Down In The Valley - Vinyl Exclusives
Vinyl pressings exclusive to Down In The Valley, partnered with another indie record store, or are Minnesota Exclusives.
Here's a link to a playlist of our featured exclusive titles:
Down In The Valley excluisve colorway, limited to only 300 copies.
Oakland's Samiam unleashed their sixth album, "Astray," in 2000, and it's a heart-wrenching masterpiece. Samiam blends punk energy with alt-rock vibes and a melancholic undertone, all wrapped in a smartly produced soundscape. Astray doesn't shy away from darkness, confronting heavy themes like suicide with raw honesty and searing emotion. The music itself reflects the weight, rumbling bass-heavy guitars amplifying the somber mood. Amidst the intensity, gems like "Mud Hill." "Sunshine." & "Dull" (arguably their crown jewel) shines through, resonating with anyone who's ever felt the weight of sadness. Marking a band turning point, this was Samiam's last album with founding guitarist James Brogan and first with bassist Sean Kennerly. In 2023, Samiam would regroup and release "Stowaway" their ninth album and remain one of the most endearing and enduring punk bands of their generation. For Fans Of: Jawbreaker, Dillinger Four, Face to Face, Lagwagon.
Down In The Valley exclusive Red & Blue vinyl, limited to 500 copies. The red & blue colors are a tribute to the Minneapolis Wrestling Territory colors from the AWA era of professional wrestling in Minnesota. Vern Gagne, Greg Gagne, Jesse Ventura, Curt Henning, Rick Rude, Road Warrior Hawk, Bob Backlund, Paul Ellering, Rick Rude, are all fellow wrestlers to come from Minnesota.
"Beat The Champ" is the 2015 release from the veteran indie folk band led by John Darnielle. "Beat The Champ is about professional wrestling, which was an avenue of escape for me when I was a kid. Wrestling was low-budget working class entertainment back then, stricktly UHF material. It was cheap theater. You had to bring your imagination to the proceedings and you got paid back double. I wrote these songs to re-immerse myself in the blood and fire of the visions that spoke to me as a child, and to see what more there might be in them now that I'm grown." --John D.
**UPDATE sold out, sort of** We always hold a portion of our exclusives for our local customers at our 3 stores in Minnesota. Our buddies Darkside Records might have a few left so hustle over there and smash the pre-order button. (link below)
Down In The Valley, in conjunction with our record store buds Darkside Records of New York have teamed up for our next exclusive vinyl release - Hop Along's 2015 album Painted Shut!
This exclusive pressing is strictly limited to 300 copies and evenly split between Darkside and Down In The Valley.
Hailing from Philly, Hop Along began as an acoustic freak folk solo project known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis in 2004, during Frances Quinlan's senior year in high school. In October 2014, Hop Along signed to Saddle Creek Records and released their third studio album.
The album was co-produced, recorded and mixed by John Agnello in at Headroom Studios, in Philadelphia and Fluxivity Studios in Brooklyn. The album's addresses topics such as poverty, abuse and mental illness. The album's seventh track "Powerful Man" is based on an experience Quinlan had as a teenager, where they claim to have witnessed a young child being physically abused by their father. Quinlan admitted that the track was the first time they had felt uneasy about sharing lyrics, due to their personal nature.
"There’s part of me that thinks, is anyone going to care if I yell at this man? [...] There is something about parents hitting their kids, it’s just such a weird thing that we allow [...] The craziest thing was he saw us, looked us in the face, and had no reaction. It just didn’t register that we were any threat. And then he said “She’s not gonna help you.” He felt nothing that we were there. It in no way affected his behavior." -Frances Quinlan
Pitchfork likened the album's style to the "romantic, middle-American indie" of artists such as Bright Eyes and Rilo Kiley, while crediting punk rock for the band's energy.
Release Date: 9/23/22
Down In The Valley exclusive Opaque Tri-Color Vinyl Limited to 300 copies
This EP features a collection of songs written with Katie Crutchfield's now-dormant experimental recording group Great Thunder while she was also writing the Waxahatchee albums Cerulean Salt and Ivy Tripp. The original recordings have mostly faded into obscurity, but unearthing and reimagining them with producer Brad Cook at Justin Vernon's April Base studio in Wisconsin was a cathartic experience, she says. On the heels of last year's critically acclaimed Out in the Storm, Crutchfield found herself looking to take a sharp turn away from the more rock-oriented influences of her recent records towards her more folk and country roots. "I would say that it is a complete 180 from the last record: super stripped-down, quiet, and with me performing solo, it's a throwback to how I started."
Exclusive "Minnesota" Exclusive Autographed-Ultra Clear & Orange Marbled Vinyl. Limited Edition
Minnesota Exclusive Purple Vinyl! This is very limited to 300 copies and only available in MN.
At its best, harmony duo singing can transform simple math into a magic trick. One plus one, instead of equaling two, suddenly yields an unexpected third thing. An upper-case ONE. A universal hum. A deep vibration that encompasses two different points of view. On their latest release, Every Time I Think About You, brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey, aka The Cactus Blossoms, once again prove themselves to be among the most adept - and instinctive – modern practitioners of the classic tradition.
All sorts of emotional colors shine through on their new album. “Something's Got A Hold On Me” is pure Saturday night two-steppin' joy, “Keep Walkin'” has a Stones-y swagger and “There She Goes” casts its romantic regret against a danceable bop beat. “Statues” is a gorgeous meditation on the weight of permanent honor, “Is It Any Wonder” weaves its pledge of enduring love through nature images, and the title track is a heart-wrencher about loss and letting go. In all, the ten beautifully open-ended songs here invite listeners in to find their own stories as they revel in the old-school melodies and harmonies.
