Search Results for:

GRACE

Shabaka

Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace

    After putting down the saxophone, the instrument he has become synonymous with, Shabaka returns with his first full length album under his own name. Expanding off the meditative 2022 EP Afrikan Culture, his new album Perceive its beauty, Acknowledge its Grace is a deeply moving suite of primarily instrumental music. The listening experience is reflective and contemplative, with passages flowering from one musical concept to the next, encouraging deep attention that rewards the listener with throughlines and motifs throughout the record. Shabaka is found playing the flute on this album, and has enlisted key artists such as Andre 3000, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Floating Points, and more to help build this all-encompassing aural landscape.

    TRACK LISTING

    End Of Innocence
    As The Planets And The Stars Collapse
    Insecurities
    Managing My Breath, What Fear Had Become
    The Wounded Need To Be Replenished
    Body To Inhabit
    I’ll Do Whatever You Want
    Living
    Breathing
    Kiss Me Before I Forget
    Song Of The Motherland

    Grace Cummings

    Ramona

      The latest album from Australian singer/songwriter Grace Cummings, Ramona is a work of raw truth rendered in its most beautiful form. In a departure from the self-produced approach of her 2019 debut Refuge Cove and its 2022 follow- up Storm Queen—the Melbourne-based artist worked with producer Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Father John Misty, Margo Price) and dreamed up a lavishly orchestrated sound that fully accommodates the depth and scope of her vocal prowess. With its visceral reflection on grief and self-destruction and emotional violence, Ramona brings a stunning new grandeur to Cummings’ music while refusing to soften or temper its humanity.

      TRACK LISTING

      1. Something Going 'Round
      2. On And On
      3. I’m Getting Married To The War
      4. Love And The Canyon
      5. Work Today (and Tomorrow)
      6. Everybody’s Somebody
      7. Common Man
      8. Without You
      9. Ramona
      10. A Precious Thing
      11. Help Is On Its Way

      Grace Petrie

      Build Something Better

        It’s two years since CONNECTIVITY (2021) smashed into the top 40 and debuted at #1 in the UK download chart, propelling the fiercely independent voice of GRACE PETRIE from critics’ choice to the main stages of major festivals across The UK and Ireland, Australia and Canada.

        For a seasoned road dog who spent almost 15 years clocking up tours with the likes of Billy Bragg, Frank Turner and Hannah Gadsby, the COVID lockdowns were like a cage for Petrie and when restrictions lifted, she hit the road harder than ever, armed with her most searing and successful record to date, and determined to make up for lost time. Sell-out headline tours across the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand followed, with audiences from Melbourne to Toronto mesmerised by the ferocity of her socially urgent lyricism and the barnstorming power of her live show. But travelling the globe hasn’t diminished her laser focus on the political issues plaguing the UK, with two more Prime Ministers, endless blunders and evermore division seen since she last swapped microphone for pen and paper.

        Now the songwriter is back - stronger, older and a whole lot angrier than ever before. As right wing ideologues trade in suspicion and cynicism, tearing communities apart against a backdrop of crumbling public services, the ordinary folk of Britain continue to suffer the consequences of corruption and individualism.

        From within this maelstrom of despair comes BUILD SOMETHING BETTER - the new, uncontainable album from Grace Petrie.

        Recorded raw and unflinchingly with folk-punk legend Frank Turner in the producer’s seat, BUILD SOMETHING BETTER is a return to blistering protest form for Britain’s most relevant political songwriter, a decade after being hailed as “a powerful new voice”, (The Guardian) and “a millennial’s Billy Bragg” (Huffington Post). In a world that seems to make less sense than ever, these are songs made to both holler along to from the crowd barrier and to tear up with on a lonely latet night train. A record for everyone whose broken heart beats for, and whose boots stomp in time with, the hope a brighter tomorrow.

        “An effervescent charm-bomb of a performer” - The New Yorker.

        TRACK LISTING

        1. The Best Country In The World
        2. The House Always Wins
        3. King And Country
        4. Meanwhile In Texas
        5. Next Episode Starts
        6. Start Again
        7. Earthwire
        8. Cynicism Free
        9. If I Were To Outlive You
        10. English Culture
        11. Fixer Upper

        DJ Moplen has outdone himself with this reimagining of Machine’s disco classic. Sticking purely to elements from the original, he’s managed to completely redesign the song, starting with an extended version of the soulful piano intro. Punching up the kick drums and handclaps moves the track into house territory, complemented by a funky guitar riff that was completely buried in the original. When the bass enters front and center Moplen practically forces you to the dancefloor, leaving you vulnerable to August Darnell’s controversial lyrics. Fresh from a career-making start with Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, lyricist/vocalist Darnell’s collaboration here with Machine was only months from his next incarnation as Kid Creole. Just like those groups, Darnell here fills his song with the politics of race, religion, and sexuality under the guise of a great beat. This release features that rarest of things: a dub just as good as the original. Rather than just removing the vocals, Moplen again rearranges the song, removing the slow intro and building a killer groove from the ground up. As well as the 1979 version, and an acapella reprise, this 12” also features the 1994 Timmy Regisford house mix that captures the dark energy of the song perfectly.

