

In 2015, “The Singles and EPs” was released by 3 Loop Music as a 2CD compilation of remastered tracks from Swag Sack and all vinyl Sombrero and House of Teeth releases.

In 2019, the band announced six final concerts in England and Germany featuring Blackborow, Armstrong, and Leggett with newly recruited old friend Arthur Tapp on bass. A limited edition 7” of Convenience with an unreleased B-side from 1992 was released on Optic Nerve. The single reached number 18 on the official UK vinyl sales chart.

BOB on the new album You Can Stop That For A Start:
“The tracks that make up You Can Stop That For A Start were recorded over a five day period in our final years, as the hectic touring schedule that had kept us financially viable began to tail off. What funds the band could glean from occasional publishing deals were spent on studio time, with the hope of creating work that would eventually attract more substantial financial investment. As this never materialised, the songs have largely remained unheard since the early nineties. 

TRACK LISTING

TRACKLIST LP
SIDE ONE
01 Telepathy
02 Say You’re Alone
03 That’s What Tomorrow Brings
04 Round
05 Now
06 Sundown

SIDE TWO
01 Plastic
02 She’s Something Like Me
03 Green Pepper Feast
04 Queen Of Sheba
05 Plastered In Paris
06 Don’t Kid

TRACKLIST 2CD
CD1
01 Telepathy
02 Say You’re Alone
03 That’s What Tomorrow Brings
04 Round
05 Now
06 Sundown
07 Plastic
08 She’s Something Like Me
09 Green Pepper Feast
10 Queen Of Sheba
11 Plastered In Paris
12 Don’t Kid
13 I Must Need Some Sleep

CD2
01 Long May We Increase
02 Too Far Down
03 STP
04 When The Saints
05 Helvetia
06 On Your Side
07 Buy Me A Barstool
08 There She Was
09 Shoot
10 207
11 Jehovah
12 Hanging On
13 Thunderfeet
14 Turn That Racket Down
15 Before A Fall

‘Girls Can Tell’, the third studio album from Spoon, originally released in 2001.

Newly recut from the original masters.

“A start-to-finish triumph” - Rolling Stone. 

‘Girls Can Tell’ is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

Everything Hits At Once
Believing Is Art
Me And The Bean
Lines In The Suit
The Fitted Shirt
Anything You Want
Take A Walk
1020 AM
Take The Fifth
This Book Is A Movie
Chicago At Night

Sixty five plus minutes of breath-taking material recorded under smooth circumstances in lovely Nashville, TN. This one will without a doubt appeal to long time Yo La Tengo fans, considering the fact that this is their very best one yet. The really good thing, though, is that a lot of people who will buy this record will do so without knowing that it probably is the only TRULY GREAT record they will buy in their lives. Until the next one comes out, of course!!

A hugely ambitious, widescreen and epic record that recalls everything from the far away electronics of Basic Channel and Carl Craig, through the skewed songwriting of Postal Service, Flaming Lips and Grandaddy to the euphoric sound-scapes of Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine, We Can Create is a work of heart stopping extremes.

The album was recorded without computers, preferring the painstaking process of splicing sounds together on MAPS’ battered 16 track recorder in his Northamptonshire bedroom, the results were subsequently co-produced by Valgeir Sigurdsson (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Bjork) and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, Hope Of The States). The critically acclaimed album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2007.

Maps has remixed Depeche Mode, Public Service Broadcasting, Susanne Sundfør, Moby, C Duncan, M83 and more.

TRACK LISTING

A1 So Low, So High
A2 You Don’t Know Her Name
A3 Elouise
A4 It Will Find You
B1 Glory Verse
B2 Liquid Sugar
B3 To The Sky
B4 Back + Forth
C1 Lost My Soul
C2 Don’t Fear
C3 When You Leave

Night Moves’ new album, ‘Can You Really Find Me’, pulsates and glows with the same sublime energy that radiated from breakout single ‘Carl Sagan’ in 2016, however in the intervening years, John Pelant and Micky Alfano have grown up.

The songwriting, while still steeped in super-catchy, velvety riffs and pure pop glaze, feels more sophisticated and modern. Since the pair met in high school, awestruck by such ear-candy wizards as Brian Wilson, Todd Rundgren, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, they set off to craft their version of what sophisticated, emotional modern pop music can and should sound like.

2016’s ‘Pennied Days’ was a breakthrough and set a new bar for the members of Night Moves. After spending the subsequent two years on ‘Can You Really Find Me’, they’ve scaled new heights, where the sounds are still just as sweet but now smarter, more evocative and perfectly designed for a summer release.

