Label Review. 

2020 album with 7 bonus tracks, 3 videos and live in the studio footage. Also available on CD and Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Back with their first album of new material in eight years are British Folk-rockers The Levellers with their 11th record ‘Peace’ The band say that its 11 electrifying and relevant songs are a charged reaction to a world that seems to be teetering on the edge of madness and self-destruction. The environment is buckling under the weight of humanity’s disregard, right-wing demagogues are spreading hatred and fear across supposedly civilised nations, society and culture is trapped in a death spiral that’s playing out in real time across social media.

Produced at the band’s own Metway Studios by longtime collaborator Sean Lakeman, ‘Peace’ possesses the clarity and directness of early Levellers classics such as their 1990 debut album ‘A Weapon Called The Word’ and its landmark follow-up, ‘Levelling The Land’. The Levellers have always been outsiders, even during that brief period when they found themselves in the mainstream spotlight in the 1990s. The margins are where they belong, and it’s where they’re happiest. But being outsiders doesn’t mean irrelevance. In the 30 years since they announced themselves with ‘A Weapon Called The Word’, the Levellers have created their own self-sufficient world, one that includes everything from their studio to their own festival. The fire that fuelled them 30 years ago is far from being extinguished. With ‘Peace’, that fire burns brighter than ever.

Tracklisting: Food, Roof, Family / Generation Fear / Four Boys Lost / Burning Hate Like Fire / Born That Way / Our New Day / Calling Out / Ghosts In The Water / The Men Who Would Be King / Albion & Phoenix / Our Future

2CD (bonus tracks): Revelation / All The Unknown / Improperty / Sleep Well / Born That Way (Remix) / Generation Fear (Remix) / Our Future (Remix)

Label Review. 

1996 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Penny Penny (real name Giyani Kulani) is a South African musician known affectionately as the “Shangaan Disco King” for the musical style he helped popularise and ‘Yogo Yogo’ is his second album from 1996. The rags-to-riches chronicle of Penny Penny’s life would be remarkable if he had only released his smash debut ‘Shaka Bundu’ and packed houses for a few years. But the inimitable South African singer and dancer known for his trademark top ponytail and emphatic anthems was no one-hit wonder.

In the aftermath of ‘Shaka Bundu’s’ nationwide explosion, far beyond his country the album resonated with ever bigger audiences. He performed up and down the continent, building fanbases in more than a dozen countries. ‘Yogo Yogo’ solidified Penny Penny’s standing in pop music nationally and provided new energy to his pan-African stadium-filling adventures. The album reflected the era in which it emerged. If Shaka Bundu arrived triumphantly amid newfound political freedom in South Africa with the end of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s election, ‘Yogo Yogo’ was a next level expression for the maturing artist. He wanted to get a message out.

Composed with Joe Shirimani, who also produced the album, the sound and compositional style echoes the earlier recording but the topical nature of the lyrics became more deliberate, more didactic. In the song “Ingani” Penny proclaims, we are all one people even though we may speak different languages while “Kulani Kulani,” which means grow up, urges young people to say no to drugs and yes to education. “Ama Owners”, referring to the public transport drivers involved in violent rumbles, asks the nation’s drivers to relax because we need them for our safe arrival.

Penny explains. “Our music was traditional before. But I brought a mix of rock and disco and it became the bomb. Every star won’t be popular without your own style. The songs just happened. Joe is very good at listening and producing, he has lots of patience. When he played the keyboard I would sing, standing behind him once he finished the rhythm, I would sing it all in one take, non-stop. We were not using computers to record, we were singing live.” Fast-forward to 2020, Penny Penny is deep in the political game and appears on television 6 times a week as the star of his own reality TV show, “Papa Penny Ahee!”. He is setting up an avocado farm and provides fifty families in his region with food every month via his charitable foundation.

Tracklisting: Ibola Aids / Ingani / Amarumasi / Kulani Kulani / Hai Kamina / Dodomedzi (CD Bonus) / Yogo Yogo / Ti Samaboko / Ama Owners / Kulani Kulani (Remix) CD Bonus

Label Review. 

2020 covers album. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

American singer, songwriter, and former band member of Indie legends Throwing Muses and Belly, Tanya Donelly covers some of her favourite songs by The Go Go’s, Leonard Cohen, Kirsty MacColl, Split Enz, Linda Ronstadt, The Pretenders, Wings, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Mary Margaret O’Hara on this outstanding new album.

Tanya says of the project: “When Joe from American Laundromat asked if I’d be interested in doing a covers album, I was hesitant, mainly because most of the songs I truly love are already perfect in their original form. But then I had the idea to ask the brilliant Parkington Sisters to be the band for this project, to bring their gorgeous sound and spirit, and make it something cohesive and centered. Happily, they said yes. So I chose a handful of songs that have been on heavy rotation in my head and heart from the first time I heard them, and the Sisters took over. These are some of the most honest, moving, beautiful, unfiltered, true and cool songs that have ever been written, in my opinion. And those same adjectives apply to the Parkington Sisters as well.”

For ten years Tanya jointly steered Boston based Throwing Muses with Kristin Hersh until she left in 1990 to for The Breeders with The Pixies Kim Deal. After just one album Tanya formed her own band Belly whos first album ‘Star’ in 1993 was a breakout success especially in the UK. However they broke up after just one more album (‘King’ in 1995) and Tanya went solo before retreating to the Boston scene and raising a family. The last few years has seen a reunion of Belly which included a new album ‘Dove’ and a series of EPs called ‘Swan Song Series’ which saw Donelly collaborate with numerous musicians, authors and friends.

Tracklisting: Automatic / Dance Me To The End Of Love / Days / Ocean Rain / Let Me Roll It / Kid / Different Drum / Devil You Know / You Will Be Loved Again

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

After a break from writing or recording new musical material of nearly seven years, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine’s former frontman, Jim Bob returns with a smashing new solo record ‘Pop Up Jim Bob’. The album is a sharp and witty social commentary, full of catchy tracks that will delight Carter USM fans and anyone who loves a great tune.

The music is a return to his honest and intelligent indie-pop-rock. From the frank, dark humoured lyrics of “Jo’s Got Papercuts” (“Jo knows it is what it is now, she knows she can’t dance to The Smiths now”), to the much darker meander of “Truce”, Jim provides us with songs of his most unique views on life. “Kidstrike!” is a lyrically busy snapshot of modern life in London, while “#thoughtsandprayers” is a sardonic number that shines a light on the downtrodden in our society. From TED talks to drinking in the park, Jim’s vivid descriptions of his characters let us in on his world. A place that, deep down, we knew all along – and live every day.