        TRACK LISTING

        A1. Moplen Remix
        A2. Moplen Dub
        B1. Original 1979 Version
        B2. 1994 Timmy Regisford Remix
        B3. Acapella Reprise

        Liam Bailey

        Zero Grace

          Big Crown Records is proud to present Zero Grace, Liam Bailey’s sophomore album on the label. Following the success of 2020’s Ekundayo album, the tried and true chemistry of Bailey and producer Leon Michels (El Michels Affair) is on full display again as they take the sound they established and push it further. On Zero Grace they lean more into the bleeding heart singer-songwriter side of Liam. The result, much like Bailey himself, is impulsively honest without reserve.

          Born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and 2nd generation Jamaican English father, Liam will admit his early childhood was fairly chaotic and fi­lled with "all the cliche racism that happens when people started mixing up in the '80s in England." Liam got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today. Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London performing at every open mic and acoustic night he could, hustling with hopes of landing a record deal. It was through this time that Liam fi­rst teamed up with Michels, musician/producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records.

          Liam flew out to New York and those fi­rst sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still gets spins at Reggae spots around the globe and were co-signed by heavy hitters like David Rodigan & Don Letts.That first trip to NYC brought a lot of industry attention to Liam, including being noticed by a just-famous Amy Winehouse who heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-­ recordings, and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul.

          Eventually Liam signed to Polydor and wound up bumping against the typical major label industry obstacles. They already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical large advance enticement, Liam did his best to trust that path. "Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly fi­nd out that you can't."

          Zero Grace is full of freedom and love, in fact, working with Leon Michels and Big Crown Records has encouraged Liam to be himself. On album opener “Holding On '' Bailey speaks to his observations & fears when looking out at the world in front of him and also to the dedication it has taken to get on the other side of his personal trials & tribulations. “Dance With Me" is an instantly infectious two-stepper that nods to those incredible soul records that were coming out of Jamaica during the early Reggae days.

          Bailey steps into the dance with hopes of finding a new love and pulls us all out on the dance floor with him. “Disorder Starts At Home” is another close to the chest tune that addresses the dif­culties he struggles with from his early chaotic childhood and his progress in getting past them. "Mercy Tree" is a powerhouse of Reggae Rebel Music. Bailey addresses the racial tensions that plague humanity and encourages everyone to step up and do their part to help foster equality. What starts out as a declaration of injustice turns into a call for action and an inspiration for hope.

          TRACK LISTING

          SIDE A
          1 Holding On
          2 Dumb
          3 Sekkle Down
          4 Boy
          5 Dance With Me
          6 Disorder Starts At Home
          SIDE B
          7 Mercy Tree
          8 Sour Wine
          9 Canary In The Coal Mine
          10 Winter Is Within Thee
          11 I Got No Answers
          12 Light Up The Darkness

          Laura Jane Grace

          Hole In My Head

            Following the release of her debut album, Stay Alive (2020) and the At War With The Silverfish EP (2021), Emmy-nominated artist, author, musician, activist and Against Me! founder/songwriter, Laura Jane Grace, returns with Hole In My Head - her beautiful new album featuring eleven tracks that showcase her undeniable power as a songwriter & storyteller. The album features her most personal and emotionally gripping songs of her career - stripped down masterpieces like Dysphoria Hoodie paired with blistering distorted anthems like Hole In My Head and Birds Talk Too, tracks that demand the listener’s attention with an immediacy and urgency unlike anything Grace has written before.

            Recorded at Native Sound in St. Louis, Missouri by David Beeman and mastered by Matt Allison (Lawrence Arms, Rise Against), the album is a sonic curio cabinet containing multitudes. Featuring warm 50s-rock-influenced guitar riffs and rock style melody a la Jonathan Richman and Eddie Cochran, saved-for-later lyrics, love letters to St. Louis, dysphoria apparel, and thoughtful reflections on a punk life lived, Grace's forward vocals are backed predominately by her performances on guitar and drums but are bolstered by Drive By Trucker's bassist Matt Patton.

            The record's title track Hole in My Head takes off with a driving guitar-heavy approach that will be welcome to long-time fans of Against Me! electric machinations, while first single Dysphoria Hoodie has been a staple in Grace’s setlist, and one which is as personal as it is pertinent in today’s climate.

            Choice cuts I’m Not A Cop and Punk Rock In Basements are written through a post-pandemic rose-colored lens, the latter looking back on the formative underground spaces of Grace’s youth. Basement shows for decades were hallmark experiences for anyone involved in their local punk scenes, shaping movements, connections, and culture through the forced, sweaty proximity necessary to pour over raucous punk music.