‘Can You Really Find Me’ was produced by Jim Eno (founding member and drummer of Spoon) out of Public Hi-Fi Studios in Austin, TX and recorded with live band members Mark Hanson and Chuck Murlowski.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Night Moves expertly craft a brilliantly emotive and drippingly filmic selection of 80's inspired ballads and rhythmically fluid disco-tinged pop anthems on 'Can You Really Find Me'. Any of these pieces could easily be a slow-motion montage soundtrack, dynamic but with a hint of latent morosity, these are modern and eminently enjoyable anthems, and another reason to pay attention to Night Moves.

TRACK LISTING

Mexico
Recollections
Keep Me In Mind
Strands Align
Waiting For The
Symphony
Ribboned Skies
Coconut Grove
Saving The Dark
Angelina
Can You Really Find Me

"Juan Pablo: The Philosopher" has been one of our favourite releases here at Piccadilly in recent years, so we were utterly buzzing to hear word of a new LP from the mighty Ezra Collective. Soon enough the London five-piece furnished us with a promo CD, and it's been on the Piccadilly player ever since. Continuing the genre-bending journey they began on "Juan Pablo", "You Can't Steal My Joy" sees the ensemble apply their incredible musicianship to elements of Afrobeat, hip-hop, grime and dub, wrapping their diverse influences into their fearless, fun and contemporary take on jazz. If you needed any further evidence of their top tier credentials, they recently broke off from a sold out, mosh-pit-filled UK tour to play at Quincy Jones' birthday party - nuff respect. This is the jazz sound of 2019 folks - get joyful.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Contemporary Jazz 5-piece Ezra Collective have encapsulated joy in record form, and you can feel the happiness radiating through the tracks here, especially “Chris And Jane” and “Quest For Coin”. My record of the year by far, Afro-beat meets Jazz meets Hip Hop makes for a glorious combination to put you in an upbeat mood.

TRACK LISTING

DISC 1
SIDE A
1. Space Is The Place (Reprise)
2. Why You Mad?
3. Red Whine
4. Quest For Coin

SIDE B
1. Reason In Disguise Feat. Jorja Smith
2. What Am I To Do? Feat. Loyle Carner
3. Chris And Jane

DISC 2
SIDE C
1. People Saved
2. Philosopher II

SIDE D
1. São Paulo
2. King Of The Jungle
3. You Can't Steal My Joy
4. Shakara Feat. KOKOROKO

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

• Soul Asylum’s debut album.
• Produced by Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü).
• First time on vinyl since original pressing
• Reissue co-produced by Twin/Tone co-founder Peter Jesperson and Grammy®-winning producer Cheryl Pawelski. Soul Asylum first hit the Minneapolis music scene in early 1981.

Originally produced by Bob Mould, this reissue is co-produced by Twin/Tone Records co-founder and Replacements manager, Peter Jesperson and Grammy®-winner and Omnivore Recordings, Cheryl Pawelski. This fresh vinyl pressing of Soul Asylum’s debut, Say What You Will . . . Everything Can Happen is the first since it’s original 1984 Twin/Tone release and has been restored and mastered by Grammy®-award winning engineer, Michael Graves at Osiris Studio and cut by Chris Muth at Taloowa.

Ooooohhh Weeeeee! This tasty 12" contains two of the hottest disco and soul cuts ever produced, available as an official single for the first time in aaaages. After spending the late seventies lending her stunning vocals to Aquarium Dream and Ladies Of The Eighties, Sylvia was snapped up by Roy Ayers for his Uno Melodic label, cutting the killer 1981 LP from which these tracks are taken. A-side cut "Give Me Your Love" is a feel good disco groover for the more discerning dancefloors out there, Sylvia's glorious vocals floating freely over a sumptuous uptempo Roy Ayers track alive with bubbling bass, syncopated drums and funked up clav. Sampled by Armand Van Helden, Deepdown and Madd Rapper, this is as classic as they come. The flipside sees the tempo drop, the lights dim and the mood get sexier than Valentine's night in Martin's boudoir... "You Can't Turn Me Away" is deep downtempo business, boasting squelching bass, dreamy keys and a top notch soul breakbeat. Roy Ayers is at the height of his powers her and Syvia more than does the track justice, serving up a stunner that's been sampled plenty of times since ("Get Money"!). Though Striplin never attained mainstream success, her sweet voice is instantly recognized by devout fans of jazzy R&B and those who made up England’s ‘rare groove’ scene of the early 80’s and 90’s.

