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JIM

William And Jim Reid

Never Understood: The Story Of The Jesus And Mary Chain - Record Store Edition

    For 5 years after they'd swapped sought-after apprenticeships for life on the dole, brothers William and Jim Reid sat up till the early hours in the front room of their parents' East Kilbride council house, plotting their path to world domination over endless cups of tea, with the music turned down low so as not to wake their sleeping sister. They knew they couldn't play in the same band because they'd argue too much, so they'd describe their dream ensembles to each other until finally they realised that these two perfect bands were actually the same band, and the name of that band was The Jesus and Mary Chain.

    The rest was not silence, and picking up those conversations again more than 40 years later, William and Jim tell the full story of one of Britain's greatest guitar bands for the very first time - a wildly funny and improbably moving chronicle of brotherly strife, feedback, riots, drug and alcohol addiction, eternal outsiders and extreme shyness, that also somehow manages to be a love letter to the Scottish working-class family.

    William And Jim Reid

    Never Understood: The Story Of The Jesus And Mary Chain

      For 5 years after they'd swapped sought-after apprenticeships for life on the dole, brothers William and Jim Reid sat up till the early hours in the front room of their parents' East Kilbride council house, plotting their path to world domination over endless cups of tea, with the music turned down low so as not to wake their sleeping sister. They knew they couldn't play in the same band because they'd argue too much, so they'd describe their dream ensembles to each other until finally they realised that these two perfect bands were actually the same band, and the name of that band was The Jesus and Mary Chain.

      The rest was not silence, and picking up those conversations again more than 40 years later, William and Jim tell the full story of one of Britain's greatest guitar bands for the very first time - a wildly funny and improbably moving chronicle of brotherly strife, feedback, riots, drug and alcohol addiction, eternal outsiders and extreme shyness, that also somehow manages to be a love letter to the Scottish working-class family.

      Jim Jones All Stars

      Ain't No Peril

        A bubbling swamp curse of unholy rhythm, Jim Jones All Stars is the latest project from garage‬ godfather Jim Jones (Thee Hypnotics, The Jim Jones Revue). It features The Jim Jones Revue‬ members Gavin Jay and Elliot Mortimer, drummer Chris Ellul from (The Heavy), veteran punk‬ blues guitarist Carlton Mounsher (The Swamps), and a full horn section (Tenor Saxophonist‬ Stuart Dace and Baritone Saxophonists Tom Hodges and Chuchi Malapersona).‬

        After a midnight offering at the real crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the band made the‬ pilgrimage to Memphis, Tennessee to record with Memphis Magnetic founder Scott McEwen‬ (JD McPherson, Nick Waterhouse) in May of 2022.‬‬

        Produced by John Getze and mastered by Grammy Award winner Randy Merrill, the resulting‬‭ LP 'Ain’ No Peril' is a thick, greasy slab of Rama lama rhythm and blues that highlights some of‬ Jones's most inspired songwriting ever and features guest appearances from vocal powerhouse‬ Nikki Hill and Oxbow’s Eugene S. Robinson.

        “When you’re recording within spitting distance of the Mississippi River, there’s something about‬ that heavy Memphisair that changes the way that you hear the groove and grind,” says Jim‬ Jones. ‘Ain’t No Peril’ captures that feeling and bathes in that magic.”


        TRACK LISTING

        1. Devil's Kiss
        2. Gimme The Grease
        3. It's Your Voodoo Working
        4. Your Arms Will Be The Heavens
        5. I Want You (Any Way I Can)
        6. Hot Sauce
        7. Troglodyte
        8. Chingón
        9. You Got The Best Stink (I Ever Stunk)
        10. Ain't No Peril
        11. Drink Me
        12. Evil Eye

        Say She She & Jim Spencer

        Wrap Myself Up In Your Love

          Experience the rebirth Of Jim Spencer’s musical vision through Piya Malik’s captivating rendition in say she she’s limited 45 rpm edition of ‘Wrap Myself Up’. Malik’s artistry infuses fierce elegance into the original tune, honoring spencer’s legacy, with spencer himself featured on the B-side.

          TRACK LISTING

          1. Say She She - Wrap Myself Up In Your Love
          2. Jim Spencer - Wrap Myself Up In Your Love

          Jim White

          Drill A Hole In That Substrate And Tell Me What You See

            Erstwhile druggie, drifter, storyteller, taxi-driver, recovering pentecostal maverick from pensacola, Florida. It’s the 20th anniversary of jim white’s haunting outer space alt-country classic that has a title so long nobody can remember the name of it. Featuring Aimee Mann, M. Ward, Bill Frisell and the Barenaked Ladies —to name a few of the artists here—this album quickly rose to cult status. Now it’s on vinyl for the first time, pressed on substrate black in a gatefold jacket. And because he wasn’t wordy enough the first time around, Jim’s added three extra tracks.

            TRACK LISTING

            Side A
            1. Static On The Radio
            2. Bluebird
            3. Combing My Hair In A Brand New Style
            Side B
            4. That Girl From Brownsville Texas
            5. Borrowed Wings
            6. If Jesus Drove A Motor Home
            7. Objects In Motion
            Side C
            8. Buzzards Of Love
            9. Alabama Chrome
            10. Phone Booth In Heaven
            11. Land Called Home
            Side D *Unreleased Bonus Tracks!
            12. Suckerz Promisez*
            13. Stranger Candy*
            14. Cinderblock Walls*

            Jim White

            All Hits: Memories

              This is long overdue. I mean, looooooonnnnnng overdue. A solo album by Jim.

              The trap kit - so straightforward, so mysterious. What’s inside those things? Air and light - from which century? Which continent? Which planet? Depending on how and when you hit them it can be a vibration sent through a prehistoric breath, particles of Saturn’s atmosphere, the dead, wet leaves you walked through on the way to the first day of school. These are the memories of the drums on this record. Infinite and personal. Editing each other as they muscle to the front or soft shoe to the shadow. Cymbals can override/cancel everything out - wipe your memory clear or make the memory clearer. Drums are the instrument where you can feel the presence of the player the most - the full body - and sense the thoughts of the player the most. The instrument with the most choices to be made sends out the most brainwaves. A bouquet of brainwaves is on this LP.

              Jim oversees it all, surveys from the lost place we’re in, the void - the drumless song. We trust. We trust, Jim. His big green eyes search for the right tool (mallet, brush, etc), eyes that search you like you’re a song he wants to join, wants to see if he can add to or understand. Before humans, drums were playing - these drums. Genesis was a solo drum piece. After humans, these drums, this album.

              Someone - the last man - is out in a spaceship at the edge of space. He plays a single chord on a synth to set time free from its bind and then lets go. This album sets time free, lets it frolic, lets it graze, lets it remember. This is a record of thoughts, memories, surgery. A deft surgical operation you may not even realize is happening as it’s happening but you’re back on your feet when it’s over. Memories refreshed. Did you really even listen to it? Bill Callahan, November 2023

              TRACK LISTING

              1. Curtains
              2. Percussion Build
              3. Marketplace
              4. Soft Material
              5. St. Francis Place Set Up
              6. Uncoverup
              7. Walking The Block
              8. Jully
              9. Long Assemblage
              10. Names Make The Name
              11. No/Know Now
              12. Stationary Figure
              13. Here Comes

              Jim

              Love Makes Magic - The Remixes

                Love Makes Magic, the debut LP by JIM - aka Jim Baron of Crazy P & Ron Basejam notoriety - was released in June 2023 and the album has connected with an ever growing number of fans; lured in by great songs, Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter acoustics, 60’s psychedelic folk-rock, a dash of Balearic, discoid funk and a healthy dose of yacht-rock. The album was voted Album of the Year in the Bill Brewster Furtive 50 chart for 2023 - like a Balearic BAFTAs - and Still River Flow (Generalisation Dub) came 2nd in the tracks of the year... which was nice.

