Label Review. 

2020 album. First new collection of original songs in eight years. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

For nearly sixty years, Bob Dylan is one of the biggest and influential songwriters and musicians in the world and releases his 37th studio album (depending exactly what counts!) ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ in 2020. It is his first collection of original material since ‘Tempest’ in 2012 although he hasn’t been idle since then nor has his fanbase around the world been starved of product. He has released three albums of American songbook standards in the interim as well as a further six vault combing ‘Bootleg Series’ sets. On top of this Bob keeps up a constant touring schedule although that has been scuppered in 2020 due to the Covid crisis. There is also the matter of his Nobel Prize for Literature he collected in 2017.

Fans had been wondering if Bob had the ability to come up with a new album but on 27th March 2020 with no warning he announced the unveiling of an “unreleased” track “Murder Most Foul” a 17 minute “gift to fans for their support and loyalty over the years.” It was seen as a possible response to the Covid-19 pandemic while more hopeful fans felt that maybe a new album was finally in the offing. Ostensibly about the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963 over a delicate instrumental backing of violin, piano and hushed percussion, Bob moved onto a roll call of musicians, movie lyrics and other pop culture references. Ann Powers and Bob Boilen of National Public Radio analysed the song and identified over 70 songs referenced in the work.

Three weeks later a second song “I Contain Multitudes” dropped - a more convention length but instrumentally cut from similar cloth as the first and again referencing pop culture icons like The Rolling Stones and David Bowie in his lyrics. Another three weeks down the line a third song, the more upbeat and bluesy “False Prophet” came with the end of the suspense and the announcement that a new album was indeed on the way. On the evidence of the songs issued so far and assuming the quality holds up this promises to be the best Bob Dylan in many years.

Tracklisting: I Contain Multitudes / False Prophet / Murder Most Foul / (7 more tracks to be announced)

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Doomshakalaka is a new project by Paul Rafferty, former vocalist and bassist for Liverpool indie rock band Hot Club De Paris. On his 30th birthday, Rafferty came up with the name as it sounded like “Boomshakalaka!” (a snippet of in-game commentary from the video game NBA Jam) but with a D, giving a usually celebratory exclamation a paradoxical sense of dread. He set about concocting an album’s worth of songs that embraced this juxtaposed vision - a glistening collection of indie pearls exploring memory, nostalgia and loss.

Over the following years, Rafferty worked to fulfil this uncertain vision and wrote hundreds of fragments of music, melodies and lyrics and slowly distilled them down into 10 songs of stirring, nostalgia-tinged indie rock. Influenced by luminaries such as Television, Big Star, Wings-era McCartney, Deerhunter, Pavement and Stephen Malkmus’ solo work, Rafferty divided himself between the roles of writer, performer, engineer, producer and mixer and took about the task of making physical the sounds that had long lived unsatisfied in his head. “Some of the songs off this record started life in 2011”, Rafferty explains, “but without a band or the capital to record, they waited in the wings until I could beg, borrow or buy the gear to record them exactly how I thought they should be heard”

Doomshakalaka is constructed of chord sequences that conjure longing, sadness, desire and hope in equal measure. With strange and surprising arrangements that avoid the ancient and familiar beaten paths of guitar music, Doomshakalaka seeks to tell Rafferty’s stories in a playful and inventive manner and provide a platform to showcase the album’s central theme of the unfinished business of youth. Paul says “It’s largely a record about remembering moments from my teens and 20s and what those moments mean to me now. I love the texture that ageing brings to an artist’s output. I like the sound of a big hole dug deep.”

Tracklisting: One Last Saturday Night / The Curse / James Asleep / I’ll Kill You, Motherfucker / This Is War (And I’m So Bored) / Werewolf Shadow / The Lost Homework of Isabella Perez / The Fate of the Hero Montage / Skinhead Suit / Black Balloons

Label Review. 

2020 debut album. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Muzz, the new project of Americans’ Paul Banks (Interpol), Josh Kaufman (producer/multi-instrumentalist and one third of Bonny Light Horseman), and Matt Barrick (drummer of Jonathan Fire*Eater, The Walkmen, and Fleet Foxes’ touring band), have announced their self-titled, debut album, out on Matador Records.

