Music Releases 03-08-24
Visions [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Orange Blend LP Alternate Cover LP]
Vinyl: $25.99 Buy
Legendary musician and multi-disciplinary artist Kim Gordon returns with her second solo album, The Collective, which will be released March 8th on Matador. Recorded in her native Los Angeles, The Collective follows Gordon’s 2019 full-length debut No Home Record and continues her collaboration with producer Justin Raisen (Lil Yachty, John Cale, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Charli XCX, Yves Tumor), with additional production from Anthony Paul Lopez. The album advances their joint world building, with Raisin’s damaged, blown out dub and trap constructions playing the foil to Gordon’s intuitive word collages and hooky mantras, which conjure communication, commercial sublimation and sensory overload.
"On this record, I wanted to express the absolute craziness I feel around me right now," says Gordon. "This is a moment when nobody really knows what truth is, when facts don’t necessarily sway people, when everyone has their own side, creating a general sense of paranoia. To soothe, to dream, escape with drugs, TV shows, shopping, the internet, everything is easy, smooth, convenient, branded. It made me want to disrupt, to follow something unknown, maybe even to fail."
Moor Mother is an American musician, poet, and interdisciplinary artist known for her avant-garde and experimental work. The Great Bailout is an expansive meditation that acts as a non-linear word map about colonialism, slavery, and commerce in Great Britain. Featuring guest contributions from Lonnie Holley, Angel Bat Dawid & Sistas of the Nitty Gritty, Vijay Iyer, Mary Lattimore, and more, it’s Moor Mother’s most uncompromising vision to date.
Moor Mother has gained recognition for her unique blend of spoken word, noise, and electronic music, addressing themes of race, gender, and socio-political issues. She hails from Philadelphia and has been an influential figure in the city’s vibrant arts and music scene. She has received critical acclaim for her albums, with reviewers praising her fearless approach to sound and her thought-provoking lyrical content on albums like “Jazz Codes” and “Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes”, showcasing her boundary-pushing sonic experiments.
Guilty Of Everything: 10 Year Anniversary Edition [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Black Ice LP]
Vinyl: $25.98 Buy
NOTHING return with the 10th year anniversary edition of their landmark debut album, Guilty of Everything. Recorded and produced by Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile, War On Drugs, etc), Guilty of Everything is a triumph of a debut that successfully manages to be massively loud, darkly introspective and totally beautiful all at once.
NOTHING's Nicky Palermo comments on the bonus material, highlighting a cover of Big Star's track, "Holocaust": "We wrote and recorded this track right before I almost got killed in Oakland. We were out on tour with Cloakroom and Tony Molina, so before Doyle joined Nothing. Forgot it existed until a couple years ago while demoing with Nick in Oakland for The Great DIsmal. Hard to imagine a more crushing piece of music than the Alex version, but looking back and how things progressed following recording, this version really holds heavy weight as well to me. Looking back, it's almost like an eerie premonition now of how quickly things can turn devastating."
Following acclaimed Topical Dancer album with Charlotte Adigéry, here comes Letter To Yu, Bolis Pupul’s debut solo album, produced by fellow Belgians, Soulwax. It’s no coincidence that Bolis Pupul’s music sounds the way it does. Born in Belgium to a Chinese mother and Belgian father and raised in Ghent, Bolis’ electronica is a joyous cross-cultural assemblage. The creation of the album is built around Bolis’ trip to Hong Kong earlier this year, made to reconnect with his mother’s roots.
Theatre Of Death - Live At Hammersmith 2009 [Red 2LP + DVD + Numbered Ticket]
Step into the electrifying realm of Alice Cooper with the exhilarating "Theatre Of Death - Live At Hammersmith 2009." This captivating live album perfectly captures the essence of Cooper's legendary performance at Hammersmith Apollo, London. Immerse yourself in the theatrical spectacle as the iconic shock rocker delivers a spine-tingling show, featuring timeless hits like "No More Mr. Nice Guy," "School's Out," and "Poison."
Experience the infectious energy of the crowd and witness Cooper's unparalleled showmanship as he weaves a macabre tale on stage. This album not only highlights the music but also showcases the theatrical mastery that has established Alice Cooper as a pioneer in the realm of rock spectacles. The recording transports you to the heart of the concert, making it an essential addition for both devoted fans and those new to the electrifying world of Alice Cooper.
