First edition of a two-part set: a comprehensive compilation of South London art-rockers Art Brut, spanning their early discography, demo takes, alternative mixes and live recordings between 2003 – 2008.

Features the debut album 'Bang Bang Rock and Roll', their second studio album 'It’s A Bit Complicated'. Also includes unreleased live material Art Brut – Live in Paris 2006 & Art Brut Live Form ULU with Horns.

Comes with a 24 page zine, with a 2,000 word liner note from Art Brut frontman Eddie Argos and exclusive photography of the band. Also includes a signed print of an original Art Brut artwork, painted by Eddie Argos

TRACK LISTING

CD1: Bang Bang Rock And Roll
1. Formed A Band
2. My Little Brother
3. Emily Kane
4. Rusted Guns Of Milan
5. Modern Art
6. Good Weekend
7. Bang Bang Rock & Roll
8. Fight!
9. Moving To L.A.
10. Bad Weekend
11. 18,000 Lira
12. Subliminal Desire For Adventure

CD2: It’s A Bit Complicated
1. Pump Up The Volume
2. Direct Hit
3. St. Pauli
4. People In Love
5. Late Sunday Evening
6. I Will Survive
7. Post Soothing Out
8. Blame It On The Trains
9. Soundtrack Of The Summer
10. Nag Nag Nag Nag
11. Jealous Guy

CD3 – Bang Bang Rock And Roll, Bootlegs And B-Sides + Live From ULU W/ Horns
1. Formed A Band (Brutleg/Single Version) 
2. Bad Weekend (Brutleg/Single Version)
3. Modern Art (Brutleg / Single Version)
4. My Little Brother (Brutleg / Single Version)
5. Good Weekend (Brutleg)
6. 18,000 Lira (Brutleg)
7. Bang Bang Rock And Roll (Brutleg)
8. Moving To LA (Brutleg)
9. Moving To LA Acoustic (Brutleg)
10. These Animal Menswe@r
11. It’s About Time
12. Maternity Ward
13. Really Bad Weekend
14. Every Other Weekend
15. Home Altars Of Mexico
16. Top Of The Pops! Art Brut (and Friends)
17. Don’t Blame It On The Trains
18. Enrique Gatti (Subliminal Desire For Adventure) (Brutleg)
19. Pump Up The Volume – With Horns
20. Moving To LA – With Horns
21. Late Sunday Evening – With Horns
22. Emily Kane – With Horns
23. Post Soothing Out – With Horns
24. Direct Hit – With Horns
25. Good Weekend – With Horns

CD4: It’s A Bit Complicated (Bootlegs And BSides)
1. I Found This Song In The Road
2. Our Parents Record Collection
3. Wasted Week-End
4. I Want To Be Double A-Sided
5. Ignorance Is Bliss
6. Direct Hit (Alternate Vesrion)
7. Direct Hit (Duet With Hank Starrs From Animals That Swim)
8. Late Sunday Evening (Alternate Version)
9. Blame It On The Trains (Russell Senior Version)
10. Post Soothing Out (Russell Senior Version)
11. St Pauli (Russell Senior Version)
12. Bad Weekend (Live Eurokéennes Festival 06)
13. Formed A Band (Live Eurokéennes Festival 06)
14. Emily Kane (Live Eurokéennes Festival 06)
15. These Animal Menswe@r (Live Eurokéennes Festival 06)

CD5: Paris Live 06.02.06
1. Formed A Band
2. My Little Brother
3. These Animal Menswe@r
4. Bang Bang Rock And Roll
5. Blame It On The Trains
6. Moving To LA
7. Rusted Guns Of Milan
8. Modern Art
9. St Pauli
10. Post Soothing Out
11. Emily Kane
12. Bad Weekend
13. Stand Down
14. 18,000 Lira
15. Good Weekend

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

Live soundboard recording of Yes - Live At The Yale Bowl 1971 and is from July 24, 1971 during the YES album tour. It was recorded at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.

Together with Universal Music, Yello is now looking back on their complete works and releasing the first six studio albums as exclusive 2LP bundles consisting of the original albums as black vinyl re-issues, each combined with a coloured vinyl bonus LP with rare bonus versions of their most famous songs, from the original albums.

