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In the history of Black American soul music many recording artists have been called “Legends” some deservedly and perhaps some not so deserving of this current over used accolade? I might be a tad biased here, perhaps? but in my book one James Howard McCelland a.k.a Jesse James has surely earned the right to be called a “Legend” this octogenarian performer has weathered many storms and shifts in musical trends and styles over the years but like the trouper that he is albeit in lower keys these days he still manages time and time again to come up with the goods! “Back On Top Again” is Jesse James latest production album, a project filled with recent and current recordings in a southern soul style that has likened in passing by several respected soul scribes to the Malaco Sound I’ll let the record buying public make their own minds up on that one, I’m sure veteran DJ Bob Jones won’t mind me using his quote below:

The album also features two of Jesse’s friend’s with Donnie McKisic providing the rapping and additional backing vocals on the upbeat “I Lost My Baby On Face Book” and Shirley Diamond who you may recall from Soul Junction’s recent 45 release “You Don’t Know Who You Sleeping With” (SJ1021) returning with another excellent Diamond & James duet “Another Love Lay Over” as a further foot note the featured song “I’d Be A Fool 2 Fool Around On You” is an excellent cover version of what was a previously unissued Harvey Scales song until Soul Junction released it as the flipside their thirteenth 45 single release way back in 2011.

Album Sleeve Notes:

At the dawn of the 1960’s a young aspiring soul singer from Richmond, California by the name of James H. McClelland was honing his performing skills in several local nightclubs. At one particular show the compere struggled to pronounce the young performer’s surname and to hide his embarrassment he hurriedly introduced him as ‘Jesse James’, which became Jesse’s Stage name to the present day.

Jesse’s big break came through his aunt who at that time just happened to be dating West Coast Blues and R&B Legend Jimmy McCracklin. The aunt suggested to McCracklin the he should take a listen to her talented nephew, suitably impressed McCracklin produced Jesse on a song he’d written “I Will Go” for the local Shirley label. The release is credited to Jesse James & The Royal Aces a bunch of local musicians that Jesse had grown up with which included Slyvester Stewart a.k.a Mr “Dance To The Music” himself Sly Stone” on guitar. “I Will Go” was quite a popular record locally and led to a further four Jesse James releases on Shirley culminating in Jesse’s most sought-after record the delightful “Are You Gonna Leave Me”in 1966. The following year Jesse recorded the minor hit “Believe In Me Baby” released by the local ‘Hit’ label before being picked up by 20th Century for national distribution. While signed to 20th Century Jesse recorded a self-titled album and three other 45 singles before leaving the label.

Following a solitary 45 release for the Uni Label in 1969 Jesse formed his own Production and Publishing company ‘South Richmond Music’ releasing 45’s on his own label logo’s Zea and Zay before returning to 20th Century for a second time during 1974, releasing two 45 singles of which the sublime “If You Want A Love Affair” reaching #92 in the Billboard R&B charts in 1975, a song that would later receive worldwide acclaimed and is now regarded as Jesse’s signature tune. Ron Carson had been the producer on the later 20th Century releases and it was he that placed one of Jesse’s songs “The Same Thing Happens” on the Happy Fox label’s blaxploitation album “Black Fist”.

Into the 1980’s Jesse leased some of his songs for release on the Atlanta Georgia, Midtown label, a solitary release on the Moonlite Hope Music label (a lead single for a proposed album that never materialised) followed before Jesse joined Max Kidd’s Washington based TTED label. The TTED imprint was to yield Jesse’s biggest hit record “I Can Do Bad By Myself” reaching #61 in the R&B Charts. Following TTED Jesse formed Gunsmoke records releasing “Love On The Side” in 1988, from there on Jesse has continued to regularly release numerous studio albums though the 90’s into the new millennium and on to the present day.

Now well into his seventh decade as a performer this most resilient and enduring performer, has never been one to let the grass grow under his feet. He still performs live shows and is actively writing, producing and recording fresh new material. Soul Junction have now gathered together some of Jesse’s most recent and new recordings to form this album project which is aptly titled “Back On Top Again” Ride on Jesse James!

