• New Release Round-Up 06-18-21

  

  Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Carnage - Goliath Ent
  Written, recorded, and completed during lockdown, CARNAGE is the first studio album from Nick Cave & Warren Ellis outside of the Bad Seeds and their many soundtrack collaborations. The eight song project - developed amidst the downtime of a long, anxious, global emergency - showcases Cave & Ellis’ typical sonic and lyrical adventurism and stands as a quintessential record for these uncertain times. CARNAGE is shot through with moments of distilled beauty and resonating with an almost defiant sense of hope. In Cave's own words, it is "a brutal but very beautiful record nested in a communal catastrophe."

  
  
     
  

  

  Rosie Tucker - Sucker Supreme - Epitaph
  Sucker Supreme is the third album from Rosie Tucker, and first for Epitaph Records. It is a coming of age album that aches with self-discovery, self-definition, and self-redefinition. Sucker Supreme is also just the right follow-up to where their last album, 2019’s Never Not Never Not Never Not, left off: still playfully observed, still sneakily political, still indebted to folk singers of the past – but also much, much bigger, brighter, louder and noisier than anything Tucker has dared before. It delivers mightily on an ambitious M.O.: to be relentlessly catchy and muscular and noisy but also beautiful; be achingly sad and searching, but never too far away from funny, either; and to spotlight Tucker’s empathetic, yearning vocals on top of it all. It takes a unique group of people to make an album that leaps out of the speakers at you like this one. Sucker Supreme is the first record made by Tucker’s current touring band: drummer Jessy Reed, guitarist Jess Kallen, and bassist Wolfy, who also occupied the producer’s chair. It’s a group of people as eager to share their long-dead folk music heroes as they are to pay homage to their still-kicking pop-punk heartthrobs.
  
    
  

  

  Styx - Crash Of The Crown - UMe
  A new era of hope, survival, and prosperity comes calling on Styx's Magnum Opus, Crash Of The Crown, the band's first studio album since 2017's The Mission. Though the 15-track album takes a hard look at some inherently dark subjects, the prevalent light at the end of the tunnel eventually becomes each song's focal point - a persistent fervor to keep moving forward and achieve the greater good. Featuring "Crash of the Crown," "Reveries" & more, available on black vinyl.
  
  
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  Ashe - Ashlyn 
  
  Aretha Franklin - I Knew You Were Waiting: The Best Of Aretha Franklin 1980-2014
  James - All The Colours Of You [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Purple/Black & Red/Black 2LP]
  The Interrupters - Live In Tokyo! [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Pink & Black Pinwheel LP]
  Crumbsuckers - Life Of Dreams [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Orange LP]
  The Obsessed - The Church Within [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition White LP]
  Amythyst Kiah - Wary + Strange
  Seventeen - SEVENTEEN 8th Mini Album 'Your Choice' (ONE SIDE version)
  Evolfo - Site Out Of Mind
  Fear Factory - Aggression Continuum
  Rebelution - In The Moment
  Silk For The Starving - The Lounge Society EP
  Amy Helm - What The Flood Leaves Behind
  Now That's What I Call Music! - Now That's What I Call Country, Volume 14
  Now That's What I Call Music! - NOW That's What I Call Country Classics 00s
  Natalie Gelman - Moth To The Flame
  Omar Apollo - Apolonio
  Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon III: The Chosen
  
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

  UPCOMING RELEASES

  

  Gary Allan - Ruthless - EMI Nashville
  Gary Allan will be releasing a brand new album of all new material on June 25th. Ruthless is Gary's first studio album in over 8 years. Overall, Allan's nine studio and greatest hits albums have produced 26 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, including the number one hits "Man to Man", "Tough Little Boys" (both 2003), "Nothing On but the Radio" (2004), and "Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)" (2013). Seven more of his singles have reached the Top 10 on this chart as well: his debut single "Her Man", "It Would Be You" (both at #7), "Right Where I Need to Be" (at #5), "The One" (at #3), "Best I Ever Had" (a cover of a Vertical Horizon song) (at #7), "Life Ain't Always Beautiful" (at #4), and "Watching Airplanes" (#2).
  
    
  

  

  Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band - Banned - Anti
  Yves Jarvis and Romy Lightman are a pair of idiosyncratic and restlessly creative artists. In the past decade, Jarvis’s ever-expanding swatch have earned international acclaim, while Lightman’s twin-sister-led band Tasseomancy has transfixed listeners since the late 2000s. The Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band marks the duo’s first collaboration, slingshotting both musicians out of their comfort zones into spellbinding territories of lysergic folk and impressionistic rock. Banned was recorded in the tranquil environment of the Tree Museum, an outdoor art gallery in rural Ontario, Canada, hosting residencies for contemporary sculptors over the past 20 years. The pair credit its 200 acres of natural spaces intermingling with human-made creations as the fuel for their unfettered process. Recorded over two weeks in a free-flowing stream of improvisation, the album finds Lightman on synthesizer with Jarvis on drums and guitar, as their voices weave together into an electrified pastoral tapestry.
  
    
  

  

  Vincent Neil Emerson - Vincent Neil Emerson - La Honda Records
  Vincent Neil Emerson is a torchbearer of the Texas songwriter tradition. He channels the straightforward truth-telling and resonance of his songwriting heroes in Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Steve Earle into something fresh and distinctly his own. Where his 2019 debut Fried Chicken and Evil Women proved that he is one of the most reverent students of country and Western musical traditions, his follow-up LP, the masterful Rodney Crowell-produced Vincent Neil Emerson, which is out June 25 via La Honda Records/Thirty Tigers, is a brave step forward that solidifies his place as one of music's most compelling and emotionally clarifying storytellers. His songs are cathartic and bluntly honest, never mincing words or dancing around uncomfortable truths.
  