As singer with Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine Jim Bob had 14 top 40 singles, four top ten albums (including a number one), sold over a million records, toured the world and headlined Glastonbury. In 2007, ten years after initially splitting, Carter USM reformed for a series of huge, sold out shows until they called it a day again in 2014. Outside of Carter Jim Bob has had a long and varied solo music career. He has released ten solo albums, written songs for Ian Dury and for the 2006 Barbican production of Mark Ravenhill’s Dick Whittington & His Cat. In August 2010 Jim Bob made his Edinburgh Fringe debut in the Ward and White musical ‘Gutted, A Revenger’s Musical.’

Tracklisting: Turn On, Tune In, Pop Up! / Jo’s Got Papercuts / Kidstrike! / Ted Talks / Truce / 2020 Wtf! / If It Aint Broke / Big Boy / Barry’s On Safari (In His Safari Suit) / #Thoughtsandprayers / You’re Cancelled And We’re Done

Label Review. 

2020 album. His final solo recordings made before he passed in 2013. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

‘Eight Gates’ is the last collection of solo studio recordings American singer songwriter Jason Molina made before he passed from complications related to alcoholism in 2013. Raised in northern Ohio, he came to prominence performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast of musicians in the late 1990s. Beginning in 2003, he would garner a further indie following for his releases with the band Magnolia Electric Co.

Sometime in 2006 or 2007, Jason Molina moved from the Midwest to London, England. Separated from his bandmates and friends and never one for idleness, Molina explored his new home with fervour. Sometimes he’d head out on foot, often with no destination in mind. Other times, he’d pick a random tube stop and find his way back home. He’d pick up on arcane trivia about London’s rich history and if the historical factoids weren’t available - or weren’t quite to his liking - Molina was quite comfortable conjuring his own history. His adoration of The Great American Tall Tales like John Henry and Paul Bunyan’s blue ox Babe stretched across the Atlantic, where he created his own personal Tall Tales. And when he learned of the London Wall’s seven gates (itself a misconception), Molina went ahead and called it eight, carving out a gate just for himself. The eighth gate was Molina’s way into London, a gate only passable in the mind.

Recorded whilst in London, some of the songs (“Whispered Away”, “Thistle Blue”) are fully-realized - dark, moody textures that call to mind his earlier work on ‘The Lioness’. Other songs (“She Says”, “The Crossroads and The Emptiness”) lay in a more unfinished state, acoustic takes that call to mind Molina’s “Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go”, and still tethered to Molina’s humorous studio banter. On the closer, ‘The Crossroads and The Emptiness’, Molina snaps at the engineer before tearing into a song in which he sings of his birthday (December 30), a palm reading and the great emptiness with which he always wrestled. It is a perfect closer and, in many ways, the eighth gate incarnate: mythical, passable only in the mind, built for himself and partway imaginary but shared, thankfully, with us.

Tracklisting: Whisper Away / Shadow Answers the Wall / The Mission’s End / Old Worry / She Says / Fire on the Rail / Be Told the Truth / Thistle Blue / The Crossroads and the Emptiness

Label Review. 

2020 album. Indie. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Eyedress is LA based Filipino singer, musician and producer Idris Vicuña. ‘Let’s Skip To The Wedding’ is his first album since relocating from Manila to the US in late 2018. A passionate exploration of the themes of love, adjusting to life in a new city, and preparing to welcome a child into this ever changing world. His unique songwriting pairs lovesick lyrics with infectious guitar hooks & his trademark, cold wave inspired, woozy synths. “My next album is for everyone who wants to be in a serious relationship, real simp shit”.

The album follows his ‘Valentine’s Day’ single, which was championed by Mike D (Beastie Boys) on his Beats 1 show, and 2019’s ‘Jealous’ EP, whose title track has grown to become his most popular to date. Over the past year Eyedress began collaborating with kindred spirits like Cuco, Triathalon and Inner Wave, and earned a reputation for his wild and unpredictable performances, which saw him sharing stages with acts like Homeshake, Enjoy, Jasper Bones, N8NOFACE and B Cool Aid, as well as supporting Inner Wave on their 13 date west coast tour.

His last album ‘Sensitive G’ was a personal reflection of Manila life told through the music of his youth; dreampop, punk & indie rock. In 2017 he released his debut album ‘Manila Ice’, a record about love and survival in the Philippines. Eyedress has previously collaborated with King Krule, VRITRA, Fazerdaze and Jess Connelly. “I will continue to create works that send a message to inform and awaken those that are not aware of the social injustices going on around us every day.”

Tracklisting: Let’s Skip to The Wedding / Skateboarding Day / Never Want To Be Apart / Can I See You Tonight? / Romantic Lover / X-Girl / I Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend / Jealous / Last Time I’m Falling In Love / Pop The Question / Happy Hour / Trauma / My Girl The Finest / Never Been To Prom / Mystical Creature’s Best Friend / Pick Up Your Phone / Self Improvement / Kiss Me Like It’s The Last Time / Anything For You

Label Review. 

2020 album. Indie. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

On her second solo album, ‘Who The Power’, Liela Moss follows 2018’s deeply personal ‘My Name Is Safe in Your Mouth’ - an album at times serene, at others stormy, on every front sumptuous. Now, she has forged an album of questioning intensity and synth-loaded drama, with the expressive force in her voice refuelled by the urgent desire to interrogate the role of selfhood in fraught times. And, crucially, backed by the urgent grooves needed for the job. “If you’re going to deconstruct the modern psyche,” says Liela Moss, “you might as well dance to it.”

Album opener “Turn Your Back Around” is a yearning eco-lament set to banked synths over a propulsive beat. Or, as Moss puts it: “One filthy, upbeat, downhearted, close-your-eyes-and dance- by-yourself pop song, offered as a parting gift to Mother Earth”. “Watching The Wolf” is another forthright song for today, its brooding, near-gothic swagger framing a righteous modern-day folk tale about wolves converging to unseat a toxic political pundit. A controlled rage shows in Moss’s voice, which grows more liberated still amid the simmering darkwave throb of “Atoms At Me”, where Moss issues a call to free the senses from the call to consume.

