Aesop Rock – Skelethon CD/2xLP+MP3 (Rhymesayers)
While the sounds are familiar, we see Aesop venturing in some exciting new directions with appearances from Kimya Dawson, Allyson Baker, Hanni El Khatib, Rob Sonic, and DJ Big Wiz. Vinyl version comes on translucent red wax in a gatefold jacket with poster, liner insert and download card.
Beak – Beak II CD/LP (Invada)
Second album from Geoff Barrow’s (Portishead) other band.
Zac Brown Band – Uncaged CD (Atlantic)
The 11-song album features a slew of special guests including Amos Lee and Trombone Shorty, as well as songs written or co-written by other artists including Jason Mraz and Nic Cowan and Sonia Leigh.
Chatham County Line – Sight & Sound CD+DVD/2xLP+DVD (Yep Roc)
On a recent summer evening in downtown Raleigh, NC, Chatham County Line set up shop at a stately theater filled with hundreds of their most devoted fans and captured for the ages what they do best: gathering around a single microphone to play and sing their own songs.
Clare And The Reasons – KR-51 CD/LP (Frog Stand)
Clare and Olivier went to Berlin for eight months in the spring of 2011 to write music, ride their Schwalbe and be strangers in a strange land. This album is their Berlin.
Debo Band – Debo Band CD/2xLP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
Debo Band is an eleven-member group led by Ethiopian-American saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by charismatic vocalist Bruck Tesfaye. Ethiopian pop in the here and now.
Deep Time – Deep Time CD/LP (Hardly Art)
Formerly known as Yellow Fever, Deep Time is a bewitching pop duo, comprised of Jennifer Moore on organ, electric guitar and vocals, and Adam Jones on drums. An oddball mix of girl group harmonies and Velvet Underground-inspired noise.
Delicate Steve – Positive Force CD/LP (Luaka Bop)
A response to taking a bedroom record out into the world and performing in front of large crowds, Positive Force is a much bigger record sonically than the debut. What is becoming a signature command of melody–that thing that allows you to sing these wordless songs out loud, and rejoice while doing it — is front and center here.
DIIV – Oshin LP (Captured Tracks)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl. DIIV craft a sound that is at once familial and frostbitten. Indebted to classic kraut, dreamy Creation-records psychedelia, and the primitive-crunch of late-‘80s Seattle, the band walk a divisive yet perfectly fused patch of classic-underground influence.
Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)
Moving away from the 20th-century orchestration, West African and raga guitar rhythms of their previous albums, Swing Lo Magellan is more of a song-based record. It has both the handmade intimacy of a love letter and the widescreen grandeur of a blockbuster.
Duran Duran – A Diamond Of The Mind CD (Eagle Rock)
Recorded live at the MEN Arena in Manchester on December 16th, 2011. Also available on DVD and Blu-ray.
The Early November – In Currents CD/LP (Rise)
A blend of indie and alternative rock.
Glass Cloud – The Royal Thousand CD (Equal Vision)
New from the metalcore band.
Guns N’ Roses - Use Your Illusion 1 2xLP+MP3 (Geffen)
Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion II 2xLP+MP3 (Geffen)
HQ-180 gatefold vinyl reissues now available.
Woody Guthrie – Woody at 100: Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection 3xCD (Smithsonian Folkways)
57 tracks on three CDs, including Woody’s most important recordings, 21 previously unreleased performances, and six never-before-heard original songs.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Live At Berkley CD/2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Recorded live at Berkley Community Theatre, Saturday May 30th, 1970. The evening’s second set is presented here in its entirety and original sequence. Also available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Holograms – Holograms CD/LP (Captured Tracks)
Holograms’ sound synthesizes the drudgery of dismal existence with a lust for something better; echoing both the violent abandonment of punk as well as some of the electronic gloss of early ‘80s new wave.
Husky – Forever So CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
Though the four Australian band members have disparate tastes, their shared passion for classic sounds, rich harmonies, and artful songwriting points back to the artists they grew up on: Crosby Stills & Nash, Dylan, The Doors, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and The Beach Boys. Warm, acoustic timbres and carefully crafted songs.
Brendan James – Hope In Transition CD (Rock Ridge)
New album from the piano-based singer/songwriter.
Kadavar – Kadavar CD (Tee Pee)
Heavy blues-rock, awesomely loud minor-key dirges and Geezer Butler-esque bass lines create a paean to the dark mesmerizing power of the distorted blues.
Eleni Mandell – I Can See The Future CD/LP (Yep Roc)
All 13 of these new songs are marked by the wry humor and lyrical economy that have long made her work so striking, as well as the tasteful, empathetic arrangements and timeless songcraft that’s always characterized her work.
Marina & The Diamonds – Electra Heart CD (New Elektra)
The self-styled avant-garde DIY artist has detonated her own experimental past and landed feet first in the future with this ambitious and confident album of electro-pop euphoria and come-down melancholia.
Mission Of Burma – Unsound CD/LP (Fire)
As expected, Unsound is raw, primal and aggressive. Mission Of Burma still have a signature knack for twisting even the most ferocious noise into complex structures.
Elizabeth Mitchell – Little Seed: Songs For Children By Woody Guthrie CD (Smithsonian Folkways)
The children’s music veteran embraces the gentle genius of America’s musical bard Woody Guthrie.
P.O.D. – Murdered Love CD (Razor & Tie)
New album featuring the band’s original lineup.
Staind – Live From Mohegan Sun CD (Atlantic)
Recorded at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut on November 25, 2011, this concert captures a typically raw and energetic performance by Staind.
Serj Tankian – Harakiri CD (Reprise)
In an effort to return to his edgy hard rock roots circa System Of A Down, Serj has delivered the rocker Harakiri.
Twin Shadow – Confess CD/LP (4AD)
“George Lewis Jr. adopts a bad-boy persona for the pristine follow-up to 2010′s Forget. It’s a laser-focused, sharply posturing collection that eulogizes the coldness of modern relationships, and the confusion of lust over love.” BNM [8.8] — Pitchfork
Rhonda Vincent - Sunday Mornin’ Singin’ CD (Ingrooves)
First ever all gospel project by Rhonda Vincent.
Hank Williams Jr. – Old School New Rules CD/LP (WB/ Bocephus)
New twelve-song album includes duets with Brad Paisley and Merle Haggard.
DVDs + Blu-ray:
Duran Duran - A Diamond Of The Mind DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Rock)
Filmed at the MEN Arena in Manchester on December 16th, 2011. Also available on stand-alone CD. 119 minutes.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Live At Berkley DVD/Blu-ray (Sony Legacy)
Recorded live at Berkley Community Theatre, Saturday May 30th, 1970. The evening’s second set is presented here in its entirety and original sequence. Also available on CD. 72 minutes.