    
  

  

  T. Hardy Morris - The Digital Age of Rome - New West Records
  Heading into the spring of 2020, T. Hardy Morris had 12 demos that he thought would make-up his next album, then, everything changed.  The world took a break and so his plans to record did as well. As we all watched and waited out the storms; viral and societal, we seemed to wake up scrolling through a whole new century, a time Morris began to refer to as The Digital Age of Rome. He scrapped the demos and began a collection of songs in quarantine where the unprecedented times and topics were unavoidable. He wanted to document the era sonically and lyrically in some way. “I wanted it to sound like how the world felt to me in the second half of 2020. Uncomfortable and chaotic, dystopian but still beautiful.”  The Digital Age of Rome was recorded in a deserted downtown Athens, Ga. With long-time collaborator / producer Adam Landry.
  
    
  

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• Record Store Day 2021

  

  Our Record Store Day 2021 events will take place at our Golden Valley and Maple Grove locations as we did last year.  We run our events in an organized and safe manner with controlled capacity to ensure everyone feels comfortable.  We will have tons of RSD titles again this year and we are known for having one of the best RSD experiences.

  Here's the RSD List of titles --- pay special attention to the street date to see if the title is June 12th or July 17th.

  Doors will open at our GV and MG locations early at 9am on both June 12^th and July 17^th.  Our Crystal location will be servicing those folks that don’t want to deal with the crowds for items other than RSD titles.  If you haven’t visited us on RSD in the past, know that customers do get in line very early to ensure they get the titles they are seeking. We’ve run our RSD event in this manner for over a decade and continue to get rave reviews because customers like that it’s fair and organized.  Our events are not free-for-all situations and our customers prefer it this way.  

  Record Store Day titles are limited in quantity and exclusive to RSD stores like ourselves.  For that reason, it’s not uncommon to have customers line up very early in the morning to get their spot in line. We cannot pre-order, hold, or save RSD titles, you must show up in person to buy these that weekend.  *We will be selling the remainder of the RSD stock on Monday in our online store on Discogs.  

  8am:  We'll come out and answer any questions about the list, titles, street date bumps, etc... Also, we will use our app to add you to the list in the order in which you are lined up.  Please be courteous to everyone while waiting in line.    

  9am: Doors open for RSD Shopping: Customers are let into the store in the order in which they were lined up at the door. We will limit the capacity of customers in the store at one time to ensure distance can be obtained.

  The first time thru the RSD line we allow each customer a limited number of RSD titles.  (we do not allow multiples of the same RSD title during the RSD weekend)

  Down In The Valley V.I.P. Members GV customers can choose up to 8 different RSD titles the first time through the line. (Maple Grove can choose 6)

  Non-VIP Members at GV will get to choose up to 6 different RSD titles. (Maple Grove can choose 4)

  **You can go through the line as many times as you'd like

  Please have your RSD picks ready when you get to the table to eliminate delays for the folks behind you in line.

  Any further questions please email: info@downinthevalley.com and we can answer any of your questions.

  FREE STUFF:

  Spend $100:  Get your choice of a free RSD shirt, Tote Bag, or Sampler LP

  Free with every purchase: 2021 Dogfish Head Poster

  Enter-To-Win:  A Warner Bros. Vinyl Prize Pack  (all 3 locations)

   

  We are partnering with Broken Clock Brewing of Minneapolis to create a Down In The Valley beer for RSD called, “Liquid Fidelity”. BC will be giving out samples from 9am-2pm.  The beer can be purchased at Liquor Barrel Golden Valley or on tap at Broken Clock Brewery in NE Minneapolis.  In July, for the 2^nd Drop, we unleash “Liquid Fidelity-The Remix” which is the lager with lime. 

  We will have a stamp card that will give you discounts for visiting all 3 participating partners along with a DITV store and a chance to win the “Ultimate Swag Bag” if you punch out all 6 visits.  Drawings will be held August 10^th so you have lots of time to visit us and our partners before we pick a winner.    

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• New Release Round-Up 06-11-21

  

  Mammoth WVH - Mammoth WVH - Ex1 Records
  Mammoth WVH is the debut, self-titled album of Mammoth WVH – the band created by Wolfgang Van Halen. This collection includes the chart topping new single, "Distance” plus “Don’t Back Down,” “Epiphany,” “Mammoth” and more. At the beginning of 2015, Wolf broke ground on what would become Mammoth WVH with producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette [Alter Bridge, Slash] behind the board. Wolf began to embrace his voice, inspired by everyone from his father, to bands like AC/DC, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, TOOL, and Jimmy Eat World. In addition to writing and singing every song on the self-title debut album, remarkably Wolfgang plays every instrument. “The name Mammoth is really special to me.” says Wolf. “Not only was it the name of Van Halen before it became Van Halen, but my father was also the lead singer. Ever since my dad told me this, I always thought that when I grew up, I’d call my own band Mammoth, because I loved the name so much.”

  
  
     
  

  

  Danny Elfman - Big Mess - Anti / Epitaph
  Big Mess marks Danny Elfman’s first solo collection in more than thirty years, but it’s no return to form. Clocking in at 18 tracks, the sprawling, ambitious double album finds the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning composer breaking bold new ground as both a writer and a performer, drawing on a dystopian palette of distorted electric guitars, industrial synthesizers and orchestra in an effort to exorcise the demons brought about by four years of creeping fascism and civil rot. The songs here call to mind everything from Nine Inch Nails, to David Bowie to XTC at times, balancing dense, harmonically complex arrangements with biting, acerbic wit as they reckon with the chaos and confusion of the modern world. Elfman wrote almost all of the record during quarantine, and while the anger, frustration, and isolation of it all is palpable in his delivery, Big Mess is about more than simply blowing off steam. In making the space to truly sit with his emotions and write without limitations, Elfman achieved a kind of artistic liberation on the record that had been eluding him for decades, rediscovering his voice and reinventing himself all at once in the process. Born and raised in southern California, Elfman began his career as part of a surrealist, avant-garde musical theater troupe known as The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo. The group would eventually morph into the critically acclaimed rock band Oingo Boingo, whose high-energy performances and genre-bending sound garnered them a fanatically devoted cult following in the 1980s and ’90s. Among the group’s early fans was fledgling director Tim Burton and Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee Herman), who enlisted Elfman to score their first feature film, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. The collaboration would prove to be the start of a long and fruitful partnership for Elfman and Burton, with Elfman going on to score a string of iconic Burton features like Batman, Beetlejuice, Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. To date, Elfman has scored more than 100 films.
  
