The earliest version of L.S. Dunes—the one that introduced themselves to the world at Chicago’s Riot Fest in 2022 and went on to release their blissfully chaotic debut, Past Lives, later that year—was birthed in turbulence. There was a pandemic. There were time and family constraints. There were members away on tour with one of their many other bands: Frank Iero’s My Chemical Romance, Anthony Green’s Saosin and Circa Survive, Travis Stever’s Coheed and Cambria, and Tim Payne and Tucker Rule’s Thursday, among them. But somehow, they managed to make it work, touring the globe for a growing and passionate fanbase and finding their footing as a distinct and singular band of their own design along the way.

Now, with the release of their second full-length album, Violet—once again helmed by Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip—L.S. Dunes live up to the promise set by their debut, and in many ways, open up an opportunity to rediscover the band in a different light: Where Past Lives takes its oxygen from the thrill of frenzy and impulsiveness, Violet breathes deeper with a more open and expansive palette. Whether it lives in the confident and steady pulse of a song like “Machines,” in the rousing lyrical empowerment of “Paper Tigers,” or in the way that “Forgiveness” forges itself as an anthem for love and unconditional acceptance in the face of our personal failures, Violet is a body of work that secures multiple outcomes: There is hindsight. There is hope. There is, in fact, magic.

TRACK LISTING

1. Like Magick (4:15)
2. Fatal Deluxe (3:31)
3. I Can See It Now… (3:45)
4. Violet (4:21)
5. Machines (4:06)
6. You Deserve To Be Haunted (3:28)
7. Holograms (3:41)
8. Paper Tigers (3:48)
9. Things I Thought Would Last Forever (3:43)
10. Forgiveness (4:20) 

Hallowed Ground is the 1984 follow up to the Violent Femmes legendary self-titled debut album. Similar to the first album, all of the songs were written by lead singer Gordon Gano while still in high school. The band's sophomore title, however, pushed the band in new directions and made sure they did not rest on their laurels – featuring fan favorites (and live staples) "Country Death Song," "Jesus Walking on the Water," "I Hear The Rain," "Black Girls" and "Never Tell." Mastered from the original stereo tapes (AAA). 

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Country Death Song
I Hear The Rain
Never Tell
Jesus Walking On The Water
I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say

Side B
Hallowed Ground
Sweet Misery Blues
Black Girls
It’s Gonna Rain 

Sophie Allison has always written candidly about her life, making Soccer Mommy one of indie rock’s most interesting & beloved artists of the last decade. On Evergreen Allison is again writing about her life, but life’s different these days: Since 2022's Sometimes, Forever Allison experienced a profound & personal loss. New songs emerged, unflinching reflections on what she was feeling. She wanted them to sound that way too, as true to the demos as possible. Nothing overindulgent, everything real. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: In true Soccer Mommy fashion, these are hugely melodic ballads that skirt the peripheries of grunge and punk, while remaining gloriously poppy. Beautifully warm and wonderfully written throughout.

TRACK LISTING

Lost
M
Driver
Some Sunny Day
Changes
Abigail
Thinking Of You
Dreaming Of Falling
Salt In Wound
Anchor
Evergreen

Radio City is the second album from Big Star. Released in 1974, Radio City includes “September Gurls” and “Back of a Car” which remain some of the most famous Big Star songs. The legacy of Radio City have far exceeded the original commercial letdowns of the album, which is now considered to be a milestone in the history of rock by critics and musicians alike. Both Radio City and #1 Record. made it onto Rolling Stone‘s 500 “Greatest Albums of All Time” lists, while tracks from each album (“Thirteen” and “September Gurls”) are also among the magazine’s 500 “Greatest Songs of All Time

Big Star, considered to be among the founders of power pop, has been cited as an influence by many of the major alternative bands of the ’80s and ’90s, and continues to be a powerful presence in today’s musical landscape. Artists such as R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements (who famously penned the song “Alex Chilton”) and Wilco all enthusiastically tout the artistic impact of the group. Mike Mills recalls Big Star as “a band who had gotten it right, who made records that sounded like rock and roll bands should sound. A band who wrote all the songs, from flat-out rockers to achingly beautiful ballads that were still somehow rock songs.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
O, My Soul
Life Is White
Way Out West
What’s Goin Ahn
You Get What You Deserve

Side B
Mod Lang
Back Of A Car
Daisy Glaze
She’s A Mover
September Gurls
Morpha Too
I’m In Love With A Girl 

The fourth studio album from alt-rock mainstays Alice in Chains. Released in 2009, Black Gives Way To Blue is band's first record to feature William DuVall sharing vocal and guitar duties with founding member Jerry Cantrell, alongside bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney. Includes the singles “A Looking in View," “Your Decision," and the Grammy-nominated "Check My Brain."

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
All Secrets Known
Check My Brain
Last Of My Kind

Side B:
Your Decision
A Looking In View
When The Sun Rose Again

Side C:
When The Sun Rose Again
Acid Bubble
Lesson Learned

Side D:
Take Her Out
Private Hell
Black Gives Way To Blue 

Nubya Garcia isn’t an artist you can easily classify. Is it jazz? Sure, the London-born saxophonist, composer and bandleader grew up studying the genre under the noted pianist Nikki Yeoh at Camden Music. But it isn’t until you listen to albums like 2020’s Source and 2024’s Odyssey that you hear broader creativity shining through: It’s jazz, classical, dub, R&B and whatever else Garcia wants to convey. It all comes from a place of exploration and self-study, of wanting to do all the things across all disciplines while ignoring arbitrary boxes that don’t t.