            Hole in My Head is a record which captures the nuances of humanity and experience in a strangely optimistic manner. The lightness of its influence and the journalistic recollection of experience set against a battered and warm folk-punk delivery from beginning to end makes Hole in My Head a fun comfort. It is a welcome embrace of life and just the start of a new chapter in Laura Jane Grace’s raucous journey.

            STAFF COMMENTS

            Barry says: Laura Jane Grace's journey has been a storied one, starting her career in one of the most beloved new wave punk rock bands in the late 90's, and ending up as a prolific and gifted composer, multimedia artist and writer. 'Hole In My Head' is once again a brilliantly balanced, fiery and dynamic solo outing from Grace.

            TRACK LISTING

            Side A
            1. Hole In My Head
            2. I'm Not A Cop
            3. Dysphoria Hoodie
            4. Birds Talk Too
            5. Punk Rock In Basements
            Side B
            1. Cuffing Season
            2. Tacos & Toast
            3. Mercenary
            4. Keep Your Wheels Straight
            5. Hard Feelings
            6. Give Up The Ghost

            Spiritualized

            Amazing Grace - 20th Anniversary Edition

              Somewhat overlooked at the time, Amazing Grace is possibly the heaviest and most intimate Spiritualized record. A wild collection of blazing garage rock songs and beautifully tender, sometimes devastatingly sad, ballads. They are songs that reach for help from a broken place, ragged and lonely, in love with a world hanging by a thread. The feeling of the gospel standard that inspired the title – “through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come” – hangs like a shadow over the whole record, and J Spaceman’s heart and soul lies very close to the microphone.

              Absolute nihilism bleeds through the opening song “This Little Life of Mine”: “This little life of mine / I’m gonna let it slide / I’m gonna let it burn / I’m getting sick of trying.” In “The Ballad of Richie Lee”, a lament to the late Acetone singer, we have maybe the most brutally sad moment of the entire Spiritualized catalog: “He’s got his name on a rock again / And this time it’s the last”.

              Then, out of the blackest nights of the soul, beautiful hymns appear, odes to falling in love and staying in love. Songs like “Hold On”, “Oh Baby” and “Rated X” where we “Put your hand in my hand and maybe we’ll forget / That life had even started before the day we met.”

              The recording of Amazing Grace was fast and experimental, executed in three weeks at Rockfield Studios in Wales. Spaceman would present the band with an idea for each song on the day of recording, and they would experiment until it felt right. The core musicians,John Coxon, Tony Foster and Tim Lewis were players au fait with the abstract and experimental, finding the sweet spots where The Stooges meet Arvo Part, where Patsy Cline meets 13th Floor Elevators and Aretha Franklin is down with Miles Davis’ Get Up With It. The result of this method is a polar opposite to the symphonic grandeur of its predecessor Let It Come Down but more powerful in its emotional impact. 

              TRACK LISTING

              1. This Little Life Of Mine
              2. She Kissed Me (It Felt Like A Hit)
              3. Hold On
              4. Oh Baby
              5. Never Goin' Back
              6. The Power And The Glory
              7. Lord Let It Rain On Me
              8. The Ballad Of Richie Lee
              9. Cheapster
              10. Rated X
              11. Lay It Down Slow

              Jeff Buckley

              Grace - National Album Day 2023 Edition

                Grace is the only studio album by American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, originally released on August 23, 1994, by Columbia Records. Featuring Buckley’s definitive cover of Hallelujah and frequently cited by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time.

                TRACK LISTING

                Side A
                1. Mojo Pin
                2. Grace
                3. Last Goodbye
                4. Lilac Wine
                5. So Real
                Side B
                1. Hallelujah
                2. Lover, You Should've Come Over
                3. Corpus Christi Carol
                4. Eternal Life
                5. Dream Brother

                Alabaster DePlume

                Come With Fierce Grace

                  In order to record the compositions in his critically acclaimed 2022 release GOLD, Alabaster DePlume instilled a culture of creativity by leading his ensembles In spontaneous composition and development. This resulted in an abundance of material that he has since produced and arranged, resulting in this collection.

                  The direction here is firmly rooted in performance and less focused on post-production, featuring DePlume’s go-to collaborators in the London scene, and yielding particular space to percussionist Tom Skinner (The Smile, Sons of Kemet), vocalist Momoko Gill, and percussionist / vocalist Donna Thompson. The result is a raw, beautiful, percussive, group music, in-the-room music. You’re there. You’re here. Take a listen.