In an elaborate state-of-the art process, the old original tapes were remastered in the highest possible resolution to reproduce the sound as authentically as never before. In addition to the cult debut "Solid Pleasure" (1980) with the hit "Bostich", the albums "Claro Que Si" (1981), "You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess" (1983), the Top 1 breakthrough "Stella" (1985), including the mega hit "Oh Yeah", the legendary follow-up "One Second" (1987), from which the single "The Rhythm Divine" emerged, as well as the electro-pop milestone "Flag" from 1988, including the pop anthem "The Race" in a completely new sound shine.

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

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

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

TRACK LISTING

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

Not all new starts offer a fresh beginning.

While it might seem branching out with a solo album after a decade in a band would provide that clean start, in reality, more time must pass before the real change, movement and progress can occur. “With the last record (Now That I’m a River, 2018), I didn’t really know what I was doing - I just wanted to make something that felt like me,” reflects Charles, as he prepares to release his second solo album YES.

Out went major keys, swampy reverb, gloomy imagery and the kind of layered production which characterised Now That I’m a River. In their stead - lyrics of joy, minor keys, and a direct, stripped back approach Watson had always shied away from. “I think it’s about having the confidence to be myself,” he says. “The confidence to simplify things, to strip back where I would have added more, to be more direct.”

In addition, Watson was buoyed by the positivity directed at certain songs from Now That I’m a River - the title track, particularly. “I felt like I had been hiding for so long, behind reverb, behind certain effects and tricks, and that was a hang-up from when I was in Slow Club,” he explains. “And now, I’ve arrived at a place of not wanting to carry my insecurities on to a record. I want to project the purest form of what I want to say. I feel like I’ve come so far in the space of two albums and can already see I’m not the person I was when I was writing this album, just as I’m no longer the person I was when I made the first album. This record is the start of untangling all of those feelings and stepping forward.”

Alongside his solo career, Charles is known for his work as one half of the band Slow Club and as a member of the garage-rock super group The Surfing Magazines. In recent years Charles has worked as a composer, writing the music for acclaimed Netflix & Channel 4 production 'Feel Good' which led to the show's creator, Canadian comedian Mae Martin, becoming a fan. Charles has also recently composed the score for 'Youngstown', the forthcoming indie feature film from director Pete Ohs (Everything Beautiful is Far Away) due for release in late 2021.

TRACK LISTING

1. Figure Skater
2. All My Mountains
3. Reared In The West
4. I Was Sent Here To Love You
5. Afghan Hound
6. Spectator Sports
7. Beauty Contest
8. Going Places
9. It Must Be Night
10. People Run Towards People

Perfectly riding between jangling ‘80s indie, ‘60s girl group bittersweet harmonies, catchy pop melodies, and personal/political punk lyricism. Portland, US-based three-piece The Crystal Furs have made their most honest and honed album yet in Beautiful and True. Technically their third long player the band see this as a second debut, coming as their first album ‘out and living as our real selves’. Getting a limited release on CD and digital through SubJangle in 2020 the album has been remastered and is coming to vinyl for the first time through Reckless Yes in 2021. Writing melodic, textured songs about anxiety, architecture, lesbians, and queer feels The Crystal Furs’ Beautiful and True is loud music for quiet hearts. Press and radio coverage for The Crystal Furs “Had The Crystal Furs been around in the late 80s – early 90s there is a possibility they would have been signed to Sarah Records, home of OG jangle pop bands like The Field Mice and The Reckless Yes

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A

1. Comeback Girls
2. Expo 67
3. Pretty Mind
4. Panther City Pariah
5. Too Kind To Be Cruel
6. Like You

SIDE B

1. Burn Us Down
2. Hey Maxine
3. Artoria
4. Drag You Away
5. The Robber Barons Of Lombard Street
6. Second Time Around

Enter Yes Grasshopper, taking you on a trip into the unexplored depths of their collective mind, a place of daring rescue missions and uncanny swamp monsters, all imagined through the lens of a playful B-movie aesthetic.

Emerging from England's unforgiving northern coast, this dynamic duo present a wholly unique take on noise rock, with crushing riffs, white water rhythmic twists and barking intertwined vocals making way for heinously catchy hooks you'll find yourself whistling at the most unexpected of times. And with the lyrics spinning esoteric tales over such a compelling foundation, Yes Grasshopper won't let your undivided attention slip for a single second.

