New Releases for May 26, 2023
CDs + Vinyl:
AJJ – Disposable Everything CD/LP (Hopeless)
Phoenix-based indie punk band AJJ is back with their 10th studio album. After years of cult-like indie success and underground critical acclaim, AJJ has continued to evolve with each album, adding more layers and texture musically, while still maintaining their trademark wit and irreverent lyricism. [A limited-edition green color vinyl pressing is available.]
The Barnestormers – The Barnstormers CD/LP (Rhino)
The Barnestormers is a rockabilly supergroup featuring Jimmy Barnes, Jools Holland, Chris Cheney, Slim Jim Phantom and Kevin Shirley.
Ane Brun – Songs 2013–2023 CD/LP (Balloon Ranger)
It’s been ten years since Ane Brun marked her first decade as a recording artist with the release of Songs 2003-2013, a career-encapsulating double album. Now, with her international reputation flourishing, Songs 2013-2023 allows the distinguished, platinum-selling Norwegian singer songwriter to celebrate her second decade in the business – not to mention her multiple Norwegian and Swedish Grammy awards – while also illustrating the ongoing, fascinating evolution of her singular, compelling talent.
Calexico – Feast Of Wire [Reissue/2003] 2xCD/3xLP (Quarter Stick)
Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition of Calexico’s acclaimed 2003 album Feast Of Wire. The original album has been fully remastered, includes the band’s popular cover of “Love’s Alone Again Or”. The set includes the unreleased live recording of Calexico’s 2003 performance at the China Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, titled More Cowboys In Sweden (Live).
Cloak – Black Flame Eternal CD/2xLP (Season Of Mist)
In an era that is designed to beat down and weaken the individual, Black Flame Eternal is an album that represents strength, empowerment, and total opposition. With mounting pressure to engage in modern societal tribalism, Cloak invokes a spiritual rebellion that exists beyond good and evil with album number three. While Cloak might rage against societal conventions, the Atlanta quartet embraces the rebellious and time-tested traditions of heavy metal.
The Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic (Expanded & Remastered) CD/LP (Third Man)
Legendary power-pop trailblazers The Exploding Hearts deliver an expanded and remastered reissue of their beloved sole studio album, Guitar Romantic, originally released in 2003. In the 20 years since – and the subsequent tragic deaths of three of the four band members in a van accident later that same year – Guitar Romantic has outgrown its onetime “cult” status to become an immortal touchstone of the genre.
Immortal – War Against All CD/LP/Cassette (Nuclear Blast)
Produced and recorded by Enslaved’s lead guitarist Arve Isdal at Conclave & Earshot Studio in Bergen, Norway, War Against All is the tenth studio album from Immortal.
Carole King – Carole King Home Again CD/2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Live archive release from the pop music icon. Recorded live on The Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park on May 26, 1973. Produced by Lou Adler, Carole King Home Again is a previously unreleased concert recording and a stunning document of one of the greatest contributors to the American songbook. [A stand-alone DVD version is available.]
Matchbox Twenty – Where The Light Goes CD/LP (Atlantic)
Nearly eleven years since their last release, Matchbox Twenty sounds refreshed as ever on their fifth studio album Where The Light Goes, benefiting from the musicians’ respective solo journeys. Produced by Gregg Wattenberg with Paul Doucette and Kyle Cook, the album finds the band surging with energy for another great batch of real, relevant, and relatable songs.
Metal Church – Congregation Of Annihilation CD/LP (Rat Pak)
Congregation Of Annihilation features 11 all new tracks from the west coast metal veterans and continues to build upon their iconic sound the band established over three decades ago.
Eliades Ochoa – Guajiro CD/LP (World Circuit)
Eliades Ochoa, the Cuban singer, songwriter and guitarist well known as one of the original members of Buena Vista Social Club, returns with his 2023 album Guajiro, a collection of beautiful and melodic songs that cements his reputation as one of the most important artists to come out of Cuba in the last century. Featuring guest artists Rubén Blades, Joan As Police Woman, and Charlie Musselwhite.
Arlo Parks – My Soft Machine CD/LP/Cassette (Transgressive/PIAS)
Arlo Parks sophomore album, My Soft Machine, is a deeply personal body of work; a narration of Parks’ experiences as she navigates her 20s and the growth intertwined. It follows her highly praised debut album, Collapsed In Sunbeams, which received two Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album. The record features a guest vocal from musician and friend, Phoebe Bridgers.
Sparks – The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte CD/LP (Island)
The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte marks Sparks’ first release on the venerable Island Records label in close to five decades, following such classics as 1974’s landmark Kimono My House. The new release is described by Ron and Russell Mael as a record that is “as bold and uncompromising as anything we did back then or, for that matter, anytime throughout our career.”
Suicide – A Way Of Life [Reissue/1988] CD/2xLP (BMG/Mute)
35th Anniversary remastered and expanded edition. Although the band barely received any credit during their career, Suicide is cited as one of the most inspirational bands of the 1970s, influencing the likes Soft Cell, Depeche Mode and The Jesus And Mary Chain. Originally released in 1988, more than a decade after their iconic self-titled album, A Way Of Life saw Alan Vega & Martin Rev once again team up with The Cars’ frontman Ric Ocasek to produce “nine creepily ingratiated industrial pop songs” (Pitchfork).
