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Best of Holiday Gifts
ConcordRecorded in Helsinki, Paris and New York, Hey Clockface is the latest Elvis Costello & Sebastian Krys Production, following their collaboration on Elvis Costello and The Imposters’ GRAMMY-winning album Look Now. Hey Clockface also features contributions from Bill Frisell, Nels Cline and Steve Nieve. “I wanted the record to be vivid, whether the songs demanded playing that was loud and jagged or intimate and beautiful,” Costello said.
Loma VistaWhat started out in LA and was finished back in North Carolina at Esso’s home studio, Free Love asks major questions about self-image, self-righteousness, friendship, romance, and environmental calamity with enough warmth, playfulness, and magnetism to make you consider an alternate reality. These are Sylvan Esso’s most nuanced and undeniable songs—bold enough to say how they feel, big enough to make you join in that feeling.
Loma VistaIn 2018, Margo Price claimed her rock star status at the Mother Church of Country Music. She was headlining the Ryman Auditorium for the first time ever, in a sold-out run of three nights that she had admittedly spent more time planning than her wedding. Now, Margo revisits the career-changing residency with the release of a new live album, Perfectly Imperfect at The Ryman. With special guest appearances from Jack White, Emmylou Harris and Sturgill Simpson!
FantasyAnd It’s Still Alright is an intensely personal 10-song album of vibrant country-blues, badland ballads, ornate Americana and jazz-inflected R&B. Rateliff's warm baritone, ranging from gently hushed to a guttural howl, imbues these superbly drawn character studies with raw, naked emotion. It's a commanding next step in Nathaniel's evolution into one of America's most vital and essential songwriters.
Loma VistaThe Third Gleam marks a return to the Avett Brothers’ roots, both sonically and with Seth & Scott playing as a trio with longtime bassist Bob Crawford. The eight tracks capture their personal experiences and perspectives on undeniably timely, universal themes: isolation, gun violence, incarceration, historical prejudice, mortality, resilience, love, hope, redemption.
Sub PopMetz not only continues to push their music into new territories of dynamics, crooked melodies, and sweat-drenched rhythms, they explore the theme of growing up and maturing within a format typically suspended in youth. Covering seemingly disparate themes such as paternity, crushing social anxiety, addiction, isolation, media-induced paranoia, and the restless urge to leave everything behind, each of Atlas Vending’s ten songs offer a snapshot of today's modern condition.
Sub PopClipping reimagine horrorcore the way Jordan Peele does horror cinema: by twisting beloved tropes to make explicit their own radical politics of monstrosity, fear, and the uncanny. Visions of Bodies Being Burned contains sixteen scary stories disguised as rap songs, incorporating as much influence from Ernest Dickerson, Clive Barker, and Shirley Jackson as it does from Three 6 Mafia, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Brotha Lynch Hung.
Sub PopSugaregg roars from the speakers and jumpstarts both heart and mind. Like My Bloody Valentine after three double espressos, opener “Add It On” zooms heavenward within seconds, epitomizing the band’s newfound clarity of purpose, while the bass-driven melodies and propulsive beats of “Where to Start” and “Let You” are the musical equivalents of the sun piercing through a perpetually cloudy sky.
Sub PopBrighter, more robust sounds made their way into the songs of Purple Noon and mark a new chapter for Ernest Greene as a producer and songwriter. The vocals are front and center, tempos are slower, beats bolder, and there’s a more comprehensive depth of dynamics. One can hear the luxuriousness of Sade, the sonic bombast of Phil Collins, and the lush atmosphere of the great Balearic beat classics.
Secretly CanadianStevens’ eight studio LP is the long awaited follow-up to Carrie and Lowell. In the time between, Stevens also released Oscar-nominated music for the Luca Guadagnino film Call Me By Your Name; a collaborative album entitled Planetarium with Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner (The National) and James Mcalister; and scored several works for ballet: Reflections (Houston Ballet) and Principia (NYCB).