Featuring a track list that reads like a greatest hits compilation, "Theatre Of Death" takes you on a sonic journey through Cooper's illustrious career. The raw intensity of his vocals, combined with the precision of the band, creates an unforgettable experience. This album serves as a testament to Alice Cooper's enduring influence and a celebration of his status as a true rock icon.
"Theatre Of Death - Live At Hammersmith 2009" is a spellbinding musical odyssey that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Enhance your music collection with this live masterpiece, now available on vinyl for the very first time. Pressed on a limited run of 180g double red vinyl, it includes a DVD featuring the entire concert. As a special bonus, each edition comes with a numbered concert ticket replica, immersing you in the world of horror and making this release a must-have collector's item.
Luke Grimes self-titled debut album on Mercury Nashville features 13 tracks, including “Burn,” “Hold On,” and “Oh Ohio.” Known for his role as Kayce Dutton on the hit television series Yellowstone, Grimes has been making music for years. He closed out 2023 with a sold-out tour after playing fairs and festivals around the country, including Stagecoach, Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, Under The Big Sky Festival, and more. Grimes grew up playing music in church as the son of a Pentecostal pastor. His father also laid the foundation for the music he loves, introducing him to the works of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
Northern Norwegian indie-folk duo acclaimed by Pitchfork, FADER, Stereogum and more returns with their 2nd LP. Captivating, intimate and full of vivid moments from life in the rural arctic the LP sees Konradsen reaching new creative heights. After moving back to their respective small villages their music takes on new depths in themes of raising families, returning to your rural roots and grappling with the expectations vs. realities of life.
Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan outfit hailing from Hamburg, Germany have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7”s and three critically acclaimed full length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their fourth album BRSB, Bacao are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega hits to underground album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago.
While part of the allure of a new Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band album is finding out what covers they do it is equally intriguing to see what original tunes they cooked upland this record is foul of stand out originals. The album opener, “In The Crosshairs” is a rough and tough mid tempo head nodder while both “Grilled” & “Treasure Quest” pick up the tempo with heavy African Funk influences on both. Bacao goes deep with “Hazy Memories”, a bass heavy slow burner that walks a line between hypnotic and hype. All these originals stand as testament that the term “cover band” is a shoe that could never fit Bacao. However, in the tradition of steel pan music, they do a heavy amount of covers. This time around there is a big West Coast Hip Hop influence with covers of Game & 50 Cent’s “How We Do”, Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg’s “Nuthin But A G Thang”, and Tupac’s “Got My Mind Made Up” all of which take on new energy and lend themselves to the BRSB steel treatment. Bacao puts another certified dancefloor filler on their resume with their cover of Claudja Barry’s uber Disco classic “Love For The Sake Of Love” which they flip into a dubbed out affair aptly changing even the title to “Love For The Sake Of Dub”. Pulling from the contemporary smash hit section of Hop Hop they cover Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and “Love$ick” by Mura Masa & A$AP Rocky. Then they go very unexpected with “Stranger Things Theme” where they take the synth heavy theme song to the hit show and give it a more hypnotizing tone than the original.
By the time BRSB is through, Bacao has taken the listener on a journey spanning a myriad of energies, tempos, and moods while keeping it all under one umbrella. For all that, these songs are alive, and they will be taken out of the context of this album and sewn into the fabric of DJ sets around the globe for many years to come. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band continues building their legacy and pushing the boundaries of steel pan music forward with another rock solid musical offering. Enjoy.
With its incredibly personal, epic and beautiful progressive metal with Middle Eastern influences, Myrath has surely established itself as one of the most fascinating bands in the current international metal scene. Formed in 2001 in Tunisia, they are the voices of the revolution and combine lyrics critical of society with lush melodies and heavy guitars.
With "Karma", Myrath solidify their place at the top of the metal scene with a powerful and captivating blend of Eastern melodies and Western heavy metal. From the epic opening track "To The Stars" to the hauntingly beautiful "Child Of Prophecy", this album will take you on a theatrical journey through a world of myth and legend.