Muzz was born out of longstanding friendship and collaboration. Banks and Kaufman have known each other since childhood, attending high school together in Spain before separately moving to New York. There, they independently crossed paths with Barrick while running in similar music circles. They kept in touch in the following years: Barrick drummed in Banks + Steelz and on some of Kaufman’s production sessions; Kaufman helped on Banks’ early Julian Plenti solo endeavour; various demos were collaborated on, and a studio was co-bought.

The self-titled debut album, written, arranged and performed by all three, is dark and gorgeous, expansive and soulful. No matter the sonic direction, Muzz goes there effortlessly and with maximum emotional charge.

Tracklisting: Bad Feeling / Evergreen / Red Western Sky / Patchouli / Everything Like It Used To Be / Broken Tambourine / Knuckleduster / Chubby Checker / How Many Days / Summer Love / All Is Dead To Me / Trinidad

Label Review. 

Unreleased album from 1975. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

The ever prolific Canadian singer songwriter Neil Young finally releases one of his most talked about unreleased albums - ‘Homegrown’. He has said this album is “the unheard bridge between [the albums] ‘Harvest’ and ‘Comes a Time’”, which perfectly describes the warm, semi-acoustic feel of these twelve songs. Originally intended to be released in 1975, the album has remained unreleased since then, and has a legendary status among Neil’s fans.

Chronologically speaking, ‘Homegrown’ was due to be the follow-up to his 1974 album ‘On The Beach’. Largely acoustic in nature it would have been seen at the time as a return to the sound of ‘Harvest’ his biggest selling album. However once it was completed in January 1975 he had a playback party and an another unreleased album ‘Tonight’s The Night’ recorded in 1973 was on the same reel. Hearing both, Young decided to issue that album instead feeling that ‘Homegrown’ was too “down” and “personal”.

Seven of the songs are previously unreleased on any album, and different versions of the other five songs would appear on later Neil Young albums. Neil plays guitar, piano and harmonica on the album, and is accompanied by a stellar group of musicians including Levon Helm, Ben Keith, Karl T Himmel, Tim Drummond, Emmylou Harris and Robbie Robertson. ‘Homegrown’ was so close to being issued at the time the artwork had already been prepared. That original sleeve is being used for its long awaited release.

Tracklisting: Separate Ways / Try / Mexico / Love Is A Rose / Homegrown / Florida / Kansas / We Don’t Smoke It / White Line / Vacancy / Little Wing / Star Of Bethlehem

Label Review. 

2020 album. Prog rock. Also available on CD & 2CD. 

Our Overview. 

Haken are an English progressive metal band formed in 2007 and they release their sixth album the topically titled ‘Virus’. Since releasing their last album ‘Vector’ in October 2018, Haken have completed headline tours the world over, played sold-out shows across Europe and North America as support for Devin Townsend and picked up a Prog award for their efforts too! All the while, they have been quietly, secretly working on the follow-up album.

All the initial ideas were created back when they were writing ‘Vector’ at the end of 2017. The album title generated surprise as it was announced during the COVID-19 pandemic, but vocalist Ross Jennings said it was just coincidental. The singer also remarked that “whilst ‘Virus’ can absolutely be enjoyed as a stand-alone work, it is thematically and conceptually linked with ‘Vector’.

The band comments: “[The track] “Prosthetic” was the first song we completed during the ‘Virus’ writing sessions and we always felt it would be the perfect opener for the album. It’s a very guitar heavy track with its roots in 80s thrash riffing, but with the unconventional rhythmic twists and turns we often like to explore in Haken. We sadly never had a Jeff Hanneman and Robert Fripp collaboration, but this song at least draws on inspiration from them both! Lyrically the song is a bridge between our two albums ‘Vector’ and ‘Virus’. The message was brilliantly brought to life by video director Vicente Cordero, who also beautifully captured the live energy of the band in a way that both enhances the song, and perfectly sets the scene for what’s to come.”

Tracklisting: Prosthetic / Invasion / Carousel / The Strain / Canary Yellow / Messiah Complex i: Ivory Tower / Messiah Complex ii: A Glutton for Punishment / Messiah Complex iii: Marigold / Messiah Complex iv: The Sect / Messiah Complex v: Ectobius Rex / Only Stars

Label Review. 

Chocs Away (1975) / The Great Artiste (1976) / Golden Mile (1976) / Five Live Kursaals (1977) / A Former Tour De Force Is Forced To Tour (1988) plus bonus tracks. RPM.

