New Releases for May 5, 2023
CDs + Vinyl:
Artemis – In Real Time CD/LP (Blue Note)
Three years after the release of Artemis’ critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, the ensemble returns with a marvelous follow-up that highlights the improvisational strength of its members as well as their respective gifts as composers. In Real Time showcases a new lineup of the collective with founding members pianist Renee Rosnes, drummer Allison Miller, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and bassist Noriko Ueda joined by newcomers tenor saxophonist Nicole Grover and multi-reedist Alexa Tarantino.
Atmosphere – So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously CD/2xLP (Rhymesayers)
The new album from hip-hop duo Atmosphere, So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously, opens with veteran rapper Slug and seasoned producer Ant taking a gentler approach. A departure from the brute intros of earlier works, the lead-off track “Okay” sounds focused on comforting and reassuring the listener, as if informed by fatherhood and implicit duty. Yet, as gently as the album begins, there’s an unmistakable sense of unease from the onset that continues to evolve throughout the project, as Slug and Ant weave the listener through indistinct themes of insomnia and woe.
Syd Barrett – An Introduction To Syd Barrett [Reissue/2010] CD/2xLP (Sony Legacy)
A reissue of the 2010 collection that brought together for the first time the tracks of Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett on one compilation. David Gilmour, who originally worked on Syd Barrett’s two solo albums, as co-producer of The Madcap Laughs and as producer of Barrett, was the executive producer for the album. Damon Iddins and Andy Jackson at Astoria Studios remixed five tracks including “Octopus”, “She Took A Long Cool Look”, “Dominoes” and “Here I Go”, with David Gilmour adding bass guitar to the last track. Pink Floyd’s “Matilda Mother” also received a fresh 2010 mix.
Alison Brown – On Banjo CD/LP (Compass)
Brown has built a career taking the banjo far beyond its Appalachia roots, blending bluegrass and jazz influences into a unique sonic tapestry. On her newest release, On Banjo, Brown explores all the corners of the instrument’s potential on a set of predominantly original tunes. Joining Brown are Anat Cohen, Stuart Duncan, Sierra Hull, Sharon Isbin, Kronos Quartet and Steve Martin.
Rodney Crowell – The Chicago Sessions CD/LP (New West)
Produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, The Chicago Sessions is a throwback to Crowell’s early days of making records, but it’s no nostalgia trip. The songs here are vital and timely, touching on everything from love and mortality to race and religion, and the performances are nothing short of intoxicating, fueled by raw guitars, honky-tonk piano, and tight, punchy drums.
Drain – Living Proof CD/LP+MP3 (Epitaph)
Santa Cruz quartet Drain inject a serious dose of relatability – not to mention catchiness – into hardcore’s penchant for toughness and brutality on Living Proof. Sammy Ciaramitaro’s desperate, snotty howl rides roughshod over thrash-leaning riffage as rhythms bounce in a big way. This is hardcore for everybody.
Logan Halstead – Dark Black Coal CD/LP (Logan Halstead/Thirty Tigers)
“After writing and releasing his first song “Dark Black Coal” at just 15 years old, which has since gone viral on YouTube, Logan has been making some noise with subsequent releases like ‘Kentucky Sky’. Born in Kentucky and raised in West Virginia, he has a voice and perspective well beyond his years. Not too far out of high school, his music tells the stories of people in Appalachia in a captivating, honest and candid manner. Many have compared him to incredible artists like Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson, which Logan admits have been inspirations in his music, but mainly in helping the southern Appalachian region become more understood by those who have never so much as even heard of a holler, or know what life is really like in one.
Olivia Jean – Raving Ghost CD/LP (Third Man)
The third full-length from Olivia Jean, Raving Ghost, is an album populated by mysterious characters in various states of danger: cursed lovers, doomed souls, women deliriously haunted by unseen forces. Over the course of its 11 tracks, the Detroit-born singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist amplifies that drama with her wildly melodic take on garage-rock, handling each riff with the power and precision she’s previously shown as a member of the Black Belles (and as an in-demand session/touring musician).
Eilen Jewell – Get Behind The Wheel CD/LP (Signature Sounds)
Hailed by American Songwriter as “one of America’s most intriguing, creative, and idiosyncratic voices,” Eilen Jewell rises from the ashes on her captivating new album, Get Behind The Wheel, picking up the pieces of her shattered world and finding new purpose after watching her marriage, her band, and what felt like her entire career fall apart in a series of heartbreaking implosions.
Durand Jones – Wait ‘Til I Get Over CD/LP (Dead Oceans)
Durand Jones’s Wait ‘Til I Get Over is a memoir and a love letter. It is the story of Jones’s life, his growth and revelations, the wisdom of his hometown and the wisdom he could only gain once he left. In it, he writes through Hillaryville’s contradictions: the pristine beauty and the ragged roads; his teenage desire to leave and his adult desire to honor his tangled roots; the plantation history and the ups and downs of the Black community that made homes of this reparation town.
Emily King – Special Occasion CD/LP (ATO)
Emily King has a near-magical gift for digging into life’s deepest sorrows and uncovering unexpected beauty and illuminating truth. The New York City-bred artist has brought ever-evolving levels of depth and nuance to her songwriting, rooting each revelation in her mesmerizing blend of soul, R&B and forward-thinking pop.
The Lemon Twigs – Everything Harmony CD/LP (Captured Tracks
On Everything Harmony, their fourth full-length studio release, the prodigiously talented brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario offer 13 original servings of beauty that showcase an emotional depth and musical sophistication far beyond their years as a band, let alone as young men.