Elsewhere, the moody elegance of ‘Battlefield’ and bruised plea of ‘Nummah’ rank among Moss’s finest vocal performances. ‘Suako’ offers pulsing synth-rock impetus to risk starting anew, while the blissful ‘Stolen Careful’ ends the album on a palpable note of revitalisation, all risks rewarded as Moss emerges refreshed in her hunger to explore new, meaningful ways to engage with the world.

Widescreen ambitions fulfilled, the result is another bold leap forward for one of alt-rock’s most magnetic, exploratory voices. Over 14 years, Moss’s work with the Duke Spirit (on pause) ranged from brawling riff-rock to more cinematic ventures. Other gigs have included synth-rock recordings with Butler under the name Roman Remains and various collaborative ventures – with UNKLE, Nick Cave, Giorgio Moroder and Lost Horizons, as well as serving as muse for fashion icons Alexander McQueen and Phillip Lim, among others.

Tracklisting: Turn Your Back Around / Watching The Wolf / Atoms At Me / Always Sliding / The Individual / White Feather / Battlefield / Nummah / Suako / Stolen Careful

Label Review. 

2020 album. Electronic. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

‘Purple Noon’, is Ernest Greene’s fourth album as Washed Out and presents his most accessible creation to date. Greene again wrote, recorded and produced the entirety of the album, with mixing handled by frequent collaborator Ben H. Allen. Production of the album followed a brief stint of writing for other artists (most notably Sudan Archives), which enabled Greene to explore genres like R&B and modern pop. These brighter, more robust sounds made their way into the songs of ‘Purple Noon’ and mark a new chapter for Greene as a producer and songwriter. The vocals are front and centre, tempos are slower, beats bolder, and there’s a more comprehensive depth of dynamics. One can hear the luxuriousness of Sade, the sonic bombast of Phil Collins and the lush atmosphere of the great Balearic beat classics.

Mediterranean coastlines inspired ‘Purple Noon’ and Greene pays tribute to the region’s distinct island culture - all rugged elegance and old-world charm - and uses it as a backdrop to tell stories of passion, love and loss (‘Purple Noon’s title comes from the 1960 film directed by Rene Clement and based on the novel ‘The Talented Mister Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith). Much like romantic Hollywood epics, the melodrama throughout is strong: a serendipitous first meeting in “Too Late”; a passionate love affair in “Paralyzed”; disintegration of a relationship in “Time to Walk Away”; a reunion with a lost love in “Game of Chance”. ‘Purple Noon’ adds a layer of emotional intensity to the escapism of Washed Out’s oeuvre, taking the music to dazzling new heights.

Tracklisting: Too Late / Face Up / Time to Walk Away / Paralyzed / Reckless Desires / Game of Chance / Leave You Behind / Don’t Go / Hide / Haunt

Label Review. 

2019 album. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Jon Anderson, the English singer and songwriter best known as the frontman for the prog rock band Yes, releases his latest solo album, ‘1000 Hands Chapter One’. The album originates from sessions for a project to have been called Uzlot (a northern English pronunciation of “us lot”) that Anderson had been recording in Big Bear, California, with English keyboardist Brian Chatton around 1990. Chatton wrote most of the music, played keyboards and also sang. Anderson asked his then Yes bandmates Chris Squire and Alan White to play on the project too. At the time, Yes were preparing for a tour and Anderson put the master tapes in his garage and, as he has recounted, gave them very little thought for many years.

In 2016, producer Michael Franklin contacted Anderson about using the tapes and finishing an album. Further recordings followed at Solar Studios in Orlando, Florida. Along with some newly written material, the final result is ‘1000 Hands’. As the new title suggests, the album was created with a stunning array of guest performers, including Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain, Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, Rick Derringer, the Tower of Power horn section, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and pianist Chick Corea. Franklin blended their contributions into the original 1990 recordings with Anderson, Squire and White to create a seamless album that sounds like it was all recorded at the same time. “He did all of it behind my back,” says Anderson. “When he told me he was getting Chick Corea, I couldn’t believe it. But then it was like, boom! He came in and made me sound better. The whole thing was like, ‘Surprise! Surprise!’”

Tracklisting: Now / Ramalama / First Born Leaders / Activate / Makes Me Happy / Now Variartions / I Found Myself / Twice In A Lifetime / WDMCF / 1000 Hands (Come Up) / Now And Again

Label Review. 

2020 album. Indie. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

American Folk punkers The Front Bottoms celebrating life and purge angst on their fifth album, ‘In Sickness & In Flames’ which finds them pushing forward with positive and creative energy, and features celebrated singles “Camouflage” and “Everyone Blooms.”. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Brian Sella and drummer Mathew Uychich, The Front Bottoms have gripped listeners and press around the world with their ragged honesty and emotional urgency.

The New Jersey based band’s 2017 album, ‘Going Grey’ arrived to critical acclaim with lead single “Peace Sign” breaking into the Alternative Radio charts. Some of the praise included “The Front Bottoms make memorable sing-a-longs that call back to a different, simpler, sadder era of confessional guitar music” (Fader) and “grand and reflective and damn near arena-ready.” (Stereogum) A.V. Club professed, “The Front Bottoms are more confident, and secure enough to confess to all they don’t yet know. It’s a privilege to listen in as they work it out”.

Describing their new album, the band said: “Earlier this year, we made a new album and decided to name it 'In Sickness & In Flames'. When we were writing the album and settling on the title, it meant something completely different to us. We could have never imagined where the world would be just six months later. In true TFB style this album has developed into something of its own that we no longer control the narrative of”.

Tracklisting: Everyone Blooms / Camouflage / Jerk / The Truth / Montgomery Forever / The Hard Way / Leaf Pile / New song d / Fairbanks, Alaska / Love At First Sight / Bus Beat / Make Way

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

On ‘Prisyn’, his third album as Jaye Jayle, Evan Patterson continues to show he is a wanderer and an explorer. It’s evident in the constant evolution of his music since his earliest days as a guitarist in left-of-center bands, but it’s best exemplified by the constant creative shifts within the fever-dream blues of Jaye Jayle. Patterson takes his boldest leap into unknown territories, capturing immediate moments in his ever-shifting surroundings with the most basic tool at his disposal: the GarageBand app on an iPhone.