Our Overview. 

Kursaal Flyers were an integral element of the ‘Thames Delta’ music scene emerging from the late 60s clubs into the bright lights of the 1970s pop world. Alongside contemporaries, and in some cases old schoolmates, in bands such as Dr Feelgood and Eddie & The Hot Rods , the Kursaal Flyers (named after a Southend amusement park carnival float) were a regular fixture on the Pub Rock and College circuit of 70s Britain.

Their sound was more diverse than their R&B contemporaries. Being influenced by American Country Rock, the band included banjo and pedal steel guitar as fixtures in their musical oeuvre. They toured Europe with The Flying Burrito Brothers. The Kursaals were also notable for a wry observational sense of humour which the band’s songwriters, Will Birch and Graeme Douglas, regularly injected into the material. Complemented by the chameleon-like vocal styles employed by front man Paul Shuttleworth.

Disc One contains the two complete albums made for Jonathan King’s UK Records label in 1975, ‘Chocs Away’ and ‘The Great Artiste’. Presented in a gatefold wallet to show the original artwork for both of the original LPs, these are the greatly enhanced remixed versions from 1991.

Disc Two has their first CBS album from 1976 ,’Golden Mile’, produced by Mike Batt, including both versions of their hit single “Little Does She Know”, the single edit, and the “kitchen sink” LP version which comes on like the 1812 Overture involving as they do the London Symphony Orchestra. Plus the non LP A+B-sides, and an unreleased track “The Questionnaire”.

Disc 3 has their live album recorded at The Marquee, ‘Five Live Kursaals’ released by CBS in 1977. As live albums tend to do, these recordings highlight how the band truly were on stage, a highly energetic rock band with a raw sound belying their country roots. A particular image in the booklet gives further rise to their mood depicting the moment Paul would smash up TV sets on stage with an axe (in an homage to The Move). Plus three tracks which were unreleased at the time, from recording sessions with Muff Winwood aimed at a second CBS studio LP which was never finalised.

Disc 4 is their third studio LP, ‘A Former Tour De Force Is Forced To Tour’ recorded in 1988 and exhibits a very strong country rock groove, which would not be out of place if released to today’s Americana market. The bonus tracks include a four song 1975 countryfied radio session, and a 1975 live recording in Southend of “Route 66” which is interestingly somewhere between Bobby Troup’s nightclub jazz original and Chuck Berry’s RnB version.

Tracklisting:

Disc One: Chocs Away / The Great Artiste: Pocket Money / Hit Records / Kung Fu / Tennessee / Chocs Away / Speedway / Brakeman / Now I’m Back / Yellow Sox / Silver Wings / Cross Country / Ugly Guys / The Great Artiste / Fall Like The Rain / Cruisin’ For Love / Back To The Book / Palais De Danse / Pain And Misery / Hypochondriac / Television / Drinking Alone

Disc Two: The Golden Mile: Little Does She Know / One Arm Bandit / Drinking Socially / Two Left Feet / Modern Lovers / Street Of The Music / Radio Romance / When The Band’s On The Stand / Detroit Tin / Third Finger Left Hand / Ready To Go / Little Does She Know (Edit) / Girl Talk / The Questionnaire / The Sky’s Falling In On Our Love / Revolver

Disc Three: Five Live Kursaals: Original Model / Yellow Sox / Pocket Money / Cruisin’ For Love / The Sky’s Falling In On Our Love / Little Does She Know / Street Of The Music / Tv Dinners / Speedway / Revolver / On My Mind / Anna (Go To Him) / Friday On My Mind / Television Generation / Girlfriend Kinda Girl / Everything But A Heartbeat / Girls That Don’t Exist

Disc Four: A Former Tour De Force Is Forced To Tour: If You Would Only Talk To Me (Like You Talk To The Dog) / Pre-Madonna / Tonight Before Tonight / Man In Mohair / A Former Tour De Force Is Forced To Tour / Luxury Lane / My Sugar Turns To Alcohol / Paranoid Weekend / Old Men Need Some Lovin’ Too / Monster-In-Law / Cruisin’ For Love (Remake) / Slimmin’ (For The Women) / Walking To School / Route 66 (Live) / Tennessee (Radio Session) / Foggy Mountain Breakdown (Radio Session) / Yellow Sox (Radio Session) / Route 66 (Radio Session)

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Australian indie rock band Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have turned their gaze inward, to their individual pasts and the places that inform them, on their second full-length, ‘Sideways to New Italy.’ Led by singer-songwriter-guitarists Tom Russo, Joe White and Fran Keaney, the guitar-pop five-piece returned home to Australia after the relentless touring schedule that came following their critically regarded 2018 debut ‘Hope Downs’.