Le Sserafim – 1st Studio Album ‘UNFORGIVEN’ [BLOODY ROSE] CD (Source Music)
New album from the K-pop group, available in a dizzying array of collectable versions.
Dave Lombardo – Rites Of Percussion CD/LP (Ipecac)
Rites Of Percussion is an instrumental drum record with other instrumentation – a journey into rhythm and sound – written, recorded, and produced by legendary drummer Dave Lombardo. During his 40-year career, Lombardo has been the drummer for Slayer, Testament, The Misfits, Mr. Bungle, Dead Cross, Fantomas, Suicidal Tendencies and more.
Joe Lovano / Marilyn Crispell / Carmen Castaldi – Our Daily Bread CD (ECM)
Joe Lovano’s latest Trio Tapestry set finds the group extending its spacious and lyrical approach with deep listening and intense focus. Marilyn Crispell is the optimal pianist for this music, orchestrating it as it unfolds with a sensibility attuned to both contemporary chamber music and post-Coltrane improvising. Drummer Carmen Castaldi, a Lovano associate since teenage years, embellishes the music with his own poetic touch on cymbals and, like Joe, draws blossoming resonances from gongs.
Ed Sheeran – – (Subtract) CD/LP (WMX/Atlantic)
An album that revisits Ed Sheeran’s singer/songwriter roots, and one that was written against a backdrop of personal grief and hope, – (Subtract) presents one of the biggest stars on the planet at his most vulnerable and honest. Teaming-up with Aaron Dessner (The National) on writing and production after the pair joined forces following an introduction from mutual friend Taylor Swift, Ed and Aaron began crafting the album in February of 2022. Writing over 30 songs during their month-long studio stint, the album’s fourteen tracks are seamlessly tied together by exquisite production from pared-back, folk-leaning textures to bolder, full-band/orchestral arrangements.
[Two indie store exclusive versions are available: autographed CD and white color vinyl. A limited-edition yellow color vinyl pressing is also available, as well as a deluxe CD version featuring four bonus tracks and alternate cover art and packaging.]
The Smashing Pumpkins – ATUM: A Rock Opera In Three Acts 3xCD/4xLP (Martha’s Music)
The Smashing Pumpkins return with their twelfth studio album; a three-act rock opera entitled ATUM (pronounced Autumn). The album tells an epic interplanetary story set in the not-too-distant future, though the songs themselves respectively stand on their own in the Pumpkins pantheon. Featuring 33-tracks, ATUM is the final installment in a concept album trilogy, which began with 1995’s Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and then continued with 2000’s Machina/The Machines Of God. The album features three original members of the band – William Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin – as well as longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder.
SQÜRL – Silver Haze CD/LP+MP3 (Sacred Bones)
Silver Haze is a dazzling poetic journey of spoken words, dynamic instrumentals, drone riffs and distorted effects. It features Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anika, and Marc Ribot on some of the tracks. This is their first studio album not associated with a film or character tribute.
Various Artists – Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Soundtrack: Awesome Mix Vol. 3 CD/2xLP (Hollywood)
It’s time to face the music. Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own – a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Soundtrack: Awesome Mix Vol. 3 features a stellar line-up of tracks perfect for any hero saving the galaxy and includes contributions from the likes of Radiohead, Heart, Rainbow, Spacehog, Earth, Wind And Fire, The Flaming Lips, Faith No More, Alice Cooper, Beastie Boys, Florence + The Machine, Bruce Springsteen, and The Replacements among others.
Gil Evans – Great Jazz Standards [Reissue/1959] LP (Blue Note)
The brilliant arranger, composer, and pianist Gil Evans had already collaborated with Miles Davis on Birth Of The Cool and Miles Ahead and made his own debut album Gil Evans & Ten for Prestige when he signed with World Pacific Records in 1958 and made the first of two albums for the label: New Bottle Old Wine with featured soloist Cannonball Adderley. The next year Evans was back in the studio to record the follow-up Great Jazz Standards with two different ensembles featuring the likes of trumpeter Johnny Coles, trombonists Curtis Fuller and Jimmy Cleveland, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Budd Johnson, guitarist Ray Crawford, drummer Elvin Jones, and others. Part of Blue Note’s Tone Poet vinyl reissue series featuring remastered audio from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180gm vinyl in a tip-on jacket.
Freddie Hubbard – Blue Spirits [Reissue/1960] LP (Blue Note)
The prodigious trumpeter Freddie Hubbard debuted on Blue Note in 1960 and produced an astounding run of recordings over the first half of the decade that culminated with Blue Spirits, which was the last of his 1960s studio albums for the label. This bluesy and spirited album presented five evocative Hubbard originals, each of which was given a richly textured arrangement for an ensemble that included a dynamic four-horn lineup. Part of Blue Note’s Tone Poet vinyl reissue series featuring remastered audio from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180gm vinyl in a tip-on jacket.
Overkill – Years Of Decay [Reissue/1989] LP (BMG)
Overkill – Horrorscope [Reissue/1991] LP (BMG)
Vinyl reissues of the fourth and fifth albums by the Jersey thrash metal band.
Augustus Pablo – Thriller [Reissue/1975] LP (Org Music)
Thriller is the 1975 album from Augustus Pablo, the reggae visionary who popularized the use of the melodica in the genre. As the founder of multiple labels, he was a crucial part of invigorating the burgeoning scene in its early days. The record’s warm, mellow sound makes for a breezy and hypnotic listen.
Secret Machines – Secret Machines [Reissue/2008] LP (TSM)
Vinyl reissue of the Secret Machines acclaimed self-titled record, remastered by Simon Scott (Slowdive). Secret Machines opens with a revamped version of “The Fire Is Waiting,” featuring Tony Visconti on recorder.