Hailing from Toronto, the dynamic indie rock quintet, Good Kid, comprises lead vocalist Nick Frost, drummer Jon Kereliuk, bassist Michael Kozakov, and guitarists David Wood and Jacob Tsafatinos, who thrives as a vibrant community fueled by the boundless enthusiasm of its listeners. Their eclectic blend of J-rock, indie-rock and pop-punk resonates with high-energy riffs, catchy melodies and clever lyricism.

A jack-of-all-trades ensemble - musicians, programmers and storytellers, Good Kid has carved a unique path for their audience to follow suit. Good Kid's fanbase is not just passive listeners; they are a passionate community, actively contributing to the band's universe. Through platforms like Discord and Iwitch, as well as their strong social media presence, fans create art, animation, videos and covers, reflecting their profound connection to the music. The band's journey is marked by streaming successes with the release of "From the Start" on November 10th, 2023, hitting 1 million streams in just 24 hours, accumulating several million streams and counting. Their reach extends to leading YouTube and Iwitch accounts in the gaming space, aligning them with top content creators

and gamers. Their energetic performances have not only led to two-sold out headline US tours in 2022, but have included supporting sold-out UK and EU tours, as well as a nationwide run on Portugal the Man's Canada tour.

"Irish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, James Vincent McMorrow, returns to the fore with his seventh full-length album Wide open, horses, out June 14th, 2024.

Wide open, horses is a candid snapshot of everything that has brought James to this point. The album signifies a retaking of his own narrative, a freeing self-acceptance, and a rebuilding of both his sense of self and his connection to music. Singles “Stay Cool”, “Never Gone” and “Give up” offer a first taste of what fans can expect, leaning further into the introspective and sincere indie-folk sound of his earlier material, whilst incorporating elements of his more explorative later releases.

A unique and particularly special artist project, Wide open, horses was initially performed live having booked two nights at The National Concert Hall in Dublin, where he recorded a handful of lo-fi demos, practiced the material for a week, and then hit the stage prior to ever recording a single song. Phones weren’t allowed, but James recorded it to “see what worked and what didn’t work.”

James has beckoned listeners to open their minds and hearts since his emergence in 2010. Along the way, he gathered over 1 billion streams across an expansive catalog. Among many standouts, “Higher Love” went BPI Gold in the UK and ARIA platinum in Australia. His cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” soundtracked the trailer for Season Six of HBO’s Game of Thrones and generated over 130 million Spotify streams on its Live At Killkenny Arts Festival version. Toppling charts, 2016’s “We Move” notably debuted at #1 in Ireland. At the same time, he lent his voice to “Hype” from Drake’s multiplatinum blockbuster Views, “I’m In Love” from Kygo’s Cloud Nine, and “Run Away” from dvsn’s Morning After, among others. Meanwhile, he’s sold-out tours on multiple continents, even packing the world-famous Sydney Opera House twice."

"Marv Won is a Detroit musical alchemist – a street poet laureate entrenched in the battle rap scene, as well as a cinematic world class producer as capable of channeling Dr. Dre as Donald Goines. Marv breaks new ground with his first Mello Music Group album “I’m Fine, Thanks For Asking” - a soul-baring endeavor, that weaves tales of struggle and triumph, drawing inspiration from his storied life in the Motor City.

As one of the most esteemed battle rappers, Marv Won brings a lyrical ferocity to his unapologetically raw and heartfelt rhymes. This album collaboration with Mello Music Group marks a pivotal moment in his career, showcasing a seamless fusion of his word play and production. The album, featuring collaborations with Quelle Chris, Elzhi, Freeway, Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother and more, cements Marv Won's status in the rap game. Marv Won's storytelling transcends mere verses, painting vivid portraits of life in the D. Over ten self-produced tracks Marv showcases his ability behind the boards with tracks that blend epic orchestration and Joe Louis drums that hit like Tommy Hearns."

"Led by the legendary pianist and composer Chick Corea - 27-time Grammy winner and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master - The Elektric Band stormed onto the jazz scene in the mid-1980s, making an immediate and lasting impact on the genre. With their electrifying performances and innovative blend of jazz fusion, the group produced a series of albums that set the bar for excellence in contemporary jazz.