                Disco Pogo, Piccadilly Records and Mr Bongo all gave the LP honourable mention in their end of year charts too. As you’d expect with an artist who has 25 years of dance music connections the accompanying remixes weren’t bad either... Crooked Man, Ruf Dug, Flying Mojito Brothers and Generalisation all came up with fine reinterpretations. Luke Unabomber hailed The Crooked Goth version of Phoenix as his track of the year. The vinyl run of the Crooked Mixes sold out in record time.

                As the remixes racked up we considered collecting them together for a remix LP. And so here we are... presenting Love Makes Magic - The Remixes.

                The five aforementioned mixes will be joined by five brand new ones from X-Press 2, Mang Dynasty, Chris Coco, Begin ( James Holroyd) and Brown Fang. Spanning pumping club bangers, perfect sunsets soundtracks and left-field electronica.

                We love them.
                We hope you do too..

                STAFF COMMENTS

                Barry says: A stunning set of remixes from some of the hottest names in the electronic music world, for Jim's brilliant 'Love Makes Magic' LP, one of our collective favourites of 2023. Basking in the relaxed, Balearic waters of the original but twisted and coaxed around a variety of grooves, these pieces shine in a whole new light when viewed through a different lens, and show the talents of remixers and Baron alike. Brill.

                TRACK LISTING

                A1. Still River Flow (Generalisation Dub) Phoenix (Crooked Goth)
                A2. Oxygen (Ruf Dug Remix)
                B1. Ballad Of San Marino (Mang Dynasty Remix) Still River Flow (Begin Remix)
                B2. Where The Leaves Are Falling (Brown Fang Remix) Across The Street (Generalisation Dub)
                C1. Phoenix (X-Press 2 On Fire Remix)
                C2. Oxygen (Flying Mojito Bros Refrito)
                D1. The Ballad Of San Marino (Chris Coco Extended Dub Version)

                Sonic Youth / Jim O'rourke

                Invito Al Cielo

                  The opener "Invito Al Cielo" is all amp-moan and synth scratch, yet placid (in the storm-eye sense), featuring some inspired trumpet-Brut and more whispered scats from Kim. The shimmering vibes and sine-pulse of "Hungara Vivo" actually recalls the digi-mosaics of oh-so-au curant electronicsters like Microstoria, yet nonetheless was performed by the band in good ole real time and space. "Radio-Amatoroj" is another long-form spelunk into an audio architectonics of cathedralic proportion. More cymbal-spray and guitar-gong percussives, shifting textures ebb and fade in some kind of psycho-sensory algebra you don't even need to know how to solve.

                  Canada’s finest label, Friday's Funky are back with another couple of Jim Sharp sure shots! Side A flips J Lo to great effect with Big Horns and Phat drums whilst side B slows up the tempo of an Armand Van Heldon classic, Full Moon featuring Common – these won’t hang around so don’t sleep – snooze you lose! 

                  TRACK LISTING

                  A1. Right On (Jim Sharp Mix)
                  B1. Full Love (Jim Sharp Mix) 

                  Jim Sharp is certainly making waves right now on a number of different imprints – this time Originals are blessed with a couple of Jim Sharp edits - Biggie’s Things done changed gets freshened up with a tidy edit of the sample source on the flip both locked in at 91bpm with the DJs in mind – doubles essential!

                  TRACK LISTING

                  A1. The Main Ingredient - Summer Breeze (Jim Sharp Mix)
                  B1. The Notorious BIG - Things Done Changed (Jim Sharp Mix)

                  Jim Vs Crooked Man

                  Phoenix (Crooked Man Remixes)

                    This release fills us with great pleasure…

                    Vicious Charm’s first two artists come together to create musical magic.

                    Crooked Man gives us Crooked Goth & Crooked Fire; 2 stunning dark, dubby interpretations of Phoenix - JIM’s interpretation of The Cult’s original track.

                    Everyone comes out of this flurry of interpretations well…

                    None more Vicious Charm!

                    STAFF COMMENTS

                    Matt says: One of the best Balearic jams of the year gets clubified by Crooked Man. I say clubified - we're not talking peak time acid techno ket bangers here - more a subtle, early evening warm up - with Parrot adding a weighted kick, delectable finger snaps and a beatdown bass groove; ensuring its continued rotation in backrooms, basements and after parties for the rest of the year and well into 2024!

                    TRACK LISTING

                    Crooked Goth
                    Crooked Fire

                    Jim Sullivan

                    U.F.O. - 2023 Reissue

                      In March 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost in the desert. Some think he fell foul of a local family with alleged mafia ties. Some think he was abducted by aliens.

                      By coincidence – or perhaps not – Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled U.F.O. Released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost, until Seattle’s Light In The Attic Records begun a years-long quest to give it the full release it deserves – and to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance. Only one of those things happened.

                      For record collectors, some albums are considered impossible to get hold of, records so rare you could sit on eBay for years and not get a sniff of a copy. U.F.O. is one of those albums. A seventh son, Jim Sullivan was a West Coast should-have-been, an Irish-American former high school quarterback whose gift for storytelling earned him cult status in the Malibu bar where he performed nightly. Sullivan was always on the edge of fame; hanging out with movie stars like Harry Dean Stanton, performing on the Jose Feliciano show, even stealing a cameo in the ultimate hippie movie, Easy Rider.

                      Friend and actor Al Dobbs thought he could change all that, and founded a label – Monnie Records – to release Jim’s album, enlisting the assistance of Phil Spector’s legendary sessioneers The Wrecking Crew to do so. That’s Don Randi, Earl Palmer and Jimmy Bond you can hear, the latter also acting as producer and arranger.

                      U.F.O. was a different beast to the one-man-and-his-guitar stuff Jim had been doing on stage; instead, it was a fully realised album of scope and imagination, a folk-rock record with its head in the stratosphere. Sullivan’s voice is deep and expressive like Fred Neil with a weathered and worldly Americana sound like Joe South, pop songs that aren’t happy – but filled with despair. The album is punctuated with a string section (that recalls David Axelrod), other times a Wurlitzer piano provides the driving groove (as if Memphis great Jim Dickinson was running the show). U.F.O. is a slice of American pop music filtered from the murky depths of Los Angeles, by way of the deep south.

                      With no music industry contacts, the record went largely unnoticed, and Jim simply moved on, releasing a further album on the Playboy label in 1972. But by 1975, his marriage breaking up, Jim left, for Nashville and the promise of a new life as a sessioneer in the home of C&W. That’s where it gets hazy.
                      We know he was stopped by cops for swerving on the highway in Santa Rosa, some 15 hours after setting off. We know he was taken to a local police station, found to be sober, and told to go to the local La Mesa Motel to get some rest, which he did. Some time later, his car was spotted on a ranch belonging to the local Genetti family, who confronted him about his business there. The next day his car was found 26 miles down the road, abandoned. His car and his hotel room contained, among other things, his twelve-string guitar, his wallet, his clothes and several copies of his second album, but no note, and no Jim. It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air.

                      Jim’s family travelled out to join search parties looking for him, the local papers printed missing person stories, but the search proved fruitless. Around the same time, the local sheriff retired and the Genettis moved to Hawaii. Jim’s manager Robert “Buster” Ginter later stated that during the early morning hours of a long evening Jim and Buster were talking about what would you do if they had to disappear. Jim said he’d walk into the desert and never come back.

