Music Releases 01-20-23
One amp. One mic. One person. Countless hooks. Thats theDazy formula. Since first releasing the single "Bright Lightsb/w Accelerate" in August 2020, Dazy mastermind JamesGoodson has been writing, recording, and releasing newmusic like a man on the hunt to find the best pop hook, andhe wont stop until hes put all of them into his songs. Showcasing a unique set of influences, Dazys sound marriesthumping drum machine beats, blasts of feeding back guitar,and sugar-sweet hooks into something that sounds like Godflesh covering Oasisor maybe the other way around. Withlean songwriting that recalls Teenage Fanclub but a home-recorded production style better suited for Big Black, Goodsonbuilds a constant churn of abrasive, consuming noise andthen makes it catchier than anyone else would ever dare to.
Dazy released two EPs, Revolving Door and The CrowdedMind, in 2021, the latter of which landed on Stereogums 25Great EPs From 2021 list. Ever-prolific, all of those songsand more appeared on Dazys August 2021 collection, MAXIMUMBLASTSUPERLOUD: The First 24 Songs (ConvulseRecords), which was also included on multiple year-end listssuch as Pastes 50 Best Albums of 2021 and 40 Best RockAlbums of 2021, and The Alternatives 50 Top Records of2021in addition to garnering praise from Stereogum (...sticky, fuzzy, overwhelmingly catchy power-pop, and its gothooks for days), Bandcamp Daily (New & Nota-ble), andMAXIMUMROCKNROLL (Absolutely ridiculous 90s collegerock hook-laden pop), among others.
Disclaimer, Seethers debut breakthrough album features the singles Gasoline, Fine Again and Driven Under. To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, the album has been completely remastered and expanded. This new Deluxe Vinyl will span 3 12 LPs and feature a host of bonus content including an entire live show from the era as well as a rare B-side cover of Nirvanas Something In The Way. The package will also include exclusive liner notes from acclaimed rock journalist Katherine Turman.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Live At The Star Club Hamburg [RSD Essential Indie Colorway White LP]
Vinyl: $37.99 Buy
Praised as one of the greatest records of all time, this newly remastered, 180-gram edition includes bonus material and a gatefold jacket.
A remastered classic from the quintessential American girl group of the 1960s. Features the original European cover artwork.
Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band
Different Strokes For Different Folks [RSD Essential Red LP]
Vinyl: $30.99 Buy
Masters Of Reality
Masters Of Reality [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Translucent Blue LP]
Vinyl: $29.99 Buy
One can't speak of California's famed desert rock movement without mentioning the visionary producer/musician Chris Goss. The so-called Godfather of the Joshua Tree-centered scene, Goss has produced famed and acclaimed albums by groups like Queens Of The Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Kyuss, Screaming Trees, and numerous others. Before he was known as a renowned producer though, he was the singer/guitaristand only consistent member of one of the most influential-yet-forgotten hard rock groups of all time: Masters of Reality. Masters Of Reality (Whose name was appropriately taken from a Black Sabbath song) had the distinction of being the only group signed to two different hip-hop labels of historical note: Def Jam and Delicious Vinyl. Originally label mates with Public Enemy and Slayer, Masters Of Reality's self-titled debut album was released by Def American in 1988. Two years later, Delicious Vinyl founders Matt Dike and Mike Ross, huge Masters fans, bought the band's contract from Rick Rubin and re-released the album with new cover artwork to renewed acclaim and commercial success. So many years later, Masters Of Reality's debut still feels like a hard-hitting breath of fresh air in a modern landscape of over-produced rock music
Nathaniel Merriweather Presents...Lovage
Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Turquoise 2LP] [Repress]
Vinyl: $32.99 Buy
Lovage is defined as an herb that is said to be a benefit for relieving abdominal pains due to gastrointestinal gasalso touted to reduce flatulence when consumed as a tea. But when placed in the able hands of sonic mastermind Dan The Automator Nakamura, recording under the guise of musical lothario Nathaniel Merriweather, the result is a concept album of music to make love to your old lady by. With the help of collaborators such as Mike Patton (vocals), Jennifer Charles (vocals) and Kid Koala (turntables), Merriweather serves as your personal guide to the sensual side of life, painting a satirical, darkly funny portrait of love and sex with left-field hip-hop and instrumentals as only he can do.
Originally released in 2009, this "25 Years of Twiztid" version of W.I.C.K.E.D. is the 2nd in a series of 5 albums to be re-released in celebration of Twiztid's 25 years as a band. Limited Edition 2 LP pressed on black and red vinyl in a gatefold jacket.
Two decades into delivering social commentary via their blistering brand of punk rock, Rise Against's most recent album Nowhere Generation may in fact be their most poignant, as it sums up the struggles, injustices, and collective action of a whole generation. Their most recent single Last Man Standing is smooth in its most sensitive moments and roaring like a tempest at its peak. Brimming with punk rock spirit, it begs that we answer who and what is left if we continue on the current path.
40th Anniversary Edition of the acclaimed third B-52's album in Green/Black splatter vinyl. Includes "Legal Tender" and "Whammy Kiss."