Garcia’s sophomore album Odyssey, out in September 2024 via Concord Jazz, is a majestic feat on which she blends orchestral arrangements with R&B, jazz, broken beat and dub, resulting in a grand, nuanced record that feels airy and celestial without sacricing the groove. It’s a deeply personal oering about her trek to falling back in love with musical composition over the past four years.

Source, her 2020 debut album, was released via Concord Jazz to massive critical acclaim, an NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, a Pitchfork “Best New Music” review and a Rolling Stone “Album of the Month” mention. In a prole, The New York Times called Source “a sweeping set of jazz with Afro-Caribbean inuences that funnels a life’s worth of experiences into an hourlong listen.” Also upon release, the album entered the UK charts in the Top 30, and she was just one of three artists selected to perform live at Glastonbury’s 2020 Experience, which aired on the BBC to thousands of viewers. Source was also nominated for the Mercury Prize, a prestigious award given to the best albums from the UK or Ireland. 

TRACK LISTING

01. Dawn Ft. Esperanza Spalding
02. Odyssey
03. Solstice
04. Set It Free Ft. Richie
05. The Seer
06. Odyssey (Outerlude)
07. We Walk In Gold Ft. Georgia Anne Muldrow
08. Water’s Path
09. Clarity
10. In Other Words, Living
11. Clarity (Outerlude)
12. Triumphance 

Produced by Chris Coady and written by DIIV (pronounced Dive), Frog in Boiling Water, the band’s fourth full-length LP is a collection of snapshots that explores the brutal realities of end-stage capitalism and overwhelming technological advance. Across 10 dark and dazzling tracks, DIIV documents the collapse from various angles with unusual sensitivity and depth of purpose while expanding their grand, hypnotic shoegaze, to create a transportive, sensual work of hope, beauty and renewal.

"Musically, we were excited to explore new territory sonically. We collected and cataloged cassette tapes and made tape loops, used samples, weird guitar tunings, crude synthesizers. It’s the least “genre” record we’ve ever made and we’re excited to show everyone the musical world we’ve found."

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: After 2019's 'Deceiver', DIIV found themselves amongst a new chapter in their career. Whilst DIIV had always toured as a band, this was the first time one of their records was written and recorded as a fully fledged outfit. What resulted was their best album to date. A monolithic modern shoegaze classic that would have even Kevin Shields quaking in his pedal tapping shoes.

Now 5 years later, DIIV have returned with 'Frog In Boiling Water'. Once again written and recorded by Zachary Cole Smith, Colin Caulfield, Andrew Bailey and Benjamin Newman, 'Frog In Boiling Water' continues to build on the groundwork left by 'Deceiver'. Opener 'In Amber' is an all-encompassing shoegaze hammer, whilst 'Brown Paper Bag' has shades of Duster and MBV. The acoustic led 'Everyone Out' echoes Sonic Youth's 'Shadow Of A Doubt', whereas the ominous 'Raining On Your Pillow' and the textually lush 'Little Birds' add real depth to the LP. Lyrically, we also see Smith tackling ideas of end-stage capitalism and the overwhelming reality of technological advance - which is perfectly captured in the looming and swirling 'Soul-net'. This, coupled with all these incredible textures and sonics, easily makes this DIIV's best sounding and most complete album to date.

As a long-serving fan of DIIV, it's been such a gratifying and special few years seeing them blossom within this new era. 'Frog In Boiling Water' is everything I could have hoped to be after 'Deceiver' and further proves what a special band DIIV truly are - enjoy!

TRACK LISTING

1. In Amber
2. Brown Paper Bag
3. Raining On Your Pillow
4. Frog In Boiling Water
5. Everyone Out
6. Reflected
7. Somber The Drums
8. Little Birds
9. Soul-net
10. Fender On The Freeway

Released in 1998, Up is the eleventh studio album from R.E.M. In the UK ‘UP’ is platinum certified and charted at #2 on release. The album, featuring the singles "Daysleeper,” “Lotus,” “Suspicion” and “At My Most Beautiful,” draws inspiration from electronic music, using a wide range of tools to create a dreamy pop landscape that is reflective and moody. It was the band's first album without drummer Bill Berry, who retired from the group in October of 1997. This deluxe reissue celebrates the album’s 25th anniversary.   

“All these years later, it still has resonance... Up will always remain a strikingly gorgeous [album]” - Stereogum.

TRACK LISTING

Up (2LP Remastered Vinyl):
Side A
1. Airportman
2. Lotus
3. Suspicion
Side B
1. Hope
2. At My Most Beautiful
3. The Apologist
4. Sad Professor
Side C
1. You’re In The Air
2. Walk Unafraid
3. Why Not Smile
4. Daysleeper
Side D
1. Diminished
2. Parakeet
3. Falls To Climb

2CD + Blu Ray (Deluxe):
CD1 – Up
1. Airportman 
2. Lotus 
3. Suspicion 
4. Hope 
5. At My Most Beautiful 
6. The Apologist 
7. Sad Professor 
8. You're In The Air 
9. Walk Unafraid 
10. Why Not Smile 
11. Daysleeper 
12. Diminished 
13. Parakeet 
14. Falls To Climb
CD2 - Party Of Five Recording
1. Introduction 
2. What's The Frequency, Kenneth? 
3. Lotus 
4. Daysleeper 
5. Country Feedback 
6. Walk Unafraid 
7. Losing My Religion 
8. Parakeet 
9. The Apologist 
10. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) 
11. I'm Not Over You 
12. Man On The Moon
Blu Ray
1. Up - 5.1 Surround Sound 
2. Up - Hi-Resolution Audio 
3. This Way Up (press Kit) 
4. Uptake (performance) 
5. Daysleeper (music Video) 
6. Lotus (music Video) 
7. At My Most Beautiful (music Video)

