Search:last front

Das erste neue Junior Boys Album seit "Big Black Coat" aus 2016 und Junior Boys feiern ihr 20-jähriges Bestehen diesen Herbst/Winter!

Ein sehr ruhiges Album in lauten Zeiten - am 28. Oktober 2022 veröffentlicht das kanadische Duo Junior Boys sein sechstes Album 'Waiting Game' bei City Slang. Sechs Jahre sind seit ihrem letzten Album, "Big Black Coat" von 2016, vergangen. Waiting Game" zeigt die Produzenten Jeremy Greenspan und Matt Didemus in einer zärtlichen und kontemplativen Stimmung; eine Abwechslung zu ihren druckvollen, R&B-lastigen Dance-Melodien. Die zusätzlichen Musiker des Albums sind ebenfalls Kanadier: Caribou-Kollaborateur Colin Fisher spielt durchgehend Saxophon und Bonjay-Frontfrau Alanna Stuart singt neben Greenspan im Song "Yes 2". Damit haben die Junior Boys ein Album geschaffen, das die stille Schönheit der Welt widerspiegelt - vorausgesetzt, man ist bereit, wirklich zuzuhören.

The Others (Lustmord Deconstructed) is a celebration of the fearless attitude of being different and the expression of unique ideas which have never existed before. Over 13 years after the release of O T H E R , Pelagic Records has gathered 16 bands and solo artists to record their own unique takes on tracks from the Other-sessions. The result is an album that is more than a compilation, and more than the sum of its parts; covering a wide range of musical niches and directions, but sharing the same underlying mood and vibe defined by Lustmord's timeless soundscapes: from the ambient solo performances provided by IHSAHN, ENSLAVED or JONAS RENKSE to the subdued voice of ZOLA JESUS woven into Lustmord's sombre fabric to the industrial carnage that is GODFLESH's version of `Ashen'. LUSTMORD is the artistic moniker of Brian Williams. Born in North Wales, he started his musical career in 1980 and soon became a pioneer in the early industrial music scene in the UK. He was a former member of SPK during arguably their most crucial era, and went on to work with THROBBING GRISTLE members Chris & Cosey as well as appearing on early albums by CURRENT 93, NURSE WITH WOUND and others. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1993, Williams worked on dozens of motion picture soundtracks including The Crow, Underworld and Paul Schrader's First Reformed. Additionally he created several video game soundtracks, television scores and solo albums, as well as collaborating with artists as varied as THE MELVINS, CLOCK DVA, JARBOE, John Balance of COIL, Paul Haslinger (TANGERINE DREAM), PUSCIFER, Wes Borland and more, including Grammy Award-winners TOOL on their much acclaimed effort Fear Inoculum. To this day, Lustmord is actively recording and releasing music, his latest release being the collaborative album Alter with Karin Park of A°RABROT, and he is considered to be the founding father of the dark ambient music genre. The original O T H E R was released by independent record label Hydra Head Records, founded by ISIS frontman Aaron Turner and former home of bands such as CONVERGE, PELICAN, JESU, SUN O))) or BORIS. As one journalist put it at the time, O T H E R is a "grim example of a consummate artist who is working frmly within the parameters that he has laid out for himself over the years." This album shows Lustmord at his most characteristic, and the icy, ominous guitar playing of Jones, Turner and Ozborne resonates perfectly within the deep soundscapes that make up this frightening yet inspiring journey. What demonstrates the profound influence of Lustmord on this contemporary music underground showcased here is that artists from disparate ends of the sonic spectrum all feel inspired to explore the essence of his idiosyncratic sounds within their own realm: experimental electronica icons ULVER excel on a stunning, hazy rendition of `Godeater', while Japanese post-rock act MONO deliver a crushing version of `Er Eb Os', and THE OCEAN take us on a cathartically heavy mindtrip back to our `Primal State of Being'. In the end, each of these 16 artists delivers an interpretation that pays the deepest respect to this pivotal artist, while also standing out as a new track of its own.