Featuring a core lineup of virtuosic musicians - John Patitucci on bass, Dave Weckl on drums, Eric Marienthal on saxophone and Frank Gambale on guitar - the group created a dynamic and electrifying sound that came to define the jazz fusion style. Their collective musicianship was on full display on each album, as they seamlessly blended complex compositions with captivating improvisations.

With each outing, the band explored new sonic territories, incorporating elements of funk, Latin and Afro music, and pop sensibilities. Their 5-album studio discography is a masterful tapestry of multi-layered music, showcasing their creativity, innovation, and musicianship."

"Nonesuch Records releases Rectangles and Circumstance, an album of ten songs co-written and performed by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion. The album follows their 2021 Grammy Award–winning Nonesuch debut, Narrow Sea, and their first record as a band, 2021’s Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part, with Shaw on vocals backed by Sō – Eric Cha-Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting. Grammy-winning engineer Jonathan Low (The National, Taylor Swift) co-produced with them on both Let the Soil… and Rectangles and Circumstance. Sō and Shaw’s upcoming performances will be announced soon.

Sliwinski says in the new album’s liner notes, “After a few years of touring Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part together, with a pandemic in between, we came to record our second album, Rectangles and Circumstance, as a road-tested band who knew each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies intimately.” He continues, “Most of the songs started with instrumental pieces or fragments of pieces from Jason or Eric.

“As both a songwriter and a classical composer, Caroline is accustomed to writing lyrics as well as setting them. Going over texts with her is like working on music: I collect a handful of poems and send them over to her, waiting to see if anything catches her interest, then I modify my search based on her feedback,” Sliwinski says. “For this album, Caroline, Eric, and I sourced a group of nineteenth-century poems that shaped its expressive mode and ended up using verses by Christina Rosetti, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, and William Blake … The lyrics on this album by members of the band contain wordplay that explores the same profound feelings explored by Blake and Dickinson.”

Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She has worked with a range of artists including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma, and she has contributed music to films and TV series including Fleishman Is in Trouble, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, and Beyoncé’s Homecoming. In addition to her albums with Sō, Nonesuch has released her two Grammy-winning albums Orange (2019) and Evergreen (2022), both of which feature Attacca Quartet. ‘Two-Step’, the first of Shaw’s songs with Ringdown, her duo with Danni Lee, to be released on Nonesuch is available now.

For twenty years and counting, Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the twenty-first century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (New Yorker). Their commitment to the creation and amplification of new work, and their extraordinary powers of perception and communication, have made them trusted partners for composers including David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Nathalie Joachim, Bryce Dessner, Dan Trueman, Kendall K. Williams, Angélica Negrón, Shodekeh Talifero, claire rousay, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Bora Yoon, Olivier Tarpaga, and many others. Sō has recorded more than twenty-five albums, including a performance of Steve Reich’s Mallet Quartet on the Nonesuch record WTC 9/11. Its members are the Edward T. Cone performers-in-residence at Princeton University. Sō Percussion’s educational and community work includes the Sō Laboratories concert series and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute, an intensive two-week chamber music seminar for percussionists and composers.
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Worst Case Scenario started out in 1994 with Justin Trosper and Brandt Sandeno from Unwound as another of the many bands they formed together. That summer was a little slow for Unwound’s hoped-for tour schedule so they decided to start another hardcore-influenced band while working day jobs. As they began practicing in the basement of the Olympia punk house “Lucky 7”, long time friend and roommate Chris Jordan jumped in as the vocalist. Sandeno soon recruited his college friend, Scott Larsen, that had recently moved from Minneapolis. They quickly wrote about an album’s worth of songs and recorded them with Tim Green at the Red House for a “demo tape” that Tobi Vail released on her tape label, Bumpidee. 1995 saw another Tim Green recording with 7-inch records on Lookout Records and Troubleman. This LP contains all of the forementioned material. In 1996 they recorded a full length record with “Seasick” Steve Wold in Olympia for Vermiform which resulted in the self-titled vinyl LP and The Complete Works of Worst Case Scenario CD collection a year later. WCS played a few random shows, mostly in Olympia, with friends’ touring bands from 1994-96 and set up a national tour for the summer of ’97. Shortly before the tour Jordan was injured in a random accident and then Larsen broke his wrist in a work accident, rendering the band unable to embark on the tour. To cap it off, the one sheet of paper that had all the venues’ contacts for the tour was destroyed in a laundry related incident and the band was unable to properly cancel the tour. Apropos to their name. They disbanded amicably later that year with members moving away from town and taking on more demanding tour and work schedules.