Their universe is one where both rage and joy jostle side-by-side, one moment buzzing with all the fury of a swarm of pissed-off hornets/mozzies, the next inviting the whole lot round for an unforgettable afterparty. Call it metal. Call it punk. Hell, call it hardcore-acid-math-crustcore if you want. What's so striking is that it doesn't deal in the usual palette of oppressive blacks and greys those genres invariably paint with, instead imagining a more kaleidoscopic and perhaps even welcoming landscape. And despite the heavy-as-heavy-can-be riffery and hammer-blow grooves, there is somehow an air of levity permeating the whole thing.

Giving the likes of Hella, Lightning Bolt and John (times two) a run for their money in the 'how much noise can two people make?' stakes, the respective halves of this newly established duo have been nourished on a diet of music's more extreme offerings, with the mischievous demons within intent on shredding hard. Live shows consist of the slicing of mustard and people losing their socks.

After a few years out to perfect their jaw-dropping new album 100% YES,  Melt Yourself Down are back. Thanks to collaborations with production legends Youth and Ben Hillier, the band have reimagined themselves and  created a bruising re-up of their signature sound with added synths, lyrics, anthems and epic joyrides. They took their sweet time crafting this new sound and it was worth it - 100% YES is the band at their finest.

Matthew Halsall (born September 11, 1983, in Manchester, England) is a Worldwide Award winning and MOBO nominated trumpeter, composer, producer and DJ. Since 2008, Matthew has released seven critically acclaimed studio recordings and has been a key figure in the rise of a new jazz sound in the UK. In addition to his own releases Halsall has collaborated with many DJs and producers, most notably DJ Shadow and Mr. Scruff, and in 2013 Matthew's music was selected by Bonobo for his Late Night Tales compilation. Halsall is also the founder of Gondwana Records, a genre bending independent record label featuring a wealth defining albums by the likes of Portico Quartet, GoGo Penguin, Hania Rani and Mammal Hands. His own rich music draws on the spiritual-jazz of Alice Coltrane and Phaorah Sanders, contemporary electronica and dance music alongside his travels in Japan, the traditional art and music of which, has left a lasting impression on his compositions.


Sending My Love (2008) and Colour Yes (2009) were his first releases and document Halsall's first great bands featuring the likes of flautist Chip Wickham, saxophonist Nat Birchall, harpist Rachael Gladwin, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes. Joyful, life-enhancing albums, drawing on UK jazz and spiritual jazz influences but with a decidedly modern bounce, they introduced Halsall's music to the world gathering support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Jamie Cullum, Mojo, Straight No Chaser and beyond. But Halsall was never completely happy with how the records were presented and as part of Gondwana Records 10th anniversary decided to revisit the recordings, meticulously remixing and remastering them for vinyl and commissioning new artwork from Ian Anderson, one of his favourite designers. These then are the definitive editions of the records. Sending My Love comes complete with the beautiful bonus track This Time, while Colour Yes features the equally striking It's What We Do and Ai.

"I am very proud of these early recordings. They represent the starting point of my musical journey in Manchester and showcase some of the cities finest musicians such as: Nat Birchall, Chip Wickham, Rachael Gladwin, Adam Fairhall, Gavin Barras and Gaz Hughes. They are also the very first recordings my brother and I decided to release on our record label (Gondwana Records). Listening back they sound full of energy and joy and really reflect how I was feeling at that precise moment. But as much as I loved the music, I was never 100 percent happy with the sound of the mixes and mastering. So I decided to go back to the original tapes to remix and remaster them and present them the way I'd always wanted, and along the way we unearthed a couple extra unreleased tracks, which we decided to include as bonus material. Myself and my brother also decided to bring in Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic to re-imagine the artwork and we are super blown away by the results!" Matthew Halsall, Oct 2019

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: A further look into Matthew Halsall’s previous releases, Colour Yes from 2009 is a mixture of soft piano keys and swaying brass. More uncovered gems please Gondwana Records, this is truly beautiful.

TRACK LISTING

1. Colour Yes
2. Together
3. I've Found Joy
4. Mudita
5. I've Been Here Before
6. Me And You
7. It's What We Do (Bonus Track)
8. Ai (Bonus Track) 

Technological force-of-nature Leafcutter John teams up with fellow stalwarts of idiosyncratic electronica Border Community for the release of his masterful seventh artist album: the small-yet- perfectly formed joyously utopian artefact ‘Yes! Come Parade With Us’.

Interweaving layers of lyrical modular synth and occasional guest drums (from Tom Skinner and Sebastian Rochford) with a set of field recordings collected during his sixty mile walk along the Norfolk coastal path during the summer of 2017, these seven bright-eyed folk anthems sing with positivity and a sense of place and see Leafcutter John on career-defining form.