2CD:
CD1 – Up
1. Airportman 
2. Lotus 
3. Suspicion 
4. Hope 
5. At My Most Beautiful 
6. The Apologist 
7. Sad Professor 
8. You're In The Air 
9. Walk Unafraid 
10. Why Not Smile 
11. Daysleeper 
12. Diminished 
13. Parakeet 
14. Falls To Climb
CD2 - Party Of Five Recording
1. Introduction 
2. What's The Frequency, Kenneth? 
3. Lotus 
4. Daysleeper 
5. Country Feedback 
6. Walk Unafraid 
7. Losing My Religion 
8. Parakeet 
9. The Apologist 
10. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) 
11. I'm Not Over You 
12. Man On The Moon

Keep It Hid was originally recorded by Auerbach as he was building his first home studio in Akron, Ohio - a precursor to his Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville, where Auerbach now records and produces most of the label’s current releases. Inspired by trips to many of his all-time favorite rooms - from Suma Recording in Cleveland to Robin Hood in Texas to Toe Rag in London - Auerbach discovered a passion for studio work that remains at the center of his musical world nearly fifteen years on. Also tapping into his love of record-collecting and crate-digging more than ever before, Keep It Hid was inspired by forgotten 60s psych rock, obscure British power-pop, bluegrass family bands and even the lyricism of his own father, Chuck Auerbach (Dan would go onto produce Chuck’s debut album, Remember Me, in 2018). Another major influence was Dr. John's acid-voodoo classic Gris-Gris, one of Auerbach’s heroes that he would go on to produce just a few years later. The resulting collection spans from echo-laden garage rock ("Heartbroken, In Disrepair") and fuzz-scarred blues ("The Prowl") to haunted Southern soul ("Real Desire") and bittersweet-country comfort ("When The Night Comes"). The album was hailed as “intimate and thrilling” by NPR’s Fresh Air upon its original release, with reviewer Ken Tucker adding it “sounds like a clearing of the throat and mind.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Trouble Weighs A Ton
2. I Want Some More
3. Heartbroken, In Disrepair
4. Because I Should
5. Whispered Words (Pretty Lies)
6. Real Desire
7. When The Night Comes
8. Mean Monsoon
9. The Prowl
10. Keep It Hid
11. My Last Mistake
12. When I Left The Room
13. Street Walkin’
14. Goin’ Home 

Killer Mike gets recognized for many things - being an Outkast protege, a member of rap powerhouse Run The Jewels, one of Atlanta’s biggest advocates, a Bernie Sanders whisperer, and, perhaps most importantly, a voice of reason in an increasingly insane world.

Some might know one or two of those sides of Mike, but he is finally ready to introduce the world to the totality of Michael Render, a lifelong rap fiend whose consciousness is seeped in the sounds of community that raised him - multiple eras of southern rap flows, Sunday church service, and barbershop discourse.

All these threads converge on his forthcoming first batch of solo material since his breakout solo album R.A.P. Music in 2012 and the most comprehensively autobiographical work he’s presented to date musically and personally. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Killer Mike (most recently of Run The Jewels fame) shows why he is such a respected rapper and songwriter in his own right, with a similar focus on political issues and clever songwriting as the aforementioned collaboration, but with a much more classical hip-hop flow and funky percussive backdrop. A hugely talented individual, showing us that 'Michael' is the perfect vehicle for his skills.

TRACK LISTING

1. Down By Law (ft. CeeLo Green)
2. Shed Tears (ft. Mozzy & Lena Byrd Miles)
3. RUN (ft. Young Thug)
4. N Rich (ft. 6LACK & Eryn Allen Kane)
5. Talk’n That Shit!
6. Slummer (ft. Jagged Edge)
7. Scientists & Engineers (ft. Andre 3000, Future, & Eryn Allen Kane)
8. Two Days (ft. Ty Dolla $ign)
9. Spaceship Views (Curren$y, 2 Chainz, Kaash Paige)
10. Exit 9 (ft. Blxst)
11. Something For Junkies (ft. Fabo)
12. Motherless (ft. Eryn Allen Kane)
13. Don’t Let The Devil (ft. EL-P & Thankugoodsir)
14. High And Holy (ft. Ty Dolla $ign)
15. Yes
16. Maynard Vignette (ft. T.I., JID, & Jacquees)
17. Get Some Money

Like tributaries feeding a mighty river, the blues encompasses myriad genres and artists – no two alike – but all comprising a powerful current that flows through the rich history of contemporary music itself. Tell Everybody! (21st Century Juke Joint Blues From Easy Eye Sound), a compilation of new recordings from across the blues spectrum, is a payment of respect and admiration for the musicians carrying this American tradition into this century and beyond.

The album features artists all recorded at Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville and includes new recordings from Auerbach himself, as well as modern titans The Black Keys. From GRAMMY®-nominated blues artists RL Boyce and Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, to lost gems by the departed Leo "Bud" Welch and the storied Ohio guitar legend Glenn Schwartz, to new voices of the blues like Nat Myers, Gabe Carter, and Moonrisers, this compilation is a remarkable journey in 12 songs, a stunning perspective on an artform whose legacy is living and breathing in modern music.

