'Aethermead', the newest offering and 20th full-length album from of Montreal, finds the band revisiting sounds from their early years, while still pushing artistic boundaries with their iconic style of pop & indie rock. Celebrated for their unique and prolific output, frontperson and primary songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Kevin Barnes recorded the album at Brooklyn’s Honey Jar studios with audio engineer, Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster, Toro y Moi), with basic tracking done live to a 16-track tape machine with Barnes’ longtime live band. “I wanted to capture a quick moment together and to make on-the-fly, spontaneous creative decisions,” says Barnes. “It felt very liberating and exhilarating to have to start and finish an album in a month’s time.”

The result shimmers with indie pop elements of their 2004 release, 'Satanic Panic in the Attic', as well as the raw, live energy of 2013’s 'Lousy With Sylvianbriar'. Inspired partly from a recent move to Brooklyn, NY and a yearning for community, the album marks a shift in Barnes’ daily routines, with the album’s title referencing a section of Prospect Park called the Nethermead, where Barnes walks their dog every day. “I started a meditation practice soon after moving to help me self-regulate,” says Barnes. “I began to imagine I was sending all my destructive and useless thoughts/energies into the ether.”

Barnes’ beautiful and melodic chord progressions are on full display with tracks like 'Already Dreaming', as well as the straight-up rock & roll banger 'Take The Form'. Other highlights include the loungey 'My Zhe Zhe', as well as the bluntly sexual lead single, 'When'.

From the breakthrough brilliance of 2007’s 'Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?' to a steady run of boundary-pushing releases, of Montreal have remained fearless sonic shapeshifters—equally at home crafting hook-laden anthems as they are exploring surreal, experimental textures. The band's prolific output has led to numerous late-night TV appearances—including The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon—and brilliant collaborations with artists such as Solange, Janelle Monáe, and Jon Brion.

On stage, they transform concerts into immersive spectacles of color, costume, and cathartic energy. The band has performed across the globe, gracing festival stages at Coachella, Primavera, Lollapalooza, Vive Latino and beyond, while also amassing hundreds of millions of streams worldwide. With a new tour on the horizon, of Montreal continue to celebrate their legacy while pushing boldly forward.

TRACK LISTING

1. Already Dreaming
2. Wanting on Air
3. Listen to Music and Cry
4. My Zhe Zhe
5. Take the Form
6. When
7. Hack it Up
8. Lacan in the Family
9. Having a Moment
10. From the Font of You
11. To Nothing’s Reward
12. Now We Cringe at the Thought
13. Dismissal Mosaics

Phantastic Ferniture are back with their jubilant garage pop, releasing not one but two singles - their very first recordings since their critically acclaimed 2018 debut album. Recorded at Golden Retriever Studios in Sydney, produced by Phan Fern themselves, and mixed and mastered by previous collaborators Tim Carr and Andrew Edgson respectively, tracks 'Change My Mind' and 'Dare to Fall in Love' immediately evoke everything about this band we have come to know and love. Julia Jacklin’s ability to write a catchy yet effortlessly cool vocal hook is evident on first listen, but it’s the magic that Phan Fern creates together that really brings the songs home.

TRACK LISTING

1. Change my Mind
2. Dare to Fall in Love

When the idea of recording a 4th album came up (for the second time), American Football knew things were going to get darker. After touring a year’s worth of sold-out 25th anniversary shows around the world and releasing a covers album (featuring Iron & Wine, Ethel Cain, Blondshell & more), the quartet of Mike & Nate Kinsella, Steve Lamos, and Steve Holmes, linked up with producer / engineer Sonny Diperri (My Bloody Valentine, M83, Kurt Vile) to record what would become their most substantial record to date. Blending atmospheric textures with emotive, post-rock style catharsis, 'LP4' is unlike anything American Football have recorded thus far, yet it fits right in with their evolving and beautiful catalog.

Recorded during a 10-day retreat at Panoramic House in Stinson Beach, CA, 'LP4' finds the band intentionally walking into the abyss - themes of divorce, upheaval, and uncertainty are at the forefront, yet the band sounds more engaged and legitimized than ever before. Opening track, 'Man Overboard', showcases each member’s strengths - the un-matched style and jazz swing of Lamos’ drumming, the lyrical vulnerability and multi-instrumental mastery of both Kinsellas, and Holmes’ signature guitar work - all of it swirling together like a shoegaze tornado, the guitars and bass surging into something twisted and warped. Other standouts like 'Blood On My Blood' showcase the band’s unique use of alternating time signatures while 'Bad Moons' (the longest track the band has ever recorded) includes some of Kinsella’s most intense lyrics yet. The album also features additional guest vocals from Turnstile’s Brendan Yates ('No Feeling'), Wisp ('Wake Her Up'), and Rainer Maria’s Caithlin De Marrais('Blood On My Blood').