                      Tracking down the truth behind Jim’s mystery became an obsession of Light In The Attic’s Matt Sullivan (no relation) when he happened upon a copy of the album and fell in love. He took on a cross country pilgrimage in search of master tapes and truth, and came back with neither, despite hundreds of phone calls, e-mails, letters, faxes, private detectives, telepathy, palm readings and meetings with Jim’s wife, son and producer. Thanks to superb digital mastering techniques, Light In The Attic is still able to present a clean, near perfect copy of Jim’s masterpiece for general consumption for the first time. Enjoy. And remember, beyond the mystery, there’s the music.


                      TRACK LISTING

                      Jerome
                      Plain As Your Eyes Can See
                      Roll Back The Time 
                      Whistle Stop
                      Rosey
                       Highways
                      U.F.O.
                      So Natural
                      Johnny
                      Sandman

                      Jim O'Rourke

                      Hands That Bind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

                        O’Rourke’s process – sourcing resonant sounds to be enmeshed together into a music that supersedes their resident parts – makes a fitting soundtrack for Kyle Armstrong’s “prairie gothic” tale of down-on-the-farm horror way up north in Canada. His minimalist score inhabits the wide open, big sky landscape, flowing into suddenly-deep (and opaque) emotional waters, then panning out to a chilly omniscient remove. 

                        TRACK LISTING

                        1. Go Spend Some Time With Your Kids
                        2. Wasn’t There Last Night
                        3. He’s Only Got One Oar In The Water
                        4. That’s Not How The World Works
                        5. A Man’s Mind Will Play Tricks On Him
                        6. Here Is Where I Seem To Be / The Good Lord Doesn’t Need Paperwork
                        7. You Have No Idea What I Want
                        8. One Way Or Another I’m Gone

                        JIM

                        Love Makes Magic

                          Who is Jim?

                          A kaleidoscope of harmony vocals - as Crosby, Stills and Nash might have sounded with a funky back beat. Delicate acoustic fingerpicking, warmed by a swell of brass before a drama of electric unfolds. Guitar band music, delivered with the sensibilities of someone who knows how to make you dance. Sun-kissed blue-eyed soul, reminiscent of Ned Doheny, but emanating from a beach far from California.

                          These are the sounds of Jim, as heard on debut album 'Love Makes Magic'.

                          Debuting in 2021 on the folk-informed 'Falling That You Know' EP, Jim is the latest alias of songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and renowned DJ Jim Baron. Famed as co-founder and musical director of festival-stunning favourites Crazy P, his latest Jim project is a musical journey unlike anything he has done before. 

                          STAFF COMMENTS

                          Paul says: On first listening to ‘Love Makes Magic’ by JIM, it’s hard to believe that the man behind it, Jim Baron, is a founding member of Manchester dance innovators Crazy P - a group who’ve been shaking dance floors all across the globe for two decades.

                          Here, he's influenced by the likes of Nick Drake, Jackson C. Frank, Terry Callier, and guitar bands from the 60s and 70s such as Crosby, Stills and Nash, as well as soulful West Coast sounds like Ned Doheny. It's no surprise, then, that this is an album full of lush, intricate summer folk sounds and beautiful Balearic beats.

                          It's full of subtle melodies and grooves which proliferate on a journey through space and time - from Laurel Canyon to Levenshulme via Ibiza. It's a simple call to hazy memories, youthful exuberance with a care-free, feel-good spirit and a return to the feeling of home. Essential.

                          TRACK LISTING

                          1. Across The Street
                          2. A Life Inbetween
                          3. Where The Leaves Are Falling
                          4. Oxygen
                          5. Still River Flows
                          6. The Ballad Of San Marino
                          7. Phoenix
                          8. Sea Of Unbelonging
                          9. Then We Do It Again
                          10. Love Make Magic 

                          Jim James

                          Regions Of Light And Sound Of God - 2022 Reissue

                            Released in 2013, ‘Regions of Light and Sound of God’ was the debut solo album from Jim James of My Morning Jacket.

                            This deluxe reissue features the original album plus a second LP of twelve B-sides, demos and alternate versions, including ‘State of The Art (Demo)’ and the previously unheard ballad ‘Begin Again’.

                            The double LP is housed in a rainbow foil tip-on gatefold spot matte jacket with revised artwork, a fold-out handwritten lyrics insert and new custom inner-sleeves and centre labels. Pressed on clear/purple blob vinyl.

                            TRACK LISTING

                            ‘Regions Of Light And Sound Of God’
                            State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U.)
                            Know Til Now
                            Dear One
                            A New Life
                            Exploding
                            Of The Mother Again
                            Actress
                            All Is Forgiven
                            God’s Love To Deliver

                            Bonus Disc
                            All Is Forgiven (Alt Version)
                            State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U.) [Demo]
                            A New Life (Alt Version)
                            Dear One (Demo)
                            Actress (Demo)
                            God’s Love To Deliver (Demo)
                            You Always Know
                            Read Between (Begin Again)
                            Epichord
                            Sweets
                            Moving Away (Alt Version)
                            Hallway Of Trees

                            Jim Ottewill

                            Out Of Space : How UK Cities Shaped Rave Culture

                              Since the dawn of time, humans have had the urge to come together and move to music. It may have started in caves but these days it happens in clubs often found in the shady corners of our towns and cities. Or at least it did until these places began to march to the beat of property developers rather than DJs. In London in the five years to 2016, half of the clubs were lost while a further quarter have been removed in the devastation of Covid. So what now? At this critical moment, 'Out of Space' plots a course through the spaces and unlikely locations club culture has found a home. From Glasgow to Margate via Manchester, Sheffield and unlikely dance music meccas such as Coalville and Todmorden, it maps the key cities and towns where electronic music has thrived, it currently dances and the spaces it might be headed to next. It explores how urban landscapes have acted as a home for other shades of club music too such as pirate radio, dance music festivals, soundsystem culture and more.

                              James Righton

                              Jim, I'm Still Here

                                ‘Jim, I’m Still Here’ is the second album from James Righton under his own name; produced by David & Stephen Dewaele of Soulwax and released on their label DEEWEE, the album follows The Performer released in 2020. James’ musical past is well documented; as the frontman of the genre inventing Klaxons, he helped create a revolution in British music and spawned a youth subculture. ‘Jim, I’m Still Here’ is a captivating meditation on the artists experience of the pandemic as James looks to conceptualize the myriad of emotions and events into a fascinating third person narrative. One of the album tracks features Benny Andersson from Swedish pop legendary band ABBA, with whom James has been working on putting together their new live band.

                                TRACK LISTING

                                1. Livestream Superstar
                                2. Pause
                                3. Touch
                                4. Release Party
                                5. Real World Park
                                6. Never Give Up On The City 
                                7. A Day At The Races
                                8. I Want To Live
                                9. Lover Boy
                                10. Empty Rooms
                                11. Playing To Win
                                12. Farewell Superstar

                                Jim Noir

                                Deep Blue View

                                  AM Jazz was the moment we all became truly acquainted with Alan Roberts; the melodic maestro beneath Jim Noir’s dandy exterior, whose hypnotic minimalist symphonies waltzed their way to Piccadilly Records’ #2 Best Album of 2020. Not to mention a whole host of great reviews….

                                  No less than 12 months later arrives ‘Deep Blue View’ – not so much of a follow-up, as a mini-flipside moving the Jazz from AM to PM, between city and sea.