TRACK LISTING

Doing The Beeston Bump
Yes! Come Parade With
Us
Pillar
Elephant Bones
Stepper Motor
This Way Out
Dunes

Psychic Yes and Tech Startup founder Rafael fortuitously met on a Berlin dance floor in late 2017. A long period of digital correspondence followed between Berlin and Seattle, culminating in the inaugural release of the Seattle-based Tech Startup label: "TS000001". The project is comprised of 5 tracks built up from initial recordings of percussion, trumpet, and synthesizers honed into drum-focused dance pieces in the melancholy Berlin winter of 2018. Split in function between the two sides, Side A features dancefloor-ready tracks with Side B containing introspective songs geared towards a home-listening environment.

Field recordings of Scottish stone slates mark the opening track "Stone Sound", a tribal-leaning dancefloor cut highlighted by syncopated, pounding percussion and discreet melodies. "Spacemaker" features organic, sparse breakbeats cloaked in bright, hazy melodies. "Delicated" is a track that delights as a series of melodic characters move around one another in a foggy electronic atmosphere. "Aldhini Theme" emerges as the standout track on Side B commencing with undulating sequenced bloops and bleeps that slowly build into a hypnotic slow-burner that resolves on a melody.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Stone Sound
A2. Spacemaker
B1. Delicated
B2. Aldhini Theme
B3. 12059

Yes Lawd! Remixes, is a new reworking of the critically acclaimed debut album from NxWorries. Knxwledge continues a Stones Throw tradition started by Madlib, by remixing his own album, adding a new interpretation to the tracks featuring Anderson .Paak’s vocals. “Two artists working at the absolute height of their talents” – Pitchfork “One of the best albums of 2016” – Complex “Yes Lawd! is an album that feels alive, a living and breathing object that nods to the past while staying in the present” - The FADER “The inspired combo of Paak’s soulful rasp and Knxwledge’s cratedigging sample...makes this album something special in a year that’s already filled with strong R&B LPs”

TRACK LISTING

1. Alltype
2. Livvin
3. Wngs
4. Best 1
5. Kutless
6. Lyk Dis
7. Idntrembrwell
8. HAN
9. $cared
10. Best 2
11. Suede
12. Reali(the)nd

Following the success of last years Playgroup ‘Previously Unreleased’ album and its critically-acclaimed run of nine weekly 12” vinyl EPs, Trevor Jackson has compiled a second volume of 20 tracks (11 unheard and 9 previously vinyl only) released as a Limited Edition Double CD.

The music featured is a collection of reworked demos and unreleased recordings. A hedonistic mix of raw Disco, Dub, Funk, Dancehall. Electro, New Wave & Post Punk that all still sound as relevant today as they did when initially recorded for the debut PLAYGROUP album during 1997 - 2001.

TRACK LISTING

CD1
1. Dirt Biter
2. Memory Per Voice
3. P.C.H
4. Don’T Stop (Dub)
5. Don’T No…
6. Like This
7. Butt Wot?
8. C’Mon C'Mon
9. Sold Out
10. Omni Corp

CD2
1.See Yourself
2. Long System
3. Do It
4. No Lube
5. What Does It All Mean
6. Work It
7. Kill Dem
8. In Riddim
9. Tunnel Vision
10. Stand Down (Dub)

Flock Of Dimes is Jenn Wasner. Wasner is one half of Wye Oak as well as Dungeonesse.

Across all of her projects Jenn balances experimentation with craft, unafraid to be vulnerable - from 10+ years co-creating the novel, guitar-driven Wye Oak repertoire to purposefully putting out several two-at-a-time 7”s as Flock Of Dimes or exploring electronic textures as Dungeonesse.

Wasner wrote, performed and self-produced the record, with help from frequent collaborators Mickey Freeland in Baltimore and Aaron Roche in NYC. It was mixed in Dallas by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen).

“‘Semaphore’ is a song for people who make better art than they do small talk. In spite of all of the chaos behind the song, though, its sound feels comforting and triumphant. Through each verse, Wasner gets stronger.” - NPR

TEEN’s new album, Love Yes, explores the disharmony and empowerment that both sexuality and spirituality can create within the modern woman’s psyche. Universal ideas of loyalty, pleasure, purity, power, aging, and love are confronted with a knowable specificity. There is a quality of wholesomeness, but also an edge—a kind of wise anger and electricity.