'LP4' is an ambitious artistic statement from a band who have continued to push the boundaries of genre and culture. It’s a gorgeous and elaborate album, one that takes its time to show you its beauty, while hinting at the darker parts that are trying their best to stay hidden.

TRACK LISTING

1. Man Overboard
2. No Feeling
3. Blood On My Blood
4. Bad Moons
5. The One With The Piano
6. Patron Saint Of Pale
7. Wake Her Up
8. Desdemona
9. Lullabye
10. No Soul To Save

Hey Mercedes, formed from members of Chicago's emo band Braid, included Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, Mark Dawursk, and Damon Atkinson. They debuted with a self-titled EP (Polyvinyl Records ) in 2000 and followed up with extensive touring and two full-length albums: 'Everynight Fire Works' (Vagrant Records) in 2001 and 'Loses Control' (Vagrant Records) in 2003 along with two more EP’s: 'The Weekend' EP (Vagrant Records) in 2002 and 'Unorchestrated' (Grand Theft Autumn) in 2004. Dawursk left at the end of 2001 and was replaced by Mike Shumaker. After 359 shows and several releases, the band disbanded in April 2005.They played a reunion show in 2007 and celebrated the 15th anniversary of 'Everynight Fire Works' in 2016 with a remastered re-release and select live performances. In 2025, the band made their live comeback at Las Vegas's second annual Best Friends Forever Festival and will continue to play more shows in 2026. In 2026, Polyvinyl Records will reissue the complete Hey Mercedes catalog. With several EPs and albums currently out of print, this release will provide Hey Mercedes fans with the opportunity to obtain every Hey Mercedes title on vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bells
2. St James St
3. The House Shook
4. Stay Six
5. Roulette Systems
6. Warms Chords
7. Own Up
8. We Lie Half The Time
9. Unorchestrated (Live) 

Hey Mercedes, formed from members of Chicago's emo band Braid, included Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, Mark Dawursk, and Damon Atkinson. They debuted with a self-titled EP (Polyvinyl Records ) in 2000 and followed up with extensive touring and two full-length albums: 'Everynight Fire Works' (Vagrant Records) in 2001 and 'Loses Control' (Vagrant Records) in 2003 along with two more EP’s: 'The Weekend' EP (Vagrant Records) in 2002 and 'Unorchestrated' (Grand Theft Autumn) in 2004. Dawursk left at the end of 2001 and was replaced by Mike Shumaker. After 359 shows and several releases, the band disbanded in April 2005.They played a reunion show in 2007 and celebrated the 15th anniversary of 'Everynight Fire Works' in 2016 with a remastered re-release and select live performances. In 2025, the band made their live comeback at Las Vegas's second annual Best Friends Forever Festival and will continue to play more shows in 2026. In 2026, Polyvinyl Records will reissue the complete Hey Mercedes catalog. With several EPs and albums currently out of print, this release will provide Hey Mercedes fans with the opportunity to obtain every Hey Mercedes title on vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

1. Quality Revenge At Last
2. It's Been A Blast
3. Playing Your Song
4. Knowing When To Stop
5. Boy Destroyers
6. Unorchestrated
7. Lashing Out
8. Police Police Me
9. Oh Penny
10. The Switch
11. Absolute Zero Drive
12. Go On Drone 

Hey Mercedes, formed from members of Chicago's emo band Braid, included Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, Mark Dawursk, and Damon Atkinson. They debuted with a self-titled EP (Polyvinyl Records ) in 2000 and followed up with extensive touring and two full-length albums: 'Everynight Fire Works' (Vagrant Records) in 2001 and 'Loses Control' (Vagrant Records) in 2003 along with two more EP’s: 'The Weekend' EP (Vagrant Records) in 2002 and 'Unorchestrated' (Grand Theft Autumn) in 2004. Dawursk left at the end of 2001 and was replaced by Mike Shumaker. After 359 shows and several releases, the band disbanded in April 2005.They played a reunion show in 2007 and celebrated the 15th anniversary of 'Everynight Fire Works' in 2016 with a remastered re-release and select live performances. In 2025, the band made their live comeback at Las Vegas's second annual Best Friends Forever Festival and will continue to play more shows in 2026. In 2026, Polyvinyl Records will reissue the complete Hey Mercedes catalog. With several EPs and albums currently out of print, this release will provide Hey Mercedes fans with the opportunity to obtain every Hey Mercedes title on vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