Dead OceansAmidst the current overwhelming uncertainty and upheaval of global and personal worlds, this reunion acts as both an escape from, and a confrontation of, trying times. Getting the band back together felt right, and necessary, and the friendship at the core of the band has been a longtime pillar of Bright Eyes’ output. For Bright Eyes, this long-awaited re-emergence feels like coming home.
Highway 20Three-time Grammy Award winner Lucinda Williams unabashedly takes on some of the human, social and political issues of our day with her boldest and most direct album to date. During the course of her celebrated four-decade, pioneering career Williams has never rested on her laurels as she continues to push herself as a songwriter. On Good Souls Better Angels, she has much she needs to get out.
Third ManA total reinvention of an iconic instrument, all of the sounds heard on this album were made with a 1967 Emmons Push / Pull pedal steel guitar. This is the sound of Valhalla, of heaven, planetary alignment, of total eclipse. This is the sound of an angelic army roaring into battle. This is the heavy metal thunder of the future we were promised.
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New Release Round-Up 01-29-21
Arlo Parks - Collapsed In Sunbeams - Transgressive
Twenty-year-old, London-based musician and poet Arlo Parks, has been very steadily climbing the ranks as an artist to watch since the release of her confessional debut single "Cola" in 2018. Arlo has received praise from artists such as Billie Eilish, Wyclef Jean, Clairo, Florence Welsh and Phoebe Bridgers during the past year while growing her fan base exponentially. Arlo's debut album "is a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia - I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific." On a personal level, Parks struggled with her identity growing up; a self- confessed tom-boy who was super sensitive and "uncool," she says it was like "I'm a black kid who can't dance for shit, listens to emo music and currently has a crush on some girl in my Spanish class." By the time she reached 17, she shaved her head, figured out she was bisexual and produced/wrote an album's worth of material.Lucero - When You Found Me - Liberty & Lament
Like the great river that flows through Memphis, the music of Lucero keeps rolling on, twisting and turning through the years, the same dark and brooding steadiness always at work. Since forming in late the ‘90s, this group of Memphis road-dogs has mixed heartfelt lyrics with the sounds of early rock and roll, classic punk, country-folk, and deep-fried Southern soul. It’s a sound that stands on the pillars of American music, born more of feeling than technique, delivered night after night to legions of fans in dive bars and theaters, and on stages as august as Red Rocks Amphitheater and the Ryman. In short, it’s music that is built to last, impervious to trends. For their tenth studio album, When You Found Me, the band continues its natural evolution, this time tapping into a more atmospheric, widescreen vision (one that wouldn’t seem out of place on a Reagan-era FM dial) while still staying tethered to its roots. “I wanted a very classic rock sound for this album,” says songwriter and frontman Ben Nichols. “I wanted it to sound like stuff I heard on the radio growing up. I didn’t want to make a retro record at all, but I did want to reference some of those sounds and tones and moods. I think we struck a nice balance between nostalgia and something that still sounds like contemporary Lucero.”ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
Baio - Dead Hand Control
Steven Wilson - THE FUTURE BITES
Mike Krol - Mike Krol Is Never Dead: The First Two Records
The Milk Carton Kids - Live From Lincoln Theatre
Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose: Live At Brixton
PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? (2020 Reissue)
PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? - Demos
Goat Girl - On All Fours
The Dead South - Served Live
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - I Told You So
Lastlings - First Contact
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Best Years Of Our Lives: 45th Anniversary
BlackPink - THE ALBUM
Various Artists - Golden Age: 25 Years Of Signature Sounds
Joan As Police Woman - Live
The Notwist - Vertigo Days
John Prine - Storm Windows [SYEOR 2021 LP]
John Prine - Pink Cadillac [SYEOR 2021 LP]
John Prine - Bruised Orange [SYEOR 2021 LP]
Ani DiFranco - Revolutionary Love
Public Enemy - Power To The People And The Beats - Public Enemy's Greatest Hits
Anna B Savage - A Common Turn
& More .....