TRACK LISTING

Coal Black Mattie - RL Boyce
Tell Everybody - Robert Finley
Tall Shadow - Moonrisers
Every Chance I Get (I Want You In The Flesh) - Dan Auerbach
Catfish Blues (Mono) - Jimmy "Duck" Holmes
Anything You Need - Gabe Carter
Willow Witchin' - Nat Myers
Don't Let The Devil Ride (Mono) - Leo Bud Welch
No Lovin' - The Black Keys
Daughter Of Zion (Featuring Joe Walsh) - Glenn Schwartz
Buffalo Road - Gabe Carter
Collinwood Fire - Glenn Schwartz 

First solo record from Bethany after a 10+ year stint fronting Best Coast. Produced by Butch Walker (Taylor Swift, Jewel, Panic! At The Disco, Weezer, Andrew McMahon).

“Natural Disaster was born out of a bit of an identity crisis. I was feeling really stagnant both in my life and in my creativity - the world around me was seemingly falling apart - and I felt like I had two choices; give up entirely or challenge myself to push through and see what was on the other side. This record is the story of a personal journey, one that led me to finding a new side of myself that I didn’t even know was there. It is a snapshot of what it’s like to allow yourself to soften, to take down some of your walls, and really lean into the magic of life.”

TRACK LISTING

Natural Disaster
Outta Time
It’s Fine
Easy
A Single Day
In My Own City
For A Moment
Call All Angels
Real Life
Hope You’re Happy Now
It’s A Journey
I’ve Got News For You

Living in LA, there are a lot of people looking for that one trick that will help the new them emerge fully realized, successful & happy. It's a worthwhile, but doomed pursuit, & the best we can hope for is to be present in a moment. Local Natives album comes at a moment of personal metamorphosis. Former selves melting away, some becoming fathers, some enduring periods of isolation, loss, & identity crisis. Time Will Wait For No One is a mantra of reassurance in response to relentless changes.

TRACK LISTING

01. Time Will Wait For No One
02. Just Before The Morning
03. Empty Mansions
04. Desert Snow
05. Paper Lanterns
06. Featherweight
07. Hourglass
08. Ava
09. NYE
10. Paradise

Undeniably one of the best smaIl bands in the history of jazz, the Miles Davis Quintet of the mid-1950s featured an all-star line-up of Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Philly Joe Jones (drums).

This new edition of “Workin’” is release as part of the Original Jazz Classics Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and presented in a Tip-On Jacket.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. It Never Entered My Mind
2. Four
3. In Your Own Sweet Way
4. The Theme (Take 1)
Side B
1. Trane’s Blues (a.k.a. Vierd Blues)
2. Ahmad’s Blues
3. Half Nelson
4. The Theme (Take 2)

Think of Tired Hearts, the new album from rising, indie-pop trio BAILEN, as a highly charged electrical field. Opposite charges attract, similar charges repel, and the current is set in motion. On this, their second full-length album for Fantasy, the New York City based siblings, Daniel, David, and Julia Bailen heighten the musical tension, and deliver a dazzling set of songs that incisively navigates the space between the heart’s expectation and the head’s sober reality. A masterful follow-up to BAILEN’s accomplished debut, 2019’s Thrilled To Be Here, Tired Heartsbeats with empathy, vulnerability, and resolve.

Produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee) and recorded at his home studio in Durham, North Carolina, Tired Hearts’ taut, synth-driven tracks are centered around BAILEN’s radiant harmonies and futuristic arrangements furthering the group’s exhilarating avant-pop evolution.

By way of example, the dopamine saturated “Nothing Left To Give,” and the high-wattage New Wave dance track “Call It Like It Is,” seem destined for playlisting greatness. The evocative “These Bones,” a touching parable of reconciliation and the alluring “Love You Blind,” connect with assured simplicity. Meanwhile, the title track’s dramatic sonics skillfully underscore an aching portrait of betrayal, the dreamy folk-ballad “Relic” recalls the best of early-period Bee Gees, and the stunning “BRCA” gracefully unties a complex knot of familial anxiety, guilt, and acceptance.

On Tired Hearts, their exquisite new album, BAILEN learns how to dream in the face of life’s uncertainty and in the process, moves forward aware, resilient, and hopeful.

TRACK LISTING

01. Tired Hearts
02. Nothing Left To Give
03. These Bones
04. Leave Me Wanting More
05. Here We Are Again
06. Call It Like It Is
07. Change Your Mind
08. Love You Blind
09. Relic
10. BRCA (Nothing Takes Me Down)
11. Shadows
12. Hiding 

In 2015, Dan Auerbach entered the studio with Leon Michels, Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss, and the late Richard Swift (who passed away in 2018) to record The Arcs' debut album Yours, Dreamily in a handful of freewheeling sessions over two weeks. Now, more than 7 years later, those same sessions became the bedrock on which the surviving members fleshed out the anticipated follow-up album, Electrophonic Chronic, a collection of psychedelic rock, gritty funk, and heady, soulful grooves.

The Arcs was formed when Dan Auerbach enlisted Leon Michels, a multi-instrumentalist who was part of the studio crew on Auerbach’s GRAMMY-nominated production projects for Dr. John and Lana Del Rey – "I just wanted to do my thing and get extra weird." Auerbach headed into the studio with Michels, Movshon, Steinweiss, and Swift, and made their debut Yours, Dreamily, which was recorded in a handful of freewheeling sessions lasting less than two weeks and released in September 2015.