1. Frowning Of A Lifetime
2. Every Turn
3. A-List Actress
4. Slightest Idea
5. Eleven To Your Seven
6. Que Shiraz
7. Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday
8. Haven't Been This Happy
9. What You're Up Against
10. Quit
11. Let's Go Blue
12. Save A Life
13. Everybody's Working For The Week
14. Wearing A WirE
15.The Promise
16. A Salty Salute

On Xiu Xiu’s new covers album, 'Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu Vol. 1', Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo pay homage to songs that have profoundly influenced them as music lovers and songwriters. This collection taken from the band’s ongoing Bandcamp subscription series, 'Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu', features tracks previously exclusive to Bandcamp, now available on vinyl and streaming for the first time. The album showcases Xiu Xiu's unique interpretations of iconic songs such as 'Psycho Killer' (Talking Heads), 'In Dreams' (Roy Orbison), 'Some Things Last A Long Time' (Daniel Johnston), 'I Put a Spell on You' (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins) and many more. These renditions are a heartfelt "thank you" to the original compositions, while simultaneously serving as a deep dive into the musicality and greatness of these influential works.

TRACK LISTING

1. Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)
2. Warm Leatherette (The Normal)
3. I Put A Spell On You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins)
4. Hamburger Lady (Throbbing Gristle)
5. In Dreams (Ray Orbison)
6. Sex Dwarf (Soft Cell)
7. Dancing On My Own (Robyn)
8. SPQR (This Heat)
9. Lick Or Sum (Glo Rilla)
10. Some Things Last A Long Time (Daniel Johnston)
11. Triple Sun (Coil)
12. Cherry Bomb (The Runaways)

On October 12th & 13th, 2024, American Football performed two sold- out shows at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles - part of the band’s 25th anniversary tour for their self-titled debut album. Featuring guest appearances from Ethel Cain and M.A.G.S., these special shows were recorded for American Football’s first and only live album, 'American Football (Live in Los Angeles)'. To coincide with the album’s release, the band teamed up with Prophet Media and director Steph Rinzler for the release of a full-length concert film, featuring candid interviews with the band, Ethel Cain, Yvette Young, and M.A.G.S. Both the film and album captures the legacy and unexpected staying power of a group that helped define a genre.

After quietly releasing their self-titled debut album in 1999 while still in college, American Football disbanded after the album’s release to focus on other projects, only to reunite 15 years later to a fanbase that had been consistently growing throughout the underground / emo scene. The album later appeared on Rolling Stone’s “40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time” list at #6, with Pitchfork giving its deluxe reissue the “Best New Reissue” title, calling it the “most influential album in the genre.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Five Silent Miles
2. The Summer Ends
3. Honestly?
4. For Sure Feat. Ethel Cain
5. You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon
6. But The Regrets Are Killing Me
7. I’ll See You When We’re Both Not So Emotional Feat. M.A.G.S.
8. Stay Home / The One With The Wurlitzer

Ryan Silva, known professionally as Plato III, is an American rapper, producer, and songwriter. He is recognized for his introspective lyrics, fusing personal narratives with sharp insights on race, class, and identity. His music blends hip-hop with influences ranging from indie rock to r&b and funk, creating a sound that is both boundary-pushing and deeply rooted in his experiences.

After self-releasing several projects throughout the 2010s, Plato III gained wider attention with his 2022 Polyvinyl debut, The Devil Has Texas, a vivid exploration of his trailer park upbringing in West Texas. On his new album, Grown, Silva pushes his artistry even further, with a more pop-forward approach that showcases his innovative sound and compelling storytelling. Produced by Phillip Odom (Militarie Gun, Say Anything), Grown features Silva’s most mature work to date, examining the weight of responsibility and aging under the strain of capitalism. Musically, the album bridges modern rap with "grown folks music," drawing inspiration from the soul of Al Green and Marvin Gaye to the funk and boogie of Prince and Earth, Wind & Fire. Grown offers a fascinating look at Silva’s reflective inner dialogue, cementing his status as one of contemporary music’s most original voices.

TRACK LISTING

1. Good Problems
2. I Want Money (feat. Mb3merk)
3. Stable
4. In A Funk (feat. Mb3merk)
5. Marissa
6. Grown (feat. Xay III)
7. Coulda Died
8. Stay Sane
9. Do You Still Need My Love (feat. Remi Lėkun & Wonderfox)
10. Let's Get Old (feat. Eli Winter)

The quietest voices can be the most durable.

American Football’s original triumph, on their 1999 self-titled debut, was to reunite two shy siblings: emo and post-rock. It was a pioneering album where lyrical clarity was obscured and complicated by the stealth musical textures surrounding it.