UPCOMING RELEASES
Aaron Lee Tasjan - Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! - New West Records
Every now and then an artist comes along who makes you remember why you started listening to albums in the first place: Aaron Lee Tasjan is that artist. With his off-center charm and restless creative dazzle, he makes music with conviction that has its roots in rock’s murky past, armed with an arsenal of songs that spill over with humor, intelligence, irony, and at times prophecy.He updates the idea of androgyny but dispels the emotional and social ambiguity with lyrics that reflect his own geographic and artistic wanderings. Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! is 11 songs. The man who began the album, is not the same man who completed it, transformed both by the experiences that inspired the songs and crafting them. This is not anxious music for anxious times, but rather music as an antidote for anxious times. It is the sound of the future arriving.John Mayall - The First Generation 1965-1974 - Snapper UK / Madfish
There are box sets and then there are BOX SETS. John Mayall’s The First Generation 1965-1974 set sits firmly in the latter category, being substantial both in the artefacts contained within and the superb music it encompasses. The first set of this size to be released documenting John Mayall’s early years sees not only all albums from his much lauded formative career, but also unreleased tracks aplenty. Featuring Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, Blue Mitchell, Jon Mark and many more outstanding musicians, this mammoth package contains 35 CDs, a beautiful hardback book and much more. Not for nothing did Mayall earn the moniker ‘Godfather of the British Blues’. For a short but compelling time in the 60s and 70s he recognised raw talent, took it in, nurtured it, and everyone thrived and benefitted as a result. Many of the best musicians of the period passed through the hallowed ranks of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. All are on show here in a stunning set crammed with musical highlights.
Music Releases 01-29-21
Artist | Title | Price | |
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Arlo Parks | Collapsed In Sunbeams [Deep Red LP] | New Vinyl: $21.98 |
Video |
Baio | Dead Hand Control [LP] | New Vinyl: $21.98 |
Video |
Steven Wilson | THE FUTURE BITES [LP] | New Vinyl: $34.98 |
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Lucero | When You Found Me [LP] | New Vinyl: $19.98 |
Video |
Mike Krol | Mike Krol Is Never Dead: The First Two Records [3CD] | New CD: $19.98 |
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The Milk Carton Kids | Live From Lincoln Theatre [2LP] | New Vinyl: $21.98 |
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Bombay Bicycle Club | I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose: Live At Brixton [LP] | New Vinyl: $39.99 |
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PJ Harvey | Is This Desire? (2020 Reissue) [LP] | New Vinyl: $24.98 |
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PJ Harvey | Is This Desire? - Demos [LP] | New Vinyl: $24.98 |
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Goat Girl | On All Fours | New CD: $16.98 |
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Public Enemy | Power To The People And The Beats - Public Enemy's Greatest Hits [Limited Edition Blood Red w/ Black Smoke 2LP] | New Vinyl: $34.98 |
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The Dead South | Served Live [LP] | New Vinyl: $29.98 |
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Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio | I Told You So [LP] | New Vinyl: $23.98 |
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Lastlings | First Contact [LP] | New Vinyl: $24.98 |
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Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel | Best Years Of Our Lives: 45th Anniversary [Limited Edition LP] | New Vinyl: $29.98 |
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BlackPink | THE ALBUM [Pink LP] | New Vinyl: $24.98 |
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Alabama Slim | The Parlor [LP] | New Vinyl: $21.98 |
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Various Artists | Golden Age: 25 Years Of Signature Sounds | New CD: $19.49 |
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Joan As Police Woman | Live [LP] | New Vinyl: $19.98 |
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The Notwist | Vertigo Days [2LP] | New Vinyl: $37.98 |
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John Prine | Storm Windows [SYEOR 2021 LP] | New Vinyl: $21.98 |
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John Prine | Pink Cadillac [SYEOR 2021 LP] | New Vinyl: $21.98 |
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John Prine | Bruised Orange [SYEOR 2021 LP] | New Vinyl: $21.98 |
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Ani DiFranco | Revolutionary Love [2LP] | New Vinyl: $24.98 |
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Movie Releases 02-02-21
Artist | Title | Price | |
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Let Him Go [Movie] | Let Him Go | New Blu-Ray: $34.98 |
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Wild Mountain Thyme [Movie] | Wild Mountain Thyme | New DVD: $22.98 |
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Breach [Movie] | Breach | New DVD: $19.98 |
View More