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Following Wilco’s acclaimed 2023 album Cousin, Wilco revisited unfinished material from these sessions to craft ‘Hot Sun Cool Shroud’. Collaborating again with engineering mixer Tom Schick, the band crafted six tracks that expand on the sound of Cousin. According to Jeff Tweedy, they have “a summertime-after-dark kind of feeling. It starts off pretty hot, like heat during the day, has some instrumentals on it that are a little agitated and uncomfortable, and ends with a cooling breeze.”
“You have to see them in concert,” is what fans of The National have been preaching for years. “The songs transform. It’s a whole other level.” Recorded live (without overdubs) in June 2024 at an architecturally stunning venue named for famed Italian film composer Ennio Morricone, Rome is the definitive live document of The National. The 21-track double album is truly career spanning, and showcases scintillating versions of beloved songs like “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” “Don’t Swallow the Cap,” “I Need My Girl,” “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness,” “England” and “Fake Empire”; plus sharpened readings of recent tracks “Eucalyptus,” “New Order T-Shirt,” “Tropic Morning News” and the boundary-pushing “Smoke Detector.” The National’s setlist changes significantly show to show, revisiting their 25-year catalog to cast fresh light on hidden gems. For Rome that includes the show opener “Runaway,” “Lemonworld,” “The Geese of Beverly Road,” “Lit Up” and a tour de force pairing of “Humiliation” from their critically acclaimed album Trouble Will Find Me into Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers’ “Murder Me Rachael.” The Rome encore features the election anthem “Mr. November,” and, from High Violet, “Terrible Love” and the show-closing fan singalong, “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.” The live album was mixed by the band’s longtime collaborator Peter Katis. Reviewing a National performance this summer, NME wrote that “every song is played like it could be the last.” Rome captures that playing-for-keeps urgency on record and serves not merely as a concert souvenir but the latest vital addition to the band’s peerless catalog.
Serving as a celebration of their 10-year history and a look ahead to their next era, Flatland Forever is Flatland Cavalry’s essential album. It features 15+ reissues of the band’s fan-favorite tracks from acclaimed releases Come May, Humble Folks, Homeland Insecurity, Welcome To Countryland, Songs To Keep You Warm, and Wandering Star – as well as 4 previously-unheard new songs. The album showcases Flatland’s signature range of breadth of ability – with heart-wrenching ballads, uptempo jams, timeless songwriting, and rich musicianship.
Presenting Unreal Unearth Unending, Hozier’s collection of songs from the sessions behind his chart-topping 2023 album Unreal Unearth. The Deluxe Version contains all tracks released around the album from 2022-2024 including the 16 original album tracks plus 10 songs never-before pressed on vinyl including the global smash hit “Too Sweet” and a previously unreleased new track “Hymn To Virgil.” Available December 6 on 3 “Tooth White” colored LPs in an expanded trifold package plus 2 printed 12”x12” inserts featuring drawings by Andrew Hozier-Byrne.
Childish Gambino - Atavista - Vinyl 2 LP
For years, Childish Gambino's Atavista hid in plain sight. When he released an unfinished version of the record on March 15, 2020, it spent just 12 hours on his website before he pulled it down. Reappearing on streaming a week later as 3.15.20, the project brought up almost as many questions as sparkling neo-soul anthems, which still sounded slicker than the average as raw cuts titled after timestamps.
Atavista is an ode to impermanence, never more directly than over the glimmering guitar of "Time" with Grande. ("One thing's for certain, baby/We're running out of time," they harmonize on the chorus.) But in Gambino's capable hands, Atavista also slows down to enjoy the view, the sonic equivalent of a luxe leather-interior BMW cruising an open California highway. "I did what I wanted to," he revels on closing track "Final Church." Atavista took many shapes over the years to reach a final form. In each warm refrain, tight sequence, and carefully chosen collaborator, Gambino demonstrates why some things are worth waiting for.