    
  

  

  Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Live Bullet - Capitol
  Considered to be one of the best live albums of all time, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s 'Live' Bullet was captured at Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI, in September 1975. The album was released April 12, 1976, and helped to supercharge Bob Seger’s career. To mark the 45th anniversary, the album has been remastered and will be released in its original 2LP format in both black and color vinyl.
  
  
  

  

  Def Leppard - Volume Three [Limited Edition 9 LP Box Set] - Mercury
  The 3rd in four volumes of Def Leppard's complete recorded output, this box set contains all of the recordings from the band in the 2000's and features the original packaging. Housed in rigid boxes, the set also contains a hard-backed book with rare photos by Ross Halfin and liner notes by Classic Rock's Paul Elliott. Band members Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen and Phil Collen have also contributed introductions to the set. Limited Edition 180gm 9 LP Box Set.
  
  
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  Sleater-Kinney - Path Of Wellness [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Opaque LP] 
  
  Garbage - No Gods No Masters
  Mr. Bungle - The Night They Came Home [Blu-Ray + CD]
  Lin-Manuel Miranda - In The Heights (Official Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Back The Way We Came: Vol. 1 (2011-2021) [Deluxe 3CD]
  Maroon 5 - JORDI
  The Shins - Oh, Inverted World: 20th Anniversary Remaster
  AFI - Bodies
  Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real - A Few Stars Apart [Limited Edition Ink & Paint Black w/ White Splatter LP]
  Joe Bonamassa - Now Serving: Royal Tea: Live From The Ryman
  Leslie Jordan - Company's Comin'
  Marina - Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land
  Kiss - KISS Off The Soundboard: Tokyo 2001 [3 LP]
  The Oak Ridge Boys - Front Porch Singin'
  Faith No More - Who Cares A Lot?: The Greatest Hits [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Clear 2LP]
  Roisin Murphy - Crooked Machine
  Indigo de Souza - I Love My Mom [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Purple Splatter LP]
  Jordan Davis - Buy Dirt EP
  Black Sabbath - Sabotage: Super Deluxe Edition [4LP+7in]
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 06-04-21

  

  Mike Cooley, Patterson Hood & Jason Isbell - Live At The Shoals Theatre - Southeatern Records
  On June 15th 2014, Jason Isbell reunited onstage with former Drive By Truckers bandmates Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley for a special round-style night in Muscle Shoals Music. The setlist includes acoustic versions of Isbell-era Truckers gems including “Heathens,” “Decoration Day” and “Zip City” as well as post-Isbell Truckers tracks like “Space City” and solo Isbell faves such as “Cover Me Up.” The set opens and closes with a pair of classic Hood-sung numbers, 2004′s “Tornadoes” and 2001′s “Let There Be Rock.”  
  
   
  

  

  Atreyu - Baptize - Spinefarm
  Atreyu ushered in a new movement in heavy music. They've broken into the Top 10 in the Billboard 200 more than once; 2 of their albums are certified gold. Yet, 2 decades since the release of their first album, Atreyu is just getting started. Baptize is a definitive work for a new era. Atreyu recorded Baptize w/ producer John Feldmann. Guests include Jacoby Shaddix & Travis Barker. Songs like "Warrior," "Catastrophe," & "Save Us" are massive.

  
   

   

  

  cleopatrick - BUMMER - Nowhere Special Recordings
  "Listening to the story of Canadian duo cleopatrick is a bit like hearing the plot of the best, most righteously validating coming-of-age film never made. Two friends meet aged four in Hicksville, Nowheretown (real name: Cobourg, Ontario, population 19,000), grow up completely inseparable, form a band and, against numerous obstacles, blossom into a genuine, global underground sensation. There are heroes and villains, highs and lows and, crucially, some of the most poetic plot twists that could seem almost too perfect, were they not completely true.
  
  Take the story of 2017 breakthrough track ‘hometown’ for example. “It’s one of the craziest, most ironic things that’s ever happened,” begins vocalist and guitarist Luke Gruntz. “I was going to college because I was too scared to put all my chips in the band pile, and that’s what ‘hometown’ is about: it’s a song about feeling like we’re doing all this stuff and we’re working so hard and we’re just never going to be heard. It’s literally a song about people probably never hearing our songs. And then by some act of the universe, that song ended up unlocking all the doors for us.”
  
  Today, cleopatrick has logged 77 million streams and counting - all from an increasingly dedicated fanbase who’ve found the duo, completed by drummer Ian Fraser, their own way: no major label, no big budget, just two best pals knuckling down, cementing a unique sonic alchemy and filling a space of honest, empathetic yet undeniably heavy-hitting rock music that they’d been searching for themselves for years. Between multiple sold out tours in Canada, the US and the UK/EU and appearances at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and Reading/Leeds, the pair have been crafting BUMMER: a debut album that sees cleopatrick harness all the magic they’ve been brewing over their two-decade friendship and funnel it into a record that aims to reinvigorate the rock landscape from the ground up. Taking the ethos of their New Rock Mafia collective - a group of friends and fellow bands, united in making a more inclusive, equality-driven space in rock music - and imbuing it with the sonic ambition and ferocity of a record designed to be played hard and loud, it’s an album about two friends, who’ve been with each other since the formative first steps that adorn ‘BUMMER’’s heartwarming cover image and made something that’s a testament to the power of sticking to your guns."
  