Color Vinyl Repress

The world moves faster than ever these days, and even in the digital age, things can always be counted on to go in cycles. Despite all of the advances in computer recording technology, home studios, and electronic instruments, there is a flourishing interest in analog recording techniques and in recreating the mood and sound of vintage soul records. With one foot in the past but their eyes firmly set on the future, El Michels Affair are among the leaders of a resurgent funk & soul movement from New York City that’s sweeping both the music community and the charts.

Led by saxophonist/organist Leon Michels and producer/engineer Jeff Silverman, El Michels Affair began as a loose collaboration of session musicians (including members of top-selling acts Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, the Budos Band, and Antibalas) that looked to blend some of the vibrant quality of soundtrack records with the recording aesthetic of early reggae, and the rawness of 60's rock--they called it 'Cinematic Soul.' This delicate balance was evident on their 2005 debut album Sounding Out the City, which earned critical acclaim and acted as the inaugural full-length release for Michels and Silverman’s burgeoning label Truth & Soul (also the moniker for the duo as a production team).

The buzz generated from the album and a series of moderately successful 7” vinyl singles from Truth & Soul led to an invitation by Toyota’s Scion division for El Michels Affair to accompany the rapper Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan for a promotional concert. As avid Wu-Tang fans, not only were the band leaders thrilled with the opportunity, but Michels found that the ‘Cinematic Soul’ sound was consistent with the moods of RZA’s gritty soundscapes on the classic Wu-Tang releases. The concert was such as success, El Michels Affair went oan to play several more concerts nationwide backing Raekwon and other members of the Clan, and the shows led to the recording of two smash 7” singles featuring instrumental reinterpretations of the Wu-Tang classiac songs “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Bring Da Ruckus.” The singles combined to sell an extraordinary amount of over 7,000 units worldwide, and their success led to a contract in 2007 with indie hip hop powerhouse Fat Beats Records to record an entire album of Wu-Tang Clan interpolations entitled Enter the 37th Chamber.

Since the contract was inked, a worldwide explosion of retro soul led by Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings has transformed the pop music landscape, and the Truth & Soul production duo have been in strong demand, recording with everyone from breakthrough Grammy-nominated artist Adele to punk rock innovator Iggy Pop. They’ve been commissioned for official remixes of Amy Winehouse and Dinah Washington (for the popular Verve Remixed series), and produced for Australian multi-platinum acts Jet and Gabriella Cilmi.

Despite the eclectic group of clients for the Truth & Soul production company, El Michels Affair continued to build an audience within the hip hop community. A track from Sounding out the City was sampled for Ghostface Killah’s 2007 track “Shakey Dog Lolita,” and a horn part written and performed by Michels (for Menahan Street Band) was famously lifted for Jay-Z’s smash single “Roc Boys.” Truth & Soul also worked in the studio on original productions with multi-platinum producer Just Blaze (T.I.’s “Live Your Life,” Jay-Z, Usher).

With their increasing presence behind the scenes in the industry, El Michels Affair looks to have their status as recording artists rise significantly in 2009. With the release of their finally-completed album Enter the 37th Chamber, they can finally step out of the shadows of the retro-soul trend and establish their status as one of the most exciting and versatile bands in modern recorded music.

Split Colour Heavyweight Vinyl Repress!

'2 Sim' is a phrase the references mobile phones with two sim cards to describe people of mixed heritage, dual nationality or multiple residence. After being called 2 Sim in conversation with a stranger while on a walk through Freetown (a recording of this moment features on the record) Duval began to explore what the 2 Sim experience is in contemporary West-Africa.

2 Sim EP was created from 2 months of field recordings and interviews with family, friends and peers in Freetown Sierra Leone. These site specific recordings are collaged with solo piano recordings and production recorded in Sierra Leone and the UK. The EP is accompanied by a short film/ music video of the same name which Duval shot and Directed whilst making the record.