After extensive touring following their breakthrough release The Way and Color (2014), the band had to keep traveling to find Love Yes. The group first went to Woodstock in the dead of winter to write new material. Here, keyboardist and singer Lizzie Lieberson created the stunning, autobiographical “Please.” But the band, and especially lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Teeny Lieberson, felt a crushing lack of creative energy. Recognizing the need to recharge, they took some time off. Teeny moved to a small lakeside cabin in Morehead, Kentucky. Surrounded by rolling hills, sparked with sudden thunderstorms, and inspired by the musical joy of uninhibited late-night bluegrass jams and barn parties, Teeny immediately began writing again. Here she felt a new freedom in her songwriting; drawing on themes important to her identity as a woman, and exploring love, sexuality, and the tension between desire and the construct of desire that can exist within oneself, in relationship, and within society.

After three weeks in Morehead, Teeny returned to New York to workshop with rest of the band, including drummer Katherine Lieberson and bassist Boshra Al-Saadi. Acknowledging the benefits of being creative in a cocoon like the lakeside Kentucky country, the band decided to record at the Old Confidence Lodge, in secluded Riverport, Nova Scotia. Leaving the noise and relentless energy of the city behind, TEEN retreated into the nurturing stillness of Nova Scotia, the Lieberson sisters’ childhood home. Situated on the La Have River, the studio was hidden in a perpetual mist while the band recorded day and night. Fueled by new material, a change of place, and creative collaboration, the lull of the winter lifted and the band came together in a new way. Teaming up once again with producer Daniel Schlett, TEEN wanted to capture the energy of full band recording. Rather than multi-tracking, Schlett worked with the band as they played the songs relentlessly, waiting to achieve the right energy and take as a group.

The result is a beautiful, detailed album about womanhood and the embodiment of the sensual, played by a group fully in step with one another. Love Yes bursts into the static air with a vibrancy recognized by its confidence and power.

On the album cover, the quartet is bejeweled in crystals and bathed in Venusian red. This red is the colour of vitality and pulsing life — unmistakable traits of Love Yes. It is the iconic red of Dorothy’s slippers and Eve’s apple — potent with society’s tales and notions of innocence lost. In Love Yes, something else more mysterious and tender is gained.

TRACK LISTING

1. Tokyo
2. All About Us
3. Gone For Good
4. Another Man's Woman
5. Example
6. Animal
7. Free Time
8. Superhuman
9. Please
10. Noise Shift
11. Love Yes
12. Push

MANIMAL GROUP is excited to announce the sequel to YOKO ONO’S critically acclaimed 2007 collaboration record Yes, I’m A Witch (Astralwerks).

'Yes, I’m A Witch Too' features new collaborations and remixes pairing ONO with Death Cab For Cutie, Peter, Bjorn and John, Sparks, tUnE-yArDs, MiikeSnow, Cibo Matto, Portugal The Man and more. 

TRACK LISTING

1: Walking On Thin Ice
2: Forgive Me My Love
3: Mrs. Lennon
4: Give Me Something
5: She Gets Down On Her Knees
6: Dogtown
7: Wouldnit
8: Move On Fast
9: Soul Got Out Of The Box
10: Approxmately Infinite Universe
11: Yes, I'm Your Angel
12: Warrior Woman
13: Coffin Car
14: I Have A Woman Inside My Soul
15: Catman
16: No Bed For Beatle John
17: Hell In Paradise 

The follow up EP to Yes Blythe's Debut album "Keep The Faith" first saw the light of day as a short run cassette release on the Gnod tape imprint Tesla Tapes. "Initiate Screen Prevails" is finally being given a vinyl release on Sacred Tapes. Not only the first Vinyl release for the label, kicking off an offshoot SAC-R series, but also a first vinyl release for the artist.

This 30 minute EP ranges from subtle layered field recordings to intense crushing noise created with depth and detail. The record comes packaged with printed fabric insert and risograph'd recycled card info sheet.

TRACK LISTING

A. Travels Nerves To Freedom
B. At Labyrinth Borne-Sun

Perfect Pussy are one of the boldest and most intriguing projects to surface in recent years, garnering widespread critical acclaim following the release of a four song EP, titled I have lost all desire for feeling. Veiled beneath layers of exquisitely abrasive noise, frontwoman Meredith Graves’ lyrics are disarming, brutally honest and poetic, possessing a feverish intensity that can only be matched by Graves’ electric stage presence. Hailing from Syracuse, New York, the band is comprised of members from the local punk and hardcore community.