The New Italy of the new album’s title is a village near New South Wales’ Northern Rivers – the area drummer Marcel Tussie is from. A blink-and you’ll- miss-it pit-stop of a place with fewer than 200 residents, it was founded by Venetian immigrants in the late-1800s and now serves as something of a living monument to Italians’ contribution to Australia, with replica Roman statues dotted like alien souvenirs on the otherwise rural landscape.

The parallels to the way the band attempted to maintain connections and create familiarity during their disorienting time on the road was apparent to Russo. “These are the expressions of people trying to find a home somewhere alien: trying to create a utopia in a turbulent and imperfect world.” The record’s geographic identity emerged from the band losing their grip on their own, whether that was through the pressure of touring, the dissolution of relationships, a frustrating distance from their daily lives – or some combination of all three – that came from being slingshotted all over the world, playing sold-out headline tours and festivals including Coachella, Governors Ball, Primavera Sound, All Points East, and Pitchfork Music Festival.

The notion of crafting, in Russo’s words, “a utopia of where your heart’s from,” permeates Sideways to New Italy, in which early attempts at writing big, high-concept songs about The State of the World were abandoned in favor of love songs, and familiar voices and characters filter in and out, grounding the band’s stories in their personal histories. There’s something comforting, too, in knowing the next time they’re buffeted from stage to stage around the world, they’ll be taking the voices of their loved ones with them, building a new totem of home no matter where they end up.

Tracklisting: The Second Of The First / Falling Thunder / She’s There / Beautiful Steven / The Only One / Cars In Space / Cameo / Not Tonight / Sunglasses At The Wedding / The Cool Change

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

London based experimental producer and composer, Leifur James announces his return with the release of his highly anticipated second album ‘Angel in Disguise’. Driving, melancholic electronica, the first single “Wise Old Man” is a nod to what can be expected of James’ second album, showcasing a more experimental side to his production. Traversing through musicality, progressive synths and introspection, this first single unveils the producer’s distinct sound with disorientated vocals; speaking of the interplay between reason and emotion, the lyrics repeat “Wise old man in my brain, soul bursting through my veins”, opening the gates to this captivating electronically steered opus.

This news comes after an incredible few years for the artist. 2018 saw James release his esteemed debut album ‘A Louder Silence’ which captured the attention of key tastemakers including Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, Mixmag, Electronic Sound and Future Music UK.

‘Angel In Disguise’ promises to explore the themes of love and loss through a masterful blend of harmonic vocals from James himself, nuanced electronic soundscapes and vibrant percussion - punctuated by bespoke visuals, directed by Balázs Simon. This exciting project is expected to make waves and see James step up, exhibiting his discerning ear and painstakingly honed production craft.

Tracklisting: Circles / Black Lens / I Ran With You / Wise old man / Angel In Disguise / Ritual / Alien (feat. Coby Sey) / Strange with you / Rebel

Label Review. 

2020 album on 5 seven inch singles. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Nonesuch Records releases the Magnetic Fields’ ‘Quickies’, a set of five vinyl EPs that features twenty-eight new short songs by Stephin Merritt, ranging in length from thirteen seconds to two minutes and thirty-five seconds. Merritt explains his thinking behind the ‘Quickies’ concept: “I’ve been reading a lot of very short fiction, and I enjoyed writing 101 Two-Letter Words, the poetry book about the shortest words you can use in Scrabble. And I’ve been listening to a lot of French baroque harpsichord music. Harpsichord doesn’t lend itself to languor. So I’ve been thinking about one instrument at a time, playing for about a minute or so and then stopping, and I’ve been thinking of narratives that are only a few lines long. Also, I had been using a lot of small notebooks, so when I reach the bottom of the page, I’ve only gone a short way. Now that I’m working on a different album, I’m enforcing a large notebook rule so that I don’t do Quickies twice in a row.”