     
  

  

  Rostam - Changephobia - Mastor Projects
  Changephobia is the 2nd full-length solo record from Grammy Award-winning songwriter, producer, and composer Rostam Batmanglij. An adventurous new direction for Rostam, the songs collected on Changephobia are deeply personal, yet universal for anyone who has ever experienced doubt. In addition to being a founding member of the seminal New York Indie Rock Band, Vampire Weekend, Rostam has been described as "one of the great pop and indie-rock producers of his generation." Rostam has produced & co-written critically heralded recent albums by Clairo and Haim, as well as singles from Maggie Rogers, Solange, Charli XCX, Frank Ocean, Santigold and others
  
    
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  Poté - A Tenuous Tale Of Her 
  San Holo - bb u ok? [Clear 2LP] 
  
  
  Crowded House - Dreamers Are Waiting
  Liz Phair - Soberish [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Milky Clear LP]
  Rise Against - Nowhere Generation [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Flame LP]
  Atreyu - Baptize
  Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend
  TOMORROW X TOGETHER - The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE [WORLD version]
  Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Clear with Yellow Swirl LP]
  Satsang - All. Right. Now.
  Tristen - Aquatic Flowers [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Cool Blue LP]
  Billy F Gibbons - Hardware
  Chris Thile - Laysongs
  Bad Brains - Into The Future (Alternate Shepard Fairey Cover)
  Mndsgn - Rare Pleasure [Limited Edition Yellow LP]
  The Avalanches - Since I Left You: 20th Anniversary [Deluxe 2CD]
  Einar Selvik - Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Wave of Giants [Opaque White LP]
  Red Fang - Arrows [Indie Exclusive limited Edition Yellow with Heavy Neon Magenta Splatter LP]
  Cheap Trick - In Another World [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Blue & White Splatter LP]
  Night Beats - Outlaw R&B [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Bone LP]
  
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 05-28-21

  

  Blackberry Smoke - You Hear Georgia - 3 Legged Records
  Throughout their career, Blackberry Smoke has embodied Georgia’s rich musical legacy, honoring the people, places and sounds of their home state. As the band celebrates their 20th anniversary this year, their reverence for Georgia has only deepened. On their latest album, You Hear Georgia, the follow-up to 2018’s critically acclaimed Find a Light, Blackberry Smoke is further celebrating these roots with 10 new songs that feel like Georgia, accented by the addition of Grammy-winning producer and fellow Georgia-native, Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile). “Dave and I had spoken for the last few years about making a record,” Starr says. “Finally, it worked out, our schedule and his schedule, and we said, yes—let’s make a record.”
  
     
  

  

  Various Artists - Get On Board The Soul Train - The Sound Of Philadelphia International Records Volume 1 - United Souls
  8CD Book set with bonus 12 inch single. United Souls, in conjunction with Sony Legacy Recordings, is delighted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia International Records with the eagerly anticipated release of Get On Board The Soul Train - The Sound Of Philadelphia International Records Volume 1. This is the first volume in a limited edition series which covers the first eight studio albums released by the label from 1971-1973. The series, in which all album are re-mastered from the original tapes, will map the history of Philadelphia International Records chronologically. Housed in a stylish 48 page slipcased book, the edition is strictly limited to 2500 copies. It also includes a numbered certificate of authenticity, an exclusive 12" single and a unique poster. The detailed 48 page hard cover book, including rare photographs was compiled and curated in association with PIR artists, engineers and producers, with liner notes by Tony Cummings (Author of The Sound of Philadelphia) and a foreword by Ralph Tee. The eight classic albums included in Volume 1 comprise: Billy Paul - Going East/Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - I Miss You/The O'Jays - Back Stabbers/Billy Paul - 360 Degrees of Billy Paul/Dick Jensen - Dick Jensen/The Intruders - Save the Children/MFSB - MFSB/Billy Paul - Ebony Woman. Exclusive 12"- The O'Jays - Back Stabbers / MFSB - Back Stabbers
  
  
  

  

  Moby - Reprise - Deutsche Grammophon
  Moby’s eclectic career has cast him in the roles of electronic dance music pioneer, singer and songwriter, producer, activist, and restaurateur, but for his latest venture he presents his music in a whole new light. Together with Deutsche Grammophon, he is releasing an album of his best known tracks in stunning new arrangements for classical instruments – featuring Moby himself and a stellar lineup of collaborators from across the musical spectrum. Always a daring and imaginative thinker, Moby’s first classical collaboration happened in October 2018, when he performed a selection of his songs alongside the LA Phil and conductor and friend Gustavo Dudamel. This was the inspiration for the current project, which features not only full orchestral versions but new electronic arrangements, as well as sophisticated smaller-scale acoustic interpretations. The 14-track album includes classic Moby songs like “Porcelain”, “Why Does My Heart”, and “Extreme Ways” in innovative new versions, featuring eye-catching collaborations including both Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Víkingur Ólafsson on “Porcelain”; Gregory Porter and Amythyst Kiah on “Natural Blues”; and Kris Kristofferson as well as original vocalist Mark Lanegan on “The Lonely Night”. The album concludes with a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes”.
  
     
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  Porter Robinson - Nurture [Ultra Clear 2LP] 
  
  
  World Party - Dumbing Up
  Dispatch - Break Our Fall
  Del Amitri - Fatal Mistakes
  Nat Turner Rebellion - Laugh To Keep From Crying
  k.d. lang - makeover
  Shannon Mcnally - The Waylon Sessions
  Elder Island - Swimming Static
  LP - Live In Moscow [Limited Edition LP]
  Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments
  Taylor Swift - evermore [Deluxe Green 2 LP]
  Robert Ames - Change Ringing
  Brian Setzer - Rockabilly Riot! Volume One: A Tribute To Sun Records [Red 2LP]
  Texas - Hi
  Mustafa - When Smoke Rises [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Green LP]
  Alestorm - Live in Tilburg (Live) [CD + Blu-ray + DVD]
  black midi - Cavalcade
  David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World [12in Picture Disc]
  PJ Harvey - The Peel Sessions 1991-2004
  
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 05-21-21

  

  Lord Huron - Long Lost - Republic
  Lord Huron presents their fourth studio album, Long Lost. The band has often tried to uncover the past of their studio, Whispering Pines, without much success. Instead, they decided to imagine what has gone on in the studio, who has passed through, and that is how Long Lost was created. Featuring the singles “Not Dead Yet,” “Mine Forever,” “I Lied” and “Love Me Like You Used To.”
  