Freedom – the debut album from Leah Weller – a modern soul soundtrack to her head spinning twenties turning into empowered, contented thirties. Completed last year, Weller’s first complete album follows a decade-long career on catwalks, in front of cameras and making dancefloors shake, constantly on the move and with music as a constant companion. Finding the escape route out of anxiety-inducing mix-and-match career moves with the stability of love, the slowdown of repeated lockdowns and, finally, motherhood, Weller’s race is now to be run at her own pace with a collection of songs set perfectly to her flow.



Gathering nine, finely-tailored songs together with a drum beat of support from producer and collaborator, Steve Craddock, the collection speaks, much rather than screams, of finding the sweet spot between the need for hope, however naïve, and the truths that only experience can spell out.

Freedom – the debut album from Leah Weller – a modern soul soundtrack to her head spinning twenties turning into empowered, contented thirties. Completed last year, Weller’s first complete album follows a decade-long career on catwalks, in front of cameras and making dancefloors shake, constantly on the move and with music as a constant companion. Finding the escape route out of anxiety-inducing mix-and-match career moves with the stability of love, the slowdown of repeated lockdowns and, finally, motherhood, Weller’s race is now to be run at her own pace with a collection of songs set perfectly to her flow.



Gathering nine, finely-tailored songs together with a drum beat of support from producer and collaborator, Steve Craddock, the collection speaks, much rather than screams, of finding the sweet spot between the need for hope, however naïve, and the truths that only experience can spell out.

Hand Stamped, Hand numbered, Limited press, with insert.

An oddly familiar/familiarly odd entity floating about the relatively cohesive surface of contemporary electronic music, Belgium-via-Italy based duo Front De Cadeau has been knocking genres askew and blowing overused terminologies out of the water with unrelenting panache over the past decade. Championing a sound unmoored by vanishing trends and cross-pollinating approaches, F2C punch back in on Antinote with their anticipated debut album, “We Slowly Riot”, an 8-track mishmash of tunes previously released and not.

Bastardizing tried-and-tested rave tropes by slowing the tempo down to barely recognizable shapes and contours, Hugo Sanchez and Maurizio Ferrara dish out a new high in their ever expanding discography. Free-falling down the K-hole with no parachute on, “La Ketamine” burns slow but steady. A practically immersive dub filled with processed minutiae and vibrational drums out a mystic forest, it’s a helluva trippy post-industrial joint that unfolds, heady and empyreumatic to the bone. “We Slowly Rot” puts on offer a buggy script-like swing, adorned with F2C’s trademark blend of spoken word and jacuzzi-warm vibes, whereas “There is Something Wrong” steers us into further sizzling, syncopated groove territories through a fevered meshwork of sliced-and-diced vox samples, overheated machine talk and primitive percussions on a African Headcharge tip.

Draped in eerie, 8-bit-infused layers and Arabian Nights ambiences, “Slam is Slam” treats us to a spookily fun Oriental mix of hot-tempered darbukkahs and FX-soaked riffs. The outrageously sensual “Ouvre Ta Bouche” is a tactile invitation to get down in some dark alcove of sorts and more if you hit it off. A steely dub primed for post-party divagations, “Climate Change” slowly veers off into verbed-out industrial jazz as bars run by, while “Legal Illegal” cuts a path of acid-dipped dancehall from outer-space across the club. Last but not least, Jewish clarinets quietly move along waves of sedated bass on “Casa Gaza”, rounding it all off on a dreamy, cinematic note that serenely phases into a liquid-like roller over one solidly deeper-than-deep home stretch.

