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On his new album, ‘Ideal Man,’ Andrew Combs worked with producer/engineer Sam Cohen (Kevin Morby, Benjamin Booker)to achieve a more raw, direct sound. The collection was captured live in Cohen’s Brooklyn studio, with compact arrangements fueled by taut, elastic grooves. While Combs may be best known as a singer/songwriter in the classic 1970’s Laurel Canyon sense, he proves the true versatility of his work here, often setting his acoustic aside in favor of atmospheric synthesizers and distorted electric guitars. Combs worked with some of his favorite writers on the album, including Dylan LeBlanc, Jeff Trott, Joe Henry, and Kenny Childers, but the stories he tells here are deeply personal and remarkably vulnerable.
A sense of danger and violence underlies the entire record, much as it does the entire country, but it only serves to make the moments of beauty and connection here that much more poignant. Life is short and the clock is ticking. Andrew Combs doesn’t plan to waste a second.
GRAMMY Award-winning MCA Nashville country star Vince Gill announced today that his new album, Okie, will be released on August 23. Gill wrote or co-wrote all 12 songs on Okie. The album s title is taken from the once-derogatory term used to disparage migrants from Oklahoma to the nation s west coast during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression eras. A proud Oklahoman, Gill has appropriated this term on an album that embraces his roots and explores some of the most important issues of our time. I thought this was going to be a songwriter record, not a concept album, Gill says. It wound up being more information than I d envisioned. A friend sent me an email saying, You could have only written this record after living a 60-year-plus life. He said, There s no struggle in these songs, just truth and your experience. Okie marks Gill s most recent solo album since 2016 s Down To My Last Bad Habit and 2011 s Guitar Slinger. In 2013, Gill partnered with famed steel guitarist Paul Franklin on Bakersfield as a tribute to the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. With 21 GRAMMY Awards to his credit. Gill has solidified his place as country music s most eloquent and impassioned champion. He is both a world-class musician and a wide-ranging songwriter whose compositions earned him entry into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Gill has also made appearances on over 1000 artists records. In 2017, Gill was invited to join the Eagles for their worldwide tour, and later this month he will again join the band for the European leg of their upcoming tour with stops in Antwerp, Belgium, Cologne, Germany and Amsterdam.
Seratones aptly named sophomore release POWER is described by poet and author Hannif Abdurraquib as a glorious, swelling album[a] sonic monument, and precise lyrical tapestry. AJ Haynes bends her gloriously malleable voice seamlessly around the temples of rock, and soul, and funk. All of them, unfurling in waves of keys, staccato percussion and wailing curves of guitar. Based in Shreveport, Louisiana, Haynes and founding members, drummer Jesse Gabriel and bassist Adam Davis, form the kind of laser-focused rhythm section that you only get from bandmates who've been playing together since they were teenagers. New members Tyran Coker (keys) and Travis Stewart (guitar) bring a fresh dynamic to the band with interstellar soundscapes and entrancing melodies, all while maintaining the emotional edge and intensity from their acclaimed proto-punk debut record Get Gone.vPOWER exemplifies a true strength in vulnerability, a kaleidoscopic view into Haynes passions, hopes, and worries: from her love of poetry to her advocacy for Reproductive Justice and racial equity. Hard-learned lessons from lovers and intimate friends. The struggles to adapt and overcome. POWER is as much a statement as it is a question, a semiotic exploration of sound and Soul.
“How does brokenness walk? Or move through the world?” says guitarist/vocalist Carrie Brownstein about The Center Won’t Hold, Sleater-Kinney’s tenth studio album. “We’re always mixing the personal and the political but on this record, despite obviously thinking so much about politics, we were really thinking about the person – ourselves or versions of ourselves or iterations of depression or loneliness – in the middle of the chaos.” The Center Won’t Hold is Sleater-Kinney’s midnight record on the doomsday clock. After twenty-five years of legendary collaboration, rock’n’roll giants Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and Janet Weiss rise to meet the moment by digging deeper and sounding bigger than we’ve heard them yet. Here are intimate battle cries. Here are shattered songs for the shattered survivors. The Center Won’t Hold drops you into the world of catastrophe that touches on the election,” says guitarist/vocalist Tucker of the title track. “We’re not taking it easy on the audience. That song is meant to be really heavy and dark. And almost like a mission statement, at the end of that song, it’s like we’re finding our way out of that space by becoming a rock band.