                                  “I originally had AM Jazz down as walking around some New York backstreet at 4am, smoking in a fedora, looking for crimes to solve but it now ends as night begins,” reveals Al, of his latest tale’s gradual evolution. “Deep Blue View is the night-time album now… like losing yourself deeper in the fog, or disappearing in the sea… would someone, or some 'thing' come to save you or would they , or it , come along for the ride?”

                                  Usually by now, Daveyhulme’s own could-be John Barry would have left distractions of success for suburban side-projects and writing with his fellow Mancunian musicians, but AM Jazz left unfinished business - and, with 50 or so session recordings leaving a litter of sonic debris strewn about the cutting room floor, one major clean-up. Deep Blue View is 6 brand new tracks crafted from its reconstructed and revived remnants, unfurling like Sinatra’s Wee Small Hours to reinforce the strangely beautiful atmosphere of Al’s now revered repertoire.

                                  “I had the urge to create something new and started playing around with different EPs and pseudonyms but when I sequenced these tracks, I was really happy how smoothly they flowed; it just needed an opener. I quickly wrote ‘Deep Blue View’ and it fell into place. It’s great, so I carried on, knowing it was time to save the best stuff for myself,” Al grins.

                                  Just as AM Jazz was created in the spirit of his earlier working style on debut album Tower of Love, Deep Blue View fuses Al’s love of finding the ‘right’ in the odd, weird, back-to-front and everything in between, with the hi-fi meets lo-fi sounds of his crate-digging curiosity and empathy for TV themes and movie soundtracks. Guided by melody, his home-based sorcery of working with analog, tape and field recordings opposed to the lure of studio mechanics allowed his inner subconscious to tap at the door and reveal itself in new musical forms. “In the studio it’s tempting to turn everything up loud but I’ve got bad tinnitus and don’t want to write anything else in a Beatles style. I have done all that now… at home I have a computer, a microphone and just go crazy and lose myself staring at the screen. Then suddenly loads of music is written.”

                                  Setting his inner autopilot to flight mode, ‘Peppergone’ adds to the tracks’ nocturnal narrative and appears reborn after a last-minute culling from AM Jazz’s initial tracklist. Like a beautifully romantic ode to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, it is a fitting tribute to dearly departed best friend 'Batfinks', written in the middle of a tough night. “I have no idea why or how the song came about because I was so upset to do anything, let alone record any music. But there you go. Somehow I did and it’s a really special thing. I know he would have dug me using his chords; growing up we’d both try to create the perfect chord sequence. This is his idea of that. I hope he doesn’t think it’s shit,” Al jests.

                                  Also revived from AM Jazz’s archive is the simmering groove of ‘Night Talk Late Street’ and instrumental ‘Star Six Seven’, whilst ‘Have Another Cigar’ weaves its own semi-autobiographical fairy-tale with lyrics written and sung by long-time pal and former housemate Aidan Smith. Transformed from backing track into a cool morsel of story pop, it recalls the drunken joy of when the pair would make recordings together between singing the Everly Brothers at full volume. “I’m sure it’s about not wanting the musical party to stop and having to get on with real life,” Al says.

                                  ‘String Beat’ meanwhile, soars like a beautiful Bond theme with the shimmer of Lee Hazlewood holidaying in Palm Springs, alongside perhaps, the waltzing string-like synthonies of some long-lost rhythm and blues orchestra of Davyhulme (whose real-life origins reside with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra), introduced to him by Super Furry Animals’ Cian Ciaran. “I’ve never created anything this moody before and have always threatened to do something John Barry-esque with some slightly dark and spooky musical changes.”

                                  First may not be worst, but as AM Jazz has proven, second can be best and as a master of suspense Jim’s Deep Blue View arranges the day to night pieces of another puzzle that makes a whole lot of sense.


                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                  Andy says: Another absolutely beautiful record. Gonna be one of my favourites of the year, I can tell already.

                                  Barry says: Where 'A.M Jazz' wasn't particularly true to its name, 'Deep Blue View' plunges much more readily into smooth jazz waters, with swimming melodies and progressions perfectly befitting Roberts' hazy dreamlike vocal lines. A brilliantly cohesive and fitting follow-up to A.M Jazz, showing the rapid upwards trajectory of this local gem. Brilliant.

                                  Jim Ghedi

                                  In The Furrows Of Common Place

                                    “Instead of landscape sketches I wanted to go into more personal areas of my reality,” says Jim Ghedi of his third album In The Furrows Of Common Place. “To hold up certain aspects of society that were laying bare in front of me.”

                                    Whilst Ghedi’s previous idiosyncratic take on folk has often been instrumental, exploring the natural world and his relationship to it through his music as seen on 2018's A Hymn For Ancient Land. His new album In The Furrow Of Common Place is a deeper plunge inside himself to offer up more of his voice to accompany his profoundly unique and moving compositions. “There were things I was seeing around me and being affected by in my daily life,” he says. “Socially and politically I saw defiance but also hopelessness. I wanted to be honest with the frustration and turmoil I was experiencing.”

                                    The decision to include more of Ghedi’s vocals was a conscious one and driven by a need to say something. However, this isn’t a brash raging political polemic. As is now customary with Ghedi’s work, it is rich in nuance, history, poetry and allegory. Musically, the album is equally locked into this ongoing sense of evolution. Ghedi’s intricate yet deft guitar playing still twists and flows its way through the core, weaving in and out of gliding double bass, sweeping violin, gentle percussion and vocals that shift from tender solos to overlapping harmonies.

                                    As with much of Ghedi’s work, there’s a rich connection between the past and the current. Musically, he continues to sit in a singular position of sounding distinctly contemporary yet also with a touch of traditional flair. This expands itself into the lyrical terrain here too. “I've been exploring contemporary issues and in that process discovering sources that correlate with similar issues in the past,” he says. “Which proves that these issues throughout history - environmental destruction, working class poverty etc - are ongoing.”

                                    For all the socio-political and historical backdrop to the record it is not one that feels overwhelmed by it. Much like Ghedi’s work when it was largely instrumental - and some of it still is here - it flows and unfurls thoughtfully, with space still being utilised masterfully, creating room to pause and reflect. It’s another inimitable record from an artist that truly sounds like nobody else right now. 


                                    STAFF COMMENTS

                                    Barry says: An intoxicating mix of traditional folk, hazy psychedelia and classic rock progressions all enriched with Ghedi's distinctive vocal affectations. It's a heady and transportive affair, and one that will reward richly on repeated listens. Gorgeous.

                                    TRACK LISTING

                                    1. Common Thread
                                    2. The Lamentations Of Round Oak Waters
                                    3. Mytholm
                                    4. Stolen Ground
                                    5. Ah Cud Hew
                                    6. Beneath The Willow
                                    7. Beneath The Willow Part II
                                    8. Son David

                                    Jim White

                                    Misfit's Jubilee

                                      The ever-elusive Americana maverick Jim White returns with his most upbeat, hallucinogenic record to date. Known for his catalog of dark ruminations on all things Southern, White’s latest outing, Misfit’s Jubilee, features a nonstop parade of manic, blue-collar conflagrations exploring realms dark and light, mystic and mundane, cynical and heartfelt; all presented within a buoyant, hook-laden sonic framework. The raucous opener, Monkey in a Silo, provides a delirious peek into the drug-addled psyche of a teenage dope smuggler. From that ignominious jumping off point down the rabbit hole we go, pin-balling through a maze of quirky, marginalized characters jubilantly embracing various stages of existential undoing—who knew falling to pieces could be so much fun? And yet nestled comfortably amidst the high-octane sturm und drang of Misfit’s Jubilee lie several sanguine jewels; the ebullient 80’s indie folk-rockesque The Sum of What We’ve Been and the moody, piano-driven Mystery of You come breezing in as bonafide crowd pleasers, dispelling any thought of relegating White to some narrow, fringe-artist category. Known for his intricately layered, highly cinematic production values (his songs appear in numerous film and TV scores; Breaking Bad, last year’s feature film El Camino, and more) White’s novelistic eye for detail is fully on display in the darkly comedic Highway of Lost Hats. Featuring a lovelorn loser on the run from the law, White juxtaposes samples from actual US police chases against a steady stream of Southern Rock cliches. Highway of Lost Hats is a sonic carjacking veering recklessly across several major genre lanes, rendering it more a short noir film than a song—something to be watched, only with one’s ears, not eyes.