The first progressive girl group of the French Occitan language
pop scene bring you folk funk, sun-baked bossa, Coltrane jazz and
their own brand of punky ‘Dizco Rural’ against an untouched
French Balearic backdrop spanning the late 70s and 80s.
If even the most assiduous of European record collectors consider
the Occitan language music scene to be France’s best-kept secret
then it’s as fair to say that the incredible multifaceted recordings of
langue d’oc prog girl group Lei Chapacans have spent the last four
decades hiding in plain sight. In all fairness this overlooked
treasure chest of minority language excursions into folk funk,
Balearic, bossa, John Coltrane-penned jazz, baroque psych,
Palestinian poetry, comedic synth skits (and even the rawest form
of femme-fronted multilingual punky disco) has been stowed away
in inconspicuous photographic record sleeves, falsely evoking
something closer to contemporary C&W while oft-misplaced in
record shop cassette racks alongside ‘traditional’ spoken-word and
scholastic albums.
So, for the uninitiated, don’t be too hard on yourself. The fun starts
here. For those who are familiar with the rare and sought-after
one-off solo album by Occitan singer Miquela and have craved for
more, then you’ve come to exactly the right place. Lei Chapacans
(a name that roughly translates to The Vagabonds) is the all-girl
vocal group assembled by Miquela herself just two years after her
debut release, having toured the word and snubbed major label
record deal offers with a steadfast allegiance to the protection of
the Occitan language in which this album is primarily penned and
performed (minus a small amount of German and sarcastic
English in one rebellious instance).
For European collectors with a penchant for French savoir faire,
but have further yearnings for folkloric femme funk, then it’s time
to look towards the Occitan sunset where you will meet Lolo,
Miquela, Sophie, Irena and Denise.
These amazing, and undeniably culturally important recordings
might have taken some time to find a wider audience, but for
music lovers, crate diggers and vinyl vultures alike there are still a
lot of tasty morsels out there to be scavenged and devoured, ask
any self-respecting Chapacan and they’ll concur wholeheartedly.

Finnish Disco and Electronic Music from Private Pressings and Unreleased Tapes 1980–1991

Hot on the sold-out heels of the three previous Svart-issued early 80’s synth pop and underground electronic music compilations (Satan in Love, Dance For Your Life, Cold War On The Rocks comes the last part of the quadrilogy: Black Hole, that reaches the final frontier of collectable cult synth disco music: privately released and completely unreleased music from 40 years ago. Black Hole has been again compiled by Mikko Mattlar, whose encyclopedic knowledge in the field of Finnish electronic music produces 20 cuts of electro-cult has helped him dig up 20 cuts of rare groove from obscure regional compilation records, seven inches of which only a test pressing exists, demo tapes and privately financed singles. Stylistically the compilation moves from 1979 disco funk as performed by Peak Funktion on their unreleased record to homebrewed synth visions by late 80’s bedroom wizards. Interesting curiosities among the 20 tracks include the riveting dance number by Jarkko Väljä, who received some fame back in the day as a Michael Jackson impersonator, and released one 7” single, that has become an expensive rarity. Another thing you wouldn’t believe existed at all if it wasn’t included here is “Israel Is Real” by We, a short-lived gospel vocal quartet, accompanied here by a drum machine and a synthesizer, which makes for an unforgettable and surprisingly catchy four minute piece of underground gospel disco from 1983. The compilation Black Hole – Finnish Disco and Electronic Music From Private Pressings and Unreleased Tapes 1979-1991 will be released by Svart Records on double vinyl and CD on October 14th.

As this album represents a spiritual return to a foundational past, sonically this record is likewise about going back to our fundamentals and our roots; when Eon and I were two kids with guitars in a bedroom figuring out some songs. Our last album, Mass, featured so many parts. We recorded it in New Orleans at Preservation Hall with a thirteen-piece horn section, percussionists, strings, etc. For the most part, it’s tough to find any guitar on the record. So we decided to simplify and reconnect with what inspired us. We kept the ingredients limited, the palate simple. We went back to our beginnings and rediscovered the joy of just playing on an acoustic, and a bass through a small amp, with a vocal. We spent our days like we used to when we were younger. We hung out and talked about music. If it was sunny we went to the beach. We played some tennis. Then in the afternoon we might play through some ideas. If it sounded good in the front room of the house, we took it to the studio.