Featuring soaring vocals, intricate guitar riffs, and complex percussion, "Karma" showcases the virtuosity and creativity that have made Myrath one of the most exciting and innovative bands in the genre. With its stunning production and lush soundscapes, this album is sure to be a classic for years to come.
Dion, the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, unleashes his latest musical masterpiece in an electrifying new album that transcends generations: Girl Friends. Inspired by the muse that is the "feminine genius," Dion's latest album from KTBA Records sees him collaborating with an exceptional lineup of special female artists including the soulful Susan Tedeschi, blues powerhouse Shemekia Copeland, country icon Carlene Carter, blues virtuoso Joanne Shaw Taylor, and the versatile Maggie Rose, among others. A sonic journey through the diverse realms of blues, rock and country, Dion's timeless voice, combined with the distinct styles of these acclaimed artists, creates a harmonious fusion that celebrates the rich tapestry of American music, making this album a must-listen for fans of all genres.
The Color Purple (Music From & Inspired By) (Various Artists) - Soundtracks - 3 LP Vinyl
A Star-Studded Musical Journey. Purple Vinyl.
Immerse yourself in the harmonious blend of raw emotion and musical brilliance with "The Color Purple (Music From and Inspired By)" album.
Boasting an ensemble cast like no other - Golden Globe nominee Fantasia's soulful melodies, Taraji B. Henson's emotive depth, Colman Domingo's captivating energy, Golden Globe nominee Danielle Brooks' powerful resonance, H.E.R's contemporary artistry, and Hallie Bailey's radiant vocals - and music from Grammy Award winning songwriters of The Color Purple musical - Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray - promises an auditory experience that's both deeply nostalgic and refreshingly new.
BEING is pianist Chris Rottmayer’s fourth album. It’s a collection of original music, written as part of a study of pianist Mulgrew Miller and his recordings with the Woody Shaw Quintet. Joining him on this album are Russ Johnson on trumpet and flugelhorn, Matt Endres on drums, and jazz master Rufus Reid on acoustic bass. The skillful compositions and virtuosic performances on BEING weave an exotic and mysterious tapestry that explores Miller and Shaw’s harmonic and modal concepts.
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah [formerly Christian Scott] is a two-time Edison Award-winning, six-time Grammy Award-nominated, Doris Duke Award in the Arts Award-winner. He is a sonic architect, trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and designer of innovative technologies and musical instruments. Chieftain and OBA of the Xodokan Nation, Chief Adjuah is the grandson of Louisiana luminary and legend, the late Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr.
Coming off the back of her gothic shoegaze debut album "Euphoric Recall" released in 2021, MØAA unleashes her new album "Jaywalker" via WWNBB Records; a nocturnal dream pop record featuring pulsing 909 drum machines submerged under catchy hushed vocals and glistening, reverb laden guitars. Fuzzed out bass lines from the first album have been swapped out with fat chorus and throbbing synths built for melancholic dancing.
Sharpshooters is the long-awaited collaborative album from Destruct & DJ Zole. The two Southern California natives have been true contributors to the Los Angeles Hip-Hop scene for over a decade now. Sharpshooters showcases a vast arrangement of styles blended into one solid LP with a hint of nostalgia hence the title of the project.
“Gothics” - a time before the word goth had even taken shape - believed in the do-it-yourself punk ethos that anyone could pick up an instrument. Gray clouds were starting to form and in the unlikely city of Hamburg, a brazen and haunting gang of five women formed Xmal Deutschland. As any true punk would, Xmal Deutschland’s members Caro May, Rita Simon, Manuela Rickers, Fiona Sangster and Anja Huwe, started the band despite any previous musical experience.
The “Schwarze Welt” seven-inch was released on the local punk label, ZickZack, in 1981 and introduced the band as an unsettling swarm of intensity. There’s an urgency in its repetitive dirge, a swirling mania that persists on the b-side with “Die Wolken” and “Großstadtindianer” whose crude synthesizer noises escalate in tension. Most of all, Huwe’s uniquely venomous German vocals quickly became embedded in the unbridled and burgeoning scene of glamorous gloom.