Those same sessions produced a second unfinished album worth of tracks, the bedrock on which the surviving members fleshed out the highly anticipated follow-up album, Electrophonic Chronic.

"Like a cigarette flicked on a stream of gasoline. The snarling melodies, warbling horn lines and in-the-pocket beats transport listeners into the album's pulpy world of '70s exploitation films and gritty biker-gang movies." - NPR

Produced by Dan Auerbach and Leon Michels, and mixed by the legendary Tchad Blake. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Keep On Dreamin’
2. Eyez
3. Heaven Is A Place
4. Califone Interlude
5. River
6. Sunshine
7. A Man Will Do No Wrong
8. Behind The Eyes
9. Backstage Mess Interlude
10. Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
11. Only One For Me 

Meath and Sanborn have described the dynamic of Sylvan Esso as an argument between them, her irresistible hooks pushing and pulling against his adventurous, sometimes unsettling synths. No Rules Sandy is a complete merge— pop and electronic music fusing into something new that constantly builds on itself. With this album, Meath says, “we went back to the classic formula, which is us trying to impress the other one.” Take “Echo Party,” which opens with electronic warble around Meath’s voice as a simple beat behind her eventually yields to a deep synth wobble. There’s lightness and darkness tugging at each other, the ecstatic promise of a party (“there’s a lot of people dancing downtown”) that you might not ever be able to leave (“yeah we all fall down/but some stay where they got dropped.”) Sanborn’s synths nod to 90s electronic music throughout, but as with the full album, he says, “I want everything to feel like something you've heard before, but presented in a way you've never heard.”

Both describe No Rules Sandy as their most personal project— right in the title, after all, is Sanborn’s own nickname. The most intimate—but still enigmatic— details arrive in interstitial moments between tracks, featuring voicemails from loved ones, birdsong from outside their studio, Betty’s, the voices of children, and other life detritus transformed into eternal art. “It feels like this diary entry from this very specific time,” Sanborn says of the interstitials, which fill the gaps between songs and make No Rules Sandy an unbroken ribbon of sound, a source of wildness and energy that continues from the album’s first moment to the last.

TRACK LISTING

01. Moving 
02. Look At Me 
03. (Bad Fills) 
04. Echo Party 
05. How Did You Know 
06. (Betty's, May 4, 2022) 
07. Didn't Care 
08. (Vegas // Dad) 
09. Your Reality 
10. (#1vm) 
11. Cloud Walker 
12. Sunburn 
13. ? 
14. Alarm 
15. (No Rules Sandy) 
16. Coming Back To You 

Produced by Margo Price and Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Father John Misty), Strays was primarily recorded in the summer of 2021, during a week spent at Fivestar Studio in California’s Topanga Canyon. While most of the songwriting took place the summer prior – during a six-day, mushroom-filled trip that Price and her husband Jeremy Ivey took to South Carolina – it was amongst the hallucinatory hills of western Los Angeles that Price experienced the best recording sessions of her career. Instilled with a newfound confidence and comfortability to experiment and explore like never before, Margo Price and her longtime band of Pricetags channeled their telepathic abilities into songs that span rock n roll, psychedelic country, rhythm & blues, and glistening, iridescent pop. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Strays' perfectly epitomises the psychedelic country sound, and Margo Price is one of its greatest purveyors. From the opening moments of 'Been Up The Mountain' it's quite clear that her songwriting has hit a career high, flawlessly running through blues-tinged rock, hazy acoustic country and campfire balladry, and all topped with those unmistakeable vocals. A triumph of evocative and moving storytelling.

TRACK LISTING

Been To The Mountain 
Light Me Up (ft Mike Campbell) 
Radio (ft Sharon Van Etten) 
Change Of Heart 
County Road 
Time Machine 
Hell In The Heartland 
Anytime You Call (ft Lucius) 
Lydia 
Landfill 

First-ever vinyl reissue of 2009’s Imidiwan: Companions by acclaimed Saharan Tuareg group Tinariwen. Pressed on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl, the album hypnotically blends Malian desert blues with twanging guitar-led Tichumaren agit-prop to create a sound altogether unique.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1 Imidiwan Afrik Tendam
2 Lulla
3 Tenhert
4 Enseqi Ehad Didagh
5 Tahult In
6 Tamodjerazt Assis
7 Intitlayaghen
Side B
1 Imazeghen N Adagh
2 Tenalle Chegret
3 Kel Tamashek
4 Assuf Ag Assuf
5 Chabiba
6 Ere Tasfata Adounia

With such iconic tracks as “Christmas Time is Here” and the instantly recognizable “Linus and Lucy”, the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas shares the title of best-selling jazz album in history, and was certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA in late 2016. 

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. O Tannenbaum
2. What Child Is This
3. My Little Drum
4. Linus & Lucy
5. Christmas Time Is Here (instrumental)
Side 2
1. Christmas Time Is Here (vocal)
2. Skating
3. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
4. Christmas Is Coming
5. Für Elise
6. The Christmas Song

Deluxe Editions Bonus Tracks:
O Tannenbaum (Take 2/Recorded September 21, 1965)
O Tannenbaum (Take 3/Recorded September 21, 1965)
Greensleeves (Take 6/Recorded October 28, 1965)
Linus And Lucy (Take 1/Recorded September 17, 1965)
Christmas Time Is Here (Take 1/Recorded September 17, 1965)
Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (Rehearsal/Recording Date Unknown)
Christmas Time Is Here (Take 4/Recording Date Unknown)
Skating (Take 1/Recorded September 22, 1965)
Jingle Bells (Takes 1–4/Recorded September 21, 1965)
Christmas Is Coming (Take 3/Recorded September 17, 1965)
Christmas Is Coming (Take 3/Recorded September 21, 1965)
Für Elise (Takes 1–2/Recording Date Unknown)
The Christmas Song (Take 8/Recorded October 28, 1965)