The album began with a request from couture designer Ashley Rose, when she proposed that Evan Patterson team up with Sargent House label mates Chelsea Wolfe and Ben Chisholm to create a soundtrack for one of her upcoming fashion shows. Patterson was in the early stages of a massive eleven-week stretch of touring and used his downtime in the van to flesh out ideas on his phone. “I sent a track to Ben and he sent it back the next day with additional instrumentation, sounds, and effects,” Patterson recalls. “It was wild. He suggested we make a whole record that way. I printed out all these poems, stories, and journal entries I’d made on my phone over the course of the year and went into the studio with my friend Warren (Christopher Gray). We’d find things that rhythmically worked, and that’s how all the lyrics and singing happened. It was all gut instinct, improvisational,” Patterson recalls. “The vocal approach isn’t meant to be full of hooks and melody."

The record’s title “Prisyn” is a play on the idea of a synthetic prison, and alludes to Patterson’s desire for artistic freedom and the album’s conflicted use of addictive technologies. Evan comments, “These songs have a totally different energy, and that’s the exciting thing about making art. Things have to progress. I don’t want to draw the same picture for the rest of my life. Maybe that keeps you from being a master at it, but being a master isn’t the key to art. It’s having that constant expression, the constant outlet, the constant change”.

Tracklisting: A Cold Wind / Don’t Blame the Rain / Synthetic Prison / The River Spree / Making Friends / Guntime / Blueberries / I Need You / The Last Drive / From Louisville

Label Review. 

1981 album. Synth pop. Also available on Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

The early 80s were prolific for Electronic music pioneer Hideki Matsutake. As the go-to keyboard programmer for the tokyo music scene, he worked with Akiko Yano, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mkwaju Ensemble’s “Mkwaju” and found time to record two albums under the Logic System name in 1981. While the first album, ‘Logic’ had a harder techno feel, the second one ‘Venus’ was different affair.

Recorded in Los Angeles at the new state of the art Yamaha Studio, it was loosely themed on the Greek goddess Venus and had a funkier more organic sound. For the album Matsutake had asked a handful of American musicians to provide songs he would then add his synth magic touch to. Michael Boddicker, Don Grusin, Nathan East and Roger Powell duly complied and also played on the album. The updated sound was achieved by switching from the Moog III to the E-mu modular System (which Matsutake brought over to LA) and other synths like the Prophet 5, the Roland MC-8 and TR 808 and the Yamaha GS-1, a forerunner of the DX7. The result is an amazing futuristic mix of electronic music and early 80s funk, announcing many genres to come, from techno and house to French electro and Vaporwave.

From the breezy ambient synth of “I Love You” to the city pop edge of “Be Yourself” (originally written by Nathan East for Debra Laws) and the vocoder-led Daft Punk-ish “Take A Chance”, ‘Venus’ is a fascinating album that both pushes the boundaries of electronic music and is yet strangely accessible and beautiful.

Tracklisting: Venus / Morpheus / I Love You / Plan / Take A Chance / Automatic Collect Automatic Correct / Be Yourself / Prophet / Metamorphism / Equivalent

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

American alt-rock band PVRIS release their third studio album ‘Use Me’, and on the new record, frontwoman, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Lynn Gunn steps into a new chapter, as she owns her role as PVRIS’ leader and sole architect. The result is 11 pop conjurations of glitchy beat-craft, airy guitars, and spell-binding vocals.

A newfound sense of freedom lies at the core of ‘Use Me’. For years, Lynn remained in the background too shy to take all of the credit for the vision of PVRIS and her role in the songwriting, presentation, much of the production, merch, and visual video concepts. At last, she is ready to shine a light on who she is and what she does. “I allowed myself to support a narrative I thought I had to support of PVRIS being a band,” says Lynn. “I didn’t really have a role model for this. Coming from a ‘band culture,’ it’s about how the group is always greater than the sum of its parts, and you’re not supposed to take credit, even if you do everything. There’s no template or role model for really owning it as a woman. I wanted to make everyone else happy and uphold an image I thought we had to.”

“Growing up, I learned I don’t have to do that anymore. I’m finally allowing myself to take credit. I’ve got the full support and encouragement of my bandmates. PVRIS is a unit and very much a team, but the heart and soul of the vision and music always has sourced from me. I’m just saying it now. I fulfilled my own vision of what a role model should be.”

Tracklisting: Gimme A Minute / Dead Weight / Stay Gold / Good To Be Alive / Death of Me / Hallucinations / Old Wounds / Loveless / January Rain / Use Me / Wish You Well

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

English psych pop band Glass Animals release their third studio album ‘Dreamland’. At the heart of ‘Dreamland’ lies the quietly enigmatic Dave Bayley, the bands’ frontman and producer extraordinaire who’s work extends far beyond that of Glass Animals, with credits including Joey Bada$$, Flume, Wale, Khalid and most recently Denzel Curry on the late 2019 single “Tokyo Drifting”.

For Bayley, ‘Dreamland’ is a nostalgic memoir of his life so far, covering expansive and difficult ground and holding nothing back. It’s packed full of personal experiences, none more emotional than when the bands drummer Joe Seaward was involved in a monstrous bike accident in July 2018 which threatened his life, and that of Glass Animals altogether. In truth, now is the perfect time for such a poetic dive into the self: ‘Dreamland’ arrives in the midst of a global pandemic and it’s a time for reflection on life itself; for looking back on memories of the past, taking stock of where we are and what we have, and cherishing our loved ones.

‘Dreamland’ finds Bayley slipping into his own crevices, blending past and present reflections in a seemingly stream-of-conscious overhaul of the self: “The idea for this album came at a time of confusion and uncertainty,” Bayley explains. “My best friend was in the hospital. I didn’t know if he’d make it. The future was damn scary and completely unknown.”.

Bayley explains that ‘Dreamland’ “goes through many of the most confusing moments in my life. It’s about growing up, from my first memories as a little kid to now. Quite often those moments are funny, sometimes awkward, sometimes heart-breaking, sometimes it’s about love or hate or sexuality. It’s about realising it’s ok to not have answers and it’s ok to not know how you feel about things and that it’s ok to be and look vulnerable. In fact, all of that is quite exciting. So often life asks us for binary yes or no answers. It asks us to conform and to fit in. But the world is so much more interesting and colourful than that… it’s a much more fluid and uncertain place.”