2 Sim EP is the second release from Carrying Colour which follows on from 2017's 'Sen Am'"

Mitos & Ritos, the debut EP by the Ecuadorian group Cruzloma, consolidates in its six songs a spirit of promoting traditional rhythms in contemporary styles, a process of reinvention and self-discovery in homage to the indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian jungle and the riches of ceremonial music all in a mix featuring electronica, global bass and dembow. The hostile times humanity is going through have awoken a need to get back to our roots, reclaim ancestral knowledge, and question where the excessive exploitation of natural resources has led us. We have heeded that urgent call to care for everything that seems unlimited but which is increasingly scarce. And so we have looked to the past to understand our relationship with what surrounds us and establish a dialogue between the past, the present and the uncertain idea of the future. Applied to music, this has aroused the interest of artists and producers who use the rich folklore and traditions of Latin America to replicate that dialogue between what was and what will be. With this in mind, Mitos & Ritos ("Myths and Rites"), the debut EP by the Ecuadorian group Cruzloma, consolidates in its six songs a spirit of promoting traditional rhythms in contemporary styles, a process of reinvention and self-discovery in homage to the indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian jungle and the riches of ceremonial music, based around the bambuco style from Esmeraldas on the northern coast, and the bomba del chota and the san juanito from Imbabura province. On this EP there are also sacred prayers of the Shuar nation, called Ujaj and Anets, including ceremonies like the taking of ayahuasca and of the tzan tza, all in a mix featuring electronica, global bass and dembow. It is a journey into mysticism, the jungle and the dancefloor, reflecting a search for musical identity that is at once contemporary and futurist.

Rockpile was a short-lived yet highly influential quartet, composed of Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams. Though Rockpile played together throughout the 1970s, the original 1980 release of Seconds of Pleasure was the only time the band was able to capture their magic on tape. Meshing the sounds of pub rock, power pop and rockabilly all through a blossoming new wave lens, Rockpile were renowned for their blistering live performances, which were brought to national attention on tours supporting Blondie, Bad Company, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello. Seconds of Pleasure has stood the test of time and cemented Rockpile as a one-album-wonder, but what a wonder it is! Featuring classics like Lowe’s pop-perfect “When I Write the Book” and “Play That Fast Thing (One More Time)” and Rockpile’s sole Billboard hit “Teacher Teacher,” Seconds of Pleasure remains a classic that should be found on the turntable of every music collector. Yep Roc is proud to announce a long overdue vinyl reissue of Seconds of Pleasure, pressed on yellow color vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. The reissue was pressed at the state-of-the-art facilities of Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, North Carolina and the lacquer was cut by renowned mastering engineer Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Over four decades later, Seconds of Pleasure has brought years of enjoyment and now has never sounded better!

What Mom Jeans have proved themselves capable of in the past 2 years is nothing short of fantastic. Growing from ordinary college students to national touring artists in a matter of months, the indie rock quartet has been on a trajectory most bands could only dream of. The DIY touring route quickly had to fall by the wayside, as 200, sometimes 300, kids were showing up to house shows in basements across the country. Often, the band wouldn’t make it through more than a few songs before police had to come shut it down. Now, you can find them in venues of increasing size around the states, as one of the most sought after acts in their genre. On a constant stream of buzz, pressing after pressing of their debut hit “Best Buds” (2016) has sold out and the fans cannot get enough of the music they have been putting out. Music that takes influence from predecessors such as Modern Baseball and The Front Bottoms, but adds that new flavor that sets them into a league of their own, The Mom Jeans craze is just beginning.

Orebolo (or-RAY-beh-low) is an acoustic trio featuring Rick Mitarotonda (vocals, guitar), Peter Anspach (vocals, guitar), and Jeff Arevalo (upright bass). The band, comprised of members of the emergent indie rock group Goose, has built a faithful following nationwide, performing an eclectic mix of originals and covers. With their debut studio album, The Chateau, the trio finds comfort in exploring Goose's deep catalog acoustically - a feeling they hope to translate to those listening at home.

Kiyoshi Yamaya's "Japanese melody by PCM recording" series second work. A crossover sound picture scroll created by the genius Kiyoshi Yamaya on the theme of Kyoto, featuring Toshiko Yonekawa (1st), who later became a Living National Treasure."