Travis Tritt – Proud Of The Country [Reissue/1987] CD/LP (Painted Desert Music)
CD and vinyl reissue of the country music star’s debut album. A Marietta, Georgia native, Tritt incorporated his lifelong influences of Southern rock, blues, and gospel into his country during a honky-tonk apprenticeship that led him to Warner Bros. in 1989.
Water From Your Eyes – Everyone’s Crushed CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Life is horribly dark right now. And yet, it is not unfunny. That’s the sentiment that animates Water From Your Eyes on their new album, Everyone’s Crushed. On the follow-up to the Brooklyn duo’s 2021 breakthrough, Structure, Rachel Brown, and Nate Amos find silliness and fatalism dancing in a frantic lockstep, using heart palpitating rhythms and absurdist, deadpan lyrics to convey stories of personal and societal unease.
Aerosmith – Get Your Wings [Reissue/1974] LP (Capitol)
Aerosmith – Toys In The Attic [Reissue/1975] LP (Capitol)
Aerosmith – Rocks [Reissue/1976] LP (Capitol)
Aerosmith – Night In The Ruts [Reissue/1979] LP (Capitol)
Vinyl reissues.
Charli XCX – True Romance [Reissue/2013] LP (Atlantic)
Silver color vinyl pressing. Originally released ten years ago in 2013, True Romance quickly established Charli XCX as a pop force to be reckoned with, thanks to its blend of infections hooks, club-ready beats, and confessional lyrics that explore love, heartbreak, and self-discovery.
Death Cab For Cutie – Plans [Reissue/2005] 2xLP (Barsuk)
Death Cab for Cutie’s 2005 classic double-LP Plans is back in stock on standard-weight black vinyl. Presented in gatefold packaging, Plans is the band’s platinum-selling Grammy-nominated major label debut and includes some of their most beloved songs including “Soul Meets Body”, “Crooked Teeth”, and “I Will Follow You into the Dark”. Side D includes the non-album bonus track “Talking Like Turnstiles”.
Tommy Emmanuel – Accomplice Two LP (CGP Sounds)
Tommy Emmanuel’s duet album, Accomplice Two, has an amazing variety of artists and styles. There’s songs with the rock legends Michael McDonald, Jorma Kaukonen and Little Feat; bluegrass superstars such as Billy Strings, The Del McCoury Band, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull and David Grisman. Also featured are country icons Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jamey Johnson, and Raul Malo, and guitar heavyweights Yasmin Williams, Larry Campbell, and Richard Smith.
Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd – Jazz Samba [Reissue/1962] LP (Verve)
When Charlie Byrd toured South America in 1961, bossa nova – a melding of Brazilian samba rhythms with the harmonic structures and the cool sound of West Coast jazz – was booming. He brought back records for Stan Getz to hear, and they planned a session. The result was Jazz Samba, the first album of bossa nova by jazz artists and the one that created the bossa nova wave.
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane – Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane [Reissue/1961] LP (Craft Recordings)
Regarded as one of the greatest jazz collaborations of all time, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane are joined on this 1961 album by the talents of Art Blakey (drums), Wilbur Ware (bass), Gigi Gryce (alto sax) and more.
Nas – The Lost Tapes [Reissue/2002] 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
The Lost Tapes is widely regarded as one of Nas’ most important albums showcasing his raw lyrical talent and creative genius. This compilation features such stand out tracks as “Doo Rags”, “U Gotta Love It”, and “My Way” among others. The newly remastered double-LP set features all the original tracks from 2002’s original release pressed on premium quality black vinyl with full-color labels featuring classic Nas artwork.
Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy [Reissue/1980] LP (Geffen)
At long last, the classic Steely Dan catalog is back on vinyl. Led by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, Steely Dan released seven albums from 1972-1980. The vinyl series continues with Countdown To Ecstasy, the band’s sprawling 1973 sophomore LP with standouts such as “Bodhisattva”, “Show Biz Kids”, and “My Old School.” 180gm.
Stone Temple Pilots – Purple [Reissue/1994] LP (Atlantic)
Stone Temple Pilots’ acclaimed 1994 album Purple is now available on clear vinyl as part of the Atlantic 75 celebration. Includes the hits “Vasoline”, “Interstate Love Song”, and “Big Empty”.
Ralph Towner – At First Light LP (ECM)
Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl.
Various Artists – Jesus People Music, Volume 2: The Reckoning LP (Aquarium Drunkard/Org Music)
Translucent red color vinyl pressing. No one knew what to make of the Jesus People. A loosely aligned youth movement growing out of California in the late ’60s, it found waves of hippies, burnouts, stoners, and weirdos turning to Jesus Christ. But that didn’t mean they were going to tidy up. Jesus People wore their hair long and kept their slang wiggy, extolling the highs of “the Jesus trip” and asking, “You’ve tried everything else-why not try Jesus?” Everywhere they went, from mainstream churches on the West Coast to rural communities where back to the land-types founded communes, the Jesus People inspired confusion. “The Reckoning” is the second installment in Aquarium Drunkard and Org Music’s Jesus People Music compilation series. This new eight track collection showcases a fuzzed-out, psychedelic rock sound not typically associated with Christian music as we know it today.