                  TRACK LISTING

                  1. Sibomandi (feat. Falle Nioke)
                  2. What Can It Take
                  3. To That Voice And Say
                  4. Greek Honey Slick (feat. Tom Skinner)
                  5. Give Me Away
                  6. Fall On Flowers
                  7. Did You Know (feat. Momoko Gill)
                  8. Levels Of Human
                  9. Not Even Sobbing
                  10. The Best Thing In The World
                  11. Naked Like Water (feat. Donna Thompson)
                  12. Broken Again

                  The Golden Dregs

                  On Grace & Dignity

                    4AD welcomes songwriter and producer Benjamin Woods and his project, the Golden Dregs, to the roster. Hailing from Cornwall – a county in south-west England that draws thousands of tourists on holiday, and where thousands of locals could never hope of affording one – Woods grew up with a keen awareness of that gap between idealism and reality. the Golden Dregs’ third album, On Grace & Dignity, is released on 10 February 2023 and considers his home and what it means to be shaped by a place – in this instance, Truro, Cornwall’s capital, home to a rare three-spired cathedral, a peaceful river and a lot of empty shops and flimsy out-of-town housing estates. Written, recorded and produced by Woods from his South London home and childhood bedroom in Truro, it was mixed by Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, Aldous Harding) who provided additional production.

                    On Grace & Dignity’s origins lie in winter 2020 when Woods lost his job in lockdown and moved back to his parents’ house. The only work he could get was as a labourer on a poorly run building site on the grimmest outskirts of Truro. “It was such a bleak winter – waist-deep in mud digging holes and rolling out turf on top of building waste, really grim stuff, which became the backdrop to the stories I was trying to write,” he adds, citing Raymond Carver, Lydia Davis and Richard Hugo as influences.

                    In among the personal reflections on loss of innocence and inferiority, Woods spins subtly interweaving narratives about survival, desperate acts of violence, loss and the limitations of community in the face of rapacious gentrification. Nevertheless, it is, appropriately for an album about home, somewhere you’ll want to spend a while. Life here proceeds at a graceful pace grounded by Woods’s deep voice, which seems to resonate from his feet as he delivers the sort of meticulously written lunar wisdom worthy of Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner, or the tidy yet revelatory koans of Silver Jews’ David Berman.

                    For the On Grace & Dignity artwork, he’s commissioned Bristol-based model-maker Edie Lawrence to construct an HO-scale fictional Cornish town. Christened Polgras, the 8 ft by 4 ft model features a viaduct, an estuary, a supermarket, new-build houses and industrial buildings; every song from On Grace & Dignity is represented by a scene in the town. “There’s different parts of the experience of growing up in Cornwall in there,” he says. “Some of it was from me looking at it when I was down there that winter, and some of it was me harking back to the experience of growing up there. It’s defined by that sense of duality, of coexisting realities,” he explains. “You’re geographically so far away, and it has a strong identity of its own, as well as a different landscape. It’s so rugged and bleak, but beautiful – which is what I really like in music.” 

                    TRACK LISTING

                    1- Intro
                    2- American Airlines
                    3- How It Starts
                    4- Before We Fell From Grace
                    5- Not Even The Rain
                    6- Eulogy
                    7- Josephine
                    8- Vista
                    9- Sundown Lake
                    10- Beyond Reasonable Doubt 

                    The House Of Love

                    A State Of Grace

                      • Long awaited new album from The House Of Love .

                      • The sequel to 2013’s ‘She Paints Words In Red’, ‘A State Of Grace’ was written and recorded by the band’s lynchpin Guy Chadwick between COVID lockdowns.

                      • Following hot on the heels of the 8CD Box Set of The House Of Love’s Fontana recordings from the early 90s, ‘Burn Down The World'.

                      Guy says: “It is the best set of songs I have written for years and the pandemic ironically gave me the time and space to develop and arrange the songs.” The album was recorded with a new line - up, originally put together for an American 30th Anniversary to ur, now rescheduled for October. In the current line - up, Guy (lead vocals/guitar) is joined by Keith Osborne (lead guitar), Hugo Degenhardt (drums) and Harry Osborne (bass).

                      ‘A State Of Grace’ is an eclectic collection of tracks, from the driving, grungy ‘Clouds’ to the eerie, atmospheric groove of ‘Sweet Loser’, the riffy powerful ballad ‘In My Mind’ and the folksy finale, ‘Just One More Song’. This is the first time the band’s recordings have featured instruments such as harp, pedal and lap steel guitar, banjo and violin, all adding to the unique guitar sounds we’ve come to know and love from The House of Love.

                      The album was recorded at Pett Sounds and mixed by Babe Rainbow ’s Warne Livesey . Keeping it in the family, a promo 16mm video has been filmed by Guy’s nephew and Godson, George Moore - Chadwick. 

                      TRACK LISTING

                      Sweet Loser
                      Light Of The Morning
                      Melody Rose
                      Clouds
                      Into The Laughter
                      Hey Babe
                      Sweet Water
                      Queen Of Song
                      In My Mind
                      A State Of Grace
                      Dice Are Rolling
                      Just One More Song

                      Grace Cummings

                      Storm Queen

                        Grace Cummings is an actor and musician from Melbourne, Australia.Grace learned piano as a child and took up the guitar as a young adult, but only began to write and perform music in 2018.