Tracklisting: Dreamland / Tangerine / / ((home movie: 1994)) / Hot Sugar / ((home movie: BTX)) / Space Ghost Coast to Coast / Tokyo Drifting / Melon and the Coconut / Your Love (Déjà vu) / Waterfalls Coming Out Your Mouth / It’s All So Incredibly Loud / ((home movie: rockets)) / Domestic Bliss / Heat Waves / ((home movie: shoes on)) / Helium

Label Review.

In addition to stellar '60s psych and garage, Salem Oregon's Garland Records churned out some high quality, foot stompin', 'Country & Northwestern' music. Sundazed.

Our Overview.

Unearthed reels from Salem Oregan’s Garland Records and packed with stellar artists ‘Garland Records Pacific Northwest Snuff Box’ comprises rare and unissued Pacific Northwest rootsy Americana! In addition to stellar ‘60s psych and garage, Salem Oregon’s Garland Records churned out some high quality, foot stompin’, ‘Country & Northwestern’ music.

The drive’s cranked all the way up and the needle’s fully in the red for this set of uptempo garage-punk stompers from Salem’s enigmatic Garland Records. Packed with killer, crunchy bass, pummeling drums, in-your-face vocals, and (of course) mountains of fuzz-guitar! Loaded primarily with originals, plus distorted deviations of select known numbers, all ranging from impossibly rare to previously unreleased!.

With Sundazed Music’s acquisition of the Garland Records catalog, you’re in for a coastal flood of great garage rock, pysch, soul, and even some country. But it all starts here with Pacific Northwest Fuzz Box, named after the commonly used distortion pedals that (at least according to our ears) can be heard reverberating through your speaker cones on every track.

One thing that makes this collection extra unique is the abundance of original material. Stellar cuts like “It’ll Come Easy,” “Hip Girl,” and “Transparent Soul” carry the same level of songsmanship you’ll get from the blistering covers of “Black Is Black” (Los Bravos), “Suzie Q” (CCR), “Hit The Road Jack” (Ray Charles) and more! Something fuzzy was happening in the Pacific Northwest and BeatRocket is stoked to be the ones to tell you all about it.

Archived here are a barn load of true Americana from unheard originals like the Cascade Sweethearts’ ‘Hard Workin’ Woman,’ The Heard’s unissued ‘Sweet Thang’ to stunning takes on Bob Dylan & Kris Kristofferson cuts. This is a PNW platter that you’d swear came from south of the Mason Dixon.

Tracklisting: Tippy Toeing by Cascade Sweethearts / Since Daddy’s Not Around by Jim Thompson And The Colts / China Doll by Geronia Coyle And The G-Tones / Hard Workin’ Woman by Cascade Sweethearts / Don’t Be Angry by Chuck Wray / Friends Of Mine by The Heard / You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere (Dylan) by TYME / Me And Bobby McGee (Kristofferson) by Clint Briggs / Sweet Thang by The Heard / Laura (What’s He Got That I Ain’t Got) by Laura / (What’s He Got That I Ain’t Got) by Chuck Wray / There’s A Time And A Place For Everything by Hubert Averette And The G-Tones / Fools Hall Of Fame by Clint Briggs

Label Review.

2020 album. Rock.

Our Overview.

‘Untenable’ is the sophomore full-length by Washington, D.C.’s Bad Moves - power pop band formed in 2016, and are currently on Don Giovanni Records. The band consists of David Combs, Katie Park, Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Emma Cleveland. On this record, the band has leaned into the outer edges of their influences, expanding their power-pop umbrella to include hints of folk, garage rock, and ‘90s “indie” while still keeping the hooks tuneful and sticky.

Lyrically, the band explores the myriad anxieties of modern living -- from heady questions of self-definition and identity to day-to-day matters, like labor precarity, climate change, social media, automation and the surveillance state.

Tracklisting: Local Radio / Night Terrors / Party With the Kids Who Wanna Party With You / Cape Henlopen / Toward Crescent Park / Working for Free / Muster / Fog Is a Funny Thing / Same Bad Friends / Settle Into It / Tides / End of Time

Label Review. 

2020 album. Electronic. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Los Angeles composer, artist, and producer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has chartered a pioneering career with multiple critically-acclaimed albums since 2015. Following the release of ‘The Kid’ in 2017, Smith focused her energy in several directions. She founded Touchtheplants, a multidisciplinary creative environment for projects including the first volumes in her instrumental Electronic Series and pocket-sized poetry books on the practice of listening within. She’s continued to explore the endless possibilities of electronic instruments as well as the shapes, movements, and expressions found in the physical body’s relationship to sound and color. It is this life-guiding interest that forms the foundational frequencies of her latest full-length, ‘The Mosaic of Transformation’, a bright, sensorial glide through unbound wave phenomena and the radiant power discovered within oneself.

“I guess in one sentence, this album is my expression of love and appreciation for electricity,” says Kaithlyn. While writing and recording, she embraced a daily practice of physical movement, passing electricity through her body and into motion, in ways reflecting her audio practice, which sends currents through modular synthesizers and into the air through speakers. Not a dancer by any traditional definition, she taught herself improvisatory movement realizing flexibility, strength, and unexpectedly, what Smith calls “a visual language” (the term was introduced to her by filmmaker Sean Hellfritsch) stemming from the human body and comprised of vibrational shapes. Understood as cymatics, as she says, “as a reference for how frequencies can be visualized,” much like a mosaic.

As it has arrived, in a completed state, The Mosaic of Transformation is a holistic manifestation of embodied motions. Airy organ and voice interweave with burbling Buchla-spawned harmonic bubbles. If the record could be summarized in a single movement, it is the 10-minute closing suite, a rapturous collage called “Expanding Electricity.” Symphonic phrases establish the piece before washes of glittering electric peals and synthesized vibraphone helix into focus. Soon, Smith’s voice grounds it all with an intuitive vocal hook, harmonized and augmented by concentric spirals of harp-and-horn-like sounds. Smith’s music doesn’t capture a specific emotion as much as it captures the joys of possessing a body, and the ability to, with devotion and a steady open heart, maneuver that vessel in space by way of electricity to euphoric degrees.

Tracklisting: Unbraiding Boundless Energy Within Boundaries / Remembering / Understanding Body Messages / The Steady Heart / Carrying Gravity / The Spine Is Quiet In The Center / Overflowing / Deepening The Flow Of / Expanding Electricity

Label Review. 