"Indie Exclusive * Released in 1973, this record was the first Al Wilson LP for the Rocky Road label. The hit title track Show and Tell shot to the top of the US pop charts, and also reached top ten in the R&B charts. Due to some poor business decisions by his label, Wilson never truly got the credit he deserved as a contending hitmaker, but Hidle Brown Barnums arrangements here come packed with gritty horns, lustrous strings and sultry soul vocals. These 11 sides are certainly worth collecting for any true fan of mid-70s soul music. Pressed for the first time in five decades and reissued on heavyweight white virgin vinyl."
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Cloud Nothings' seminal album, Attack On Memory, the band has announced a very special limited edition vinyl pressing. Its housed in a foil jacket with all new colorized artwork, is pressed on Sky Blue vinyl, and includes two bonus flexi 7"s with two never-before-released tracks, "You Will Turn" and "Jambalaya" from the original sessions at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio. In 2009, Clevelands Dylan Baldi began writing and recording lo-fi power-pop songs in his parents basement, dubbing the project Cloud Nothings. His music quickly started making the Internet rounds, and fans and critics alike took note of his pithy songcraft, infectiously catchy melodies, and youthful enthusiasm. After the release of 2011's Cloud Nothings, Baldi toured widely and put a great deal of focus on his live show, a detail that heavily shapes the music of his follow-up album, Attack On Memory. After playing the same sets nightly for months on end, Baldi saw the rigidity of his early work, and he wanted to create arrangements that would allow for more improvisation and variability when played on the road. To accomplish this desired malleability, the entire band decamped to Chicago--where the album was recorded with Steve Albini. The songs move along fluidly, and Baldi sounds assured as he brings his vocals up in the mix, allowing himself to hold out long notes and put some grain into his voice. For all of early Cloud Nothings' fun and fervor, Baldi admits that it never sounded like most of the music he listens to. With Attack On Memory, he wanted to remedy this anomaly, and in setting out to do so, Baldi and co. created an album that showed vast growth for a very young band.
David Byrne is a modern renaissance man - and thats not just a clich. From the heady days as co-founder of the celebrated art new-wave group Talking Heads (1976-88) through his own constantly evolving and innovative solo music career, he has pursued his muse on many different artistic fronts. Hes been the driving force behind a body of work that has been both intellectually daring and commercially successful...and he shows no signs of slowing down decades later. This show, captured on November 28, 2001, came on the heels of his hit single, Like Humans Do and the release of the album Look Into The Eyeball, which was another typically eclectic musical stew reflecting a variety of styles and influences, from Philly soul to a D.C. Go-Go inspired groove and his first-ever Spanish composition, Desconocido Soy. Critics at the time called it his best work in years, and his performance on the Austin City Limits stage shows why. Joined by Austins own eclectic tango ensemble Tosca, Byrne takes us down many different musical roads in his ACL debut. Of course, besides the brilliant songwriter and performer that he is, hes also an accomplished performance artist, photographer, web journalist, film writer / director, composer of motion picture soundtracks, and founder of his own world music label, Luaka Bop Records. He also has a collection of Grammys, Oscars and Golden Globes on his mantel. His music may be complex and poetic, but he makes no bones about his ultimate intent: I want to move people to dance and cry at the same time. - Terry Lickona (Producer Austin City Limits)
For the past couple of years Ghost Woman has been Evan Uschenko's outlet for his interest in songwriting and recording, which began after years spentplaying as a sideman in various Canadian indie ensembles, most notably in Michael Raults band, a group that displays a similar affinity for perfectlydialed, partially yesteryear-looking guitar pop. Following 2022's self-titled debut which was released to great critical acclaim, the new album Anne, If presents a slightly more expansive vision of what Ghost Woman can offer. Indie Exclusive Recycled Random Color LP.
John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies
Halloween Ends (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Pumpkin Orange LP]
Vinyl: $25.98 Buy
After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its epic,terrifying conclusion as Laurie Strode faces off for the last time against the embodimentof evil, Michael Myers, in a final confrontation unlike any captured on-screen before, onewhere only one of them will survive.
AsHalloween Endsmarks the last chapter of theDavid Gordon Green trilogy, so it ushersthe essential return of original director and composerJohn Carpenter to score the iconically hair-raising soundtrack alongsideCody Carpenter andDaniel Davies.
Recorded in its entirety at Carpenters home studio and Davies studio, the unmistakablemix of software synths, vintage analogue equipment, and live instrumentation once againprovides the signature sound of Halloween, one of the most distinctive aspects of themovie franchise to date.
The soundtrack was tracked scene by scene but the album itself plays like a standalonepiece of music. The general atmosphere is one of dread yet the record includes somegroove laden moments reminiscent of Escape From New York or some of Carpentersother more dance-able scores. Exquisite and delicate ambient pieces weave their waybetween some of the scores more arresting moments and yet maintain a subtle popsensibility. The overall achievement showcases three master musicians, one of whominvented the entire horror-synth genre, crafting an evocative, playful and deeply listenablescore that honors a legacy and expands on the decades of work that have been leading tothis triumphant climax.