Since releasing their 4 song demo cassette I Have Lost All Desire for Feeling in late 2013, Perfect Pussy have taken the music world by storm. Their harsh yet refreshing lyrics paired with the assaulting vocals of singer Meredith Graves drew in audiences from all crowds. While often muffled by the wall of sound built buy the guitar, bass, drums and synth, it is the brutal truths of Graves’ lyrics and the power of her live delivery that has had everyone from Rolling Stone to Pitchfork to The New York Times praising the power of this rising band. With Say Yes to Love Perfect Pussy have begun to hone their sound while retaining the rough around the edges noise that first drew listeners in. The first track, “Driver”, grabs the listner and drags them into the chaotic world of this brief but powerful album. The songs kick and punch but it is the dense, honest lyrics that will make the listener feel the most. Filled with conflict and confidence and despare and desire, these are songs that stay with the listener long after the album has ended.

“These punk kids from the mean streets of Syracuse, New York, deliver high-energy slabs of mayhem-friendly post punk noise, a wall of guitar and Casio. Meredith Graves knows how to run her mosh pit like a dictator runs a birthday party.” Rolling Stone.

“In just four short songs, Perfect Pussy has spoken more truths than many artists with 20-year-spanning discographies, and with news of a debut full-length in the works, now is probably a good time to start bracing yourselves. It might get a little uncomfortable, but trust me, the shake-up is worth it.” Complex.

“One of the boldest new rock bands.” Pitchfork.

TRACK LISTING

1. Driver (2:16)
2. Bells (1:41)
3. Big Stars (2:19)
4. Work (2:08)
5. Interference Fits (3:30)
6. Dig (1:23)
7. Advance Upon The Real (5:04)
8. VII (4:36)

"You wanna know something? Every now and then say, "What the fuck." "What the fuck" gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future." Risky Business 1983. Inspired by a "What the fuck” philosophy, "Loosen The Lead And Spoil The Dogs" is a throwback to days when artists crafted records to be listened to as albums.

This third full-length from Colossal Yes (a project masterminded by Comets On Fire drummer Utrillo Kushner) embraces unhinged power pop, bleary-eyed classic rock, and channels the late-night, art with meaning vibe, of early 70’s singer-songwriters. The result is an album that rides high with optimism like an unscratched lottery ticket. Lyrics are placed in the forefront of the action drawing inspiration from various literary and pop culture topics. When all assembled the end product is a canon of lyrical imagery and sun-soaked open-ended possibility.

The ten songs that comprise "Loosen The Lead..." concentrate on thought and a groove, ultimately ending up with the only acceptable conclusion... "What the fuck." Joining Kushner in this recording were friends and cohorts including Ben Chasney (Six Organs of Admittance, Comets On Fire, Raganda), Ben Flashman (Comets On Fire), Noel Von Harmonson (Sic Alps, Comets On Fire) as well as members of Aisler's Set, East Bay Grease, Howling Rain and many others.

TRACK LISTING

1. Lacroix’s Run
2. Sterling Drums
3. The Deputy’s Game
4. Vomit On Your Blue Suede Shoes
5. Crowing Over Scraps
6. Lacroix’s Divide
7. Backbiter Blues
8. Young Horus
9. Romeo’s Reinvention
10. Lacroix’s Return

Formed in Columbus, Ohio in early 2010, Way Yes is the musical collaboration of Glenn Davis & Travis Hall. With the addition of multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer Max Lewis, the band set out to make music about good times, or at least making it through the bad ones.

Their latest EP, Walkability (being released via Lefse Records 26/03/12) hides heavy lyrical content under positive tropical vibes. The album addresses everything from death of loved ones to the daily grind. They make masterful use of sonic space, keeping the instrumentation sparse and the reverb heavy to provide a deceivingly introspective experience. With layered Afro-Latin rhythms, whimsical guitar lines and dreamy electronic touches, Way Yes makes sure you’ll never think of Ohio the same way again.