In 1973, a fast-talking hustler by the name of Sport played a huge part in the birth of Hip-Hop. Brought to life by Lightnin’ Rod a.k.a Jalal of The Last Poets and backed by music from Kool & The Gang, Buddy Miles, Billy Preston and more, ‘Hustlers' Convention’ is a concept album documenting the rise and fall of Sport, a street gambler who ends up in jail after a shoot-out with the police. His street tales of card games, throwing dice and chasing women influenced the Wu Tang Clan, Ice T, Public Enemy, Jungle Brothers and many more while also playing a key role in establishing rap as an accepted modern musical art form. A documentary about the album and its pivotal role in the evolution of hip hop is currently being made. The film features interviews with Chuck D, Melle Mel, KRS One, Fab 5 Freddy and more. This remastered vinyl edition is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and is packaged in a facsimile gatefold sleeve and also reproduces the illustrated inner booklet from original pressings. “this is a masterpiece of jailhouse blues and cinematic street rap... it deserves its growing reputation as a lost classic.” * * * * Uncut “a cornerstone in the development of what is now a part of global culture” Fab 5 Freddy “a verbal bible” Chuck D (Public Enemy)

Empathy is the codeword when it comes to The AM’s second solo EP: The ‘Sexworker’ EP. A short story through music and art, allowing you a moment to walk a mile in another seasoned professional’s shoes… Imagine life through her eyes, her thoughts, her feelings, her actions and motivations as her work takes her from flirty fun to a much more severe and fierce role as a vigilante, fighting for justice and retribution for women who’ve been abused and wronged. As the EP progresses, the further we’re plunged into this dark nocturnal world of carnal chaos, deceit and danger.

Sat in a not-so distant neon tomorrow, downtown Detroit, this is the vivid concept and narrative conjured by Detroit native, violinist-turned-techno artist The AM (Ann-Marie Teasley) Sliding into our collections since her debut tracks last year as one half of HLX-1, 2022 has been all about The AM solo releases; in March we had ‘Black Majik’ on Tresor. Now on Deeptrax ‘Sexworker’ is another revelation from the agenda-setting artist who’s crafted a completely immersive narrative that ranges from the playful electro beats of ‘Intercosmic Lap Dance’ to the runaway juggernaut ‘Black Galaxy’ (a collaboration with Scan 7's Track Masta Lou). Each track adding layers of tension and intrigue, cutting through the late night sleaze and exploitation with raw machine soul, ‘Sexworker’ is steeped in detail… But loaded with enough space for your imagination.

Fronted by a stark futuristic city artwork, ‘Sexworker’ takes place in The AM’s stomping ground but could just as easily happen anywhere in the world… Amsterdam, London and right now, our speakers. This bumps in an exciting yet timeless way. It’s AM 24/7 right now.

.

Acht neue Songs von Okkervil River Frontmann Will Sheff. Produziert von John Congleton (St. Vincent, The War On Drugs), Matt Linesch und Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers). Ein bemerkenswertes Album und Sheff’s Solodebüt.

Inspiriert von den Texten von King Crimson, Joni Mitchell oder Bill Fay sowie den Bergen, Wüsten und Seen Südkaliforniens, seiner neuen Wahlheimat, jedoch überschattet vom Tod seines Freundes, Okkervil River-Drummer Travis Nelsen, besticht 'Nothing Special' mit teils verspulten Arrangements, die subtile Überraschungen enthalten und Verweise nahelegen auf barocken Pop, verschwommene Synthie-Balladen und Sci-Fi-Psychedelia der 70er und 80er Jahre. Eine emotionale Reise, die von Trauer und Verlust handelt und dem Versuch, sich einer transzendenteren Realität zu öffnen.