                        She went from a debut gig at Melbourne’s Old Bar to a breakthrough performance at Boogie Festival in the space of six months, pickingup support slots with J Mascis and Evan Dando along the way. With buzz building around her powerhouse live show, Grace grabbed the attention of Flightless Records (King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard), who released her debut album, Refuge Cove, in late 2019.

                        Refuge Cove won praise from publications around the world, including Pitchfork and All Music, and Grace was tapped for support slots with Weyes Blood, Cash Savage, Teskey Brothers and Allah-Lahs. In 2020, Grace recorded the single Sweet Matilda for Mexican Summer’s Through the Looking Glass series before landing a worldwide deal with indie powerhouse ATO Records (Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard) and a distribution deal with Caroline Australia.

                        Her sophomore album, Storm Queen, is set for release early in 2022.

                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Barry says: Part way between widescreen Americana or electric country and soulful lounge music, Grace Cummings presents a distinctive and evocative suite both confident and athletic. Her vocals shine with emotion and skilfully dominate the beautifully laid backdrop. An exciting and bracing journey.

                        TRACK LISTING

                        1 Heaven
                        2 Always New Days Always
                        3 Dreams
                        4 Up In Flames
                        5 Freak
                        6 Here Is The Rose
                        7 Raglan
                        8 Two Little Birds
                        9 This Day In May
                        10 Storm Queen
                        11 Fly A Kite

                        Grace Petrie

                        Connectivity

                          More than a decade after first emerging as the voice of a generation in Tory Britain, Grace Petrie stands out as one the most important songwriters working in the UK today. Exploding onto the folk scene in 2010 with the low-fi acoustic guitar/vocal release Tell Me a Story, Petrie quickly attracted attention with her polemical folk anthems, acerbic lyricism and open-hearted performance style. Support slots for the likes of Billy Bragg and Emmy the Great soon followed, with the Guardian declaring her “a powerful new songwriting voice”. The 2010s were spent relentlessly touring and, responding to the evermore dramatic political landscape, Petrie released five DIY albums of protest music in seven years. But it was the 2018 release of Queer As Folk which catapulted Petrie from cult status to mainstream attention. Both in production and songwriting, the record was a clear graduation, with rave reviews across the folk press calling it ‘probably the most intelligently crafted album you’ll hear this year - ****’ (R2) and commenting, ‘she’s the urgent, pulsing, compassionate talent this world desperately needs’ (The Observer). Lead single Black Tie, a tender reflection on growing up queer and framed as a tear-jerking letter to her teenage self about the happier future that lies ahead, has deservedly become an anthem for queer audiences of all ages, with over 150K views on Youtube and over 600K streams on Spotify alone. The New Yorker gave a glowing live review that hailed Black Tie as ‘a new gay anthem’, and Petrie as ‘a sort of butch lesbian Billy Bragg’. UK festivals from Cambridge Folk to Glastonbury’s prestigious Acoustic Stage recognised her as a top flight artist and her debut Australian tour in Spring 2020 culminated in sold-out shows in Melbourne and Sydney. …It was all going so well! The coronavirus reached Sydney just as Petrie’s tour did and, after a mad dash for an early flight home, she spent the next year and a half - the longest period of her adult life - in one place, unable to commune with others through music in the way that was innate to her since childhood. From out of this chaos comes “Connectivity”, an album built from the reflections of what humanity means in a world struggling against division and destruction. Glued to one place for the first time, this is a record made firmly out of Petrie’s comfort zone: slowly, intricately, and over many close-up, painstaking months: the audience and all its comfort stripped away, and the songwriter that lies beneath the performer exposed. The result is the most honest collection of songs she has ever shared. It promises to be Petrie’s most personal - and yet most universal - album to date. ‘She offers hope and solidarity, born out of absolute conviction and with no trace of empty sloganeering….this wake-up call is one to be both welcomed and wholeheartedly embraced.’

                          TRACK LISTING

                          1. Storm To Weather
                          2. We’ve Got An Office In Hackney
                          3. Great Central Way
                          4. No Woman Ever Wants To Be A Muse
                          5. The Last Man On Earth
                          6. Galway
                          7. Romance Addict
                          8. Haul Away
                          9. Technicolor
                          10. IKEA
                          11. Some Days Are Worse Than Others
                          12. The Losing Side 

                          New Bums

                          Last Time I Say Grace

                            Seven years and a handful of lifetimes ago, New Bums came out of nowhere with their debut album, ‘Voices In a Rented Room’ - a record the New York Times described as “feeling like it’s falling apart.” New Bums took this as a compliment and, thus emboldened, they toured relentlessly in support of the release: criss-crossing the USA in the spring of 2014, with a European run that summer. Then, silence descended, as the Bums withdrew to the place from which they’d mysteriously emerged.