Like Slint’s 'Spiderland', or Codeine’s 'The White Birch', even Talk Talk’s 'Laughing Stock', American Football asked far more questions than it cared to answer. But there wasn’t a band around anymore to explain it, anyway. The three young men who made the album – Mike Kinsella, Steve Holmes, and Steve Lamos – split up pretty much on its release.

Fifteen years later, American Football reunited (now as a four-piece, with the addition of Nate Kinsella). They played far larger shows than in their original incarnation and recorded their long-anticipated second album, 2016’s 'American Football (LP2)'. The release was widely praised, but the band members still felt like their best work was yet to come.

‘I feel like the second album was us figuring it out,’ says Nate. ‘For me, it wasn’t quite done. I knew there was still more.’

Enter 'American Football (LP3)'. ‘We put a lot of time and a lot of energy into it,’ says Mike. ‘We were all thoughtful about what we wanted to put out there. Last time, it was figuring out how to use all of our different arms. This time, we were like – Ok we have these arms, let’s use them.’ The band used the same producer, Jason Cupp, and recorded the album at the same studio (Arc Studios in Omaha, Nebraska) as its predecessor – yet they approached it in a markedly different way. There was a determination to let the songs breathe, to trust in ideas finding their own pace. The final result is a definite, and deliberate, stretching of the band.

As a result, LP3 is less obviously tethered to the band’s past than the second album. An immediate contrast between LP3 and its two predecessors is its cover. The two previous albums featured the exterior and interior of a residence in the band’s original hometown of Urbana, Illinois (now attracting fans for pilgrimages and photo opportunities), by the photographer Chris Strong. But American Football knew that LP3 was an outside record. Instead of the familiar house, this time the cover photo (again by Strong) features open, rolling fields on Urbana’s borders. It is a sign of the album’s magnitude in sound, and of the band’s boldness in breaking away from home comforts.

American Football also joked that LP3’s genre was ‘post-house’, because of this very conscious visual break. But, in a strange way, there are links in LP3 with an actual post-house genre: shoegaze. The more exploratory members of the original British shoegaze scene were inspired by the dreamtime and circularity of house music (ambient house in particular), cherishing its sonic possibilities. That spirit drips into LP3, most obviously on ‘I Can’t Feel You’, a collaboration with Rachel Goswell of Slowdive.

The album also features Hayley Williams from Paramore on the album’s catchiest moment, ‘Uncomfortably Numb’, and Elizabeth Powell, of the Québécoise act Land Of Talk. Mike wrote lyrics in French especially for her.

LP3 is contemplative, rich, expressive, yet with a queasy undercurrent. It is heavy with expectancy, revealing its ideas slowly, eliciting the hidden stories people carry around with them. ‘I feel like my lyric writing has changed a lot over the years,’ says Mike. ‘The goal is to be conversational, maybe to state something giant and heavy, but in a very plain way. But, definitely in this record, I keep things a little more vague.’ As on the first album, the lyrics on LP3 may seem confessional and concentrated, but the more you scrutinize them, the further their meaning slinks away. Or, as Mike tellingly sings on ‘I Can’t Feel You”: I’m fluent in subtlety.

‘Somewhere along the way we moved from being a reunion band to just being a band,’ says Steve Holmes. American Football is now a bona fide ongoing focus, and they are making some of the best music of their lives. American Football (LP3) stands with two other rare reunion successes – Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine’s mbv – as a fine example of how a band refinding one another can augment, rather than taint, their legacy.

‘I think that there are those albums, or the music that you heard when you were younger, and they imprint on you,’ says Nate. ‘And no matter where you go, or what you do they’re always there.’ He is talking of Steve Reich – an early and ongoing influence on American Football – but he might as well be reflecting what is said of his own band, and the ardent following they inspire. American Football stands as an enduring symbol of elusive emotional landscapes, where introspection can be as dramatic as confrontation.

TRACK LISTING

1. Silhouettes
2. Every Wave To Ever Rise (feat Elizabeth Powell)
3. Uncomfortably Numb (feat Hayley Williams)
4. Heir Apparent
5. Doom in Full Bloom
6. I Can’t Feel You (feat Rachel Goswell)
7. Mine to Miss
8. Life Support

The members of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin couldn’t list a single music blog until their lo-fi MP3s and low-res JPEGs made them worldwide icons of Blogdom in 2005. Even Spin read an SSLYBY blog, downloaded their music and declared the Missouri band “could succeed The Shins as the band that will change your life."

Recorded in the attic and living room of guitarist Will Knauer's home, 'Broom', SSLYBY's debut record, is an expertly crafted indie pop gem.