To date, Stephin Merritt has written and recorded twelve Magnetic Fields albums, including the beloved ‘69 Love Songs’ and the 2017 critically acclaimed Nonesuch box set, ‘50 Song Memoir’, which chronicled the first fifty years of the songwriter’s life with one song per year. New York magazine called the box set “a celebration of Merritt’s sky-high range as a writer and a player, through the exploration of the circumstances that helped cultivate it … a delightful flip through the untold back pages of one of rock’s most singular voices, and, all in all, the best damned Magnetic Fields album in the last ten years.” Merritt has also composed original music and lyrics for several music theatre pieces, including an off-Broadway stage musical of Neil Gaiman’s novel ‘Coraline’, for which he received an Obie Award. In 2014, Merritt composed songs and background music for the first musical episode of public radio’s ‘This American Life’. Stephin Merritt also releases albums under the band names the 6ths, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes.

Tracklisting: Castles of America / The Biggest Tits in History / The Day the Politicians Died / Castle Down a Dirt Road / Bathroom Quickie / My Stupid Boyfriend / Love Gone Wrong / Favorite Bar / Kill a Man a Week / Kraftwerk in a Blackout / When She Plays the Toy Piano / Death Pact (Let’s Make A) / I’ve Got a Date With Jesus / Come, Life, Shaker Life! / (I Want to Join A) Biker Gang / Rock ‘n’ Roll Guy / You’ve Got a Friend in Beelzebub / Let’s Get Drunk Again (And Get Divorced) / The Best Cup of Coffee in Tennessee / When the Brat Upstairs Got a Drum Kit / The Price You Pay / The Boy in the Corner / Song of the Ant / I Wish I Had Fangs and a Tail / Evil Rhythm / She Says Hello / The Little Robot Girl / I Wish I Were a Prostitute Again

Label Review. 

The story of Iggy’s 1977 on seven discs and 40 page book. CD1: The Idiot. CD2: Lust For Life. CD3: TV Eye Live. CD4: Demos & Rarities.* CD5: Live at Rainbow Theatre - Finsbury Park, London 7th March 1977. CD6: Live at Agora Cleveland 21st March 1977.* CD7: Live at Mantra Studios, Chicago 28th March 1977.* All remastered. *Exclusive to the box.

Our Overview. 

This new box set from punk legend Iggy Pop is the first time his first two solo albums recorded with David Bowie have been remastered and expanded. Iggy was the lead singer in the trailblazing Detroit band The Stooges who issued three albums between 1969-1973 which were largely ignored at the time but their legend grew and helped by Iggy’s solo reappearance in 1977, are today renowned as undisputed classics and seen as inspirational not only to Punk Rock’s ascendance in the late 1970s but to countless bands ever since.

In 1976, Iggy Pop was experiencing drug issues and David Bowie who was a big fan and wanting to kick his own drug problem collected him and decamped to Berlin. Together they fashioned ‘The Idiot’ which would become Iggy’s debut solo album and Bowie got Iggy a record deal with RCA Records who he was with at that time. ‘The Idiot’ was a complete departure from the sound of the Stooges and was if anything a dry run for Bowie’s next album ‘Low’ which was recorded straight afterwards but released first. Bowie’s rhythm section played on ‘The Idiot’ and the overall sound could best be described as “icy” with Bowie’s keyboards offering a cold sheen against Iggy’s baritone vocals. The albums best known track, “China Girl” was re-recorded by Bowie himself for his 1983 album ‘Let’s Dance’ where it became a single and a big hit.

The follow-up came quickly with ‘Lust For Life’ and again Bowie produced although a more orthodox rock sound was heeded for this one and the rhythm section of brothers Tony & Hunt Sales propelled Iggy through what is still seen today as his best solo album. The title track and “The Passenger” are Iggy’s most popular songs and belatedly became hits in their own right in the 1990s after their use in the British film ‘Trainspotting’.

Both the albums are remastered in this new package alongside a disc of previously unreleased alternate mixes and rare single mixes. Also included is his final album for RCA: ‘T.V. Eye Live’ a rather roughly recorded live album plus three live performances all released officially for the first time. This set has been mastered from the best possible sources, and contains a 40-page booklet written by the Guardians Michael Hahn with contributions from the musicians who played on the records and fans who talk about the influence the albums had on them.

Tracklisting.