Unterstützt wird er dabei von alten und neuen Freunden, Gitarrist Will Graefe und Bassist Benjamin Lazar Davis, Singer/Songwriter Christian Lee Hutson, Dawes-Schlagzeuger Griffin Goldsmith und Death Cab For Cutie-Pianist Zac Rae sowie Cassandra Jenkins und Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats, Bonny Light Horseman).

Acht neue Songs von Okkervil River Frontmann Will Sheff. Produziert von John Congleton (St. Vincent, The War On Drugs), Matt Linesch und Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers). Ein bemerkenswertes Album und Sheff’s Solodebüt.

Inspiriert von den Texten von King Crimson, Joni Mitchell oder Bill Fay sowie den Bergen, Wüsten und Seen Südkaliforniens, seiner neuen Wahlheimat, jedoch überschattet vom Tod seines Freundes, Okkervil River-Drummer Travis Nelsen, besticht 'Nothing Special' mit teils verspulten Arrangements, die subtile Überraschungen enthalten und Verweise nahelegen auf barocken Pop, verschwommene Synthie-Balladen und Sci-Fi-Psychedelia der 70er und 80er Jahre. Eine emotionale Reise, die von Trauer und Verlust handelt und dem Versuch, sich einer transzendenteren Realität zu öffnen.

Unterstützt wird er dabei von alten und neuen Freunden, Gitarrist Will Graefe und Bassist Benjamin Lazar Davis, Singer/Songwriter Christian Lee Hutson, Dawes-Schlagzeuger Griffin Goldsmith und Death Cab For Cutie-Pianist Zac Rae sowie Cassandra Jenkins und Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats, Bonny Light Horseman).

‘Complex and dangerously catchy, lyrically sophisticated and provocative, noisy and somehow serene… Yankee Hotel Foxtrot… is simply a masterpiece.’ – Pitchfork, 10/10, April 2002

‘The looped chaos and plangent melodies... effectively heralded the birth of a new band, as Jeff Tweedy overhauled his compositional modus operandi. So tender was the emotional core of songs like ‘Jesus, Etc.’ that the record became wrapped up in America’s post-9/11 cultural discourse... Yankee Hotel Foxtrot embedded Wilco’s great American songwriter status.’
– Mojo

‘It's as if the Flying Burrito Brothers suddenly decided to cover Pavement songs. There is a gentle, rootsy beauty here that Wilco has buried in a box of vulnerability and covered with a handful of dirt.’ – New York Times

‘Born out of turmoil, Wilco’s fourth album was a stone-cold classic.’ – Uncut

Nonesuch releases seven special editions of Wilco’s landmark 2002 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The now-classic record has been remastered and will be available as part of each set. The Super Deluxe version comprises eleven vinyl LPs and one CD – including demos, drafts, and instrumentals, charting the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – plus a live 2002 concert recording and a September 2001 radio performance and interview. That box set includes eighty-two previously unreleased music tracks as well as a new book featuring an interview with singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Tweedy, drummer Glenn Kotche, and Jim O’Rourke, who mixed the acclaimed 2002 album; an in-depth essay by journalist/author Bob Mehr; and previously unseen photos of the band making the album in their Chicago studio, The Loft. For the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot recording, Wilco was Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Leroy Bach, Glenn Kotche, and Jay Bennett with Craig Christiansen, Ken Coomer, Jessy Greene, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and Jim O’Rourke.

A live version of ‘Reservations’ from a legendary concert contained on Snoozin’ at The Pageant – Live 7/23/02 at The Pageant, St. Louis, MO – a recording that is part of the Super Deluxe LP and CD sets as well as the Deluxe LP and digital sets – is now available. A limited-edition vinyl 7” with versions of ‘I’m the Man Who Loves You’ and ‘War on War’, from the Super Deluxe box set, is available now from wilcostore.