2020 release. Recorded and filmed over two nights at the famed London venue 3rd/4th May 2019. Also available on Blu-ray and Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

In 2018, guitarist with The Blockheads (Ian Dury’s backing band) convinced Pink Floyd’s drummer Nick Mason to come out of performing retirement to form a new group dedicated to celebrating the early material from the Floyd’s illustrious catalogue. Joining them were later Pink Floyd bassist Guy Pratt, Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp and completing the line-up, keyboard man Dom Beken. The quintet made their debut at some low-key dates in the spring of 2018 and since then have performed a handful of tours around the world to a rapturous response.

The set-list for the dates throughout 2018 & 19 have been largely static but seeing Nick bash his kit to songs he hasn’t performed for nearly 50 years abetted by his band who exude sheer joy at breathing new life into these esteemed compositions has seen another surprising and pleasing chapter in the story of one the rock world’s biggest bands.

A total of seven songs by original leader Syd Barrett prove his bright but brief period of creativity garnered a crop of material that remains startingly original today. Meanwhile after he left, the band took several years to work out where to take their sound and although these songs are not as well known as the ones that populate albums such as ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’ they retain a vitality perhaps missing from the aforementioned classics.

This live album recorded at the Roundhouse, where Pink Floyd cut their teeth in 1966/67, is expected to only be the first recorded document from Nick’s new group. Let’s hope there will be more to come - Mason has hinted in interviews that there will be more to come from outfit - it definitely seems they are having more fun than the Floyd anyway!

Tracklisting: Beginnings / Interstellar Overdrive / Astronomy Domine / Lucifer Sam / Fearless / Obscured by Clouds / When You’re In / Remember A Day / Arnold Layne / Vegetable Man / If / Atom Heart Mother / The Nile Song / Green Is The Colour / Let There Be More Light / Childhood’s End / Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun / See Emily Play / Bike / One Of These Days / A Saucerful Of Secrets / Point Me At The Sky.

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Roachford, whose most famous song “Cuddly Toy” has been a mainstay of radio airplay for over three decades now, is back with what is assuredly the best album of his career in ‘Twice in a Lifetime’. It’s the sound of someone at the top of their game, of one who knows his craft inside out. Produced by Grammy award winning Jimmy Hogarth, who has previously worked with Paolo Nutini, Duffy and Amy Winehouse, and featuring several members of Winehouse’s band, it’s full of grit and the most tremendous sonic energy, tracks like “Are You Satisfied?” throbbing with Stax-era musicality and soul. Lyrically, meanwhile, the album reveals an artist who has unambiguously Lived A Life.

Since "Cuddly Toy" reached number four in the charts back in early 1989 - Andrew Roachford has carved out a career for himself as one of the most compelling, and consistent, rock and soul artists the UK has produced. He has released 10 studio albums, several greatest hits collections, has been approached to write for various other artists including Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson and Joss Stone, and toured with contemporaries including Terence Trent D’Arby and The Christians. For the past nine years, he has been part of Mike + the Mechanics, recording with Mike Rutherford’s post-Genesis band, playing live with them across the world. He is someone who channels the energy of James Brown before going on stage each night, and who, on record, summons up the spirit of everyone from Al Green to Joe Cocker. When he sings, you listen.

Tracklisting: High On Love / Love Remedy / Too Much To Lose / Give It Up And Let Go / What We Had (with Beverley Knight) / Won’t Think Twice / So Long / Are you Satisfied? / The Truth Hurts Too Much / Gonna Be The One / Once In A Lifetime / Written In My Heart / You’re The One

Label Review. 

2020 album. Nuclear Blast. Also available on CD, 2CD and Box Set.

Our Overview. 

Sweden based rock band Blues Pills are back and ready to give the world another helping of their heavy rockin' tunes with their third studio album ‘Holy Moly’. Of which the band say “This album is something we’ll be proud of even after death. These songs are from a very dark period of our lives. So much loss, anger and anxiety. Sadness and change. A separation into reincarnation. We stand behind every note and every word. This album was created in darkness and it guided us into the light again. One can only hope it will give you comfort too.” ‘Holy Moly!’ can be a deceptive album. On first listen it seems like a great blues/rock album with classic songs and great vocals. On repeated listens though you start to appreciate the layers and nuance. Not often do you get a record that makes a great first impression but is still a grower!

The history of Blues Pills can seem simple. The rock quartet formed in the Midwest in late 2011 by the bands songwriters Zack Anderson and Elin Larsson went straight from playing at dirty, crowded bars to play at some of the biggest festivals such as Download, Rock am Ring and Wacken Open Air. A true success story. Or? Not really. Under the layers of heavy psychedelic blues-rock and Elin Larsson's soulful and powerful voice, the core of Blues Pills has always been the restless search for change. Change in the human mind and the musical influences they embraced themselves with, from blackened soul to the trippy rides through 60s garage rock music and the devils blues. During their break, BLUES PILLS has been through some kind of reincarnation. A reincarnation that lead to the new self-produced and recorded album “Holy Moly!” mixed by Grammy Award winning Andrew Scheps (Red Hot Chill Peppers, Iggy Pop, Adele, Black Sabbath, Rival Sons,Hozier a.o.). 

If you were blazed by heaviness of their first self-titled album, and tripped to the psychedelic soul of “Lady In Gold” (#1 Germany) you won't be immune to the effects of this third dose of the pills. Empowered by the definition of a cool bass player Kristoffer Schander, their banana-loving drummer André Kvarnström, Elin Larssons haunting voice and Zack Anderson now on lead guitar the band has gone back to their roots. Back to the raw power of rock’n’roll and blues with a pinch of soul. During the bands short break they built their own studio, Lindbacka Sounds, in an old factory in the rural area of Närke, Sweden and filled it up with analog recording equipment, and their own personal demons haunting them in their sleep. Exhausted and empty after the long years of touring all over the world they went back to basics, and the last years of highs and lows lead to a more autobiographical album. Elin, Zack and André spent most of their waking hours writing songs, recording and changing. Over and over, until they were all completely satisfied. 

Tracklisting: Side A: Proud Woman / Low Road / Dreaming My Life Away / California / Rhythm In The Blood / Dust. Side B: Kiss My Past Goodbye / Wish I’d Known / Bye Bye Birdy / Song From A Mourning Dove / Longest Lasting Friend

Label Review. 