    
  

  

  John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band - Leftover Feelings - New West Records
  In the midst of a global pandemic, John Hiatt walked into Historic RCA Studio B and opened up a lifetime full of leftover feelings. A half-century ago, Hiatt lived in a ratty, $15-a-week room on Nashville’s 16th Avenue, less than a mile away from the RCA and Columbia studios that were the heartbeat of what had come to be known as “Music Row.” In the ensuing 50 years, he went from a scuffling young buck to a celebrated grand master of song. With Leftover Feelings, Hiatt teamed up with multi-grammy winning artist and producer, Jerry Douglas and his band, The Jerry Douglas Band. There’s no drummer, yet these grooves are deep and true. And while the up-tempo songs are, as ever, filled with delightful internal rhyme and sly aggression, the Jerry Douglas Band’s empathetic musicianship nudges Hiatt to performances that are startlingly vulnerable.  In life, leftover feelings can remain unresolved, no matter how often explored. Explicated in a place of history, a place of comfort. A sacred place, if you believe the documentation of human expression to be a holy thing. Here then, with this album,  there is a meeting of bruised and triumphant American giants. Here are Hiatt and Douglas, creating the meant-to-be: Love songs and road songs, sly songs and hurt songs. Their songs, and now our songs.  Leftover feelings that edify and sustain.
  
     
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  My Bloody Valentine - m b v [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Deluxe LP] 
  
  
  Twenty One Pilots - Scaled and Icy
  Gary Numan - Intruder [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Red 2LP]
  Counting Crows - Butter Miracle Suite One
  Mat Kearney - January Flower
  Blake Shelton - Body Language
  P!NK - All I Know So Far – The Setlist
  The Tragically Hip - Saskadelphia
  Lambchop - Showtunes
  Gruff Rhys - Seeking New Gods
  Sara Bareilles - Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl
  Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR
  Robert Finley - Sharecropper's Son
  Morcheeba - Blackest Blue
  Fly Pan Am - Frontera
  Reigning Sound - A Little More Time with Reigning Sound [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Peak Green & Yellow Swirl LP]
  Chai - Wink
  The Devil Wears Prada - ZII EP
  Violent Femmes - Add It Up (1981-1993) [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Aqua 2 LP]
  The Gabbard Brothers - Sell Your Gun Buy A Guitar [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Teal 7in Single]
  Monster Magnet - A Better Dystopia
  
  
  
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 05-14-21

  

  The Black Keys - Delta Kream - Nonesuch
  This week, The Black Keys release their tenth studio album, Delta Kream, via Nonesuch Records. The record celebrates the band’s roots, featuring eleven Mississippi hill country blues standards that they have loved since they were teenagers, before they were a band, including songs by R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney recorded Delta Kream at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville; they were joined by musicians Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton, long-time members of the bands of blues legends including R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. The album takes its name from William Eggleston’s iconic Mississippi photograph that is on its cover. 

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Paul & Linda McCartney - RAM [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Half Speed Master LP] - Capitol
  To mark the 50^th anniversary of the release of RAM, the album will be pressed from a master cut at half speed using the original master tapes at Abbey Road. The only album credited to both Paul & Linda McCartney, RAM reached Number 1 in the UK and stayed in the US Top 10 for five months. Recording after he’d left The Beatles and before the formation of Wings, Paul initially flew with Linda to New York to record the songs they’d written but arrived without a band. As Paul recalls, “We were thinking of forming a group at that time, Wings. We went to New York, found a really grotty little basement somewhere and auditioned a bunch of people. We got someone to throw a lot of drummers at us, out of which we picked Denny Seiwell who’s one of the best, and his personality fitted. Then we went in, worked with him, Hugh McCracken, Dave Spinozza, a couple of New York session men, and did RAM.” To avoid arousing too much interest, the auditions were held under the guise of a session for a commercial jingle. As well as Paul’s lead vocals there are harmonies from Linda. “I gave her a hard time, I must say, but we were pleased with the results. Elton John later said somewhere that he thought it was the best harmonies he’d heard in a long while. It was very much the two of us against the world at that point.”

  
   
  
  
  

  

  Strung Like a Horse - WHOA! [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Pink Splatter LP] - Transoceanic Records
  After years dedicated to rowdy, high-energy live shows, providing tour support for Old Crow Medicine Show, Travis Tritt, Sam Bush, and Shooter Jennings---and building their own grassroots cult-following---Strung Like a Horse teamed up with Transoceanic Records and Grammy-winning producer, Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, John Prine, Margo Price, Calexico/Iron & Wine, Lucero), to record their first studio album, WHOA!, at Nashville's famed Sound Emporium. Most of the tracks the band laid down together in one pass, without overdubs, and were sent direct to tape, making it a “record that captures the vibe of their rightfully celebrated live shows perfectly.” 

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Sons Of Kemet - Black To The Future - Impulse Records
  Sons Of Kemet returns with their new album Black To The Future, the follow up to 2018’s Mercury Prize nominated breakout release Your Queen Is A Reptile. This release finds the UK-based quartet at their most dynamic – showcasing harmonically elegant arrangements and compositions, coupled with fierce, driving material that will be familiar to initiated fans. This is their 4^th record, and 2^nd on impulse! This album features prominent UK vocalists and a strong emphasis on lush compositions and arrangements. Guest artists include Kojey Radical, Moor Mother, Angel Bat Dawid, Joshua Idehen, D Double E and is part of the impulse! records “impulse 60!” 2021 campaign

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Alan Jackson - Where Have You Gone - EMI Nashvilee
  Alan Jackson's brand new studio album, Where Have You Gone, is his first country release in over 5 years. He's one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 75M records sold worldwide. Alan is a member of the Grand Ole Opry & has topped the Billboard Country charts with 35 #1 Singles & 15 #1 Albums. He's received multiple awards including 2 Grammys, 16 CMAs, 17 ACMs. CD includes blow-in card for a FREE Download of the Bonus Track "That's The Way Love Goes (A Tribute Merle Haggard)"

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Steve Miller Band - Live! Breaking Ground August 3, 1977 - UMe
  Steve Miller has dug deep into his archives and found an unreleased, full-length concert recording. The album captures Miller's legendary 1977 lineup at the beginning of the band's turn from playing ballrooms and theatres to arenas and football stadiums. Recorded at the Capital Centre in Landover, MD on multi-track tape and newly mixed and mastered by Miller and Kent Hertz. Includes original liner notes by music journalist David Fricke and is pressed on 2 Black Vinyl 180G LP's.