Ride return with the 6th studio album of their career and their second since reforming in 2015 and signing to Wichita. As with their previous album, the highly acclaimed Weather Diaries, Erol Alkan was in the producers chair, whilst career-long collaborator Alan Moulder (with Caesar Edmunds) mixed the album. The albums title was inspired by one of the hobo code symbols once used by those who travelled the railroads of the US, and then found in the early artwork of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The phrase clearly resonates with the current state of the world politically and environmentally. This Is Not A Safe Place is arguably the Ride album with the broadest sonic palette thus far. You can hear sounds and styles that span their entire catalogue but, both musically and lyrically, this is clearly an album made by a band who love being back together and who are at the very top of their game.
On August 16th, 2019, Eilen Jewell will release Gypsy on Signature Sounds. Described as one of Americana's most intriguing and creative voices (American Songwriter), Jewell has written 11 new songs for Gypsy and is calling it her favorite album yet: new sounds, old sounds, electric guitar-driven rockers, classic country, and tender ballads. Gypsy continues to solidify Jewell's reputation as one of the most distinctive and potent voices in the Americana world today.
‘High Expectations’ is that rare record which feels both like a graduation and, also, just the beginning for Mabel. The twice-Brit-nominated singer and songwriter has already sold over 3 million singles in the UK (two platinum, three gold, and two silver), surpassed 1 billion streams, and sold out the likes of Brixton Academy. Across her formative singles and first long-form project, ‘Ivy To Roses’, Mabel has written with startling honesty on young love, identity, girl power, and mental health – knowing full-well that she would make her debut album only when she was ready. And on that road to her first record, Mabel’s music has become a soundtrack – for her impassioned young female fanbase, but also for herself – on how to turn those vulnerabilities into your advantages. Now poised to join the pantheon of international pop greats, her tireless energy, positivity and drive will never allow Mabel to settle for anything less than ‘High Expectations’. In 2019, watch Mabel meet them and keep reaching higher still.
VOLBEAT emerged from Copenhagen in 2001. Since then, they’ve tirelessly clawed their way to hard rock’s upper echelon with endless touring and a string of six beloved full-length albums. Recently, their 2010 album Beyond Hell/Above Heaven, which features hit singles “A Warrior’s Call” and “Heaven Nor Hell,” received RIAA Gold Certification. 2013’s Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies bowed at #9 on the Billboard Top 200 upon release marking the highest U.S. chart entry for a Danish Act since 1997.
The groundbreaking band’s 10thstudio album, HOTEL LAST RESORT resides among Violent Femmes’ finest work, simultaneously refining and redefining their one-of-a-kind take on American music, mingling front porch folk, post-punk, spiritual jazz, country blues, avant garde improvisation, and golden age rock ‘n’ roll. Founded and fronted of course by Gano and Ritchie, the group remains as warm, wise and weird as ever before, with such new favorites as “Another Chorus” and “Everlasting You” continuing to mine the vast range of ideas, melodic complexity, and organic sonic craftsmanship that has characterized the band’s body of work since their landmark 1983 debut.
Limited edition custom center-opening gatefold LP pressed on 180g virgin vinyl at Pallas, Germany. Mastered by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Sound.
WINDOW ROCK is an album yearning to find meaning in a morally ambivalent world. Micah Nelson, who records under the name Particle Kid, seeks to achieve this goal via 9 new, kaleidoscopic tracks, exploring the mythology of the self, with verve, minimalism and simplicity.
You think you know the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men, but you have no idea. Within the first minute of their new single 'Alligator' you'll be wondering if this huge anthem is the brainchild of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs fronting Arcade Fire –all thumping drums, brimming guitars and a call-to-arms chorus about taking control. During a day of final mixing at the LA studio of their co-producer Rich Costey (MUSE, Vampire Weekend, Chvrches), the five-piece gather in stages.