2020 debut album from Mike Campbell (Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers). Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

While 2020’s ‘Wreckless Abandon’ is their first official release and occasion to tour, The Dirty Knobs first came together 15 years ago after Mike Campbell met guitarist Jason Sinay at a session and liked the way their guitars sounded together. After adding the acclaimed rhythm section of bassist Lance Morrison and drummer Matt Laug, The Dirty Knobs became an outlet for Campbell to work on some of the other songs he was writing between Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers records and touring.

They got together when schedules permitted, playing music without an agenda, expectations or deadlines, without worrying about outcome or hits, pushing boundaries of taste, imagination, and genres and creating some of the most brutally confident yet psychically dangerous rock and roll since sonic-renegade juggernauts the Yardbirds first sauntered onto a London stage and ripped into “For Your Love.”

They recorded the album at Campbell’s home studio, Hocus Pocus Recorders, in just three weeks’ time, before the guitarist went out on the road in 2018 as a member of Fleetwood Mac. The Knobs tapped legendary producer George Drakoulias, who had also produced Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ 2002 album ‘The Last DJ’, to co-produce,with all songs written by Campbell.

The album features further contributions from Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist Chris Stapleton as well as fellow Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers founding-member, Benmont Tench. Additionally, Klaus Voormann, who is best known for doing the art for The Beatles’ Revolver, created the album artwork.

Tracklisting: Wreckless Abandon / Pistol Packin’ Mama (feat. Chris Stapleton) / Sugar / Southern Boy / I Still Love You / Irish Girl / Fuck That Guy / Don’t Knock The Boogie / Don’t Wait / Anna Lee / Aw Honey / Loaded Gun / Don’t Knock The Boogie (Coda)

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview. 

Asian Dub Foundation are a genre unto themselves. Their unique combination of tough jungle rhythms, dub bass lines and wild guitar overlaid by references to their South Asian roots and militant high-speed rap has established them as one of the best live bands in the world. During their long and productive career Asian Dub Foundation have shared the stage with the likes of Rage Against The Machine, the Beastie Boys and Primal Scream also collaborating on record with the likes of Radiohead, Sinead O’ Connor, Iggy Pop and Chuck D.

Their 9th album ‘Access Denied’ finds them as uncompromising as ever. The album showcases ADF in full spectrum mode from the tough Jungle Punk sound of “Stealing The Future” and “Mindlock” through to the orchestral meditation of “Realignment” and the reggae lament of the title track. With guestspots from Greta Thunberg, incendiary Palestinian shamstep warriors 47 Soul, Chilean revolt’s rap main figure Ana Tijoux and radical UK comedian Stewart Lee, Asian Dub Foundation continue their sonic opposition to the powers that be and ‘Access Denied’ kicks harder and higher than ever.

ADF formed from a music workshop in East London in the late 1990s at the institution which is their spiritual home, Community Music. Their unique beginnings marked out both their sound and their wider educational aspirations, as showed by their early involvements with Roma Youth in Budapest, hooking up with the legendary Afro Reggae in the favelas of Rio, and setting up their own education organisation ADF Education (ADFED), not to mention their campaigns on behalf of those suffering miscarriages of justice.

Tracklisting: Can’t Pay Won’t Pay / Stealing the Future / Frontline / Access Denied / Realignment / Comin’ Over Here (feat. Stewart Lee) / Human 47 (feat. 47 Soul) / Mindlock / Swarm / Lost in the Shadows / Youthquake Part 1, Greta Speaks / New Alignment / Frontline Santiago (feat. Ana Tijoux) / Smash and Grab the Future (feat. Dub FX).

Label Review.

2020 album. Folk.

Our Overview.

‘Making Sand’ is the new release from the unique talent of Mr. Padraig Jack. Hailing from the Aran Islands - 10 miles off the west coast of Ireland - singer-songwriter Padraig writes and sings in Gaelic and English, songs that are authentic, soulful, honest, celtic music inspired by his environment and its people. He was born and raised 10 miles off the west coast of Ireland on the Aran islands. Music and words are in his blood as his dad is bilingual songwriter Barry Ronan and he is the nephew on his mothers side of the Irish poet and Aosdána member Mary O’Malley.

His music is influenced by his surroundings as much as it is by James Taylor, Van Morrison, Shane McGowan and The Eagles. Padraig has won second prize at the Pan Celtic National Song contest and his song ‘Minnie’ was shortlisted for the final of the Christie Hennessy song contest. He has also received numerous Gradaim N S Award nominations. Making Sand was producer John Reynolds (Sinead O’Connor, Brian Eno, Damien Dempsey). 24 Jul WOMAD Festival, UK 26 Jul Deer Shed Festival, UK Orchestrate PR will be plugging the album in Ireland. Manilla PR will be plugging in the UK.

Padraig supported Sharon Shannon on her 2 UK tours in the UK in 2019 and did many BBC Regional interviews. He has been heralded in Ireland’s Hot Press magazine and Joe.ie.

Tracklisting: Let It Shine / Gospel Of Matthew / Streetbed Ridden / Making Sand /Minnie / Black Drapes / Hello Mum / Long Goodbye / Smaointe Cailte

Label Review.

2020 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro are releasing their much anticipated eight album ‘A Celebration Of Endings’ of which frontman Simon Neil explains “This is a very forward-looking album from a personal perspective and a societal perspective. The title is about seeing the joy in things changing, rather than the sadness. Change means progression and evolution. You can retain everything you loved before, but let’s lose the bad shit. It’s about trying to take back control.”

The band made an instant impact with ‘Instant History’ blending their explosive attack with apocalyptic synths and bombastic beats, the track was premiered as BBC’s Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World. The band’s approach to opus eight was simple. Keep things fresh and maintain the wide-eyed wonder of what they do. Surprise themselves and each other. Push things to their furthest extremes. Their first building block in embracing the new was to turn to an old friend. In came Rich Costey, producer of ‘Ellipsis’.

Sonically, Biffy Clyro playfully push the outer reaches of their sound to the extreme – often in the case of the same song. Opening track ‘North of No South’ hits hard before finding the space for the Johnston brothers to unleash some soaring Queen-style vocal harmonies, before ‘The Champ’ throws piano, cinematic strings (conducted by Bruce Springsteen collaborator Rob Mathes at Abbey Road) and Biffy’s prototyped jagged rhythms into the mix without ever losing any of its sleekness.

Other songs are far more direct. ‘Tiny Indoor Fireworks’ is the best direct rock anthem they’ve ever written, somehow snappy, melodic and light on its feet while feeling so natural you could imagine it was conceived in minutes.  Meanwhile, ‘Space’ is a natural successor from previous lighters-in-the-air highlights ‘Many of Horror’ and ‘Rearrange’. It’s a sincere message of reconciliation for someone you love, and Biffy’s most tender, unguarded moment from the sweet spot of their catalogue.