  
   
  
  
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  The Steel Woods - All Of Your Stones 
  Riley Downing - Start It Over 
  
  
  St. Vincent - Daddy’s Home [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Black Smoke LP]
  David Gray - Skellig
  Phoebe Bridgers - Copycat Killer EP
  Matt Berry - The Blue Elephant
  Matthew E. White & Lonnie Holley - Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection
  Arcade Fire & Owen Pallet - Her (Original Score) [180-Gram White LP]
  Myles Kennedy - The Ides Of March
  The Go-Go's - God Bless The Go-Go's [Limited Edition Opaque Blue LP]
  The Chills - Scatterbrain [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Blue Marble LP]
  Old Sea Brigade - Motivational Speaking
  Rodrigo Y Gabriela - The Jazz EP [12in Orange Smoke Vinyl]
  Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By - Side B (Deluxe Edition) [Opaque Grey 4 LP]
  Juliana Hatfield - Blood [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Black W/Blood Red Splatter LP]
  Keith Urban - THE SPEED OF NOW Part 1 [2LP]
  Damien Jurado - The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania
  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu: 50th Anniversary [Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set]
  The Deep Dark Woods - Changing Faces
  ENHYPEN - BORDER: CARNIVAL [DOWN Version]
  The Coral - Coral Island [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Green LP]
  Current Joys - Voyager [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Opaque Purple LP]
  
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 05-07-21

  

  Natalie Bergman - Mercy - Third Man Records
  While many know Bergman as one half of brother-sister duo Wild Belle, her forthcoming record is a cathartic collection rooted in the hopeful values and traditions of gospel that have helped her through the recent, tragic loss of her father. On the signing of Natalie Bergman, Third Man Records co-founder Ben Swank adds, “Natalie has a unique vision and has approached this album with a reverence for the sacred and healing nature of the history of this music, but has managed to update it in a way that is distinctly her own. We're very excited to welcome her to the Third Man label and family.” Alongside her brother Elliot, the island-influenced music Natalie Bergman made in Wild Belle has led to collaborations ranging from Major Lazer to Tom Tom Club, performances at Coachella and Lollapalooza, tours with Beck, Cage The Elephant, Toro y Moi and more. Helmed by her heavenly voice, Bergman’s solo album is steeped in mystic melodies and time-bending tones of psychedelic rock and soul. Showcasing her multi-instrumental and creative versatility, songs will be accompanied by visuals that blend her own abstract artwork, self-designed wardrobe and beyond. Stay tuned.

  
     
  
  
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  Nancy Wilson - You And Me 
  Esther Rose - How Many Times [Opaque White LP] 
  
  
  Weezer - Van Weezer [Indie Exclusive Neon Magenta LP]
  Frank Zappa - Zappa Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Super Deluxe 5LP]
  Iceage - Seek Shelter [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Orange LP]
  Iron & Wine - Archive Series Volume No 5: Tallahassee Recordings
  Lucinda Williams - Ramblin' On My Mind
  Tom Jones - Surrounded By Time
  The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - When God Was Great [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Yellow 2LP]
  Van Morrison - Latest Record Project Volume 1
  New Order - Education Entertainment Recreation (Live)
  TEKE::TEKE - Shirushi [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Red LP]
  Amy Winehouse - At The BBC
  Alfie Templeman - Forever Isn't Long Enough
  dodie - Build A Problem [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Transparent 2LP]
  Tony Allen - There Is No End
  Squid - Bright Green Field [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Green 2LP]
  GoGo Penguin - GGP/RMX
  Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall - The Marfa Tapes
  NU'EST - The 2nd Album 'Romanticize' [AFTER GLOW Version]
  A Certain Ratio - ACR:EPA EP [Limited Edition Valentine Red Vinyl]
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 04-30-21

  

  girl in red - if i could make it go quiet - World In Red
  if i could make it go quiet, the debut album from girl in red, is the musical distillation of Marie Ulven’s solitary conversations on the road: it’s an album brimming with the things we wish we could say to others, but tell ourselves instead. The album is girl in red in its purest, elevated form. She has never been braver, and the music follows suit, whether it’s collaborating with pop mastermind and Billie Eilish collaborator FINNEAS on “Serotonin,” a huge pop anthem that speaks to Ulven’s struggles with mental health, or flexing her instrumental chops with album closer “it would feel like this.” Betrayal, lust, longing, pulling herself out of a depressive spell -- nothing is off-limits on if i could make it go quiet. “I really poured my heart into a lot of these lyrics, fully,” she says. “I just feel like I emptied myself in this album.”

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Royal Blood - Typhoons - Warner Records
  After two UK #1 albums, 2 million album sales and an array of international acclaim, you might’ve thought you knew what to expect from Royal Blood. Those preconceptions were shattered when they released ‘Trouble’s Coming’ last summer. Hitting a melting pot of fiery rock riffs and danceable beats, they delivered something fresh, unexpected and yet entirely in tune with what they’d forged their reputation with.  When Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher sat down to talk about making a new album, they knew what they wanted to achieve. It involved a conscious return to their roots, back when they had made music that was influenced by Daft Punk, Justice, and Philippe Zdar of Cassius. It also called for a similar back-to-basics approach to what had made their self-titled debut album so thrilling, visceral and original. 