Wilco marked the anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – which was released commercially on April 23, 2002, after a circuitous and storied gestation, including a period of streaming for free on the band’s website – with a performance of the album’s ‘Poor Places’ on April 18’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which may be seen here. The band is currently performing Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in its entirety (plus a mix of concert favourites and rarities) in two limited runs at New York City’s United Palace and Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. The Chicago show on April 23 will be available as a live stream here.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was widely acclaimed as one of 2002’s best albums, appearing in year-end lists of Mojo, NME, Q, Rolling Stone, and Uncut, among many others. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot also was featured in multiple decade-end lists, with Rolling Stone naming it #3 Album of the 2000s, as well as many Greatest Albums of All Time lists, including in the NME.

Among Yankee’s inspirations was a recording Tweedy bought at Tower Records in the late 1990s, The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations. As Bob Mehr points out in his new album note, the record got “deep under Tweedy’s skin.” Tweedy said in his 2017 memoir, Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back), “It was as fascinating to me as anything being made by actual musicians using actual instruments… I wanted to know why it was so hypnotic to me. Why could I listen to hours of this stuff, even though I had no clue what any of them were saying. That question became the foundation for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot… the way people communicated or ultimately failed to communicate.” The album takes its title from a haunting recording of a woman repeating those words that is included in The Conet Project; that recording is sampled in the penultimate song on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, ‘Poor Places’.

“Conceptually, Tweedy had decided to focus on a big idea for the next album: the state of America. His lyrics – often distilled from scribbled pages of free verse or poetry – became a form of inquiry,” Mehr continues. Tweedy said, in 2004, “I wanted to write about the stuff right in front of my eyes, microscopically looking at America and asking questions about each little thing… How can there be all these good things and things that I love about America, alongside all of these things that I’m ashamed of? And that was an internal question, too; I think I felt that way about myself.”

Mehr says, “Exploring those questions, while weaving in strands of Eastern philosophy and bits of autobiography – Yankee lyrics would be loaded with the pained imagery of someone suffering from migraines and mental health issues – Tweedy would conjure a deep examination of both country and self.”

Describing the uncanny, strangely prescient feeling of the album, which Wilco began offering as a free stream on its website in 2001, Mehr notes: “In the wake of 9/11, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would be burdened with unintended meaning. The disc had originally been scheduled for a September 11 release. Its cover – a Sam Jones-shot image of Chicago’s twin Marina Towers angled in looming fashion – bore an eerie resemblance to the felled World Trade Center towers. And the songs – with titles like ‘Ashes of American Flags’ and ‘War on War,’ and lyrics about how ‘tall buildings shake, sad voices escape’ – took on a terrible new resonance.”

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the first Wilco release on Nonesuch Records following the band’s infamous split with Reprise (both labels are part of Warner Music Group). It was also the first release featuring the line-up of drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach joining founding members Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt. The 2002 Sam Jones film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart documented the fraught recording and mixing process, personnel changes, and label issues.

The relationship with Nonesuch would last nearly a decade and include three more studio albums – the Grammy Award-winning A ghost is born, Sky Blue Sky, and Wilco (the album) – along with a live album and a live DVD, plus reissues of earlier records, before Wilco began its own label, dBpm. The band’s current lineup of Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Patrick Sansone, and Nels Cline has been together for nearly twenty years.