                                      Plunging headlong into Misfit’s Jubilee one central truth emerges—the further White dives into the material, the deeper said material gets, culminating with the closing couplet of epic show stoppers. First comes the sprawling kitsch of My Life’s a Stolen Picture (replete with stadium anthem chants and shout-outs to Bigfoot), but the ribald mood is quickly displaced by the most overtly political song on the record, The Divided States of America. A scathing indictment of the sorry state of affairs in his homeland, White’s deadpan delivery brilliantly underscores the banal evil at play presently in the US. “Yeah, it’s time to call bullshit on all that nonsense.” White says from his home in rural Georgia, “Us freaks, we gotta take up musical arms and start speaking truth to power here. If we don’t, who exactly will?” Recorded primarily at Studio Caporal in Antwerp, Belgium, this record marks a departure from White’s usual hopscotch approach to collaboration—no bevy of celebrated guest artists and studios scattered across the globe this go-round. 

                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      1. Monkey In A Silo
                                      2. Wonders Never Cease
                                      3. Sum Of What We've Been
                                      4. Where Would I Be?
                                      5. Smart Ass Reply
                                      6. The Mystery Of You
                                      7. Highway Of Lost Hats
                                      8. Fighting My Ghosts Again
                                      9. My Life's A Stolen Picture
                                      10. The Divided States Of America

                                      Jim White And Marisa Anderson

                                      The Quickening

                                        The Quickening is an improvised work guided by emotional intuition and an ability to spin collective experience into music of potent and boundless beauty.

                                        Jim White and Marisa Anderson instrumental voices’ are unmistakable and spellbindingly lyrical. Anderson unravels global guitar traditions into atmospheres all their own through improvisations and transforming melodic lines. While White implements an array of sticks, brushes, and techniques that imbue each rhythmic percussion passage with its own distinct personality. Together their melodic flourishes cascade and twist upon one another, at times trading conversational exchanges, and at others drifting in unison as if lost in the same train of thought.

                                        White and Anderson share an abounding appetite for musical exploration. White, as a member of Venom P Stinger, Dirty Three, and Xylouris White, is well known for his creative and idiosyncratic drumming. His singular abilities have also led to collaborations with Cat Power, PJ Harvey, and Bill Callahan among others.

                                        Anderson’s prolific output as a solo performer, her mastery of traditional folk and blues forms and her abilities to make them entirely her own has established her as one of the most exciting and forward-thinking guitarists of the last decade.

                                        White and Anderson’s considerable technical skills are used in the most inventive and unconventional manner on their debut duo recording, The Quickening. The duo’ friendship and shared explorative nature inform these warm and daring improvisations. Their remarkable performances take the listener on a journey of exuberant discovery.

                                        The idea of a collaboration developed while on the road together in 2015, Anderson playing solo and White playing with Xylouris white. The Quickening began at the Portland studio Type Foundry in late 2018, where the duo initially agreed to meet and improvise and record. Happy with the recordings, the duo headed to Mexico City and into Estudios Noviembres, a time capsule of a studio from the 70’s that had been largely closed before some young engineers took it over. The “slight disorientation” of working in less familiar environments mirrored their willingness to plunge headfirst into exploring new sonic territory together. Anderson purchased a new nylon string Ramos-Castillo guitar from a Mexican luthier just ahead of recording which leant to the spontaneity of “The Lucky” and “The Quickening”. The duo did not rehearse or perform together prior to the recording sessions; as White puts it, “it’s good to suspend disbelief at this stage of playing.”

                                        TRACK LISTING

                                        Gathering
                                        Unwritten
                                        The Lucky
                                        The Other Christmas
                                        Song
                                        Last Days
                                        Diver
                                        The Quickening
                                        Pallet
                                        18 To 1
                                        November

                                        Jim Morrison & The Doors

                                        An American Prayer

                                          An American Prayer was The Doors’ 9th and final studio album and posthumously features Jim Morrison. The band reunited 7 years after Morrison’s death and 5 years after the remaining members broke up. They recorded backing tracks over Morrison’s poetry, originally recorded between 1969-1970. Other pieces of music and audio include dialogue from Morrison’s film HWY: An American Pastoral and snippets from jam sessions

                                          A record to be enjoyed to its very last second AM Jazz is set to place this songwriter where he just might, finally, receive the recognition he deserves; from unsung hero to a truly worthy candidate for being called up to join the City of Manchester’s ranks of great musical icons. Whether you prefer to know him as Mr. Roberts or simply call him Al, it’s time to become acquainted with the real Jim Noir.

                                          Tossing his bowler onto the hat stand and sliding on his slippers, AM Jazz sees ‘Jim’ putting his feet up whilst Alan Roberts takes the lead. A creative masterpiece for the record player and the mantlepiece, it’s a multi-layered album that features close friends including those dearly departed, and is his truest record to date, by a songwriter painting his own hypnotic Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

                                          “I haven’t 'felt' like Jim Noir for a long time. I’m not sure I ever did; it was a construct of other people’s imaginations,” reveals Al. “AM Jazz is definitely the kind of music I make generally. It harks back to when I started making music years ago and didn’t worry about capturing a particular style. It will be nice to show people more of that. It's the best album I've written; real hypnotic minimalism, the good stuff!”

                                          15 years since he recorded the first ever 'Jim Noir' EP, AM Jazz is the record all Noirheads won’t be surprised Al had inside him. Letting the Beatlesesque stylings of his most recent album Finnish Line be (5 years ago no less), AM Jazz suits the Noir repertoire of his catalogue so far and is another homegrown offering which sees the Daveyhulme composer tinkering in his suburban Manchester studio once more, with the magic of his computer work sorcery, analog and tape recordings. “For this I went back to the slightly more haphazard way I wrote my first album, Tower Of Love, wherein I’d use things in front of me, or a bit wrong like headphones for a microphone, to make the most Hi-Fi Lo-fi album ever.”

                                          Whilst a brief disappearance of Jim’s online persona may have provoked bleak theories as to his whereabouts, Al had little time for digital distraction. Whilst writing and creating with friends, he has worked on electronic pet project, FAX with former Alfie guitarist, Ian Smith, and the vintage analogue house meets electro sound of his own solo EP Granada Personnel Recovery, as well as producing local band, Shaking Chainsor, and helping long-time musical colleague, Aidan Smith with his long-awaited 'The Planets' project; “I’ve been writing in dribs and drabs when I feel like it,” Al says. “I used to write all day everyday but it’s a lot harder now I’m (feeling) over 100 years old.” Never not sonically exploring or being inspired by the sounds around him, there was even a red-carpet moment when he appeared as a film premier guest after a couple of his songs were selected for the OST of director Jason Wingard’s film Eaten By Lions.