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Julia Michaels - Not In Chronological Order - Republic
  Grammy nominated, multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Julia Michaels is set to release her highly anticipated full-length debut, Not In Chronological Order. The 10-track album is executive produced by Monsters & Strangerz, with two songs co-written with JP Saxe. Each track takes listeners through a storytelling journey of events in Julia’s love life and explores themes of being happy and most importantly: love.

  
     
  
  
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  Leon Vynehall - Rare, Forever 
  
  
  Manchester Orchestra - The Million Masks Of God [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Pink Smoke LP]
  Mick Fleetwood & Friends - Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac [Limited Edition 4LP]
  Blood From The Soul - DSM-5 [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Blue/Green/Black Mix LP]
  Marianne Faithfull with Warren Ellis - She Walks in Beauty
  Dropkick Murphys - Turn Up That Dial [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Coke Bottle Green LP]
  Ashley Monroe - Rosegold [LP]
  Teenage Fanclub - Endless Arcade [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Pink LP]
  PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her [LP]
  PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her - Demos [LP]
  DJ Khaled - KHALED KHALED
  Carrie Underwood - My Savior [White 2LP]
  Gojira - Fortitude [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Black Ice LP]
  Eddie Vedder - Matter of Time / Say Hi [Limited Edition 7in Single]
  Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. - Blackbird: Lennon-McCartney Icons
  Bob Mould - Distortion: 2008-2019 [Signed 140-Gram Clear Splatter Vinyl]
  Shovels & Rope - Busted Jukebox Volume 3
  Thomas Rhett - Country Again, Side A
  Guided By Voices - Earth Man Blues
  Julia Stone - Sixty Summers [Limited Edition Gold LP]
  Serj Tankian - Elasticity EP [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Purple Vinyl]
  Dawn Richard - Second Line [Limited Edition Peak White LP + Bonus Shaped Gold 12in]
  Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now [Limited Edition Blue Vinyl Single]
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 04-23-21

  

  John Lennon - John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band The Ultimate Mixes - Capitol
  Completely remixed from original multitracks, overseen by producer Yoko Ono Lennon, featuring Ringo Starr, Klaus Voormann, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston & Phil Spector. Ultimate Mixes, Outtakes, Elements, Raw Studio, Evolution, Demos, Jams & Yoko Live Sessions. 2 Blu-Ray Audio Discs: 159 new mixes, 11+ hrs, HiRes 192/24: Stereo, 5.1 Surround & Dolby Atmos. 6 CDs: 102 new mixes, 6+ hrs. 132-page hardback book with rare photos, memorabilia & extensive notes. Poster & 2 postcards.

  
    
  
  
  

  

  Peter Frampton Band - Frampton Forgets The Words - UMe
  On the heels of his recently released New York Times Best Selling memoir, the rock n' roll legend and Grammy winning artist Peter Frampton turns his focus back to music with his new studio album Frampton Forgets The Words. With his 1954 Les Paul Phenix, Frampton brings virtuosic guitar playing to 10 instrumental interpretations of his favorite songs including "Isn't It A Pity" by George Harrison, "Reckoner" by Radiohead, and more. 

  
   
  
  
  

  

  Eric Church - Heart & Soul - EMI Nashville
  Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Eric Church confirmed that new music is on the horizon: "I have [new] albums coming out in April. They came out of my 28 days in the mountains of North Carolina, where the songs were recorded and written. The collection is entitled Heart & Soul."

  
     
  
  
  

  

  The Who - The Who Sell Out: Deluxe Edition - Geffen Records
  5CD + 2 7" Singles Super Deluxe Remastered Edition featuring the album in both Mono and Stereo, bonus tracks featuring 14 previously unheard Pete Townshend Demos, studio sessions, outtakes, unheard jingles and more. The package also features 9 posters, replica ephemera, and an 80 page hard bound book with rare photos and new liner notes by Pete Townshend. 112 tracks, 46 unreleased.  Initially released in December 1967 and described latterly by Rolling Stone as “The Who’s finest album,” The Who Sell Out reflected a remarkable year in popular culture. As well as being forever immortalized as the moment when the counterculture and the “Love Generation” became a global phenomenon and “pop” began metamorphosing into “rock.”  The new Super Deluxe Edition of The Who Sell Out features 112 tracks, 46 of which are unreleased, an 80-page, hard-back, full-color book, including rare period photos, memorabilia, track-by-track annotation and new sleeve notes by Pete Townshend with comments from the likes of Pete Drummond (Radio London DJ), Richard Evans (designer) & Roy Flynn (the Speakeasy Club manager).

  
   
  
  
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep It Into Space [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Translucent Purple Ripple LP]
  Animal Collective - Crestone (Original Score)
  Todd Snider - First Agnostic Church Of Hope And Wonder
  Pærish - Fixed It All
  Kaleo - Surface Sounds
  Dumpstaphunk - Where Do We Go From Here
  The Selecter - Too Much Pressure: 40th Anniversary Edition [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Clear LP + Bonus 7in]
  Field Music - Flat White Moon
  Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies: Remastered [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition White LP]
  The Prize Fighter Inferno - The City Introvert [Bone White LP]
  Alfa Mist - Bring Backs
  Steve Cropper - Fire It Up
  Bleachers - Chinatown (feat. Bruce Springsteen) [Translucent Red Vinyl Single]
  Imagine Dragons - Follow You / Cutthroat [CD Single]
  Dirty Honey - Dirty Honey
  Big Brave - Vital
  California Music - California Music Presents Add Some Music
  Cabaret Voltaire - Bn9drone
  Motorhead - Louder Than Noise... Live In Berlin
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 04-16-21

  

  Greta Van Fleet - The Battle At Garden's Gate - Republic
  After three years, one-million concert tickets sold across five continents, four consecutive #1 singles, a GRAMMY Award, and performances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live, Greta Van Fleet is hurtling into the future with its second album, The Battle At Garden's Gate on Lava/Republic Records. Indie Exclusive on white vinyl.

