12 Stones – Beneath The Scars CD (Executive Music Group)
The post-grunge band returns to the music scene after a five year absence.
2:54 – 2:54 CD (Fat Possum)
2:54 tap a rock and punk lineage notoriously anchored by the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age and Kyuss. However, their sound neatly neighbors the darker, atmospheric reaches of today’s R&B finest, as well as timeless walls of sound. Vinyl version due June 19.
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today / Blue Randy 7” (Third Man)
Two brand-new original songs from the inimitable Beck. While the A-side of “Hating” manages genre hop as well as anything Mr. Hansen has done in the past, the flip side of “Blue Randy” has a certain timeless quality that feels like it would equally be at home on any past release whether it be “One Foot in the Grave” or “Sea Change.”
David Benoit – Conversation CD (Heads Up)
Since launching his recording career in 1977, David Benoit’s expansive career as a contemporary jazz pianist has included over 25 solo recordings.
Wade Bowan – The Given CD (Sony Nashville)
New album from the Texas-based country vocalist.
Broken Water – Tempest CD/LP (Hardly Art)
Second full-length from this Olympia, WA three-piece. Scuzzy ‘90s style rock with elements of psych and shoegaze. Energetic crescendos in a controlled and relentless mess of sound, with vocals that go from Thurston Moore at his bratty best, to the haunting melodies of My Bloody Valentine.
Burzum – Umskiptar CD (Candlelight)
Expanding the ongoing influence of Nordic folk, Umskiptar adds more traditional heavy metal, signature Burzum composition, but with a keener emphasis on vocal delivery (again presented in Vikernes’ native tongue).
Cadence Weapon – Hope In Dirt City CD (Upper Class Recordings)
Composed of a unique hybrid of psychedelic soul, old school rap, IDM and mutant disco, Hope In Dirt City is a groundbreaking achievement in hip-hop.
Dawnbringer – Into The Lair Of The Sun God CD (Profound Lore)
With its songs titled simply as the chapter numbers to the unfolding story, the album continues in the Dawnbringer fashion of epic, unique, forward-thinking heavy metal that captures the classic spirit of the past while pushing the movement forward to the future.
Rebecca Fergususon – Heaven CD (Sony)
Rebecca Ferguson, a 25 year-old singer/songwriter, hails from Liverpool, England. She gained prominence in the UK as a contestant on The X Factor, where she was a runner-up — placing second in the competition.nd.
Melody Gardot - The Absence CD/CD+DVD (Verve)
The third record from Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician. Produced by Heitor Pereira, renowned for his work as a film composer (Despicable Me, It’s Complicated, From Prada To Nada) and world-class session guitarist (Sting, Seal, Caetano Veloso), the Brazilian-born, US-based artist shared Melody’s enthusiasm for driving off the beaten path of Western pop, jazz, blues and soul.
Hilltop Hoods – Drinking From The Sun CD (Fontana)
Features guest appearances from Black Thought (The Roots), Chali 2na (Jurassic 5), Sia, and others.
King Tuff - King Tuff CD/LP (Sub Pop)
A visceral underground rock & roll experience.
Ladyhawke - Anxiety CD (Casablanca)
New album from the New Zealand born singer/songwriter brims with irresistible hooks, fresh beats and ear-grabbing synth sounds.
The Mars Volta - Noctourniquet 2xLP (Rodriguez Lopez Productions)
Recently released on CD — now available on opaque blue and orange vinyl housed in two full color 3D inner sleeves with 3D glasses. While Noctourniquet was, in typical Mars Volta fashion, written by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala and produced by Rodriguez-Lopez, the 13-track album explores musical territories previously uncharted in the duo’s 20 or so years of creating music together.
Millencolin – Melancholy Connection CD+DVD (Epitaph)
Sweden’s favorite skatepunk unit Millencolin present a B-sides collection, going back to songs from their classic Pennybridge Pioneers album, and including everything they released afterwards. Features a documentary on DVD that looks inside the making of Pennybridge, with classic archival footage of the band and Bad Religion/Epitaph founder Brett Gurewitz in the studio.