‘Complex and dangerously catchy, lyrically sophisticated and provocative, noisy and somehow serene… Yankee Hotel Foxtrot… is simply a masterpiece.’ – Pitchfork, 10/10, April 2002

‘The looped chaos and plangent melodies... effectively heralded the birth of a new band, as Jeff Tweedy overhauled his compositional modus operandi. So tender was the emotional core of songs like ‘Jesus, Etc.’ that the record became wrapped up in America’s post-9/11 cultural discourse... Yankee Hotel Foxtrot embedded Wilco’s great American songwriter status.’
– Mojo

‘It's as if the Flying Burrito Brothers suddenly decided to cover Pavement songs. There is a gentle, rootsy beauty here that Wilco has buried in a box of vulnerability and covered with a handful of dirt.’ – New York Times

‘Born out of turmoil, Wilco’s fourth album was a stone-cold classic.’ – Uncut

Nonesuch releases seven special editions of Wilco’s landmark 2002 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The now-classic record has been remastered and will be available as part of each set. The Super Deluxe version comprises eleven vinyl LPs and one CD – including demos, drafts, and instrumentals, charting the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – plus a live 2002 concert recording and a September 2001 radio performance and interview. That box set includes eighty-two previously unreleased music tracks as well as a new book featuring an interview with singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Tweedy, drummer Glenn Kotche, and Jim O’Rourke, who mixed the acclaimed 2002 album; an in-depth essay by journalist/author Bob Mehr; and previously unseen photos of the band making the album in their Chicago studio, The Loft. For the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot recording, Wilco was Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Leroy Bach, Glenn Kotche, and Jay Bennett with Craig Christiansen, Ken Coomer, Jessy Greene, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and Jim O’Rourke.

A live version of ‘Reservations’ from a legendary concert contained on Snoozin’ at The Pageant – Live 7/23/02 at The Pageant, St. Louis, MO – a recording that is part of the Super Deluxe LP and CD sets as well as the Deluxe LP and digital sets – is now available. A limited-edition vinyl 7” with versions of ‘I’m the Man Who Loves You’ and ‘War on War’, from the Super Deluxe box set, is available now from wilcostore.

Wilco marked the anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – which was released commercially on April 23, 2002, after a circuitous and storied gestation, including a period of streaming for free on the band’s website – with a performance of the album’s ‘Poor Places’ on April 18’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which may be seen here. The band is currently performing Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in its entirety (plus a mix of concert favourites and rarities) in two limited runs at New York City’s United Palace and Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. The Chicago show on April 23 will be available as a live stream here.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was widely acclaimed as one of 2002’s best albums, appearing in year-end lists of Mojo, NME, Q, Rolling Stone, and Uncut, among many others. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot also was featured in multiple decade-end lists, with Rolling Stone naming it #3 Album of the 2000s, as well as many Greatest Albums of All Time lists, including in the NME.

Among Yankee’s inspirations was a recording Tweedy bought at Tower Records in the late 1990s, The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations. As Bob Mehr points out in his new album note, the record got “deep under Tweedy’s skin.” Tweedy said in his 2017 memoir, Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back), “It was as fascinating to me as anything being made by actual musicians using actual instruments… I wanted to know why it was so hypnotic to me. Why could I listen to hours of this stuff, even though I had no clue what any of them were saying. That question became the foundation for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot… the way people communicated or ultimately failed to communicate.” The album takes its title from a haunting recording of a woman repeating those words that is included in The Conet Project; that recording is sampled in the penultimate song on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, ‘Poor Places’.

“Conceptually, Tweedy had decided to focus on a big idea for the next album: the state of America. His lyrics – often distilled from scribbled pages of free verse or poetry – became a form of inquiry,” Mehr continues. Tweedy said, in 2004, “I wanted to write about the stuff right in front of my eyes, microscopically looking at America and asking questions about each little thing… How can there be all these good things and things that I love about America, alongside all of these things that I’m ashamed of? And that was an internal question, too; I think I felt that way about myself.”

Mehr says, “Exploring those questions, while weaving in strands of Eastern philosophy and bits of autobiography – Yankee lyrics would be loaded with the pained imagery of someone suffering from migraines and mental health issues – Tweedy would conjure a deep examination of both country and self.”

