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X – ALPHABETLAND�- Fat Possum�Records
ALPHABETLAND is the eighth studio album by American punk rock band X. Released digitally in April 2020, it is their first studio release in 27 years and the first with their original line-up in the past 35 years. The release has received positive reviews from critics. Alphabetland was recorded across several sessions in 2019 and 2020 with producer Rob Schnapf, who has previously worked with Elliott Smith, Beck, and Joyce Manor.�Even though these songs date from a time when the band’s only songwriters were vocalist Exene Cervenka and Doe, all tracks are credited to all four members of X and the recording sessions coincided with the individual musicians improving their relationships with one another.
The Naked And Famous – Recover�-�Somewhat Damaged LTD
The Naked And Famous‘ album reasserts the group as one of modern indie-pop’s most exciting sonic trailblazers, taking them to emotionally inspired depths, while maintaining the fresh effervescence that has led to over 600 million collective streams to date. While they have sonically mastered the art of dreamy, hook-laden synth-pop, The Naked and Famous have stuck to their guns as far as intimate storytelling. Recover is largely an autobiographical record rooted in a powerful sentiment of survival, and of the very human process of self-preservation – of saving, choosing and celebrating oneself in a world constantly trying to put us down.
Neck Deep – All Distortions Are Intentional – Hopeless�Records
With this album Neck Deep wants to continue carving out their own unique space within rock, punk, and alternative music. They have no delusions of “saving rock” or being the biggest rock band out there. They just want to remain Neck Deep and be an even bigger, better Neck Deep than before. They understand their roots are in pop punk, but want to expand on their sound in their own way, taking inspiration from artists like The Beatles and Nirvana who did things their own way and still were able to be massive.
PJ Harvey – Dry + Dry Demos – Island
Dry is PJ Harvey�s stark, seminal 1992 debut album … a fully-formed call-to-arms! Features “Dress” and “Sheela-Na-Gig”. Back in print, the LP is pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Dry Demos�LP pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Full color outer sleeve, with printed inner sleeves. Includes three previously unreleased photos.
Also Available:�Peaky Blinders (Original Music From The TV Series) which features PJ Harvey’s haunting rendition of Red Right Hand.
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UPCOMING RELEASES
Paul McCartney – Flaming Pie: Archive Collection – Capitol
As the thirteenth release in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, this numbered, limited seven-disc (5CD/2DVD) Deluxe Edition Box Set�is comprised of the original album remastered at Abbey Road Studios, 32 bonus audio tracks including unheard home recordings and demos, alternative studio recordings, rough mixes and B-sides including selections from Oobu Joobu parts 1-6, Flaming Pie At The Mill CD (Paul�s hour-long tour of his studio), video content including the In The World Tonight documentary, original music videos, EPKs, interviews, performances and behind-the-scenes material, a 128-page book containing previously unpublished images by Linda McCartney, expanded album artwork from the archives and the story behind the album written by Chris Heath � including track-by-track information, recipes and new interviews with Paul, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Steve Miller and key album personnel, studio notes, handwritten lyrics, the 1997 Flaming Pie issue of Club Sandwich, the official newspaper of the Paul McCartney Fan club, downloadable 24bit 96kHz HD audio, and more.
Flaming Pie�is also�available on 180g black vinyl 2LP, 3LP, 2CD, Collector’s Edition formats.
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Thelonious Monk – Palo Alto – Impulse Records
After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1968, racial tensions across the country rose. Palo Alto, a largely white college town in Cali, wasn’t immune. Danny Scher, a junior at the high school, had a dream to have Thelonious Monk perform and help bring about racial unity the community while raising funds for the International Committee. After many twists and turns, the triumphantly successful concert eventually happened. Now available on CD; Softpak w/ booklet & foldable poster.
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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our�New Releases�charts by week section.
The Chicks – Gaslighter�- Columbia Records
Gaslighter is the brilliant 2020 album from The Chicks, and is the fifth studio album to be released by the band. It is The Chick’s first new album since 2006’s Taking The Long Way, which won five Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Gaslighter is produced by Jack Antonoff with The Chicks. Superstars, renegades, innovators, heroes, villains, and moms, The Chicks have grown from a band into a cultural phenomenon. Since the release of their debut album, Wide Open Spaces in 1998, The Chicks’ music has stirred emotions in fans across the world, making them one of the biggest and most influential bands of our time.
Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters�-�Epic
Fetch The Bolt Cutters is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple. It is Apple’s first release since The Idler Wheel… in 2012. The album was recorded from 2015 to 2020, largely at Apple’s home in Venice Beach. It was produced and performed by Apple alongside Amy Aileen Wood, Sebastian Steinberg and Dav�d Garza; recording consisted of long, often-improvised takes with unconventional percussive sounds. Rooted in experimentation, the highly percussive album resists genre categorization. While conventional instruments, such as pianos and drum sets, do appear, the album also features prominent use of non-musical found objects as percussion. Apple described the result as “percussion orchestras”. These industrial-like rhythms are contrasted against traditional melodies, and the upbeat songs often subvert traditional pop structures.