Originally, SSLYBY had a simple ambition: to make the “Local Releases” bin at CD Warehouse. However, 'Broom' turned into a classic rock ‘n’ roll record -- the kind where pop perfectionism meets studio experimentation and each track flows effortlessly. Seemingly innocuous pop songs are molded by happy accidents of fate -- sometimes involving unexplained swarming sounds and doubled drums tracks --into the warm, ethereal tracks that made the album into a sensation.

Originally self-released by the band to sell at shows, 'Broom' was remastered and released via Polyvinyl in late 2006.

To celebrate 20 years of SSLYBY’s Broom, the essential title is now available on a fresh pressing on clear with red, pink, yellow & green splatter vinyl — matching the iconic cover.

TRACK LISTING

1. Pangea
2. I Am Warm & Powerful
3. What'll We Do
4. Travel Song
5. Oregon Girl
6. House Fire
7. Yr Broom
8. Anna Lee
9. Anne Elephant
10. Gwyneth

Last summer, after living across the country from each other for several years, the four members of Anamanaguchi decided to try something new. Their label Polyvinyl had rescued the famed American Football house from potential destruction, so the band took the opportunity to move in and write together. Over the course of a month, Anamanaguchi – pioneers of hyper-melodic 8-bit rock, whose extraordinary ascent has led them to topping charts with virtual pop star Hatsune Miku and scoring Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game and Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off – flipped their typically meticulous digital process on its head. 'Anyway', the result, is the most personal record of their career. And it's a rock record for the ages.

Recorded straight to tape by Grammy-winning rock producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Sleater-Kinney), 'Anyway' united the members around live instruments and lyrics sung by everybody in the band. As Anamanaguchi has always been an instrumental band, the decision to sing suddenly confronted them with the question of what the band’s voice would ultimately be. They explore this newfound power in every song, making it their most emotionally resonant work yet.

'Anyway' captures a band creatively and personally energized by the experience of four best friends reviving their connection in a disconnected world. On 'Rage (Kitchen Sink)', the band confront loneliness and boredom, two epidemics of the digital age that seem to be humanity’s only common bond. The power-pop ballad 'Darcie' finds inspiration in small gestures from a local unsung hero, who brightens their lives and allows unforeseen amounts of fun to happen. Taut and dynamic, 'Buckwild' is a rock sing-along that serves as the album’s genesis story: a band making an effort to do something new, while accepting the risks that may bring.

TRACK LISTING

TBA

Australia's Gallery of Modern Art commissioned Xiu Xiu to reinterpret the music from Twin Peaks for their David Lynch: Between Two Worlds exhibition. Since then, the band has performed select concerts all over the globe culminating in a proper studio album of the compositions. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Laura Palmer's Theme
2. Into The Night
3. Audrey's Dance
4. Packard's Vibration
5. Nightsea Wind
6. Blue Frank / Pink Room
7. Sycamore Tree
8. Harold's Theme
9. Dance Of The Dream Man
10. Falling
11. Love Theme Farewell
12. Josie's Past

When Post Animal stepped into the studio for their new album 'IRON', it was the first time all six original members were in the studio together for nearly a decade. Three band members had recently relocated away from Chicago, not to mention Joe Keery having left the band in 2017 to focus on acting. In the end they started right back up at the beginning, rediscovering that uncompromising closeness of connection they all shared from those endless hours spent in practice spaces and the late-night diner runs that follow. The product of a few straight weeks together, 'IRON' not only finds them reunited with Keery, but is the embodiment of 30 days of camaraderie and unbound musical exploration, their renewed connection ironclad. The album uses that honed edge to push and pull at genre threads, from synthpop to folk, vintage radio rock to twitchy psychedelia.

'IRON' puts the listener directly into the room with the band, freewheeling and experimental yet played with precision. That atmosphere should be palpable as the band hits the road with Keery’s Djo project, Wesley Toledo and Javi Reyes pulling double duty as well by working in his backing band—the whole group getting to spend even more time together. “All of these creative forces coming together, it was like iron sharpening iron,” Dalton Allison says. “When we’re in proximity with one another, we make each other better.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Malcolm’s Cooking
2. Last Goodbye
3. Maybe You Have To
4. Setting Sun
5. Pie In The Sky
6. What’s A Good Life
7. Main Menu
8. Dorien Kregg
9. Common Denominator
10. IRON

Following the release of her debut album, 'Stay Alive' (2020) and its follow-up 'Hole In My Head' (2024), Emmy-nominated artist, author, musician, activist and Against Me! founder/songwriter, Laura Jane Grace, returns with her fourth full-length album, Laura Jane Grace in the Trauma Tropes - 'Adventure Club' - a powerful new statement featuring some of her most intense and thought-provoking work to date. 'Adventure Club' was recorded in Athens, Greece and made possible by a grant through the Onassis Air Program, "an artistic research, residency, and fellowship program that fosters artistic process and experimentation by bringing together creative practitioners from a variety of geographies and practices", which Grace was awarded a fellowship through.