Punk’s independence from the stiff grip of tradition allowed the band to find solace in anti-establishment art and music, far from the conventions of the past. With their peacocked hair and thick kohl-lined eyes, Xmal Deutschland’s music retained both a restlessness and delicacy, transcending any confines of the “Neue Deutsche Welle” movement (much like their colleagues and friends DAF and Einstürzende Neubauten) with the release of the “Incubus Succubus” single in 1982. It instantly became a post-punk classic. The guitar’s buzz ransacks through the melody as the ghoulish primitiveness of Huwe’s voice teases that maybe, just maybe, she is the nightmarish creature of which to be aware. The b-sides, “Zu Jung Zu Alt” and “Blut Ist Liebe,” keep strict militaristic dance beats as they teem in agitation.
That same year, the band performed in London as support for the Cocteau Twins; it was the platform they needed to ricochet into the arms of the ripped fishnet masses. Early Singles (1981-1982), is a map of the foundational movements of Xmal Deutschland, just seconds before takeoff. Bonus tracks on the compilation, “Kaellbermarsch” and a gritty live version of “Allein,” further accentuate their fusion of toughness with the quixotic decadence of atmospheric synthesizers.
The band’s pursuit of something greater is palpable with this release, a reflection of a time that introduced accessibility to new means of making music following the onset of punk.
After Xmal Deutschland’s success with four albums on cult labels such as 4AD, Huwe abandoned music to pursue her visual art career. But leaving her legacy in the past was not so easy.
During the pandemic Huwe reconsidered her decades-long hiatus
from music. With a push by her longtime friend Mona Mur - a singer, songwriter and film music composer (as well as the frontwoman of early-80s project Mona Mur & Die Mieter) - Huwe decided to join Mur in Berlin. Together with Manuela Rickers, guitarist and collaborator in Xmal Deutschland, they tossed around music and poetic ideas that would eventually become the album Codes.
Initially inspired by the diary entries of Moshe Shnitzki, who, at the age of 17, left his home in 1942 to live in the cavernous White Russian forests as a partisan, Codes is about the human experience and what extremes can do to an individual. “The result is a poetic, musical cosmos that encompasses the following themes: forest, fear, pain, loss, violence, and loneliness but also beauty, longing, hope and the will to survive,” Huwe explains. These thematic extremities cause an erraticism to Codes - a passing thunderstorm, a cyclonic burst of nature’s force - but one that exudes anticipation amidst the chill.
With elegant production by Mur and Huwe and mixing and mastering by Jon Caffery (Joy Division, Gary Numan, Einstürzende Neubauten) epic builds crash and disseminate, the sleek synthesized drones of sound even feel claustrophobic at times.
Xmal Deutschland, now marked as forerunners of the post-punk movement, were never complacent but consistently ravenous in their attack throughout the 1980s. Huwe’s return is no different. Unexpected but long overdue, Codes is that missing page from post-punk’s history books, the freshly splayed paint across the decades-old canvas - it is the product of the tireless will to survive on her own terms.
The Rhythm Method announce Peachy, out March 8th on Moshi Moshi Records. The duo, comprised of Joey Bradbury and Rowan Martin, admit the perception of the band has at times been "Marmite. Earnest to the point of cringe" - but the band's 2019 debut left an indelible mark on the UK independent scene and their influence can be traced across London. Publications such as The Guardian, Dazed, Dork, i-D, Loud + Quiet all championed the band early on - comparing them to artists like Pet Shop Boys and Squeeze.
The Rhythm Method return with a vastly different sound, and in their words a "cohesive masterpiece". The new album, produced by Bill Ryder-Jones and featuring Aoife Power of Whenyoung, is the first time they have recorded music in a proper studio, and is influenced by a "desire to live up to one’s potential, making sure there’s no regrets on the deathbed". The Rhythm Method have been hailed by everyone from Mike Skinner to Michaela Coel.
This album is a heartfelt tribute to Eladio’s mom, Sol María. It features music styles that she loves as a tribute to her. This project is like a musical bouquet of appreciation and diving into those genres that she resonates with more. It’s his way of expressing gratitude and giving her the recognition she deserves for everything. Eladio kept the trap energy alive, but his main focus was to take this album and use it as a special thank-you to his biggest supporter, his mom.