First-ever vinyl reissue of critically acclaimed Saharan Tuareg group Tinariwen’s third album, Aman Iman: Water Is Life. Released internationally via Independiente in 2007, reissued here on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl, the album was produced by long-time associate Justin Adams and features the voice and guitar of founding member Mohammed Ag Itlale. The GRAMMY Award winning collective perform a guitar-centric branch of Malian music known as Tishoumaren a percussive, rock-oriented desert blues.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1 Cler Achel
2 Mano Dayak
3 Matadjem Yinmixan
Side B
1 Ahimana
2 Soixante Trois
3 Toumast
Side C
1 Imidiwan WinakaliN
2 Awa Didjen
3 Ikyadarh Dim
Side D
1 Tamatant Tilay
2 Assouf
3 Izarharh Tenere

When Kodaline stepped on stage at Dublin’s cozy, sold-out Olympia Theatre in early March 2022, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist, Steve Garrigan; bassist/vocalist, Jason Boland; guitarist/vocalist, Mark Prendergast; and drummer/vocalist Vinny May felt a deep sense of renewal, of their friendship, their brotherhood, and their musical community.

The beloved Irish quartet also felt a sense of release. Two years of pandemic-related separation, from each other, and the audience they had meticulously built since 2011, had underscored how essential that symbiotic relationship really is.

It’s that sense of release that permeates Our Roots Run Deep, Kodaline’s brand-new, stripped-down, 17-track live album and Fantasy Records debut.

“This album is something we’ve wanted to do for a very longtime, it’s also something entirely new to us,” explain the band. “It’s a stripped-down acoustic show with no click, which basically means, it’s very raw and unfiltered. We wanted to try and capture the energy and atmosphere of the night as best we could. It was an intimate show recorded in one of our favourite venues in the world, in Dublin City at home in Ireland. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed playing it.”

Our Roots Run Deep is a spectacular showcase for the purity of their artistry and the profound musical impact they’ve had on a generation. Their next step is around the corner, till then, this is Kodaline—unguarded, simple, essential.

She & Him, the acclaimed twosome of M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel are known for the stylish arrangements, sophisticated interpretations, and sharply drawn originals they have perfected across their exceedingly fruitful six-album, 14-year collaboration. Now, with Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson, their seventh full-length release (and first for Fantasy), the duo has crafted a love letter to 60’s-era Southern California-inspired pop that stands on its own as a defining musical achievement.

Produced by M.Ward and mixed by Tom Schick (Wilco, Norah Jones, Iron and Wine), Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson is the pair’s first in six years and features an abundance of smartly chosen Wilson/Beach Boys compositions, some universally beloved and others a little less familiar. All of them though, whether ingrained in your soul or hearing for the first time, share a flair for the dramatic. Ward and Deschanel bring their uncanny communal musical instincts to these pop-noir confections and re-imagine them for these times.

The inviting, twangy album opener, Brian Wilson and Mike Love’s “Darlin’,” (from the Beach Boys 1967 album Wild Honey) sets a high bar that She & Him meets throughout. The duo’s devoted take on “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is especially revealing. Most wouldn’t consider touching the stone-cold classic, yet they lean into it with unabashed joy. Elsewhere, the band’s sublime version of Wilson’s mournful “Til I Die” is a three-minute and 22 second marvel. Deschanel’s spectacular vocal turn on the criminally overlooked Wilson solo cut “Melt Away” transforms the original’s lush, string-heavy treatment into a post-modern folk-pop gem. Other highlights include the surf-rock throwback “Do It Again,” featuring vocals from Brian Wilson himself (!) and the graceful “Please Let Me Wonder,” a long-treasured Wilson album cut. Finally, the Beach Boy’s timeless “Don’t Worry Baby” might be the album’s centerpiece and most affecting track. M.Ward’s earthy, laconic lead vocal layered over an exquisite arrangement feels organic and completely new – just like this album, a stunner in every way.

Genre: Indie Pop, Classic Rock, Covers, Twee Pop, 60’s Rock

Mood Descriptions: Summer Vibes, Upbeat, Beach, Feel Good, Roadtrip, Cloudgazing

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: She & Him (Zooey Deschanel & M Ward) bring their considerable talents to a beautiful tribute to Brian Wilson, one of the greatest songwriters of our time. Expect those woozy lounge-soul vocals from Deschanel and Ward's distinctive guitar style. A fittingly lovely endeavour.