The album features notable performances from outside collaborators known as the Trauma Tropes, including Grace’s wife, Paris Campbell (vocals), as well Athens based musicians Jacopo Fokas (bass) and Orestis Lagadinos (drums). On standout, 'Your God (God’s Dick)', Grace and Campbell belt out some of Grace’s most anthemic lyrics ever penned, with an a capella intro channeling the stadium power pop of Queen. On 'Wearing Black', Grace critiques the corporatization of and police presence at Pride events, with her signature punk ethos and raw, unabashed outlook on full display. 

TRACK LISTING

1. WWIII Revisited
2. Wearing Black
3. I Love To Get High
4. Active Trauma
5. New Years Day
6. Mine Me Mine
7. Your God (God’s Dick)
8. Fuck You Harry Potter
9. Poison In Me
10. Espresso Freddie
11. Free Cigarettes
12. Walls

In 1991, four kids from the suburbs of Chicago, IL formed Cap’n Jazz, arguably one of the most influential rock bands of the last 30 years. Those kids, brothers Tim & Mike Kinsella, Victor Villarreal, and Sam Zurick, were joined by Davey von Bohlen in 1994 and recorded their only full-length album before calling it quits - 'Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We’ve Slipped on, and Egg Shells We’ve Tippy Toed Over' - often referred to as 'Shmap’n Shmazz'. Originally released on the Man With Gun label, the album quickly fell out of print after the band’s breakup, with the songs eventually making their way to the Analphabetapolothology compilation, released in 1998 via Jade Tree Records.

As a testament to this legendary debut, Polyvinyl is thrilled to announce the vinyl reissue of 'Shmap’n Shmazz', which has been remastered from the original tapes - restoring the original album on vinyl for the first time since 1995, including its original artwork. With the unmatched intensity heard in the opening track, 'Little League', coupled with eccentrically poetic lyrics, this iconic album has influenced countless artists since its release and unintentionally sparked a new genre. Pitchfork calls the album “a touchstone of Midwestern emo,” while Vulture placed 'Little League' at #3 on their 100 Greatest Emo Songs of All Time list. Musician Devendra Banhart has also expressed his love for the band in a 2017 Joan of Arc documentary, describing Tim’s powerfully striking vocals like "going to the zoo on quaaludes, but all the other animals are on speed."

In addition to the band’s influential legacy, Cap’n Jazz was the catalyst to the formation of other notable bands featuring the original members, including American Football, Joan of Arc, The Promise Ring, Owls, Owen, Make Believe, Ghosts and Vodka and many more.

TRACK LISTING

1. Little League
2. Oh Messy Life
3. Puddle Splashers
4. Flashpoint: Catheter
5. In The Clear
6. Yes, I Am Talking To You
7. Basil's Knife
8. Bluegrassish
9. Planet Shhh
10. The Sands've Turned Purple
11. Precious
12. Que Suerte!

Over the course of the last two decades, Xiu Xiu’s prolific and influential output of acclaimed albums and collaborations has been consistently dazzling. They’ve released 17 full-length LPs that have been praised in outlets such as The New Yorker, The Wire, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, NME and many others. They have toured the globe relentlessly, performing in places as far off the beaten path as Kazakhstan and Lebanon and places institutionally vital as the Guggenheim and Centre Pompidou.

On Xiu Xiu’s latest album, 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, Angela Seo and Jamie Stewart deliver some of the band’s most compelling and mesmerizing music to date. Mixed by John Congleton (Chelsea Wolfe, Swans, Lana Del Rey) this album is unlike anything the band has ever recorded previously and was motivated by the destruction of previous aesthetic notions, as well as the band's recent move from Los Angeles to Berlin.

TRACK LISTING

1. Arp Omni
2. Maestro One Chord
3. Common Loon
4. Pale Flower
5. Veneficium
6. Sleep Blvd.
7. T.D.F.T.W.
8. Bobby Bland
9. Piña, Coconut & Cherry

On Birthmark’s latest album, Birth of Omni, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Nate Kinsella delivers his most thematically dynamic and experimental album to date. The album highlights the gargantuan shift in perspective that comes along with becoming a parent, including core themes of identity, duality, sexuality, overwhelming responsibility, feminism, and fear of men. Over the course of the album’s ten songs, Kinsella takes the listener on a wild ride, full of emotions and inner thoughts. On “Rodney,” Kinsella enlists Shudder to Think’s Craig Wedren on vocals for a track that explores sexuality and desires, while “Boyfriend” touches on how things change between partners in a relationship while raising children.