Disc 1. The Idiot: Sister Midnight / Nightclubbing / Funtime / Baby / China Girl / Dum Dum Boys / Tiny Girls / Mass Production

Disc 2. Lust For Life: Lust for Life / Sixteen / Some Weird Sin / The Passenger / Tonight / Success / Turn Blue / Neighbourhood Threat / Fall in Love with Me

Disc 3. T.V. Eye Live: T.V. Eye / Funtime / Sixteen / I Got A Right / Lust for Life / Dirt / Nightclubbing / I Wanna Be Your Dog

Disc 4. Demo’s and Rarities: Sister Midnight - Mono Single Edit / Sister Midnight - Single Edit / China Girl - Single Edit / Dum Dum Boys - Alt Mix / Baby - Alt Mix / China Girl - Alt Mix / Tiny Girls - Alt Mix / I Got A Right - Single / Lust for Life - Edit / Interview with Iggy about Recording the Idiot

Disc 5. Rainbow Theatre - Finsbury Park, London 07/03/1977: Raw Power / TV Eye / Dirt / 1969 / Turn Blue / Funtime / Gimme Danger / No Fun / Sister Midnight / I Need Somebody / Search and Destroy / I Wanna Be Your Dog / Tonight / Some Weird Sin / China Girl

Disc 6. Agora Cleveland 21/03/1977: Raw Power / TV Eye / Dirt / 1969 / Turn Blue / Funtime / Gimme Danger / No Fun / Sister Midnight / I Need Somebody / Search and Destroy / I Wanna Be Your Dog / China Girl

Disc 7. Mantra Studios, Chicago 28/03/1977: Raw Power / TV Eye / Dirt / 1969 / Turn Blue / Funtime / Gimme Danger / No Fun / Sister Midnight / I Need Somebody / Search and Destroy / I Wanna Be Your Dog / China Girl

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD and Coloured Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

‘On The Widow’s Walk’ is the new studio album from The White Buffalo, the touring / recording persona of Jake Smith – singer, songwriter, guitarist, teller of tales; the Emmy nominee whose voice, a timber-shakin’ baritone, seems fuelled by a greater truth. Of the half-dozen albums released under The White Buffalo banner, this latest 11-tracker – a loosely linked collection of dark thrills produced by Shooter Jennings, who also provides piano and keys – is the most collaborative and organic.

From the beginning, Oregon-born Smith has wilfully side-stepped genre, touching on a variety of musical threads – from Americana to punk, from brooding folk to driving rock ‘n’ roll – whilst maintaining a strong, signature style. His spontaneous delivery and narrative lyrics are at the heart of it all, instilling the songs – effectively, mini-movies – with a cinematic, hand-crafted quality, and this very much holds true for ‘On The Widow’s Walk’. At one point, the idea of a concept album was considered, but Smith didn’t want to leave out quality songs just because they might not fit a specific concept; hence, these recordings have water and the ocean as underlying rather than dominant themes, a sense of longing too, something also reflected in the cover art – a portrait of Smith by UK painter Jack Browning.

Other reference points include living for the moment, the march of technology, the force of mother nature, plus what happens when the moral conscience spins out of control. Simply, ‘On The Widow’s Walk’ is a compelling statement from an artist whose activity between the musical lines has seen his star very much on the rise.

Tracklisting: Problem Solution / The Drifter / No History / Sycamore / Come On Shorty / Cursive / Faster Than Fire / Widow’s Walk / River Of Love and Loss / The Rapture / I Don’t Know A Thing About Love

Label Review. 

2020 debut album. Pop. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

‘Trinidad’ marks the Merge Records debut of Sweet Spirit, this mighty sextet from Austin, Texas, and their third album in total. The songs are stripped down yet more intricate than ever before. It’s a pop record made by punk rockers sonically happy but lyrically bitter. Lustful, sassy, and passionate. Touting inspirations as varied as Prince, T. Rex, William Onyeabor, ABBA, Roy Orbison, Shintaro Sakamoto, Francoise Hardy, and Robyn, Sweet Spirit have created an album that pulsates with more ‘LinnDrum’ and synth than guitar.

The six members of Sweet Spirit like pranks, glitter eyeshadow, and good stories. They also enjoy making music, as evidenced by the 12 bands they collectively play in. But above all, they love dancing, that place between exorcise and exercise. Sweet Spirit’s famously raucous and sweaty live shows satisfy both their own and their audience’s need for connection and release. “When people dance, they are fulfilling a human desire where instinct and culture meet. Dance and music are built into the mechanics of being human. We are born instinctively with these impulses. To dance is to speak unspoken agreements,” says Sweet Spirit front person Sabrina Ellis.