Caamp formed when childhood friends Taylor Meier and Evan Westfall bonded over a shared love for Ohio and music. Their self-titled debut (2016) exceeded 52 million plays and climbed the Spotify charts. Thereafter, Caamp toured with Rainbow Kitten Surprise, headlined the US, released Boys EP (2K sold) and added a third member, Matt Vinson. The band has built their grassroots audience from touring all over the world and have sold 25K tickets over the past 8 months. In 2019 they will play worldwide festivals including Shaky Knees, The Great Escape, Outside Lands, Edmonton Folk Festival, Austin City Limits, and more. By & By was co-produced by Josh Block and Austin Jenkins (Leon Bridges, White Denim) at Ft. Worth’s Niles City Sound. The much-awaited album By and By includes key tracks "Penny Heads Up", "No Sleep", "By and By" and "Peach Fuzz”.
Hamell On Trial is set to reissue Choochtown (20th Anniversary Edition) Digitally and on CD with 11 bonus tracks from the original recording sessions with Billy Nicgorski. Choochtown will also see its first proper vinyl release worldwide. The vinyl version is a remastered version of the original album released in 1999. Ed Hamell on ChoochtownI was living in Brooklyn, constantly on the road, and been dropped from my major label deal on Mercury/Universal. I really had nothing to lose and I was very inspired, if I remember, by the movie Pulp Fiction and the Biggie Smalls record: Ready To Die. I recorded anywhere I could. My friend Billy Nicgorski had an analog one inch studio in his basement, his younger brother had a band and I would use them. I also did a bunch of it in my basement in Brooklyn which had a dirt floor and I set the recording gear up on plastic paint pails. Used them as drums sometimes too. I released it on my own label Such-A-Punch and it got licensed to Evangeline in the UK where it got rave reviews and established my career over there. After all the press I got for my first two albums on a major I couldn't get anything over here in the States, only that CMJ magazine which took their silliness pretty seriously who basically said, We don't know what it is but it's art. Duh. I'm pretty proud of all my records, I've been very lucky in that I've always been able to maintain complete creative control but this one I was particularly proud of because every inch of it, from the recording which one track as you'll see was recorded on my boom box, to the artwork, was all mine. ...amazing and entertaining and poignant... -- The Stereo Times Online Magazine, October 2000 ...high-spirited...manic energy..artful -- CMJ, April 2000 *****(5 stars--highest rating) Absolutely brilliant! -- UNCUT Magazine, April 2001
With a hugely impressive over a million combined album sales and over a billion streams under their belt, Tycho are the Grammy-nominated electronic music project led by Scott Hansen as primary composer, songwriter and producer. Respected for both their musical output and Scott’s graphic design work, under the ISO50 moniker, Tycho has produced and released a hugely successful back catalogue which has drawn comparisons to the likes of Boards of Canada, Ulrich Schnauss and Jon Hopkins. The highly anticipated release of Tycho’s fifth studio album Weather is an exciting progression from his previous output, with most of the new tracks being vocal lead, while still retaining the signature Tycho sound. The sonic shift is enhanced by a collaboration with a young exciting new voice - vocalist Saint Sinner who will be joining the live band following her time in the studio. The release will see Mom + Pop partner for this exciting new chapter in the artist’s career.
Looking Through The Shades, is Glitterer’s debut full-length album, featuring Ned Russin, bassist/vocalist of Title Fight. This is Glitterer all glown up. Now there are live drums (twin brother Ben did the honours) and dopamine-releasing fuzzy guitars to go with the synths, the bass, and the voice. Now there’s a full 14-song tracklist to luxuriate in. Produced by Alex Giannascoli and Arthur Rizk (Code Orange, Power Trip, Sumerlands) the album delivers Glitterer’s best-yet sonics and songs. The lyrics are still insouciantly tortured, in a reluctant-college-boy kind of way, the choruses are still obscenely catchy, and the arrangements still carry not so much as an ounce of excess fat. From the saturated distortion of the opener, “The Race” (“I wish I could look at your life and know it’s mine”), through the road-weary “1001” (“I sang 1,000 songs / didn’t want to sing again”) and the vox-and-bass-only Side B outlier “The News” (“I used to be original”), the listener is simultaneously satiated and left wanting more.