TRACK LISTING

1. You Can't Turn Me Away
2. Give Me Your Love

In 1978, Nova performed for Obama. Well, kind of: Nova was the band for the Punahou School prom in Honolulu, Hawaii, and a young student named Barack (known then as “Barry”) was in attendance.
Backtrack to 1976, and Nova was the opening band for Donald Byrd at the nearby Blaisdell Arena. The day was Sunday, June 27. The following day, Isaac Hayes would perform on island for the admission price of $1.
Nova, led by singer Checo Tohomaso, was one of several go-to party bands during the golden era of Hawaii funk and soul music in the mid-1970s through early 1980s.
The band’s infectious gospel-funk-disco can be heard on their sole release, a self-titled 1980 LP that feels like one big party recorded live in the studio. (Check out the Marvin Gaye-inspired “I Feel Like Getting Down” on the 2016 ‘Aloha Got Soul’ compilation on Strut Records).
The story is all too familiar, however: funk band releases LP, the music goes dormant in years to follow, and today original copies sell for hundreds online.
Not long after the album’s 1980 release, Checo met Marvin Gaye, who was living on Maui (where George Benson also resided). Shortly after, Marvin invited Checo and his counterparts to join his multi-city tour across Europe. Videos of Checo rocking keyboards, percussion and singing background vocals for Marvin Gaye’s last European tour can be found online.
Checo, born in Florida yet raised in lush Manoa Valley as well as Okinawa, Japan, now resides in Vancouver, Canada, where he leads the VOC Sweet Soul Gospel Choir and continues to deliver his signature sound: high energy, positive, “sweet soul” music.
AGS-7010 features two non-stop groovers with a 7” edit by Roger Bong on the A-side. LP reissue in the works!"

TRACK LISTING

01. Can We Do It Good
02. I Like It, The Way You Dance

Oakland band Rays return with their second album, You Can Get There From Here, their first release since their eponymous Trouble In Mind debut in 2016. You Can Get There From Here represents a turning point for the band, angling their scrappy, post-punk fury into a more refined & melodic pop sensibility, drawing inspiration from UK DIY pop & punk like Dolly Mixture, Cleaners From Venus & Television Personalities. Songs like "Fallen Stars" & "The Garden" temper their sonic crunch ever so slightly, relying more on the harmonic wallop of a solid hook than the sheer volume of guitars.

This is urgent, chiming guitar pop that clangs with a sonorous melancholy & a ramshackle grace. Rays can still lay it down with the rest of 'em; tunes like "Subway" & "Work of Art" shuffle & stumble forward, skirting chaos in a flurry of strums, recalling antipodean groups like UV Race or Dick Diver who cull inspiration from idiosyncratic UK greats like Mark E. Smith or Robyn Hitchcock. The new album finds the core group of Stanley Martinez, Eva Hannan, Troy Hewitt & Alexa Pantalone augmented by new member & keyboardist Britta Leijonflycht, whose synth flourishes add melodic embellishments, sonic heft or psychedelic swirl where needed. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Fallen Stars
2. The Garden
3. The Big One
4. To The Fire
5. Veterans
6. Yesterday’s Faces
7. Around The Town
8. Anti-Hand Man
9. Subway
10. Work Of Art
11. Ray Johnson
12. Before Sunrise 

Alongside Expansion’s release of Leon’s two iconic Elektra albums, back to back on one CD, two super rare 12” tracks are hereby reunited. The first issue of this 12” came in 1982 and was only ever intended to be for promotional use. Original pressings have sold for over £300. Leon Ware wrote and produced for an impressive array of other artists, most notably Marvin Gaye on “I Want You”, and his own work continues to be as in demand as ever. “Why I Came To California” (also on Expansion 7”) is one of his signature tracks and features guest co-vocalist Janis Siegel, a nine time Grammy winner and seventeen time Grammy nominee from Brooklyn, New York.

TRACK LISTING

1. Why I Came To California
2. Can I Touch You There

Super limited, super illicit, mega heavy dub-wise soundsystem weapon here from DJ Madd. Landing slap bang in the middle of halt-time d'n'b and future dub, "Can't Test You" is the kinda secret bomb that'll send carnival crowds into uproar. Hoover subs ensure the subs are given an adequate workout while the tight flurries of hyper breaks tease ever-closer to erupting into jump up without ever breaking the seal.

Highly recommended!