From the opening riff of “Behold”, Sabrina, Andrew, Danny, Josh, Jon, and Jake establish their slightly cynical world of fantasy, hard truths, and all manner of longing. “No Dancing” bemoans the lack of magic in the club, while live favorite “Fingerprints” sets out to “get you away from your lover.” Author/composer Mark Mallman of Minneapolis says, “Those who believe in demons see demons. In music, the demon is silence. In nature, snakes that appear to dance are actually fighting. Palm trees that kiss the beach during hurricane winds appear to dance when set to music in a video. There is no genre to dancing, only to its cause. In this instance, the cause is called Sweet Spirit.”

Tracklisting: Behold / Fear Is a Lie / No Dancing / Fingerprints / Llorando / Y2K / Only Love / Coincidence / Empty Bottle

Label Review. 

One Nite Alone (1CD) / One Nite Alone Live! (2CD) / One Nite Alone: The Aftershow It Ain?t Over Yet (1CD) / Prince Live At The Aladdin Las Vegas (DVD). Recorded and filmed 2001/02.

Our Overview. 

‘Up All Nite With Prince: The One Nite Alone Collection’ is an electrifying set from the pint sized, consummate purple performer, himself. Prince has left a legacy and the American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in the history of popular music.This beautiful package will immerse fans old and new and brings the electrifying power of Prince’s 2002 studio and live releases together in one stunning package. This 4CD/1DVD set includes One Nite Alone…, Prince’s striking piano-and-vocal studio album (in its first commercial CD release); the double-disc One Nite Alone…Live! featuring recent jams (“Muse 2 The Pharaoh,” “1+1+1 Is 3”) and classic favorites (“Raspberry Beret,” “Nothing Compares 2 U,” “When U Were Mine”); the high-energy One Nite Alone…The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! with guest appearances by George Clinton and Musiq Soulchild; and the Live At The Aladdin Las Vegas DVD. The ultimate Prince concert experience is here!

Tracklisting:

DISC 1: One Nite Alone… (Solo Piano and Voice by Prince) / One Nite Alone… / U’re Gonna C Me / Here On Earth / A Case Of U / Have A Heart / Objects In The Mirror / Avalanche / Pearls B4 The Swine / Young and Beautiful / Arboretum

DISC 2: One Nite Alone… Live! / Rainbow Children (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Muse 2 the Pharaoh (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Xenophobia (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Extraordinary (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Mellow (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / 1+1+1 is 3 (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / The Other Side Of The Pillow (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Strange Relationship (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / When U Were Mine (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Avalanche (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002)

DISC 3: One Nite Alone…Live! / Family Name (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Take Me With U (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Raspberry Beret (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Everlasting Now (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / One Nite Alone… (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Adore (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / I Wanna B Ur Lover (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Do Me, Baby (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Condition Of The Heart (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Diamonds & Pearls (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / The Beautiful Ones (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Nothing Compares 2 U (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Free (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Starfish & Coffee (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Sometimes It Snows In April (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002) / Anna Stesia (Live from One Nite Alone Tour 2002)

DISC 4: One Nite Alone: The Aftershow… It Ain’t Over! / Joy In Repetition (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow) / We Do This (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow)Medley: Just Friends (Sunny) / If You Want Me To Stay (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow) / 2 Nigs United 4 West Compton (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow) / Alphabet Street (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow) / Peach (Xtended Jam) (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow) / Dorothy Parker (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow) / Girls & Boys (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow) / Everlasting Now (Vamp) (Live from One Nite Alone Tour… The Aftershow)

DISC 5 - DVD: Prince Live at The Aladdin Las Vegas: Intro/Soundcheck (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Pop Life (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Money Don’t Matter 2 Night/The Work (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Push and Pull (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / 1+1+1=3 (Inc. Live Rollercoaster / Housequake) (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Strollin’ / U Want Me (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Gotta Broken Heart Again (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Strange Relationship (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Pass The Peas (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Whole Lotta Love (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Family Name (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Take Me With U (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / The Everlasting Now (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / Sometimes It Snows In April (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002) / The Ride (Live at the Aladdin, Las Vegas, 12/15/2002)

Label Review. 