                            Now, the Bums are back. 2021 finds them with a new album in hand. Following a West Coast US tour in late 2019 it’s clear that the duo of Donovan Quinn (Skygreen Leopards) and Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance, Rangda, etc) are fully reanimated, as evidenced by the songs and sounds of ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’.

                            Retaining the drunk-dog-locomotion of their debut, New Bums sprinkle a bit of fresh fancy into their signature twin guitarsand- vocals sound, with cleaner recording techniques, further developments in harmonies and a new appreciation for a song with more than two parts, making ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’ nothing less than the perfect progression from the purposefully murky mixes of their debut.

                            Continuing to embrace an acoustic rock ’n’ roll sound, inspired by artists such as Jacobites, Robyn Hitchcock, Johnny Thunders, Replacements and such, New Bums push the words and the stories to the front of the line, crafting tales with satiric glee on ‘Last Time I Saw Grace’. However, this world of empty perfume bottles, bodies tied to masts and moving onward to devastation (after the bottle on the table pulls out a gun) feels much more Gombrowiczian dreamscape than drunken night on the town. Yes, everything is wasted but this is an existential wasteland rather than a substance-laden one. This combination of arch Californian post-aristocratic melodrama with torn and frayed acoustic guitars opens up a new genre entirely, one those at Drag City are tempted to call Rent Control Romantic.

                            TRACK LISTING

                            Billy, God Damn
                            Obliteration Time
                            Marlene Left California
                            Onward To Devastation
                            Wild Dogs
                            Cover Band
                            Tuned To Graffiti
                            Street Of Spies
                            Hermitage Song
                            So Long, Kus
                            Follow Them Up The Slope

                            Grace Lightman brings us the beautiful rich synths and shimmering 80's pads of 'Silver Eater'. We kick things off with the punchy percussion and snapping envelopes of 'Repair Repair', forming a soft synthetic bed for Lightman's dreamy vocal line. Much like the titular follower 'Silver Eater', there are elements of soft soul and dream-pop swimming around in the rich synthetic wash beneath. 

                            Move along further and pieces like 'Exoskeleton' are much more geared towards the more meditative side of things, covering the vocals and strings in a layer of reverb before breaking out into soulful demi-disco. Pieces like 'Ordinary Life' and 'Get Me Out Of Here' are much more low-key, relying upon shadowy abstractions and sweeping filters, where 'Deep Space Getaway' could easily be a Human League or Duran Duran synth-line but bolstered with a more modern dancefloor-orientated tilt. A varied and fascinating ode to 80's pop, but brought into this century with brilliantly modern production techniques and the soaring drive of modern digital synthesis.  

                            STAFF COMMENTS

                            Barry says: For people who like the crisp, rich synths on albums like the brilliant 'Chris' by Christine & The Queens, or the optimistic throb of 80's pop, 'Silver Eater' is for you. Brilliantly immersive synth-pop anthems, perfectly produced and beautifully written, and brought to you by the ever-reliable Handsome Dad records. What more could you want?

                            TRACK LISTING

                            1) Repair Repair
                            2) Silver Eater
                            3) Zero Impact
                            4) Exoskeleton
                            5) Ordinary Life
                            6) Aztec Level
                            7) Rescue Party
                            8) Get Me Out Of Here
                            9) Deep Space Getaway
                            10) Faultless
                            11) Iridescent Behaviour

                            Savvy

                            The Battle For Hearts & Minds

                              The Battle For Hearts & Minds is Savvy, AKA Asaviour's long anticipated LP, featuring guest appearances from a range of artist & musicians DJ IQ, Aisha Zoe, Lisa Luxx, Ben Maron, Malcolm Carson, Therealdemo, Aisha Zoe, Dj Madhandz, Joh1st, Jade America, and more… In Savvy’s words: “It’s a look at the state of the world: at our battle for power, control, for sanity & clarity. “ I guess I’m questioning: what’s your battle? What are you dealing with? Why’s this the case? …The lyrics in the tracks relate to these questions in complex ways. They’re split between logic and emotion.”

                              Throughout the LP we see Savvy’s own personal and political musings. The lyrics open us up to ideas in order to provide us with food for thought, to open begin to open up our own questions, provoke new thoughts and ideas. Simply, to open our minds. The album begins with the words of spoken word artist, Lisa Luxx which pre empt the tone for this musical journey. She states: “ The world has stalled”., between tracks she guides the listener through the album. Her poetry connects the recurring themes between the tracks and works in dialogue with them.