TRACK LISTING

1. “Darlin’” – (Wilson-Love) - From The Beach Boys 1967 LP Wild Honey
2. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – (Wilson-Asher-Love) - From The Beach Boys 1966 LP Pet Sounds
3. “Til I Die” – (Brian Wilson) – From The Beach Boys 1971 LP Surf’s Up
4. “Deidre” – (Johnson-Wilson) – From The Beach Boys 1970 LP Sunflower
5. “Melt Away” – (Brian Wilson) – From Brian Wilson’s 1988 Self-titled Solo LP
6. “Good To My Baby” – (Wilson-Love) – From The 1965 LP The Beach Boys Today!
7. “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)” – (Wilson-Asher) - From The 1966 LP Pet Sounds
8. “Don’t Worry Baby” – (Wilson-Christian) – From The Beach Boys 1964 LP Shut Down Volume 2
9. “This Whole World” – (Wilson) – From The Beach Boys 1970 LP Sunflower
10. “Kiss Me, Baby” – (Wilson-Love) – From The 1965 LP The Beach Boys Today!
11. “Do It Again” Featuring Brian Wilson – (Wilson-Love) – From The Beach Boys 1968 LP Friends
12. "Heads You Win, Tails I Lose" – (Wilson-Usher) - From The Beach Boys 1962 LP Surfin’ Safari
13. “Please Let Me Wonder” – (Wilson-Love) - From 1965 LP The Beach Boys Today!
14. “Meant For You” – (Wilson-Love) - From The Beach Boys 1968 LP Friends

Some forty years into one of music’s most impactful, sometimes tense and yet curiously enduring partnerships, Tears For Fears have finally arrived together at The Tipping Point – the group’s ambitious, accomplished and surprising first new studio album in nearly two decades.

And now, at very long last, Tears For Fears find themselves back in peak form at The Tipping Point, an inspired song cycle that speaks powerfully and artfully to our present tense here in 2021. This is an album that vividly recalls the depth and emotional force of the group’s earliest triumphs. Imagine a far more outward-looking take on TFF’s famously introspective 1983 debut album The Hurting set in an even more mad world, or 1985’s Songs From The Big Chair bravely confronting even bigger issues in our increasingly unruly world. Or even 1989’s The Seeds Of Love that sows a mix of love and other emotions.

The Tipping Point is the bold, beautiful and powerful sound of Tears For Fears finding themselves together all over again.

TRACK LISTING

1. No Small Thing
2. Tipping Point
3. Long, Long, Long Time
4. Break The Man
5. My Demons
6. Rivers Of Mercy
7. Please Be Happy
8. Master Plan
9. End Of Night
10. Stay

Common's 14th album to date and it finds the 49 year old rapper still surprising much of the hip-hop landscape with his eloquent verses and immediate but staid, adult delivery. There's collaborations to enjoy a-plenty, and for us, many of the high peaks from the artist's millenial release "Like Water For Chocolate" can be referenced here. Celebrating Black resistance and empowerment, it offers hope in an era plagued with one disaster after another - but offered up as a healing balm against troubled times. He proves it's possible to exist as a 40-something rapper without having to resort to mindless violence and battle-raps of more youthful times. 

Of the release Common said, “A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2 was created with hope and inspiration in mind. The spirit of the album was meant to emulate what a greater day would sound and feel like. We were in the midst of some tough political and socially challenging times. There was still hurt, anger and pain lingering, so I was thinking, “what is the next step in this revolution?” I thought about what being still in these times had brought me and that was a peace beyond understanding, a greater love for self, a closer connection with God, and more appreciation for my family, friends and the simple things in life. I wanted to write about that and create music that embodied that. What does a new day, a brighter day feel like being told through an emcee and some gifted musicians? How could this music be an example of the beautiful aspects of revolution that include joy, self-love, compassion, dreams, peace and good times? As a piece of art, I believe we took it to different places musically only to come back to the original intention. To bring joy to people’s hearts, fun to their lives and smiles to their souls.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Common's legendary flow and wonderful ear for rhythm is back, with his newest outing 'A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2' landing somewhere between funky laid-back hip-hop and late 90's downbeat, mixed with licks of purple funk, to great effect. Stunningly well written and featuring a stellar lineup of guests inc. Brittany Howard and Seun Kuti.

TRACK LISTING

1. Intro (Push Out The Noise) Featuring Jessica Care Moore
2. A Beautiful Chicago Kid Featuring PJ
3. When We Move Featuring Black Thought And Seun Kuti
4. Set It Free Featuring PJ
5. Majesty (Where We Gonna Take It) Featuring PJ
6. Poetry Featuring Marcus King And Isaiah Sharkey
7. Saving Grace Featuring Brittany Howard
8. Star Of The Gang Featuring PJ
9. Imagine Featuring PJ
10. Get It Right
11. OUTRO (Exclamation Point) Featuring Morgan Parker

"Source - We Move" finds Garcia reinventing her Mercury Prize-nominated album, "Source", through new collaborations with several artists and producers including; Dengue Dengue Dengue, Georgia Anne Muldrow, DJ Harrison and Moses Boyd. The reworked tracks retain the inspiring musicianship and blend of jazz and other influences found on the original, whilst also moving in a more beat-driven, electronic direction.

Perfect for DJs exploring more slower and sensuous moods, these lavish and highly musical grooves remind me of nights spent at Mr. Scruff and Eyes Down; with a spaciousness that allows turntablists and MCs to perform at will. The electrical innovation works incredibly well with Garcia's source material which should appeal to hip-hop heads, beat diggers, jazz nerds and soul boys alike. Mega stuff this, check it! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Now this is truly gorgeous, these remixes are paired back versions from her 2020 album Source and but it’s like discovering her music all over again. With remixes from the likes of Kaidi Tatham, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Moses Boyd these tracks are just so smooth.. it’s super limited so don’t sleep!