TRACK LISTING

1. Walkability
2. Important
3. Singing
4. Gino
5. Ties
6. Walkability, (Rimar Remix)
7. Important (First Person Shootr Rework)
8. Singing (RUMTUM Remix)
9. Gino (Larry Gus Remix)
10. Ties (Monster Rally Remix)

Love Inks' debut album ‘E.S.P.’ was conceived and recorded with strict, direct motives. No frills, tears through extravagant side roads, indulgent solos, certainly no jamming, and no extra instrumentation. The sounds captured within these 10 tracks are simply an electric guitar, a bass guitar, an old drum machine, at special moments a Moog Satellite and, most importantly, the simple yet poignant vocals of Sherry LeBlanc. The combined sound is minimalist dream-pop; imbued with raw emotion, sexuality, and splashes of electronic colour. Focus is placed primarily on the voice, which is direct and honest and real.

"I don't even like rhythm, assonance, all that stuff. You just go on your nerve. If someone's chasing you down the street with a knife you just run." – Frank O’hara

“Our heroes are masters of simplicity and tact” explains Sherry. “This sometimes leads to uncomfortable situations, but we never get caught by the blade.”

Self-recorded in their own homes, Austin, Texas, and mixed by a friend; the idea was to get the purest signals from all instruments and feed them through an 8 track reel-to-reel, immediately warming the sounds and weaving it all together. This process was drawn out on a piece of paper in schematics before recording with the concept being: the less digitized, the better. In March of 2010, Love Inks started the process with fifteen or more songs, and by June they were down to a solid ten.

The songs featured on ‘E.S.P.’ were written to showcase the essence of emotion behind each instrument. It started as an exercise and became the only way to do it, forever. With the guitar and bass, Love Inks found there is a way to drop it perfectly into the song, in between everything, so that the vocal can exist in its own world, floating independently above the song.

For the lyrics, Sherry channels the intensity and love between Yoko Ono and John Lennon. The art of Ono, inherently Japanese, is concise and inspired John Lennon to follow suite: "Try shaving it all off and getting down to the nitty gritty- - that's what I always try to write. I'm not interested in describing a fucking tree. I'm interested in climbing it or being under it." Give it to them straight, with honesty. Sherry is also a firm believer in positivity. Her lyrics are never abusive or cynical. “We are a family, and in some ways stronger because we are always supportive. The album reflects a time and place for everyone in the band. A time to pear down to what is necessary, essential. Cut out complexity, and you'll find a deeper layer that is thicker and stronger. Like the human body, you'll eventually end up at a nerve; once it's hit, that's when we know we're there, and that's when we press the record button.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Wave Goodbye
2. Blackeye
3. Leather Glove
4. Can’t Be Wrong
5. Skeleton Key
6. Down And Out
7. Too Wild
8. Rock On
9. In My Dreams
10. Too Late

Laura are an amazing six piece collective/band from Melbourne, Australia who create noise and beauty unlike anyone else out there today. They definitely have sipped from the same cup as their older brethren the Dirty Three, but yet also go way beyond that in their peaks, valleys and fury while incorporating so much more than the post rock blueprint sometimes can offer. "Yes Maybe No" is the culmination of the bands evolutionary path to this point that has seen them release a very strong first album in 05' followed by a stunning second record in "Radio Swan is Down" in early 07. This record incorporates everything about the band that makes them heavy, passionate and absolutely beautiful. There are spots on the record where the music takes you in very different directions than you would expect. The band entered the studio in April with outlines and certain structures loosely mapped out but it really took shape in the studio to the point the EP started to grow almost into album length. The material was really leading the way so everyone just let the music direct them and "Yes Maybe No" is the result. We feel Laura are quite simply one of the most passionate, powerful, melodic and more unique bands out there today. They take their intensity and meld it with some of the best in what the post rock world has to offer and yet create something that is wholly their own. It's deep, dark, powerful and almost magical in its beauty.

One of the most successful of the 70s progressive rock groups, Yes began their career with this adventurous debut album. Influenced by the explosion of new pyschedelic prog rock bands like Pink Floyd, Cream and the Nice (who weren't afraid to mix rock idioms with classical music) "Yes" was issued in November 1969 it featured Jon Anderson's distinctive vocals, Chris Squire's huge bass sound, Peter Banks' angular guitar and Tony Kaye's keyboards which were underpinned by Bruford's remarkable drumming that managed to be both complex and effortless. It was their first step on the path to prog rock success.

Loud aggressive debut from this band from Portland, Oregon. Typical of an In The Red release, this is classic rock'n'roll with all the influences you'd expect - Stooges, Stones, Cramps, Beefheart, New York Dolls and 60s / 70s punk.