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Live from the Ryman, Vol. 2 [2 LP indie exclusive Translucent Yellow and Red]
Vinyl: $32.98 Buy
Shaboozey - Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going - Vinyl
1xLP, Gatefold Jacket, Black Vinyl, Protective Poly-lined Sleeves, Marketing Sticker
Rising multi-media artist Shaboozey intends to build his own world. Determined to carve his own lane in the Alt-Country / Hip-Hop space; he crafts a sound that pays homage to a cast of traditional Western influences, such as Bob Dylan, Lead Belly, Johnny Cash, and Leonard Cohen, while looking into the future of what the two genres have yet to introduce. Remaining true to his Virginia roots, Shaboozey hopes to continue the region's long-standing tradition of producing some of the most prolific creatives of the new millennium. This time through elevating the scope of contemporary hip-hop and introducing a modern Americana culture to a global audience. Fresh off of his inclusion in the groundbreaking Beyonce album, Cowboy Carter, of which he was the only featured artist to appear twice, Shaboozey is set to release his own album, Where I've Been, isn't Where I'm Going. An album that has been years in the making, it includes standout singles "Let It Burn," "Vegas," "Anabelle," & the infectiously fun singalong anthem "A Bar Song (Tipsy)." Millions of streams later, and appearances on esteemed programs such as COLORS and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Shaboozey is set to become the new face of modern American country music.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds return with new album, Wild God. Across the ten tracks of the album, the band dance between convention and experimentation, taking left-turns and detours that heighten the rich imagery and emotion in Cave's soul-stirring narratives. It is the sound of a group emboldened by reconnection and taking flight. There are moments that touch fondly upon the Bad Seeds' past but they are fleeting, and serve only to imbue the relentless and restless forward motion of the band. Produced by Cave and Warren Ellis, and mixed by David Fridmann, Cave began writing the album in 2023. With sessions at Miraval in Provence and Soundtree in London, the Bad Seeds added their unique alchemy, with additional performances from Colin Greenwood (bass) and Luis Almau (nylon string guitar, acoustic guitar). "Wild God... there's no fucking around with this record. When it hits, it hits. It lifts you. It moves you. I love that about it," says Nick Cave.
The music on Deeper Well, the seven-time Grammy winner’s fifth album, is almost chimeric. Rolling acoustic guitars, puffy clouds of strings and synth, warm bass punctuations, layered harmonies, moments of Celtic melody and plenty of room on the tracks for Musgraves’ silvery vocals. On the bright, almost folky title track, the 30-something songstress surveys her life and priorities, recognizing what feeds her, drains her and even examines the childhood she’s left behind on her way to now.
Saturn returns, cardinals embody a dead friend, love is given and taken, streets rush by, belongings are packed and old chapters deserted, new love blooms, jade bracelets serve as talismans, deep lessons emerge, small details define everything, the woods are a refuge and New York City serves as the same gleaming beacon as Oz.
It’s dangerous to put Illiterate Light in a box, especially with the release of their new album, Arches. Are they a guitar-driven indie rock duo? Kaleidoscopic neo-psychedelia? Synth-kissed, harmony-laden folk? What does one do with an album beginning with “fake tits and diet coke,” then pivoting to train derailments in rural Ohio and never-ending black holes? These prolific farmers-turned-rockers have captured the energy of their live shows—fans crowd-surfing, moshing, crying, and crooning—and infused it into their latest release.
“We’ve always been shape shifters, moving between heavy, dark distortion and gentle sweet fingerpicking, writing aggressive songs, introspective songs, and love songs, exploding and embracing,” reflects singer-guitarist Jeff Gorman. “Smashing it all together used to feel strange, but now there's a glue between everything we do. Our fans get it. They care less about genre. All they care about is feeling. And that’s all we care about. Are you alive or not?”
Illiterate Light’s third album, Arches, is not a passageway but an arrival. “We’re no longer striving to define a sound,” said drummer Jake Cochran. “We’re leaning into sides of ourselves that have felt off-limits, sticking to what feels right rather than concerning ourselves with comparison.” Out November 1 via Thirty Tigers, the record is bursting with thunderous anthems, biting lyrics, and lush harmonies.
The band originated in the Shenandoah Valley in 2015 when multi-instrumentalists Gorman and Cochran began playing music together while working on an organic farm. Eventually, they left the farm to focus on music, adopting the moniker Illiterate Light from a Wilco lyric. After several years of non-stop touring, they signed with Atlantic Records and released their eponymous full-length debut in late 2019. Two years later, they signed with Thirty Tigers and, in 2023, issued their critically acclaimed LP, Sunburned. Shortly after, they released two additional EPs, making Arches their fourth release in two years.
Arches was recorded in two very different locations: small-town Appalachia at Gorman’s home studio and Hollywood, CA at Sunset Sound with producer Joe Chiccarelli (The Strokes, Beck, The Killers). “We wanted the best of both worlds,” says Gorman. “We spent several days with Joe at Sunset. To record vocals in the same live room as so many of my heroes—Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Dylan—was unreal. I knew I was in a holy place.” The LA session was paired with sessions in Virginia, where Gorman and Cochran co-produced the bulk of the record with longtime collaborator Danny Gibney. In their hometown, they experimented with soaring instrumental journeys and had friends sit in on the sessions to keep things lively.
“Having our community stop by the sessions kept us on our toes—we haven’t been able to do that in the past. It helped connect us to the feeling of our live show,” recalls Cochran. Illiterate Light’s live performances, described by the Washington Post as “massive,” feature Gorman on one foot, hammering bass on a foot-pedal synth, shredding big guitar riffs, and spitting out song after song while Cochran matches Gorman harmony for harmony, dancing with his standing drum kit, teetering on the edge of the stage only to dive head first into his next solo.