                                          Performing all AM Jazz’s instrumental parts himself but also, at the right moment, bringing in present and past pals along the way, sexy lounge song, ‘Hexagons’ features 'Phil Anderson' and Mark Williamson singing and playing “legendary OTT guitar solo” respectively. Meanwhile the orchestration of ‘Peppergone’ waltzes like a beautifully romantic ode to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata – a tribute to dearly departed best friend 'Batfinks' who originally wrote the chords in his song 'Peppercorn.' “I hope he doesn’t think it’s shit,” Al jests. Listen closely and you may even find a few unsuspecting celebrity guest appearances as, perhaps, it could be the very first album to feature soundbites of podcasts sneaking onto the recordings. “I will have a podcast on if I’m recording; Adam Buxton, Athletico Mince, Frank Skinner or Richard Herring… I’m sure some mics will have picked them up, like in the old Tower of Love days,” he says referring to his breakout debut.

                                          Culled from around 50 tunes AM Jazz moves like the time of the day, from dawn to night, stirring from the pop of ‘Good Mood’ and ‘Upside Down’s Beta Band groove. “As the album was playing, I imagined this smoky backstreet with all those neon signs outside clubs at about 4am,” Al says. Mellow ‘TOL Circle’ is like Percy Faith’s Theme From A Summer Place synthesized, capturing the style of TV library music or movie soundtrack obscurity that has always stirred Al’s curiosity, and the album plunges into a vast chasm of instrumental exploration with ‘Mystermoods,’ visiting Japan’s funky synth whiz duo Testpattern and Hakabashi Sakamoto. Darkening and deepening in intensity, ‘Eggshell’ is like an undiscovered gem from Angelo Badalamenti’s cutting room floor, the Panda Bear shimmer of ‘Lander’ is where blissful positivity and sadness meet, about another of his friends who left the world too young. “By the album’s close, its nearly time to let go and enter the ether,” he says of the album’s story. “Like one would do when they take their final sigh on this earth.”


                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                          Andy says: It’s 14 years since Jim Noir’s debut album and the way the music scene works (chew them up spit ‘em out, next!) you could be forgiven for heaving an almighty shrug. Playful, whimsical (his stage name is derived from a Vic Reeves character!) quirky Mancunian, songs used in adverts and video games, cute, charming, retro sounds, etc etc; all kinda true, but only half the story. This guy, real name Alan Roberts, is a genius songwriter, for whom the notion of pop “relevance” should not apply. His way with melody is right up there with the very best, and these harmoniously overlapping songs actually remind me of a Paul McCartney or Brian Wilson.

                                          This record is quite simply beautiful. Forty one minutes of lush, blissed-out, mesmerising song craft. It starts with a Fanclub-style classic, moves through upbeat Super Furries fun then slides into three Air style velvet funk groovers, including album highlight “Hexagons” which is the best song I’ve heard all year. Then a nine minute mid record three song instrumental passage (a dream!) sets you up perfectly for Side 2 where Alan revisits that stunning opener but with added melancholy, before drifting off into second big standout “Lander” where swathes of shoegaze distortion, heavenly keys and percussive beats provide chillwave vibes as the chords shift gorgeously underneath. All that remains is for the record’s fourth instrumental and title track to play you out; high, lonely, but fuzzy and still beautiful. It’s a trip.

                                          TRACK LISTING

                                          1. Good Mood
                                          2. Upside Down
                                          3. Hexagons
                                          4. Beatheart
                                          5. Tol Circle
                                          6. Feel O.K
                                          7. Wonders Amber
                                          8. Eggshell
                                          9. Lander
                                          10. A.M Jazz

                                          Jim Sullivan

                                          Jim Sullivan

                                            On March 4, 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost. Some think the mafia bumped him. Some even think he was abducted by aliens.

                                            By coincidence–or perhaps not–Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled U.F.O.. Released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost until Light In The Attic Records began a years-long quest to re-release it–and to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance. Only one of those things happened, and you can guess which…

                                            Light In The Attic’s reissue of U.F.O. introduced the world to an overlooked masterwork and won him, posthumously (presumably), legions of new fans. Those new admirers are in for a real treat: a lavish reissue of Jim’s 1972 sophomore album, Jim Sullivan.

                                            The self-titled LP was originally released on Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner’s short-lived Playboy imprint. Horns sweeten this funky and bombastic session driven by Jim’s unmistakably larger-than-life voice and exceptional song-writing chops, alongside a cast of legendary session musicians including Jim Hughart. Another LP you’ll rarely see in the wild, it is by no means the poor relation of U.F.O., but rather a big stride into country, folk rock, and swampy blues, mesmerically finger-picked, brass-bedecked, and with that uniqueness of phrasing–part crooner, part jazz singer–that makes Sullivan such a rare performer.

                                            Each song could have been a bonafide radio hit, but with spotty promotion and negative connotations surrounding the Playboy name, the self-titled album suffered a fate known all too well and fizzled out. While Sullivan’s disappearance remains unsolved, his music endures and is finally gaining him the recognition he deserves, albeit long overdue.


                                            TRACK LISTING

                                            Don't Let It Throw You
                                            Sunny Jim
                                            Tea Leaves
                                            Biblical Boogie (True He's Gone)
                                            Lonesome Picker
                                            Sandman
                                            Tom Cat
                                            You Show Me The Way To Go
                                            Amos
                                            I'll Be Here
                                            Plain To See

                                            Jim Sullivan

                                            If The Evening Were Dawn

                                              On March 4, 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost. Some think the mafia bumped him. Some even think he was abducted by aliens.

                                              By coincidence–or perhaps not–Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled U.F.O.. Released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost until Light In The Attic Records began a years-long quest to re-release it–and to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance. Only one of those things happened, and you can guess which…

                                              Light In The Attic’s reissue of U.F.O. introduced the world to an overlooked masterwork and won Sullivan, posthumously (presumably), legions of new fans. Those new admirers are in for a real treat: a lavish, first-time release of a previously unheard 1969 studio session.

                                              If The Evening Were Dawn contains 10 acoustic solo recordings that have never seen the light of day. Whereas U.F.O. was bolstered by legendary sessioneers The Wrecking Crew, this is Jim Sullivan on his own terms, stripped down and soulful as ever. Recorded at a Los Angeles studio circa 1969, the session contains acoustic versions of a handful of U.F.O. tracks alongside a half dozen previously unheard songs. This, then, is the closest thing to those fabled Malibu bar performances at which Sullivan was first noticed.

                                              According to his widow, Barbara, this was the album Jim always hoped to record. It serves as an unprecedented glimpse into the mysterious, larger-than-life figure who’s become the stuff of legends.

                                              While Sullivan’s disappearance remains unsolved, his music endures and is finally gaining him the recognition he deserves, albeit long overdue. This recording serves as an unexpected missing piece of the puzzle; this is Jim Sullivan’s true swan song.


                                              TRACK LISTING

                                              Roll Back The Time
                                              Sandman
                                              Walls
                                              Jerome
                                              What To Tell Her
                                              Grandpa's Trip
                                              So Natural
                                              Whistle Stop / Mama
                                              What Is My Name
                                              Close My Eyes

                                              “The idea for UNIFORM CLARITY came from UNIFORM DISTORTION,” says James, “an album of intentional chaos/dirt: literal and figurative distortion of lyrics and sound meant to echo and hopefully shed some light on the twisted times and distortion of the truth in which we now live. UNIFORM CLARITY is meant to illuminate the other side – raw and real, but very clear, much like in the early days of recording where all you could hear was the truth because there were no ways to manipulate recordings in the studio. Working with Shawn Everett, we created a document style recording of these songs- just vocals, guitar and the space itself- no special FX. A crystal clear illustration of the flawed beauty of what a song starts off as or sometimes remains- a thought. a seed. a light from the womb of the universe brought to life down here on earth."