How can you conclude an album of such esoteric diversity? Biffy launch headfirst into ‘Cop Syrup’. There’s the rush of ‘The Vertigo of Bliss’, a detour into Sub Pop-style grunge and manic shrieks which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Liturgy record. But then it contorts again, first into ethereal orchestration and then with a final burst of violence. It’s an ending to celebrate.To coincide with the album’s launch, Biffy Clyro have today shared the new track ‘End Of’. The aggression is old school Biffy, but the out-of-nowhere piano break and a final rally of rampaging riffs matches their current unpredictable flair.

Tracklisting: North Of No South / The Champ / Weird Leisure / Tiny Indoor Fireworks / Worst Type Of Best Possible / Space / End Of / Instant History / The Pink Limit / Opaque / Cop Syrup

Label Review. 

2020 album. The Doors guitarist. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Robby Krieger the legendary guitarist and songwriter of The Doors and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Robby Krieger will be releasing his first solo album in a decade ‘The Ritual Begins At Sundown’. The Doors weren’t just one of the most iconic bands of their generation, but one of the most influential bands in rock history and Robby Krieger was responsible for writing some of their biggest hits in “Light My Fire,” “Love Me Two Times,” “Touch Me” and “Love Her Madly.”

Krieger returns for his ninth solo album, and his first since 2010s Grammy nominated ‘Singularity’, once again with his long-time writing partner and co-producer Arthur Barrow. Barrow worked with Frank Zappa through the 1970s-80s as well as Giorgio Moroder, Joe Cocker, Diana Ross and Janet Jackson, and worked on soundtracks for Top Gun andScarface. The album also features other Zappa alumni Jock Ellis (Trombone), Sal Marquez (Trumpet) and Tommy Mars (Keys), as well as AeB Bryne (Flute), Vince Denim (Sax), Chuck Manning (Sax), Joel Wackerman (Drums) and Joel Taylor (Drums).  Krieger shares, “I was hanging out with my buddy Arthur Barrow and we had some songs we had been fooling around with then we got some other friends involved.”

'The Ritual Begins At Sundown' is a ten-song instrumental record which was recorded at his own Horse Latitudes Studio in Los Angeles and features nine originals and one cover, the Frank Zappa song “Chunga’s Revenge.”  To understand where he is for the album now, you need to go right back to the beginning when he was on the exploding jazz scene.  Krieger explains, “When I wrote songs for The Doors, it was always the music first. I think you have to have some musical ability to really understand Jazz.  When I was young, I didn’t really understand it.  It took me a while. I was going to the clubs with John Densmore – before The Doors – to really get an appreciation of Jazz. We used to go see Wes Montgomery, Roland Kirk, Miles Davis, stuff like that. At first, I didn’t really get it, but after a while it sank in and I always loved it after that.”

The album really is a return to friends with his relationship with Barrow and Sal Marquez dating all the way back to his first solo album. “After The Doors I started becoming interested in Jazz and started hanging out with a guy called Sal Marquez,” he says. “So, we put this band together and that was the first Robby Krieger band and we played at the Whiskey A-Go-Go with Don Preston, Zappa’s keyboard player. Arthur Barrow who was a huge Zappa fan –  this was before he worked with Frank – he decided that, after graduating from North Texas State music school that he was gonna come out to LA and try to get into Frank’s band, which was pretty brash of him,” he laughs. “He started hanging out with Don and with Zappa, Don was in my band so we decided to put Arthur in charge of the mixing at the Whiskey for our shows, that’s when I first met him in the 70s.”

Krieger’s influence spans generations, from Alice Cooper, who when playing the Sunset Strip for the first time in the 70s, was taken under the wing of The Doors and said of Krieger, “I never heard a guitar player like this, he did things with the guitar that nobody’s ever done.”  William Duvall (Alice in Chains) has proclaimed that “Robby Krieger is one of my absolute heroes,” whilst John Garcia (Kyuss) got the opportunity to have Krieger guest on his album in 2015 and said “I will never forget that experience for the rest of my life, it truly made the song better, not to mention the entire record.” Other plaudits have come in from Ritchie Sambora who said “People do not know how good he is.”

Tracklisting: What Was That? / Slide Home / The Drift / Chunga's Revenge (Frank Zappa cover) / Hot Head / Yes, The River Knows / The Hitch / Dr Noir / Bianca's Dream / Screen Junkie

Label Review. 

2020 album. Also available on Deluxe CD & Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Undeniably one of the best voices of our generation, Grammy award-winning singing sensation Gregory Porter has made his eagerly-awaited return to the studio with his sixth studio album ‘All Rise’.

Following on from 2017’s ‘Nat King Cole & Me’ album, Porter’s forthcoming record marks a return to his beloved original songwriting – heart-on-sleeve lyrics imbued with everyday philosophy and real-life detail, set to a stirring mix of jazz, soul, blues, and gospel. First single, “Revival”, sets the tone, kicking off with Gregory’s signature hand-clapping. “Yes, you could say that I went big,” says Gregory about the track, which features a handpicked horn section and 10-member choir. He explains, “For me, it’s the message of walking into this life and having some fear and self-doubt, and the point where you grab onto something that you know is real, the silent and real things, the truth… Once you can wrap onto the truth then this fearlessness comes.”

Since his 2013 debut, ‘Liquid Spirit’, which won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Gregory hasn’t let down his legion of fans, whether collaborating with Disclosure on ‘Holding On’, releasing his dance hit ‘Liquid Spirit – Claptone Remix’ which became one of the most popular tracks in Ibiza, scoring another Grammy for ‘Take Me to the Alley’ (2016), or telling his life story through Cole’s songbook. Porter is still surprised by his runaway success, but he has a theory: “I was soothed by my voice as a child and I think that’s the same thing others get from it. I’m trying to heal myself with these songs.”

Tracklisting: Concorde / Dad Gone Thing / Revival / If Love Is Overrated / Faith In Love / Merchants of Paradise / Long List of Troubles / Mr. Holland / Modern Day Apprentice / Everything You Touch Is Gold / Phoenix / Merry Go Round / Real Truth (bonus track 1) / You Can Join My Band (bonus track 2) / Thank You