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Tom Petty - Finding Wildflowers: Alternate Versions - Republic
  Finding Wildflowers: Alternate Versions—the latest offering of Tom Petty music, curated with help from his loving family, bandmates and collaborators—released via Warner Records. The tracks, which were previously released on the limited-edition Super Deluxe 9-LP version of 2020’s Wildflowers & All The Rest, will now be available on limited edition gold vinyl for indie retail, and CD.  A black vinyl release will follow on May 7. Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) features 16 studio recordings of alternate takes, long cuts and jam versions of Wildflowers songs as Tom, band members and co-producer Rick Rubin worked to finalize the album in 1994. The release offers fans further deep access into the writing and recording of Wildflowers, as well as realizing the full vision of the project as Tom had always intended. The collection was produced by Tom’s longtime engineer and co-producer Ryan Ulyate who listened to 245 reels of 24-track tape, revealing Tom and his collaborators’ evolutionary process, and finding the group willing to do whatever it took to discover the essence and magic in the material.

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Eric Church - Heart & Soul - EMI Nashville
  Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Eric Church confirmed that new music is on the horizon: "I have [new] albums coming out in April. They came out of my 28 days in the mountains of North Carolina, where the songs were recorded and written. The collection is entitled Heart & Soul."

  
     
  
  
  

  

  Imelda May - 11 Past The Hour - Decca
  The goal of the album is to show Imelda May returning to her most honest self. Truthful beauty, feminine intuition. Intelligence. Visually, we should be showing a soft sense of warm spirited grittiness. Intimate. At home. Behind the curtain Imelda's radiant smile and illuminating laughter. A nod to her roots. Irish Heritage & inherent connection to storytelling. Imelda's words as a lyricist/poet/writer & overall thread to her Irish roots as a storyteller is a key thread within the campaign.

  
     
  
  
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  Deftones - White Pony: 20th Anniversary [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Super Deluxe]
  Cannibal Corpse - Violence Unimagined [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition White w/ Olive Green Melt LP]
  The Living - 1982 [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Canary Yellow LP]
  The Offspring - Let The Bad Times Roll [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Orange Crush LP]
  The Network - Money Money 2020 Pt II: We Told Ya So!
  Lucinda Williams - Runnin' Down A Dream: A Tribute To Tom Petty
  Midland - The Sonic Ranch [Limited Edition]
  Norah Jones - ‘Til We Meet Again (Live)
  Fitz - Head Up High
  Havok - Point Of No Return EP
  Garage A Trois - Calm Down Cologne
  The Armed - Ultrapop [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Opaque Tan LP]
  Amigo the Devil - Born Against
  Escape The Fate - Chemical Warfare
  Liquid Tension Experiment - LTE3 [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Translucent Orange 3LP]
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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• New Release Round-Up 04-09-21

  

  Silver Synthetic - Silver Synthetic - Third Man Records
  In the midst of the thick New Orleans summer of 2017, Chris Lyons of garage punks Bottomfeeders found himself sitting on a small batch of songs that didn’t quite fit the fuzzed-out pileups of that band. The new songs were more chiming, driving but relaxed, full of little corners begging to be filled with classic pop harmonies and wayward country licks. He called in his trusted confidants: Bottomfeeders drummer and longtime musical partner Lucas Bogner—the two started playing music together at the tender age of 15—plus bassist Pete Campanelli, and Kunal Prakash (Jeff the Brotherhood) dug the songs and signed on, and the quartet started playing in earnest, hunkering down in the practice space.  By the time the band played its first gig in late 2018 at the opening of Nola’s ManRay Records, the songs had multiplied and the members of the newly christened Silver Synthetic had become genuine rock & roll craftsmen. In a world that doesn’t seem capable of swaying, Silver Synthetic’s self-titled debut shakes and boogies. It makes sense that the band’s first gig was in a record shop ‘cause folks, this is record nerd-core in a major way, evocative of the LP's first golden era, as the late sixties oozed into the strange 1970s, with the requisite T-Rex stomps, Britfolk twists and turns, and dueling Verlaine/Lloyd guitars. It’s about warmth, and you can practically smell the gently glowing amp tubes on “In the Beginning,” which wafts along on a gust borrowed from Lou Reed’s beatific Coney Island Baby breeziness. With “Chasm Killer,” the boys lean into jammy heartland rock, almost approaching Silver Bullet Band territory at one point! Even when the band kicks into charging lean rock-n-roller, like on the Kinksy “Around the Bend,” there’s a laid-backness that allows more room for the spirit.  You could call Silver Synthetic rock & roll formalists, but the truth is they're more like minimalists, stripping away tired clutter and unnecessary bloat and just zooming in on the essential.

  
     
  
  
  

  ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
  
  
  SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE - Entertainment Death [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Maroon, Deep Purple and Coke Bottle Clear Marbled LP]  
  
  Taylor Swift - Fearless: Taylor's Version [2 CD]
  Parker Millsap - Be Here Instead
  Rhiannon Giddens - They're Calling Me Home
  Cheap Trick - In Another World
  The Orb - Abolition Of The Royal Familia - Guillotine Mixes [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Double Blue LP]
  The Pink Stones - Introducing...the Pink Stones
  Luke Bryan - Born Here Live Here Die Here: Deluxe
  Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band - Dance Songs For Hard Times
  Nick Waterhouse - Promenade Blue
  Ariana Grande - Positions [Coke Bottle Clear LP]
  BROCKHAMPTON - ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE
  Briston Maroney - Sunflower [Translucent Blue-Green LP]
  The Blips - The Blips
  Bill MacKay and Nathan Bowles Keys - Keys
  Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac Live: Super Deluxe Edition [2LP/3CD/7in]
  Various Artists - Wilcovered [Red 2LP]
  Pony - Tv Baby
  Show Me the Body - Survive EP [10in Vinyl]
  
  
  & More .....
  

  For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
  
  

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