                              Savvy’s new LP has become both a vessel for knowledge and also a place to inspire. Interestingly, the album is a return from a long hiatus, after years of a love and hate relationship with hip hop, In the end, staying true to his original love for music, he has created a body of work that transcends mundane questions of value and claims of status to offer us a piece that is undoubtedly human. Giving a critical (albeit, uncensored) look at our flaws, our nature, our manipulation, our hopes, fears, successes, our love, hate, namely, our contradictions. He is asking the listener to follow him on this journey of questioning our own humanity and what we do with it. What we can do to better ourselves as individuals and as a society as a whole. And how we can win this battle over our hearts and minds, to achieve… What, exactly? You’ll have to listen to find out. 

                              TRACK LISTING

                              Intro
                              T.B.F.H.A.M
                              The Only Way I Know
                              In The Pursuit Of...
                              Change
                              The Abyss - Skit
                              Mind Over Matter
                              Climax
                              Saving Grace
                              A Warrior Knows - Skit
                              Forfeit
                              Third Times A Charm
                              The Hour Of The Wolf (Huddwink)
                              Divine Resolution
                              Survival - Skit
                              Endurance
                              Goodnight
                              Outro
                              Refreshment

                              Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers

                              Bought To Rot

                                14 tracks spanning Laura Jane Grace's fractured relationship with her adopted hometown of Chicago, true friendship, complicated romance, and reconciling everything in the end, Bought to Rot stands as the most musically diverse collection of songs Grace has written to date.

                                Inspired in large part by Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever, the first album Grace ever owned, Bought to Rot finds her at the same age Petty was when he created his solo debut masterpiece. In light of his recent passing, Grace was motivated to pay homage to one of her lifelong heroes.

                                Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers are Laura Jane Grace, Atom Willard, and Marc Jacob Hudson. Grace is a musician, author, and activist best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!. Willard, also of Against Me!, is a drummer who has played in iconic punk bands such as Rocket from the Crypt, Social Distortion, and The Offspring. Devouring Mothers bassist Hudson is a recordist and mixer at Rancho Recordo, a recording studio and creative space in the woods of Michigan, and the sound engineer for Against Me

                                TRACK LISTING

                                1.China Beach
                                2.Born In Black
                                3.The Airplane Song
                                4.Apocalypse Now (& Later)
                                5.Reality Bites
                                6.Amsterdam Hotel Room
                                7.The Friendship Song
                                8.I Hate Chicago
                                9.Screamy Dreamy
                                10.Manic Depression
                                11.The Acid Test Song
                                12.The Hotel Song
                                13.Valeria Golino
                                14.The Apology Song

                                The Fall

                                This Nation's Saving Grace - Remastered Vinyl

                                  Originally released in 1985, their 8th album is one of The Fall’s most loved releases and is often hailed as one of the greatest albums of the 1980s. Drawing from the well of primal rock ‘n’ roll, the band play with muscular spontaneity and inspiration to create music that still sounds unique and challenging, especially against today’s anodyne imitations of Rock and ‘guitar music’.

                                  This LP has also been mastered from HD files.

                                  TRACK LISTING

                                  LP:
                                  A1. Mansion
                                  A2. Bombast
                                  A3. Barmy
                                  A4. What You Need
                                  A5. Spoilt Victorian Child
                                  A6. L.A.

                                  B1. Gut Of The Quantifier
                                  B2. My New House
                                  B3. Paintwork
                                  B4. I Am Damo Suzuki
                                  B5. To Nkroachment: Yarbles

                                  The Pogues

                                  If I Should Fall From Grace With God

                                    Combining the spirit of Punk with traditional Irish Folk music, The Pogues were one of the most radical bands of the 1980’s. Their instantly recognizable and politically tinged music helped them achieve 5 consecutive top 20 albums in the UK as well as producing the hit single ‘Fairytale of New York’ which is widely regarded as the greatest Christmas song of all time. 

                                    To celebrate over 30 Years of the Pogues, Rhino is reissuing the band’s first 5 classic albums along with the 1986 Elvis Costello produced EP ‘Poguetry In Motion’. 

                                    Features the original audio mastered to vinyl at Abbey Road for the highest quality. Includes original artwork and printed inner bag.

                                    TRACK LISTING

                                    Side One:
                                    1. If I Should Fall From Grace With God
                                    2. Turkish Song Of The Damned
                                    3. Bottle Of Smoke
                                    4. Fairytale Of New York
                                    5. Metropolis
                                    6. Thousands Are Sailing

                                    Side Two:
                                    1. Fiesta
                                    2. Medley
                                    3. Streets Of Sorrow/Birmingham Six
                                    4. Lullaby Of London
                                    5. Sit Down By The Fire
                                    6. The Broad Majestic Shannon
                                    7. Worms

                                    Grace Jones

                                    Me! I Disconnect

                                      THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                                      Gary Numan Cover.

                                      Troumaca release their brilliant debut album 'The Grace' on Brownswood Recordings. Drawing inspiration from love, honour and warmer climes, the Birmingham five piece have created a longplayer that draws on tropical rhythms and textures more commonly associated with the Caribbean than the Midlands, filtered through pirate radio and the perpetually shifting dance music underground. Spacious and ancient, 'The Grace' is an album bred out of a love affair with UK bass music - you might even call it bass escapism.