2020 debut album. Indie. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Jonah Falco and Mike Haliechuk also perform together in Canadian Art-rock outfit Fucked Up and ‘Harmony Avenue’ is the debut album by their side project Jade Hairpins. They sneaked onto the scene in late 2018 with a mysterious 12-inch on Merge Records and a couple of poetic sentences about hiding in trees. The label remained tight-lipped while touting ‘Dose Your Dreams’, a truly epic new Fucked Up album released on the same day. Fast forward to 2020, when Jonah and Mike burst out of the proverbial trees with ‘Harmony Avenue’, a collection of songs written and recorded in real time. Pop foraging with analog acoustics and electronic landscaping.

As the project expanded, Falco took on frontman and main lyricist duties for the first time and is building a live band based in his adopted hometown of London, England. He describes the new record as “straddling the post-post-punk of something like New Order, Scritti Politti, and Orange Juice, with a primordial sense of humour and absurdity not unlike Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Television Personalities, or the Monks.” Each Jade Hairpins song was conceived in studio, then edited and crafted to become ‘Harmony Avenue’.

Each vocal approach was different—first focusing on creating stories for character-based writing, and then on less absurd emotional/thoughtful/personal reflection. The LP was originally conceived as a potential addendum to the universe of ‘Dose Your Dreams’, but the end result was more exciting than Falco and Haliechuk anticipated and deserved its own spotlight. The themes of ‘Harmony Avenue’ mostly focus on contradictory behavior and double entendres as well as regret and control, revelation, support, and complete absurdity. Jade Hairpins are here to challenge, confound, and sparkle their way into listeners’ hearts and keep them coming back for more!

Tracklisting: J Terrapin / (Don’t Break My) Devotion / Father Coin / Yesterdang / Post No Bill / Broadstairs Beach / Dolly Dream / Mary Magazine / Truth Like a Mirage / Motherman

Label Review.

2020 album.

Our Overview.

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are Indigo Girls - the folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States and now they have finally announced their first studio album in five years ‘Look Long’ which is a testament to their storied career. With a devout base of fans, together they have written, arranged, recorded and performed music which over the course of 40 years has become a vital part of the lives of their legion of devoted fans around the world.

Their 1989 Epic Records eponymous debut sold over two-million copies with “Closer To Fine” (on this album) perhaps their best known song. Over the course of their ongoing career, ‘Emily Saliers and Amy Ray’ recorded fourteen studio sets, four live albums, two compilations, and an EP. Their last album, ‘One Lost Day’, was released in 2015.

‘Look Long’ was produced by John Reynolds at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio in England, Look Long, features 11 brand new tracks all written by Ray and Saliers. LP version will be available in June

Tracklisting: Shit Kickin’ / Look Long / Howl At The Moon / When We Were Writers / Change My Heart / K.C. Girl / Country Radio / Muster / Feel This Way Again / Favorite Flavor / Sorrow And Joy

Label Review. 

2020 album. Singer songwriter. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

After years of success in the world of neo-classical music with his Texas based band Balmorhea since 2006, leader RG Lowe took an artistic sharp turn leading to his soulful 2017 debut, ‘Slow Time’, which Stereogum called “impossibly smooth.” Three years later, Lowe returns with ‘Life of the Body’, produced by David Boyle - known for his work with Glen Hansard, Patty Griffin, and Okkervil River.

This wide-angle collection of songs invites us to reconnect with ourselves and our world through the senses by illuminating our intrinsic connection with the physical world, and the freedom found therein. Echoing the ardor of Walt Whitman’s ‘Leaves of Grass’, and channelling Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis, Lowe asks us each to “feel the wind blow on your face, camerado.” At once intimate and epic, opening track “Sorrow” sets a tone of longing and malaise, from which Lowe expands and breaks out of, over the next 8 songs.

As the album progresses, he explores myth, desire, love and the mystery of art, concluding with the ethereal, acoustic guitar-driven “Beauty Finds Forever,” on which it’s clear he’s transformed. He’s found the deepest nourishment; an enrichment of the soul found through a saturation of his physical senses, an antidote to our anguished age.

Tracklisting: Sorrow / He Done Her Wrong / Sendai, Unknown / My Body / Soap / Tulip Ave / Salpetriere / Life-World / Beauty Finds Forever