Arches is the closest you can get to their live show, with heavier songs like “I Ride Alone” and “Bloodlines” encapsulating the best of the writhing, uninhibited front-row experience. The keystone of the album, “Norfolk Southern,” crashes in with Gorman belting, “Here comes the Norfolk Southern / It's off the tracks / and heading for you,” with Cochran chanting, “break, break, break, break” to the ghost of the train that derailed in 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing 10,000 gallons of hazardous materials into the atmosphere. The song also serves as a metaphor for Gorman’s own turbulent feelings. “I certainly wanted to shine a light on the environmental catastrophe. But strangely, some days I feel just like that Norfolk Southern, barreling out of control at warp speed.”
Gorman lets the lyrics take control. Showing up relentlessly, day after day, to his home studio dubbed “The Bookhouse” (a tribute to David Lynch's Twin Peaks), he can’t predict what will arise. For the album's first track, “Payphone,” the opening lyrics were a surprise to Gorman: “Fake tits and diet coke / Full of undefeated hope / You are the only one I trust.” The jangly and groovy album opener is a pep talk between a woman named Big Red and her man as he faces crippling self-doubt and is self-medicating. She comforts him during a time of despair on a phone call that continues to drop.
Another relationship study, “Montauk,” is a cold beachside dance under the full moon inspired by the central question in Gorman’s favorite movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. “Do we go for it again—even though we're destined to fail?” he asks. “For me, the answer is a resounding yes.”
“All the Stars Are Burning Out” continues in that reflective vein. “It’s a throwback song, about getting high, going for a drive, dreaming up your future. You’re looking at that wide open black sky of bright stars, and they’re so beautiful and inspiring, and they make you want to follow your dreams. And yet all those stars eventually burn out. It’s a song about going for it even though life is impermanent and full of change,” Gorman said.
The saying goes, “arches never sleep.” Designed to distribute weight evenly, arches naturally rebalance as the structure around them shifts over time. Illiterate Light’s Arches exists within this metaphor in many ways. The album marks a period of artistic strength, a balancing act of identity and possibility. To listen to Arches is to plant yourself within the arch, to stand in the threshold between two worlds and gaze into Gorman and Cochran’s constant motion forward.
Events
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New Release Round-Up 11-08-24
Anderson .Paak - Venice (10th Anniversary) - Giant Music
Single Sleeve, Double Disc, Exclusive Transparent Purple Limited Run
Steve Perry - The Season 3 - Dark Horse Records
Steve Perry's holiday album, The Season, is re-released as The Season 3 for the 2024 holiday season with 6 additional tracks. 2 LP set on 180g black vinyl.
ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
Anderson .Paak - Venice [Purple Vinyl Limited Edition Indie Exclusive]
Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie [RSD Essentials 2LPxDouble Mint]
Decapitated - The Negation [RSD Essentials 1LPxOlive Green]
Entombed - Clandestine [RSD Essentials 1LPxPurple ]
Swollen Members - Armed To The Teeth [RSD Essentials 2LPxGrey]
The Challengers - Surfbeat [RSD Essentials 1LPxSea Glass Blue]
The Chambers Brothers - Now! [RSD Essentials 1LPxFlower Power Splatter ]
Johnny Winter - About Blues [RSD Essentials 1LPxBlue]
Violent Femmes - Hallowed Ground [Indie Exclusive Orange Smoke vinyl ]
State Champs - State Champs [Indie Exclusive Clear w/ White Splatter LP]
Tim Bernardes - Recomecar [LP]
Knocked Loose - A Different Shade of Blue [Lemonade Marble LP]
Boe & Ball - Together At Home [Compact disc]
King Stingray - For The Dreams [Indie Exclusive Yellow LP]
Cassius - Best Of 1996-2019 [2 LP]
Allison Russell - The Returner [Indie Exclusive Metallic Gold Vinyl]
Brainiac - Smack Bunny Baby [Emerald Green LP]
Health - DISCO4 :: PART II [Indie Exclusive Translucent Red Vinyl]
Margo Price - Strays [Purple Swirl vinyl]
Nathaniel Rateliff - And It's Still Alright [Indie Exclusive Light Blue LP]
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Layla Revisited (Live At LOCKN') [Indie Exclusive Clear 3LP]
I Prevail - TRUE POWER [Alpha Omega vinyl]
Ismael Rivera - Esto Fue Lo Que Trajo El Barco [Fog Translucent vinyl]
Movements - "Cherry Thrill" [12 inch Opaque Blue Vinyl]
Pierce The Veil - Misadventures [Black w/ White Splatter Vinyl]
Seether - Wasteland - The Purgatory EP [45RPM Clear w/ Smoky White Swirl vinyl]
Seether - Poison The Parish [Bloodshot Red Vinyl]
The Plot In You - The Plot In You [7inch Translucent Orange LP]
The Pretty Reckless - Other Worlds [White LP]
Willie Colon - Asalto Navideno Vol. II [Evergreen LP]
Allen Stone - Mystery [Clear LP]
Spoon - They Want My Soul (Deluxe More Soul Edition)
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New Release Round-Up 11-01-24
Elvis Costello - King Of America [6 CD Super Deluxe Edition] - ELVIS Costello Catalogue
Across 6CDs, Elvis Costello: King of America & Other Realms traces his musical travels from Hollywood – where the King Of America album was recorded in 1986 – to a brand new take on “Brilliant Mistake” cut in Cape Fear early in 2024, via Costello’s recording adventures in New Orleans, Oxford and Clarksdale, Mississippi, Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee and guided by Costello’s own 35-page essay which includes numerous rare and never-before seen photos.