TRACK LISTING

A. Can't Test You

Formed in the mid 80s wreckage of American punk and hardcore, Laughing Hyenas were comprised of staples of the Detroit punk scene, including John Brannon (Negative Approach) and Larissa Strickland (L Seven) along with the locked-in rhythm section of Kevin Strickland and Jim Kimball. Groundbreaking, game-changing and some of the scariest records to come out of Detroit...or anywhere.

Taking the name from a Mark Twain line, the Laughing Hyenas went back into Smart Studios with Butch Vig to record their debut full-length You Can’t Pray A Lie. The Hyenas further elaborated on the template that Merry Go Round set. Kevin, Jim and Larissa lay down deceptively simple hillbilly voodoo blues that at the same time is so rhythmically complex you’re never quite sure what’s going on. Brannon’s vocals are as frenzied and intense as ever. With the balance and everything just right on YCPAL, our dear Hyenas recorded and released one of the milestone/cornerstone albums of the 1980s American underground music scene.

TRACK LISTING

1. Love’s My Only Crime
2. Seven Come Eleven
3. Black Eyed Susan
4. Lullaby And Goodnight
5. Sister
6. Desolate Son
7. Dedications To The One I Love
8. New Gospel

Recorded between the chaos and bustle of a New York cinema on Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn and the windswept loneliness on the south-side of the Isle of Wight in the spring of 2017, I Can't Stand The Sound is the second album from Berlin based English/Irish songwriter Ryan O'Reilly. Produced by David Granshaw and in collaboration with Canadian, Tyler Kyte the album is an exploration in searching for meaning, the meaning in a fatal car accident, the beauty and darkness on the streets of Berlin, comprehending the American landscape at the end of 2016 and trying to filter out the noise of relentless opinions on 24 hour news TV and online.

Littered with snapshots from myriad conversations; A Grandmother's warning that ghosts are never as dangerous as humans, talking to a loved one after a terror attack, a fall from a horse, with a hangover whilst reading in the bath and the faceless people who blithely tell you to 'live your dreams' the characters and conversations restlessly change locations and perspectives.

I Can't Stand The Sound began life on the journey between New York and Tennessee in the aftermath of the American election in 2016, the long conversations, the search for conclusions and reasoning in a void of reason. Written on municipal Frisbee-golf course in East Nashville, a front porch in Hamilton, Ontario and along side the beautiful, dirty Spree in Ryan's adopted hometown of Berlin each place finds it's way into the heart of the album. In May 2017 Ryan, Tyler and Dave travelled back to New York. Joined by members of Toronto's Dwayne Gretzky and Ryan's European touring partners The O'Pears to begin recording of I Can't Stand The Sound in the Cinema/bar where the journey towards the album began six months earlier. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Don’t You Know That
2. Make It Holy
3. Never Be Afraid Of Ghosts
4. I Can’t Stand The Sound
5. People Tell You
6. The Modern World
7. Flesh & Blood
8. Conversation
9. Somethings Really Wrong
10. Till It Ends

Officially now a duo, Merrill Garbus is joined by long-time collaborator Nate Brenner. Their new album, I can feel you creep into my private life, tackles race, politics, intersectional feminism and environmental prophecies head on. But in the billows of intense subject matter, the album is their most immediate and upbeat yet – this is Tune-Yards’ music to dance to.

The follow-up to 2014’s acclaimed album, Nikki Nack, much of I can feel you creep into my private life was recorded at John Vanderslice’s new Tiny Telephone studio in their hometown of Oakland, CA. To help finish this stunning record, they enlisted mixer Mikaelin “Blue” Bluespruce (Solange, Skepta, Kendrick Lamar) and mastered it in Harlem, NY with Dave Kutch (Jay-Z, Chance the Rapper).

TRACK LISTING

1. Heart Attack
2. Coast To Coast
3. ABC 123
4. Now As Then
5. Honesty
6. Colonizer
7. Look At Your Hands
8. Home
9. Hammer
10. Who Are You
11. Private Life
12. Free

After the release of 2016's 'When Shall This Bright Day Begin', Jozef Van Wissem returns to Consouling Sounds for the follow-up album 'Nobody Living Can Ever Make Me Turn Back'. The album is inspired by a Vanitas painting by the Belgian artist Cindy Wright, which is also the cover of the album. This inspiration is beautifully reflected in the music of the album: Jozef Van Wissem's lute arrangements sound fragile, his sparse vocals delicate, as if the vanity, the temporality and senselessness of everything has been rendered audible.