TRACK LISTING

1. La Cumbia Me Está Llamando Feat. La Perla (Kaidi Tatham Remix)
2. Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be (Nala Sinephro Remix)
3. The Message Continues (DJ Harrison Remix)
4. Inner Game (Blvck Spvde Remix)
5. Boundless Beings Feat. Akenya (Georgia Anne Muldrow Remix)
6. Stand With Each Other Feat. Ms. MAURICE, Cassie Kinoshi And Richie Seivwright (KeiyaA Remix)
7. La Cumbia Me Está Llamando Feat. La Perla (Suricata Remix)
8. Source (Dengue Dengue Dengue Remix)
9. Pace (Moses Boyd Remix) 

This collection showcases some of Coltrane's best recordings as a side artist and features collaborations with such jazz greats as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Tadd Dameron, and Art Taylor. Primarily focusing on Coltrane's recordings as side man from 1956 and 1957 on the Prestige, Riverside, and Jazzland labels, it also includes a guest appearance (and legendary tenor saxophone solo) with Miles Davis on the track "Someday My Prince Will Come" (from the 1961 Miles Davis Columbia album of the same title).

The 2-LP vinyl edition contains two extra tracks that are not available on the CD and digital editions: Nutty (Originally released on the album Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (Jazzland JLP 46) and Birks' Works (Originally released on the Red Garland Quintet album Soul Junction featuring John Coltrane and Donald Byrd). The liner notes were written by Doug Ramsey, winner of the Jazz Journalists Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Ramsey is the author of the award-winning biography Take Five, The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond. His other awards include two ASCAP Deems Taylors.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. SONNY ROLLINS QUARTET: Tenor Madness (12:08)
2. MILES DAVIS AND THE MODERN JAZZ GIANTS: 'Round Midnight (5:22)
3. THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET: Oleo (6:17)
Side B
1. THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET: Airegin (4:21)
2. TADD DAMERON WITH JOHN COLTRANE: Soultrane (5:22)
3. ART TAYLOR: C.T.A. (4:39)
4. THELONIOUS MONK: Monk's Mood (7:48)
Side C
1. THELONIOUS MONK WITH JOHN COLTRANE: Epistrophy (Alternate Take) (3:07)
2. THELONIOUS MONK WITH JOHN COLTRANE: Trinkle, Tinkle (6:39)
3. *THELONIOUS MONK WITH JOHN COLTRANE: Nutty* (6:36)
4. *RED GARLAND QUINTET FEATURING JOHN COLTRANE AND DONALD BYRD: Birks' Works* (7:32)
Side D
1. THE RED GARLAND QUINTET WITH JOHN COLTRANE: Billie's Bounce (9:21)
2. MILES DAVIS: Someday My Prince Will Come (9:02) 

* Vinyl Bonus Tracks.

“Hey Clockface” was recorded in Helsinki, Paris and New York and mixed by Sebastian Krys in Los Angeles. Following the solo recording of, “No Flag”, “Hetty O’Hara Confidential” and “We Are All Cowards Now” at Suomenlinnan Studio, Helsinki by Eetü Seppälä in February 2020, Costello immediately traveled to Paris for a weekend session at Les Studios Saint Germain. Costello tells us, “I sang live on the studio floor, directing from the vocal booth. We cut nine songs in two days. We spoke very little. Almost everything the musicians played was a spontaneous response to the song I was singing. I’d had a dream of recording in Paris like this, one day.”

The assembled album, “Hey Clockface” is “An Elvis Costello & Sebastian Krys Production” following on from their work together on Elvis Costello and The Imposters Grammy-winning album “Look Now.” The motion picture of “We Are All Cowards Now” by Eamon Singer & Arlo Mc Furlow features images of flowers & pistols, smoke & mirrors, tombstones & monuments, courage & cowardice, peace love and misunderstanding.

Serpentine Prison is the debut solo record from Matt Berninger front man of The National. The album, produced by renowned Memphis multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. & The MG’s fame) will be released via Book Records, a new imprint formed by Berninger and Jones in conjunction with Concord Records.

“The song ‘Serpentine Prison’ was written in December 2018, about a week after recording The National’s I Am Easy to Find,” Berninger explains about the new track. “For a long time, I had been writing songs for movies and musicals and other projects where I needed to get inside someone else’s head and convey another person’s feelings. I liked doing that, but I was ready to dig back into my own garbage and this was the first thing that came out.”

Berninger continues, “The title is from a twisting sewer pipe that drains into the ocean near LAX. There’s a cage on the pipe to keep people from climbing out to sea. I worked on the song with Sean O’Brien and Harrison Whitford and recorded it about six months later with Booker T. Jones producing. It feels like an epilogue, so I named the record after it and put it last.”

The album features contributions from a wide array of notable artists, including Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater), Andrew Bird, Mike Brewer, Hayden Desser, Scott Devendorf (The National), Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz), Booker T. Jones, Teddy Jones, Brent Knopf (EL VY, Menomena), Ben Lanz (The National, Beirut), Walter Martin (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater), Sean O'Brien, Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan), Kyle Resnick (The National, Beirut), Matt Sheehy (EL VY, Lost Lander) and Harrison Whitford (Phoebe Bridgers). Additional production on the album was provided by Sean O’Brien.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Matt Berninger has had our attention for a long time, fronting and writing songs for The National. It comes as a little surprise then, that he's smashed out a solo album with the band still fully intact (just not the done thing is it?). Anyway, he's forgiven because what we have here is a beautifully emotive but comfortingly different creative path than his 'Day Job'. How the songs keep flowing at this quality is beyond me, let's just hope they keep flowing.

TRACK LISTING

1. My Eyes Are T-Shirts
2. Distant Axis
3. One More Second
4. Loved So Little
5. Silver Springs
6. Oh Dearie
7. Take Me Out Of Town
8. Collar Of Your Shirt
9. All For Nothing
10. Serpentine Prison