                                              TRACK LISTING

                                              1 Just A Fool
                                              2 You Get To Rome
                                              3 Out Of Time
                                              4 Throwback
                                              5 No Secrets
                                              6 Yes To Everything
                                              7 No Use Waiting
                                              8 All In Your Head
                                              9 Better Late Than Never
                                              10 Over And Over
                                              11 Too Good To Be True
                                              12 It Will Work Out
                                              13 Flash In The Pan

                                              Jim James third studio album ‘Uniform Distortion’ follows on from his previous success from being frontman of My Morning Jacket.Uniform Distortion was produced by Jim James and Kevin Ratterman at Louisville, KY’s La La Land, with Ratterman also serving as recording engineer. All songs were written by James, who is backed on the album by bassist Seth Kauffman (Floating Action) and longtime touring drummer Dave Givan, with backing vocals provided throughout by Dear Lemon Trees’ Leslie Stevens, Jamie Drake and Kathleen Grace. “The name of my new record is Uniform Distortion because I feel like there is this blanket distortion on society/media and the way we gather our ‘news and important information. More and more of us are feeling lost and looking for new ways out of this distortion and back to the truth…and finding hope in places like the desert where I write this now...finding hope in the land and in the water and in old books offering new ideas and most importantly in each other and love.” says James. Uniform Distortion is James’ finest work to date filled with compassion and brimming with meaningful ideology. 

                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Andy says: Jim James does things differently on his solo records and this one's no exception. Raw, playful and rocking, but still with melodies galore, which other massive alt-rock stars keep things this fresh!

                                              TRACK LISTING

                                              1. Just A Fool
                                              2. You Get To Rome
                                              3. Out Of Time
                                              4. Throwback
                                              5. No Secrets
                                              6. Yes To Everything
                                              7. No Use Waiting
                                              8. All In Your Head
                                              9. Better Late Than Never
                                              10. Over And Over
                                              11. Too Good To Be True

                                              Jim Ghedi

                                              A Hymn For Ancient Land

                                                Fourth release on new independent label Basin Rock following highly acclaimed albums by Julie Byrne and Nadia Reid.

                                                Born in Sheffield before moving around various parts of Derbyshire, Shropshire and Scotland and then settling in Moss Valley - an abandoned and forgotten area on the edgelands of South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire - it makes perfect sense that 26 year old Jim Ghedi’s music feels both fluidly transient yet also deeply rooted to a sense of place.

                                                In 2015 he released his debut album, Home Is Where I Exist, Now To Live and Die (Cambrian Records), which was an extension of the folk-tinged six and twelve-string acoustic guitar instrumentals he had been forging for some time around Sheffield's pubs and then whilst traveling across Europe. On his second album, A Hymn For Ancient Land, his elemental style of playing has expanded into a fuller band set-up, complete with glorious orchestration and dazzling composition that makes it a truly innovative contemporary record whilst still being rooted in great tradition.

                                                Through the inclusion of double bass, violin, cello, harp, trumpet, piano, accordion and numerous other instruments, Ghedi has elevated his unique blend of folk music to a level far beyond that of that of his earlier work. Perhaps most remarkable still is how seamless their inclusions feel, rather than wrestling for space, the wealth of instruments float in and out of one another, interlocking absorbing guitars, gently whirring strings and drums that beat like the faint sounds of thunder on the horizon.

                                                On top of the community of Moss Valley, a driving force behind much of the creations on this record come from Ghedi’s travels, playing shows in numerous rural towns and villages across the British Isles. This traversing through remote parts of the UK, Wales, Scotland and Ireland soon brought a desire to capture the full breadth, scale and beauty of the landscapes he was witnessing. “I wanted to bring in wider instrumentation to somehow resemble the landscapes which musically I could hear in my head, It was at this point I became fixated on connecting the two worlds of classical and contemporary folk” Ghedi says of the album’s birthing period.

                                                All songs on the album are named after places from said travels - ‘Home for Moss Valley’, ‘Bramley Moor’, ‘Cwm Elan’ etc - and Ghedi’s natural ear and eye for capturing the spaces he inhabits creates an immersive environment, in which the guitar lines seem to mirror rolling hills, the rich hum of the ambience hangs like a gentle morning fog and the intricacies and beauty of the arrangements create something almost tangible in their efforts, like capturing a light dew on the tip ends of grass or the sticky moisture of well trampled soil. Nature permeates through this record from start to finish, gliding through its core like a bubbling brook.


                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                1 Home For Moss Valley
                                                2 Cwm Elan
                                                3 Bramley Moor
                                                4 Fortingall Yew
                                                5 Phoenix Works
                                                6 Banks Of Mulroy Bay
                                                7 Sloade Lane

                                                Jim James

                                                Tribute To

                                                  Tribute To is a collection of George Harrison songs recorded by Jim after George’s death. “All I had was that eight track at our studio and right after George died I just went up there and sat in a room and played those songs to try and deal with the emotions I felt from his passing and pay tribute to him” said Jim James.

                                                  Spin described the EP as “spare and somber – just that windy Americana tenor against a squeaky acoustic guitar … Many of us remember where we were when Harrison died; now we hear when James began to heal.”


                                                  This re-issue includes a bonus track, a cover of "If Not For You".

                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                  Long, Long, Long
                                                  Behind That Locked Door
                                                  Love You To
                                                  If Not For You
                                                  My Sweet Lord
                                                  Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
                                                  All Things Must Pass

                                                  Jim James

                                                  Tribute To 2

                                                    After releasing the politically charged solo album ‘Eternally Even’ in 2016, My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James returns with ‘Tribute To 2’, a collection of cover songs that reverberate with hope.

                                                    Unlike his 2009 mini album of songs by George Harrison and the Beatles, ‘Tribute To’, which was recorded on an eight-track, reel-toreel tape recorder in the days following Harrison’s passing, the 11 songs of ‘Tribute To 2’ were recorded over a period of years, in different places, with different gear and varied instrumentation. James explains, “These are some of my favourite covers - songs I recorded trying to bring myself peace during a rough time or trying to make myself laugh or just have fun. I hope others can relate and enjoy the journey during these tough times and hopefully in times of peace and love as well!”

                                                    Jim White

                                                    Waffles, Triangles & Jesus

                                                      Jim White gets around. When he’s not releasing his own critically acclaimed solo albums he splits his time producing records for other songwriters, exhibiting his visual art in galleries and museums across the USA & Europe and publishing award winning fiction. His sixth solo studio album, the bizarrely titled Waffles, Triangles & Jesus, is a mind-bending joy ride of sonic influences featuring a bevy of his hometown Athens’ roots musicians, plus west coast indie darlings Dead Rock West, and rock and roll maverick Holly Golightly.

                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                      Barry says: Here we get Jim white tackling at least two out of the three tropes associated with that there Americana (maybe triangles will be the next big thing). Whilst he may not be the first to tackle the subjects, he does it with a aplomb. Witty ruminations, catchy tunemongering and straight-out vibes. Excellent stuff.

                                                      Mark Kozelek With Ben Boye And Jim White

                                                      Mark Kozelek With Ben Boye And Jim White

                                                        Recorded and mixed in San Francisco February through June of 2017.

                                                        Words by Mark Kozelek. Music by Kozelek, Ben Boye and Jim White of Xylouris White, and most notably, Dirty Three with frequent Nick Cave collaborator, Warren Ellis. 