In addition to Kinsella’s work with Birthmark, Nate also plays in two other bands with his cousin Mike Kinsella – American Football and Lies. He’s also collaborated with artists such as Tim Kasher, Joan of Arc, TTNG, and others. Kinsella’s work has been featured in outlets such as Pitchfork, Fader, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, NPR, and many others.

TRACK LISTING

1. Snowflake In My Palm (Not For Long)
2. Butterfly
3. Birthday (Product Of Our Lust)
4. Rodney
5. Baby Woncha Come On Home
6. Boyfriend
7. Green Skies
8. Red Meadow
9. I’m Awake
10. Pretty Flowers

With his sophomore full-length album, Born Hot, Chris Farren paired polished, up-beat pop songs with lyrics full of self-examination and insecurity, all while developing a newfound sense of humor when it came to promoting himself. Stereogum called it “a tongue-in-cheek exploration of ideas of confidence and self-loathing," while The Atlantic featured it on their “Best Albums of 2019” list.

On his third full-length album, Doom Singer, Farren injects his latest work with a newfound sense of power and cohesion. Collaborating for the first time with outside drummer Frankie Impastato (Macseal), Farren's songs take on a whole new dimensionality, with Impastato's live drums bringing a fresh spontaneity to the tracks. Doom Singer marks another significant milestone in Farren's career as it is the first time he collaborated with a producer, multi-instrumentalist Melina Duterte (Jay Som, Bachelor, Routine). Her masterful production experience adds a layer of sophistication to Farren's sound, creating a rich and multi- dimensional sonic landscape that takes his music to new heights. With Duterte's keen ear and meticulous attention to detail, the album resonates with a level of clarity and depth that showcases Farren's songwriting and vocal abilities in a whole new light.

Chris Farren’s music has been praised in outlets such as MTV, Stereogum, and The Atlantic, who describes his music as having “bright-eyed hooks, sparkly orchestration, and tight songwriting.” With numerous world tours alongside artists such as Jeff Rosenstock, The Gaslight Anthem, Laura Stevenson, and others, Farren has been building a dedicated following of fans who connect with his introspective lyrics and infectious pop sensibilities.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bluish
2. All We Ever
3. Get Over U
4. Only U
5. Doom Singer
6. Screensaver
7. First Place
8. My Beauty
9. Cosmic Leash
10. StatueSong

Mesmeric and kaleidoscopic, shimmering with electrified unease, Show Me How You Disappear is both an exercise in self-forgiveness and an eventual understanding of unresolved trauma. Jilian Medford’s third record as IAN SWEET unfolds at an acute juncture in her life, charting from a mental health crisis to an intensive healing process and what comes after. How do you control the thoughts that control you? What does it mean to get better? What does it mean to have a relationship with yourself? Recorded with Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Empress Of) and Andy Seltzer (Maggie Rogers), among others, Medford approached this album as a curator. She handpicked the producers that fit each song, which explains the range and experimentation showcased. Medford then recruited Chris Coady to mix and tie everything together into one cohesive piece. Dizzying and enthralling, Show Me How You Disappear is the sound of someone coming apart and putting themselves back together — the moment an old mantra, repeated into the mirror time and time again, finally clicks. To look at your reflection, and finally feel seen.

TRACK LISTING

1. My Favorite Cloud
2. Drink The Lake
3. Sword
4. Dirt
5. Sing Till I Cry
6. Dumb Driver
7. Get Better
8. Power
9. Show Me How You Disappear
10. I See Everything

On one special night, the band took to the bandstand in a tiny Tokyo club while the tape was rolling. The result is Fever 121614. With gems from throughout the band’s ridiculously deep back catalog, the 12-song collection that appears on both the LP and the video is Deerhoof at their rawest.

TRACK LISTING

1. Exit Only 
2. Paradise Girls 
3. Let's Dance The Jet 
4. Doom 
5. Fresh Born  
6. We Do Parties 
7. Buck And Judy  
8. Dummy Discards A Heart 
9. Twin Killers 
10. I Did Crimes For You  
11. There's That Grin 
12. Come See The Duck 

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin returned to the attic where they made their debut full-length Broom. Phil Dickey, Will Knauer, and Jonathan James spent up to twelve hours a day working on the songs that would become Fly By Wire. With James assuming the role of engineer, Dickey and Knauer wrote lyrics and guitar parts on a third floor windowsill and recorded vocals in the staircase. This laid-back approach to recording is clearly evident in the album’s warm, welcoming sound.