Marissa Nadler – The Sister CD/LP+MP3 (Box Of Cedar)
The dream-folk artist notes that each year she feels freer to write what she wants. On The Sister Nadler keeps her confessionals as intimate as possible, explaining: “I wanted the starkness of every song to reflect the lyrical content. Some of my biggest influences are confessional songwriters. It’s always been a very powerful thing to listen to Elliott Smith and Joni Mitchell, and feel so much from their stories.”
Annette Peacock – I’m The One [Reissue/1972] CD/LP (Future Days)
The jazz, rock, and electronic music pioneer’s solo debut LP was originally released by RCA in 1972 and placed firmly at the forefront of the pop avant-garde.
Public Image Ltd. – This Is PiL CD/LP (PiL Official)
Now after 20 years yet another new & unique chapter is set to unfold in the shape of new PiL material.
Saint Etienne – Words And Music By Saint Etienne CD (Heavenly UK)
Heavy on deep club beats and glittery indie songwriting, the new album by Saint Etienne is about that special alchemy that transforms even the most mundane of experiences into a lingering moment of seamless enchantment that resonates for the rest of your life.
Scissor Sisters – Magic Hour CD (Casablanca)
Brand new studio album featuring the single “Only The Horses.” Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe version features bonus remixes and music videos.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Here CD/LP (Vagrant)
Highly anticipated follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut Up From Below.
Sigur Ros - Valtari CD/LP (XL)
Something alchemical occurs when the four members of Sigur Ros are in the room together. Even if this is more of a “studio based” album than it’s predecessors (which usually start as rehearsal room jams), the long hours of experimentation and unsentimental editing have yielded incredibly persuasive and surprisingly romantic results.
Simian Mobile Disco – UnPatterns CD/2xLP (Wichita)
UnPatterns is a record full of love, dedication, hard-earned experience, obvious understanding of decades of electronic music from across scenes and styles, and huge fun. It’s completely of the now, showing a band as familiar with Blawan and Lone as they are with Silver Apples and Phuture, but never jumping on bandwagons.
Regina Spektor – What We Saw From The Cheap Seats CD (Sire)
“A genuine oddball with a salty side, Regina Spektor possesses a vocal style rangy enough to encompass sweet nothings, animal noises, drum sounds and funny accents. But for all her occasional flights of fancy — or perhaps because her unpredictability makes her sincerity more disarming — Spektor is a skilled sentimentalist whose words summon universal feelings of love, hope, disappointment and desire.” — NPR
Julia Stone – By The Horns CD (Nettwerk)
Julia Stone is best known as one-half of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Australian brother/sister duo Angus & Julia Stone.
Sun Kil Moon – Among The Leaves 2xCD (Caldo Verde)
Played almost entirely on nylon string guitar, this 17-song album finds Mark Kozelek relaxed, singing playfully about his life as a musician while retaining the melancholic spirit of his 20-year catalog.
Swans - We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head 2xCD (Young God)
Double-CD collection of live recordings from the band’s recent live shows — precedes (and previews material from) the upcoming double-album The Seer (due late summer/early fall).
Ian Tyson – Raven Singer CD (Stony Plain)
The Canadian singer/songwriter’s first album in four years, created at the age of 78.
The Walkmen – Heaven CD (Fat Possum)
New album produced by Phil Ek, best known for twiddling the knobs for Fleet Foxes, Band Of Horses, Built To Spill and others. Vinyl version due June 5.
DVD + Blu-ray:
Yo-Yo Ma/Stuart Duncan/Edgar Meyer/Chris Thile – The Goat Rodeo Sessions Live DVD/Blu-ray (Sony Classics)
The Goat Rodeo Sessions Live brings cellist Yo-Yo Ma, fiddler Stuart Duncan, bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile together for a one-night only concert filmed at the House Of Blues in Boston, MA.