                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                        House Cat
                                                        Topo Gigio
                                                        Fur Balls
                                                        Los Margaritos
                                                        Astronomy
                                                        Blood Test
                                                        Ashes
                                                        February Rain
                                                        The Black Butterfly
                                                        The Robin Williams Tunnel

                                                        "If you don't vote it's on you, not me," Jim James sings on his second solo album. It's an election-year entreaty geared towards too-pure leftoid lintheads, but the song is no screed, befitting a guy whose music usually turns inward. James floats his humidly ethereal soul mumble over seven minutes of a languid beat, cottony strings and chill organ bleat. Throughout Eternally Even, the My Morning Jacket mainman renders his change gospel with conversational grace, Bill Withers warmth, Sly Stone optimism and Neil Young conviction – less soap box pugilist than lazy-Sunday sage.

                                                        The music recalls Aquarian soul, Nineties trip-hop and laser-gun funk: "True Nature" ties a find-your-mission message to a hazily coiled Blacksploitation groove; the loose flowing prettiness of "Here in Spirit" links today's battles to a history of struggle. The sonic spaciness can sometimes undercut James' less probing moments ("This world is war and blood when it could've been love," he observes on "We Ain't Getting Any Younger (Pt. 2.)" More often, the effect is charming. The gentlest moment is the title cut, in which his Kentucky coo cuddles against a track that's like Dark Side of the Moon as an astral doo-wop lovers prayer, reaching for a personal and social over-the-rainbow moment of Zen so sweetly visioned it feels like it's already unfolding –walking in the shadows, tripping towards the light. 



                                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                                        Andy says: This record has the meandering, groovy, mellow and melancholic vibe of Marvin's masterpiece "Here, My Dear". Stoned, soulful, fuzzy songs bleed into one another to create a powerful meditation on the times (political and personal). It is a stunning record.

                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                        1. Hide In Plain Sight
                                                        2. Same Old Lie
                                                        3. Here In Spirit
                                                        4. The World's Smiling Now
                                                        5. We Ain't Getting Any Younger Pt. 1
                                                        6. We Ain't Getting Any Younger Pt. 2 [Explicit]
                                                        7. True Nature
                                                        8. In The Moment
                                                        9. Eternally Even

                                                        Jim O'Rourke

                                                        Simple Songs

                                                          2015 and the silence has been broken with ‘Simple Songs’. Jim O’Rourke is ready to talk to you again with his first pop album since 2001. ‘Simple Songs’ is an amazing record of musical song entertainment because Jim O’Rourke knows what he wants and how to get it.

                                                          The range of sounds and songs that have turned Jim’s head are numerous enough to have crushed together into something that is unmistakably his. The music is played so immaculately by so many instruments and most of them by the creator’s hand. ‘Simple Songs’ was worked over, from source material to finished mix, for five years or more now. Jim’s writing is rooted in the approach of ‘Insignificance’ - frosted pop tarts that leave a darkly bitter aftertaste.

                                                          Let ‘Simple Songs’ seep into your brain, as a musical expression and a statement of animal motherhood. It may help you get your bearings in a world gone hopeless.

                                                          Jim-E Stack

                                                          Tell Me I Belong

                                                          Jim-E Stack has come a long way. Born and raised in the culturally rich environs of San Francisco, the now Brooklyn-based artist born James Harmon Stack cut his musical teeth as a jazz drummer, but it wasn't until he entered the world of solo production at the age of 16 that he found the freedom necessary to write and record how he wanted.

                                                          Following time spent in New Orleans, James moved to New York in summer of 2012, and started the slow process of sketching, refining, and developing the diverse tracks that would make up his captivating LP. In every corner of Tell Me I Belong, you can hear an artist who equally reveres classic jazz musicians like John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner, experimental pioneers like Steve Reich, Detroit techno greats Omar-S and Robert Hood, and contemporary boundary pushers Arca, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Actress. “More so than anything, it’s really on some personal shit,” says Stack. “The time period between leaving San Francisco and moving to New York was a tough time for me, and the music is kind of a reflection of that, the feeling like you don’t belong.” The music may speak about a kind of alienation, but it also abundantly offers the chance of collective experiences in the form of hard-hitting dancefloor jams. That fearless juxtaposition is the lifeforce of Tell Me I Belong..

                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                          01. Somewheres
                                                          02. Run
                                                          03. Below
                                                          04. Reassuring
                                                          05. Everything To Say
                                                          06. Is It Me
                                                          07. Out Of Mind
                                                          08. Ease Up
                                                          09. Without
                                                          10. Wake

                                                          Icons Cards - Fatalities Series

                                                          Jim Morrison - 1943-1971

                                                            The Icons Fatalities Series features some of our late great heroes.

                                                            Blank inside for your own message.

                                                            In March 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost in the desert. Some think he fell foul of a local family with alleged mafia ties. Some think he was abducted by aliens.

                                                            By coincidence - or perhaps not ' Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled "UFO" The album was a fully realised album of scope and imagination, a folk-rock record with its head in the stratosphere. Sullivan’s voice is deep and expressive like Fred Neil with a weathered and worldly Americana sound like Joe South, pop songs that aren’t happy – but with filled with despair. The album is punctuated with a string section (that recalls David Axelrod), other times a Wurlitzer piano provides the driving groove (as if Memphis great Jim Dickinson was running the show). "UFO" is a slice of American pop music filtered from the murky depths of Los Angeles, by way of the deep south.

                                                            TRACK LISTING

                                                            1. Jerome
                                                            2. Plain As Your Eyes Can See
                                                            3. Roll Back The Time
                                                            4. Whistle Stop
                                                            5. Rosey
                                                            6. Highways
                                                            7. U.F.O.
                                                            8. So Natural
                                                            9. Johnny
                                                            10. Sandman

                                                            Jim O'Rourke

                                                            Eureka

                                                              On "Eureka", Jim O'Rourke's musical career sets of in a whole new direction. An album of near perfect, bright pop songs, including a cover of Bacharch and David's "Something Big".

                                                              Jim O'Rourke

                                                              Bad Timing

                                                                This is the album that put Jim firmly in the ranks of studio Meisters elite. Up until that point, Jim had used walls of noise / sound to create music, but with 'Bad Timing', he stepped back a little, stripped it all down and the arrangements became paramount.

                                                                Jim O'Rourke

                                                                The Visitor

                                                                  "The Visitor" is a seriously all-Jim O'Rourke affair - all the sounds you hear are Jim and Jim alone. This time you can't blame any of those session dudes and their bloodless line readings - the chill you're getting is a one-hundred percent O'Rourke effect. As a matter of fact, it might be more like two hundred percent — some of it is tracked so deep, it took two hundred tracks to hold it all. It doesn't sound like it though - to Jim's credit, the mix sounds very minimal, very straightforward - not like several hundred tracks at all. All the classic O'Rourke-isms are here: percolating banjos, smooth electric leads, organic, kicking drum sounds, the flickering of shakers to the left and right, mellow but ominous woodwinds, sounds that indicate 'vintage', sonic jokes and sonic tear-jerkers, all wrapped in spacious yet subtle left to right placement of everything in the picture. This is one one-track album everyone's gonna have to buy. However, "The Visitor" doesn't overstay its welcome. Get ready for redefinition - Jim O'Rourke is back.

                                                                  White Out With Jim O'Rourke

                                                                  Drunken Little Mass

                                                                    A collaboration between Lin Culbertson, Tom Surgal (Collectively White Out) and the esteemed Jim O'Rourke. The Contents of this album are totally improvised, recorded in one take, with no over dubs.


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