TRACK LISTING

1. Harrison Ford
2. Young Presidents
3. Cover All Sides
4. Lucky Young
5. Ms. Dot
6. Loretta
7. Unearth
8. Bright Leaves
9. Nightwater Girlfriend
10. Fly By Wire

Stagnant Pools are Bryan and Douglass Enas, two brothers (21 and 22) from Bloomington, Indiana. With just one guitar and a drum kit, they make music which the Chicago Reader describes as “drone-heavy, slate-gray art-rock that should appeal to fans of Disappears, Joy Division, and Sonic Youth records from back when they were still actually scary.”

After a couple of DIY releases, the sibling duo spent one day in the studio recording their debut full length ‘Temporary Room’. With a tour van as a recent graduation present, and shows under their belt with EMA and labelmates Japandroids, they’re releasing ‘Temporary Room’ this summer and then hitting the road.

“A massive slice of punked-out sky-high shoegaze from the Bloomington brothers” - thenoiseis.net · “Stagnant Pools use a lot of distortion over pretty melodies to make something that sounds a little like a harder edged Interpol” - ohmyrockness

“A beautiful, swelling thing. Aided by both a beautiful, sweltering, heat-haze throb of guitar treatment and some deep, effortlessly melodic vocals” - musicfromagreenwindow

TRACK LISTING

Illusions
Dead Sailor
Jumpsuit
Solitude
Temporary Room
Stun
Consistency
Dreaming Of You
Frozen
Maze Of Graves
Alternate Ending
Waveland

After his last time touring the United States in support of 2009’s ‘Dear John’, Emil Svanängen AKA Loney Dear returned home to Sweden and began to play shows with chamber orchestras throughout the country. As such, he was forced to revisit his earlier material -- re-writing and re-arranging these older songs for performance on a grander scale. This experience had an indelible influence on the writing and recording of the appropriately titled ‘Hall Music’, an expansive record that finds Svanängen closer to creating the type of orchestral music he has always sought to bring to life on stage (whether he’s actually playing with an orchestra or not).

Above all, ‘Hall Music’ is a study in merging contrasts, an album of impossible pairings. The pacing is simultaneously fast and slow, with gently weaving harmonic structures propelled forward by quickly moving notes. The instrumentation is orchestral and synthesized; organic and invented. A church bell paired effortlessly with horns and an analogue keyboard.

Though at first listen it occupies your ears for just over a halfhour, it is an all-consuming sonic affair. This is intimate music that effortlessly fills vast, empty spaces -- in your head, in your room, in your life -- with a grip so delicate yet unyielding that you can’t (and don’t want to) escape it.

Drawing from both of the emotional states it joins together - joy and darkness – ‘Hall Music’ creates its own unique expanse -- one you’ll surely want to re-visit again and again.

TRACK LISTING

1. Name
2. My Heart
3. Loney Blues
4. Calm Down
5. Maria, Is That You
6. D Major
7. Largo
8. Young Hearts
9. Durmoll
10. I Dreamed About You
11. What Have I Become?

"Life Like" is Joan Of Arc distilled down to / embracing their rock essence.

Gone from the band’s music (for now) are the electronics and layers upon layers of tracks. Gone from their liner notes are an extensive list of musicians and instruments. Instead, ‘Life Like’ is the result of four men adhering to Thoreau’s famous principle, “Simplify, simplify, simplify!”.

"Life Like" is the first Joan Of Arc record to feature Victor Villarreal (Cap’n Jazz, Owls) as a member. The album was recorded at Chicago’s Electrical Audio with Steve Albini (who has previously engineered records for two other of Joan Of Arc singer Tim Kinsella’s projects: Owls and Make Believe).

TRACK LISTING

I Saw The Messed Binds Of My Generation
Love Life
Like Minded
Life Force
Night Life Style
Howdy Pardoner
Still Life
Deep State
After Life

A template stolen from 80s proto emo / moog-induced power pop band The Cars and transposed into the noughties. With three-part harmonies and songs so catchy they should be illegal, "Summer Fling" is the Red Hot Valentines' second album and has that distinctive Polyvinyl label sound.

Aloha's second album takes post-rock a la Tortoise and Trans Am and adds emo stylings like the Promise Ring but then injects it with the prog time changes of a Midwest King Crimson. There's some sublime vibraphone and guitar interplay and the instrumental invention never fails to produce some of the most beautiful sounds and ensemble playing.

Featuring Bob Nanna of Hey Mercedes this 2xCD set is every song that Friction recorded, including many previously unreleased songs. All 32 tracks have been completely remastered and there's tons of photos, lyrics and complete liner notes. Included on the discs are the band's long out-of-print LP "Blurred In Six", all the 7"s and compilation tracks, as well as nearly a dozen tracks that were finished for a second album, but never released.