The Texas Gentlemen – Floor It!!! – New West Records
Pop on Floor It!!!, the new and second full-length effort from The Texas Gentlemen, and prepare your eardrums to be hit with everything from woozy, brass-fueled Dixieland-style jazz (�Veal Cutlass�), to slinky, chicken-scratch country funk (�Bare Maximum�) to lushly orchestrated pop-soul balladry (�Ain�t Nothin� New�)�and that�s all in just the first 10 minutes of play time.�
While the Gentlemen�s sound is clearly steeped in the classic roots, rock and pop music of the �60s and �70s, there�s a dreamy (the lilting �Sing Me to Sleep�), spacey (�Skyway Streetcar�) and occasionally progressive (�Dark at the End of the Tunnel�) element to what they do that seems to detach the music from belonging to any particular place and time. Add in elements of funk, soul, country, r&b, southern rock, gospel and essentially any other style that catches their musically omnivorous ears; an expansive and detailed approach to arrangement that sees the songs adorned with all manner of horns, strings and heavenly background vocals (�Hard Road�) and you have a collection of tunes that is more than just a mere album. Rather, Floor It!!! is a rich and righteous ride.�INCLUDES�FULL BOARD GAME WITH GAME PIECES!!!
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Ellie Goulding – Brightest Blue – Interscope Records
Since the release of her debut album LIGHTS in 2010, multi-platinum, singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding�s incredible career to date has seen her receive two GRAMMY Award nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, two BRIT Awards, sales of 17 million albums and over 128 million singles, and 20 billion streams worldwide. She holds Billboard�s Hot 100 record for the most entries on the chart this century by a British female vocalist, has had 8 Top 40 radio hits, has over 50 million followers on social media, has performed for audiences over one million and graced the stage at every major U.S. festival including Coachella and Lollapalooza. She has performed by invitation for President Obama, the Royal Family and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, is a UN Global Environmental Ambassador, and is a noted campaigner and philanthropist speaking regularly on the climate emergency. Brightest Blue is Ellie�s highly anticipated 4th studio album release – split into two sides to showcase both her artistic depth and commercial success – lead by Platinum singles �Close To Me� and �Hate Me�. The full record was executive produced by Ellie Goulding and Joe Kearns with additional writing and production from Tobias Jesso Jr., Starsmith, ILYA, serpentwithfeet, Patrick Wimberly (of Chairlift) and Jim Eliot.
S. G. Goodman – Old Time Feeling – Verve Forecast
S. G. Goodman was raised in Western Kentucky on the Mississippi River Delta in a strict church going family of row crop farmers. Her debut solo album, Old Time Feeling,�co-produced with fellow Kentuckian Jim James, showcases S.G.’s otherworldly voice, which soars above a sonic blend of gritty guitars, bottomland grooves and plaintive balladry.”
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Massive Wagons – House Of Noise – Earache Records
The fifth album from the British rockers. The follow-up to Full Nelson features 12 new tracks. The members of Massive Wagons say: “Times are hard and scary right now. We want to do all we know how to do – that’s bring music to people. Everyone needs to look after each other because we are all In It Together. We hope our music sends positive vibes to everyone affected by the situation, and see you on the road when normality is restored.”
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The Lawrence Arms – Skeleton Coast – Epitaph
Chicago bred trio The Lawrence Arms�release Skeleton Coast, their first album in six years.�Skeleton Coast was recorded 30 miles east of El Paso, TX at Sonic Ranch Studios with longtime producer Matt Allison. It was kind of like album camp in the sense that we were in this very remote setting for two weeks and really focusing on making the record. That was a very different experience for us because we�ve always made our records in Chicago which is home and all the things about home are in the way,� says vocalist and guitarist Chris McCaughan.�The album contains the elements of the band�s sound that fans have come to love for the past two decades but recontextualizes them in a way that somehow sounds perfectly aligned with this strange time in our collective history. Although it was written and recorded before the Coronavirus upended the world, the band�s seventh studio album sounds eerily prescient as it imagines an apocalyptic future where coyotes croon and wolf packs roam free. �For a band who has been around as long as us, this is about as urgent of a record as we could make,� vocalist and bassist Brendan Kelly explains. �It may be kind of dark but it�s really about searching for light in the darkness and finding it, as small as those moments may seem. That�s sort of where we�re at: Collecting the scraps of things that could make for a bearable existence in dark times.�
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Jimmy Heath – Love Letter – Verve
Love Letter is the legendary saxophonist Jimmy Heath’s stunningly elegant last testament, a take on seminal ballads. Includes songs written by Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Dorham in addition to original material. Partially recorded in New York in the days preceding his 93rd birthday, Jimmy presided over a brilliant cast of colleagues and friends. The result is pure Heath: polished, inventive, candid, beautiful. Guest artists include Wynton Marsalis, Gregory Porter, and more.
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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our�New Releases�charts by week section.