Wilderness is a powerhouse of a record by Jade Jackson, a follow-up to her 2017 debut, Gilded. Her new work deals heavily with the in-betweens and stepping stones we dwell in and leap across while coming to terms with our sense of self, and how melancholy can be a powerful weapon to wield, especially in the form of a roots-rock or country song. Wilderness, like Gilded, was produced by Mike Ness, the SoCal punk rock legend who essentially plucked Jackson from obscurity several years ago and helped hone her craft and sound. Jackson calls Ness “a master of feel and rhythm” and credits him with showing her how to invoke more of those calling cards in her new work, in addition to those countless tools now in her arsenal that they developed together over time. As the pair’s master-pupil relationship continues to evolve, Jackson recognizes that Ness has become more open to her input while she herself has gotten more hands-on in the studio, a process that ultimately resulted in delivering the sound for which both parties were striving. “The message of ‘Wilderness’ is in how to get through tough situations—if you visualize yourself somewhere, all that good energy and intention can get you where you want to go.” – Jade Jackson
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs – Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence, and Patrick Keeler – have announced the release of their long-awaited new album, HELP US STRANGER, which is the GRAMMY® Award-winning rock band’s third studio LP and first new album in more than a decade. Out on Friday, June 21, HELP US STRANGER sees the mighty combo reassembled, stronger and perhaps even more vital than ever before as they continue to push rock 'n' roll forward into its future, bonding prodigious riffs, blues power, sinewy psychedelia, Detroit funk, and Nashville soul via Benson and White’s uncompromising songcraft and the band’s steadfast musical muscle. With HELP US STRANGER, The Raconteurs have returned right when they are needed most, unified and invigorated with boundless ambition, infinite energy and a collectivist spirit operating at the peak of its considerable powers, once again creating a sound and fury only possible when all four of its members come together.
The idea for Layers began to percolate a couple years ago, as Marshall was finding success with his joyous pop-band Walk off the Earth, the YouTube overachievers–turned–Juno winners. Still, he’d always envisioned himself falling somewhere between the musically transcendent Bob Dylan and Bon Iver. An emotionally tumultuous album, Layers is the sound of Marshall evincing everything from toxic relationships past to present insecurities and is the next-level output of an artist without boundaries.
For over 50 years, Earth Wind and Fire provided the soundtrack to the lives of many. With award winning albums and chart-topping hits such as “September”, “Devotion”, “Reasons” and “Keep Your Head to the Sky” EWF have stood the test of time and continue to be a force in music. Philp Bailey, one of the lead singers, also experienced solo success with “Easy Lover” and “Walking on the Chinese Wall.” This new album, Love Will Find A Way, has Philip teamed up with some of today’s hottest, progressive Jazz artists such as Robert Glasper, Christian McBride, Kamasi Washington, Casey Benjamin, Chick Corea, Steve Gadd and more. The single, “Billy Jack”, was written by the legendary Curtis Mayfield and produced by both Robert Glasper and Philip Bailey.
Their first album together in nearly 10 years, Breakdown On 20th Ave. South is an album of Julie Miller songs produced by Buddy Miller. As a couple and individually, Buddy and Julie have been nominated and received multiple awards including Grammys, Americana Awards, Dove Awards among others. Julie Millers songs have been recorded by a diverse range of artists including Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, Levon Helm, Solomon Burke, and Miranda Lambert. Buddy Miller is known for his work as a guitarist, performing live and in the studio with artists such as Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris. Buddys production credits include albums with Plant, Harris, Earle, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and many more.Breakdown On 20th Ave. South is a first rate showcase for Julies finely crafted lyrics. There is a line from the track Spittin' on Fire that best illustrates Julies sharp edged word play: You're a dangerous little storm, one part cold and one part warm. The song War Child is a cry for help that usually goes unheard. A cry for for help from thousands and thousands of children stolen from their families, forced to carry a gun at ages as young as 7 or 8. Never to see home again. Tracks like, Im Gonna Make You Love Me and Everything Is Your Fault hint at the ups and downs of love. The entire album is tied together by Buddys unfussy production style. Breakdown On 20th Ave. South is a treat for long time fans of Buddy & Julie and a delightful discovery for new listeners.