A1. Koto / B1. Kyo gion warabeuta

'Monumental work that captures the transformation of Japanese jazz', Variation is a buzzing free jazz juggernaut that effortlessly bridges the gap between chaos and cool. First released in 1969, a year considered as the absolute pinnacle of free jazz in the nation (after which many artists also began to incorporate a national flair into their music), Masahiko Togashi was but one of a few composers to achieve widespread recognition for his craft at the time. This collab with Hiroshi Suzuki hears cuts like 'Suzu No Uta' blissfully enthrall with gossamer tuned percussion and trembling metal shakers, while ordered cacophonies like the closer 'Passion' describe the ups and downs of love through many a scalic decrescendo.

Guzzle the momentum. Slap the door behind you. Run faster. The feeling pure. The attention fried. Rush from left to right. Repetition. Doorbells ringing. Where do I stand? Organizational chaos is a theory that predicts the here, the now, the never before seen or known. My attention is as pure as it is fried. Thrilled to announce that Thrills In +41 welcomes us with sheer brilliance. Let's Purifry The Attention. Solidified action. Embrace the filter. You feel it? Kicks and incredulous rhythmic action. Stuttered chopped vocals. A dash of madness and you're there. Open the door. National discoveries are about to be found. Discovery 70D is a gateway to a new portal known as... Skipman. Pull it in. Acidic drops drop harder than acid drops when you drop it because it's hot right now in the midst of this after-summer delight. Long sentences stretch like honey clinging on to your buttered knife as you make yourself toast because we're all toasted and we wrote a poem called d'Ache together that one night. Ahhh, the beat goes on. It's basically a Visual Illusion. An ambient setting wraps up this rap. Imagine tender vocals summoning the night over the howls of dusty vinyls and the digital embodiment of contemporary music making machines. We are a music making machine.

3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by hip-hop trio De La Soul, and was released on March 3, 1989. It marked the first of three full-length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. It contains the singles, “Me Myself and I”, “The Magic Number,” “Buddy,” and “Eye Know”. The album title came from the Johnny Cash song “Five Feet High and Rising”. It is listed on both Rolling Stone’s 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums. When Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked #1. It was also listed on Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, “Me, Myself and I.” Their positivity meant many observers labeled them a “hippie” group, based on their declaration of the “D.A.I.S.Y. Age” (Da. Inner. Soul. Yall). Sampling artists as diverse as Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap). 3 Feet High & Rising was chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry for its cultural significance and general excellence.

This special boxset release of De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising includes twelve 7” custom singles pressed on splatter vinyl and housed in custom sleeves, housed in a box that includes a 7” pinup and a double-sided 7” slipmat, and is available first at record stores as part of RSD Black Friday. "