This retail exclusive "Cloudy Blue" vinyl colorway is only available at Down In The Valley.
Special in-store performance on release date 09/22. Golden Valley location. *free show*
Down In The Valley Exclusive Color - Limited to 488 copies
4AM Friday is the sound of AVAIL hitting their stride – plain and simple. The collection of sing-a-long anthems for the everyman solidified their place as the kings of the Southern punk underground. This reissue of the 1996 classic is now completed by the addition of the 15 songs from Live at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco recorded in 1997, this smoldering live set showcases the band at their absolute peak and is testament to the unforgettable, high-octane shows that are AVAIL’s hallmark. Remastering, newly written liner notes, freshly unearthed photos and new artwork complete the package.
Twin Cities Exclusive on emerald green vinyl is limited to only 250 copies exclusively at Down In The Valley and the Electric Fetus. All of our copies are autographed.
Brotherkenzie is the solo output from Minneapolis producer and songwriter Nathan Stocker – and, through the project, lives in the shadows, operating on the outskirts of the music industry, something he’s grown increasingly less interested in as he ages. Brotherkenzie’s music is a chasm carved from honesty and earnestness, the result teetering between catchiness and pop, but with sharp edges.
On the cover of Nathan, Stocker is about to be enveloped by an enormous black box in a deadened Minnesotan sprawl, framed by the eeriness of placid blue skies, the suggestion of a cold wind. It’s like a snapshot of calm caught in a moment before something bad happens, but you don’t know quite what that bad is yet. The looming black mass is a physical manifestation of narcissism – and Nathan is an exhaustive exploration of that. It’s an artifact of what happens when you listen to, and obey, your demons. A final look-a-round at the dirt you’ve known your whole life before descending to the eternal what-have-you.
The record is a re-introduction to Stocker’s solo output as brotherkenzie; his last release, 2020’s BIG WHAT closed the first chapter of the project, while Nathan explores the afterlife of a creative death. The 12 songs collected here are intended to signify a new brotherkenzie era: one embracing sex and heathen ideals. Even the title vies for blasphemy; Stocker’s attempt to divorce his first name from its loaded religious meaning and instead take ownership of it. It’d be easy to say it’s in response to Stocker’s deeply religious upbringing, but that’s too simple – instead, it’s an exercise in “what if’s?,” leaning into the dark side, interested in exploring what it means to be satanic without ever mentioning a devil – or any type of God, or religion – by name. Instead, Stocker wonders what happens when you die and are reborn as a demon. When you operate without goodness in mind. Is that a mode for something true? Even if it’s evil?
Stocker wrote these songs from March to November of 2020. It was isolating in the usual ways for that time, of course, but he was also juggling a number of relationships that were unhealthy for a myriad of reasons. He was stuck in a cycle, unable to escape, and every time he sat down the self-loathing and demons came out. Here he examines that self-destructive tenderness, observant of the way he was then but not fraught over it. Instead, he’s like a documentarian of trying times; of what it feels like to grow a new epidermis instead.
Good Dog, Bad Dream is the new EP from Hippo Campus, and the St. Paul, Minnesota five-piece's first new music since their 2018 sophomore album Bambi. It finds the band at their most honest and vulnerable to date, with five new intensely cathartic tracks tinged with confessions and dark humor. It's a collection of songs that came together with ease, and without pressure -- a wildly different experience than the typical Hippo Campus recording process. The band - made up of vocalist/guitarists Jake Luppen and Nathan Stocker, drummer Whistler Allen, bassist Zach Sutton, and trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson -- assembled Good Dog, Bad Dream with a genuine sense of freedom and enjoyment as part of their first sessions in their new Minneapolis studio space. It’s a celebration of brotherhood, and the “all for one, one for all” mentality that has permeated Hippo Campus’ work since the very beginning.
Debut solo album from Jake Luppen of Hippo Campus. Produced by Jake Luppen and BJ Burton, featuring Buddy Ross, Jim-E Stack and Ben Lester
LUPIN centers around a turbulent couple years in Jake’s life that can be viewed as somewhat of a Rumspringa- the end of a long term relationship that defined Jake’s adult life gave way to a rudderless period of inward discovery- mistakes and revelations- finding the beauty and peace through the pain of self-discovery and growing up.
May Our Chambers Be Full [Purple Black/Silver Galaxy][Down In The Valley Exclusive]
Vinyl: $22.99 Buy
This is an exclusive to Down In The Valley, limited to 350 copies on Purple Black & Silver Galaxy vinyl. Stemming out of an offer from Roadburn Festival organizer Walter Hoeijmakers, mutual acquaintances, and a shared love of each other's output, May Our Chambers Be Full is the first recorded document of collaboration between Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou. While their solo material seems on it's face to be quite disparate, both groups have spent their respective careers lurking at the outer boundaries of the heavy metal scene, the artists having more in common with DIY punk and it's spiritual successor, grunge. May Our Chambers Be Full straddles a similar, very fine line both musically and thematically. While Emma Ruth Rundle's standard fare is a blend of post-rock-infused folk music, and Thou is typically known for it's downtuned, doomy sludge, the conjoining of the two artists has created a record more in the vein of the early '90s Seattle sound and later '90s episodes of Alternative Nation, while still retaining much of the artists' core identities. Likewise, the lyrical content of the album is a marriage of mental trauma, existential crises, and the ecstatic tradition of the expressionist dance movement. "Excessive sorrow laughs. Excessive joy weeps." Melodic, melancholic, heavy, visceral. The visual art accompanying this work was created in collaboration with preeminent New Orleans photographer Craig Mulcahy. The faceless, genderless models are meant to emphasize this pervasive state of ambiguity and emotional vacillation, the images falling somewhere between modern high fashion and classical Renaissance.