                                      The relationship with the homeland runs deep, from the gentle ring of steel pans on 'Gold, Women & Wine' to the warm sub bass that permeates the record from beginning to end. It was those frequencies that first resonated with school friends Sam Baylis, Geoff Foulkes and Jim Nayak who delved into garage and house music with gusto: “We hung out, did the usual teenage thing and got stoned and jammed together,” says Geoff. Joined by kindred spirits Tom Gregory and Matt Duke, the circle was complete: “We all enjoy the same music, we go to the same raves in Brum. The musical affinity has always been there.”


                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      1. Trees
                                      2. Sanctify
                                      3. Gold, Women & Wine
                                      4. Kingdom
                                      5. The Sun
                                      6. Interlude
                                      7. Tiger Eye
                                      8. Ivory
                                      9. Layou
                                      10. Lady Colour
                                      11. The Grace

                                      Family Band is a collaboration between visual artist turned singer Kim Krans and heavy-metal guitarist Jonny Ollsin. The couple met in the Catskill Mountains in 2005 and still write many of their songs there in a two room, hand-built cabin.

                                      ‘Grace & Lies’ is the group's second album, and as the title suggests, it is equal parts light and shadow, evoking the mystery and terror of early Cat Power, the ghostly aura of Warpaint (with whom Family Band toured in 2011), and the hushed longing of prime-era Cowboy Junkies.

                                      Though they explored similar territory - both sonically and lyrically - on their self-released debut, ‘Miller Path’, on ‘Grace & Lies’ their canvas is wider; the greys lusher; the blacks deeper.

                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      Night Song
                                      Lace
                                      Moonbeams
                                      Ride
                                      Your Name
                                      Again
                                      Grace & Lies
                                      Keeper
                                      Rest

                                      Fury Of The Headteachers

                                      Not What It Used To Be

                                        After the critical acclaim of their first two singles, Sheffield's Fury of the Headteachers return with a new single taken from their forthcoming debut album "You Took A Scythe Home". Fury of the Headteachers continue to do what they do best – "Not What It Used To Be" is a brazen racket of noisy guitars with a rapid spew of lyrics over a backdrop of pounding drums. The single is backed by the impressive "Seams Are For Splitting" which is an exclusive non album track.

                                        Stopstarts

                                        Short Breaks

                                          Glasgow's Stopstarts are effortlessly arty, poppy and infectious as demonstrated on debut single "My Watch Is Digital". Their sound is stripped back minimalist, mathematical and metronomic with a hint of the jerky, arty, harmonies of XTC. Great stuff!

                                          Saving Grace

                                          The Blackjack City Street Sensation

                                            Saving Grace are a three piece ska rock band hailing from the town of Northwich, near Manchester, UK. Playing a unique blend of dancehall ska, soulful reggae, blissful harmonies and fierce punk rock the band have built up a reputation as the quirkiest, catchiest and most energetic band on the underground. Their debut album, "The Blackjack City Street Sensation", is a collection of songs designed to capture the essence of Manchester.

                                            Jeff Buckley

                                            Grace

                                              Originally released in 1994, Jeff Buckley's solo debut "Grace" is now considered by many to be one of the best albums of the 90s. "Grace" displays a dazzling array of influences from an artist still developing his craft.

                                              I Am A Robot And Proud

                                              Grace Days

                                                Based in Canada, I Am Robot And Proud is the name Shaw-han Liem works under to create his singular brand of hypnotic, beguiling electronic pop music.

                                                Kill Your Idols

                                                The Skinnier Years

                                                  After half a dozen years of heavy touring and cranking out some of the best hardcore records of their time on labels such as Jade Tree, Side One Dummy, Blackout and others, Kill Your Idols issue fifteen tracks of demos from 95 / 97. Powerful and raw and as honest and basic as it gets.

                                                  Papercut Homicide

                                                  From Filth Comes Grace

                                                    Featuring members of the widely acclaimed (and now sadly defunct) Red Sky and current members of Nemo, Papercut Homicide create a devastating attack on the senses, with influences drawn from the entire spectrum of extreme music. Imagine a lethal concoction of Cephalic Carnage, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pig Destroyer and Acid Bath and you can soon see that this is one record that will floor anyone within a ten mile radius.

                                                    Grace Notes

                                                    Anchored To The Time

                                                      A most appropriate name for such beguiling vocal harmonies as the combined voices of Maggie Boyle, Lynda Hardcastle and Helen Hockenhull provide rich performances of some classic traditional songs.


                                                      Latest Pre-Sales

                                                      167 NEW ITEMS

                                                      E-newsletter —
                                                      Sign up
                                                      Back to top