The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World - Capitol Records
After 16 years, THE CURE is back with their 14th studio album, SONGS OF A LOST WORLD. Songs from the record were previewed during their 90-date, 33-country ‘Shows Of A Lost World’ tour for more than 1.3 million people to overwhelming fan and critical acclaim. Speaking about, “Alone,” the opening track on the album, Robert Smith says, “It’s the track that unlocked the record; as soon as we had that piece of music recorded, I knew it was the opening song and I felt the whole album come into focus... that was the moment when I knew the song – and the album – were real.” Robert Smith created the sleeve concept and Andy Vella, a longtime Cure collaborator, handled the album’s art and design. The cover art features ‘Bagatelle,’ a 1975 sculpture by Janez Pirnat.
Weezer - Blue (30th Anniversary ) - Geffen
Often revered as one of the most important debut albums of all time, Weezer’s “blue” album celebrates 30 years with a 1-LP color vinyl edition exclusive for indie music stores.
Clifford Jordan - Cliff Jordan (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) - Blue Note Records
Vinyl LP pressing housed in gatefold tip-on jacket. Under-recognized tenor Clifford Jordan blew in from Chicago with a trio of excellent Blue Note sessions in 1957, including this self-titled release featuring a septet with Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), John Jenkins (alto sax), Ray Bryant (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Art Taylor (drums). This Blue Note Tone Poet Series mono edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI.
Bobby Hutcherson - Dialogue LP (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) - Blue Note Records
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. 1965's Dialogue was the debut by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, who had already proven himself a versatile sideman on albums from Idle Moments to Out To Lunch. Dialogue showcased his more adventurous leanings with a sextet featuring Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Andrew Hill, Richard Davis and Joe Chambers. This Blue Note Tone Poet Series stereo edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.
ALSO OUT THIS WEEK
The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World [Retail Exclusive Marble BioVinyl LP]
Elvis Costello - King Of America - [6 CD Super Deluxe Edition]
Weezer - Blue - 30th Anniversary [Indie Exclusive Ghostly blue & clear LP]
Little Big Town - Greatest Hits [Translucent Off-White LP]
Jeremie Albino - Our Time In The Sun [Indie Exclusive Neon Orange LP]
Nena - NENA (Remastered & Selected Works) [Translucent Red 2 LP]
Nelson, Willie - Last Leaf On The Tree [Amber Fossil colored Vinyl]
Illiterate Light - Arches [LP Opaque Turquoise]
Lil Peep - LIL PEEP; PART ONE [purple transparent, with glitter LP]
Beardfish - Songs For Beating Hearts [LP Transparent orange]
Bruce Liu - Tchaikovsky: The Seasons
Reznor, Trent / Ross, Atticus - Challengers (Original Soundtrack)
Saves The Day - Through Being Cool [Moonstone LP]
USHER - Confessions - (20th Anniversary)
Ronnie Milsap - The Best Of Ronnie Milsap - [LP]
Robert Glasper - In December [CD]
MGMT - Loss Of Life (Blk) [Colored Vinyl] (Gate) (Gry) (Ofgv)
Johnny Delaware - Para Llevar (Stic)
Music From Agatha All Along / Var - Music From Agatha All Along (Various Artists)
Killerstar - KillerStar Reimagined [LP]
Jonny Tobin - Steppin' Out [LP]
Say Anything - Say Anything Is A Real Boy (20TH ANNIVERSARY) [3LP]
XL Middleton & Kazzey - Serious [7inch Single]
Kaelin Ellis - You Are Here, Start [LP]
Sean Price - How Sean P! Stole Christmas [7inch Single]
Various Artists - Jesus Calling: Songs For Sundays [CD]
ID Labs - Nothing You Don't Know [Silver LP]