Nachdem The National den Soundcheck für ihren Auftritt in Vancouver am 5. Juni 2023 beendet hatten, spielte die Band einfach weiter. Etwas braute sich zusammen: Die prägnanten Gitarrenparts von Aaron und Bryce Dessner trafen auf den Signature-Drumbeat von Bryan Devendorf. Als der Bassist Scott Devendorf loslegte, fing Matt Berninger an, einige Zeilen zu singen, die schon seit ein paar Jahren in ihm reiften. " Smoke detector, smoke detector / All you need to do is protect her", intonierte er. Ihr Tontechniker ließ die Aufnahme laufen und plötzlich war es ein 12 Minuten-Jam. Sie wussten, dass sie etwas Besonderes hatten, und nahmen die Live-Aufnahme bald darauf in Aarons Studio mit. Sie haben ein paar Minuten gekürzt, aber ansonsten das beibehalten, was auf der Bühne in Vancouver passiert ist. Dieser Song, "Smoke Detector", ist der krönende Abschluss von "Laugh Track", die überraschende zweite Hälfte eines Doppelalbums, das im April mit "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" begann. Es erwies sich als das letzte Kapitel eines Werks, das ansonsten neben dem Schwesteralbum geschrieben wurde - der Schlussakt einer Katharsis, die zeigt, was The National in den letzten drei Jahren durchgemacht haben. Vor zwei Jahren war die "Smoke Detector"-Zeile einer der wenigen Fetzen, die Matt während einer lähmenden Depression schreiben konnte und das zu einer Zeit, in der sich die Band fragte, ob sie jemals wieder ein Album machen würde. Nach der Pandemie belebte ihr neuer Glaube aneinander die kreativen Fähigkeiten wieder. "Weird Goodbyes", das bereits im August 2022 erschien, war ihr erster Durchbruch und der erste Vorgeschmack auf diese neue Ära. "Wir haben es wirklich schnell veröffentlicht, weil es wie ein Baby war, das in der Dunkelheit geboren wurde, oder so", lacht Matt. "Wir mussten es den Menschen zeigen". Aber als sie schließlich mit diesem umfangreichen Werk vorankamen, entschieden sie sich, "Weird Goodbyes" nicht auf das Frankenstein-Album zu nehmen. "Es fühlte sich an, als ob die Geschichte bereits erzählt worden wäre. Es war eine eigene Sache", sagt Aaron. "Aber es fühlte sich auch so an, als hätte es einen Bezug zu dem, was wir taten. Das war ein Teil der Logik für die Aufnahme einer weiteren Platte - wir wollten "Weird Goodbyes" ein eigenes Zuhause geben." "Laugh Track" ist das vielleicht musikalisch bedingungsloseste Album, welches die Band seit Jahren gemacht hat. Es ist aufmüpfig und dennoch leichtfüßig, doch es enthält ebenso viel seltene, ungebremste Schönheit wie Trostlosigkeit. Thematisch gibt es keine absichtliche Trennung zwischen "Frankenstein" und "Laugh Track". Während Matt auf "Frankenstein" eher auf der Suche nach einem Zufluchtsort war, hat er hier eine neue, klare Sicht auf das, was zählt. Sein dringendes Bedürfnis nach Intimität wird durch eine immer größere Angst vor der Unwirklichkeit des modernen Lebens noch verstärkt. Die Charaktere auf diesem Album (keine Vornamen, abgesehen von einer Tourmanagerin namens Alice - nur "ich" und "du") decken einander, träumen füreinander und helfen, den Schein zu wahren - und lösen damit das Versprechen von der gegenseitigen Fürsorge ein, das Matt auf dem Frankenstein-Schlusslied "Send for Me" gegeben hat. Wenn "Frankenstein" ein Zeichen für die Wiederherstellung des Vertrauens zwischen den einzelnen Bandelementen war, so ist das lebendige und neugierige "Laugh Track" das selbstbewusste Produkt dieses Prozesses und eine Absichtserklärung für jetzt und die Zukunft.

"Tools of Oppression / Rule by Deception" ist das neue Album von The Hope Conspiracy. Das Album wurde von Kurt Ballou und Zach Weeks in den God City Studios produziert. Das Artwork für die Veröffentlichung stammt von dem gefeierten Künstler Alexander Heir (Death/Traitors).

Dies ist wahre akustische Gewalt, die sich gegen politische Spaltung, wirtschaftliche Manipulation, Kriegsgewinnlerei, Medienpropaganda und andere abscheuliche Formen globaler Unterdrückung richtet. Luftschutzsirenen heulen auf, während die ahnungsvollen "Those Who Gave Us Yesterday" und "The Prophets and Doom" wie brennende Schrapnells explodieren. Der Höllenritt geht weiter mit "A Struggle For Power" und "Live In Fear", zwei bösartigen Blasts, die vor Bosheit und Verachtung nur so strotzen. "Shock By Shock" und "Of A Dying Nation" leiten die doomig-düstere Schwere ein
und drosseln das Tempo auf ein mittelschnelles Sperrfeuer. "Confusion/Chaos/Misery" zieht das Tempo an und geht mit verbrannter Erde auf die soziopolitischen Alpträume los, die uns alle umgarnen, während "Broken Vessels" die Opioid-Krise und die Sucht als Ganzes thematisiert. Dies führt zu "The West Is Dead", einer dystopischen Hardcore-Hymne mit vielen Hooks, und dem epischen Schlussstück "The Specter Looms"; ein unheilvoller Soundtrack zum stetigen Niedergang unserer modernen Zeit.Keine Frage, The Hope Conspiracy ist zurück, um eine kalte, harte Aussage über die Existenz in der Endzeit zu treffen.