Describing the uncanny, strangely prescient feeling of the album, which Wilco began offering as a free stream on its website in 2001, Mehr notes: “In the wake of 9/11, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would be burdened with unintended meaning. The disc had originally been scheduled for a September 11 release. Its cover – a Sam Jones-shot image of Chicago’s twin Marina Towers angled in looming fashion – bore an eerie resemblance to the felled World Trade Center towers. And the songs – with titles like ‘Ashes of American Flags’ and ‘War on War,’ and lyrics about how ‘tall buildings shake, sad voices escape’ – took on a terrible new resonance.”

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the first Wilco release on Nonesuch Records following the band’s infamous split with Reprise (both labels are part of Warner Music Group). It was also the first release featuring the line-up of drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach joining founding members Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt. The 2002 Sam Jones film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart documented the fraught recording and mixing process, personnel changes, and label issues.

The relationship with Nonesuch would last nearly a decade and include three more studio albums – the Grammy Award-winning A ghost is born, Sky Blue Sky, and Wilco (the album) – along with a live album and a live DVD, plus reissues of earlier records, before Wilco began its own label, dBpm. The band’s current lineup of Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Patrick Sansone, and Nels Cline has been together for nearly twenty years.


DISC 5: HERE COMES EVERYBODY – BUILDING YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT (PART 2)
Side I: (TRAIN)
1. Radio Cure (Here Comes Everybody Version) *
2. War on War (Here Comes Everybody Version) *
3. Venus Stopped the Train (Here Comes Everybody Version) * #
4. I'm the Man Who Loves You (Here Comes Everybody Version) *
5. The Good Part (Here Comes Everybody Version) * #
Side J: (KETTLE)
1. Pot Kettle Black (Here Comes Everybody Version) *
2. Ashes of American Flags (Here Comes Everybody Version) *
3. Poor Places (Here Comes Everybody Version) *
4. Shakin' Sugar (Here Comes Everybody Version) *
5. Reservations (Here Comes Everybody Version) *

DISC 6: HERE COMES EVERYBODY – BUILDING YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT (PART 2) / THE UNIFIED THEORY OF EVERYTHING – BUILDING YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT (PART 3)
Side K: (ESCAPE)
1. Cars Can't Escape (Here Comes Everybody Version) * #
2. A Magazine Called Sunset (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
3. Remember to Remember (Hummingbird) The Unified Theory of Everything Version ** #
4. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
Side L: (WAR)
1. Kamera (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
2. Radio Cure (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
3. War on War (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
4. Jesus, Etc. (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #

DISC 7: THE UNIFIED THEORY OF EVERYTHING – BUILDING YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT (PART 3) / LONELY IN THE DEEP END – DEMOS, DRAFTS, ETC.
Side M: (DRUMMER)
1. Ashes of American Flags (Stravinsky Mix) ** #
2. Heavy Metal Drummer (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
3. I'm The Man Who Loves You (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) **
4. Pot Kettle Black (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
5. Poor Places (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
Side N: (RESERVATIONS)
1. Reservations (The Unified Theory of Everything Version) ** #
2. Love Will (Let You Down) Lonely in the Deep End Version *
3. Lost Poem Demo (Lonely in the Deep End Version) *
4. I’m The Only One Who Lets Her Down (Lonely in the Deep End Version) *
5. Has Anybody Seen My Pencil? (Lonely in the Deep End Version) *














[l] E1. Anniversary (Nothing Up My Sleeve) [American Aquarium Version] *









[v] G2. Not for the Season (Laminated Cat) [American Aquarium Version] *


[y] H2. Not for the Season (Laminated Cat) [Here Comes Everybody Version] * #





[xe] K3. Remember to Remember (Hummingbird) [The Unified Theory of Everything Version] ** #











[xq] N2. Love Will (Let You Down) [Lonely in the Deep End Version] *

Before New Zealand's Salad Boys, there was T54, also fronted by Joe
Sampson, joined by Matt Scobie on drums and Sam Hood on bass - T54
featured a visceral, sonic guitar sound, perhaps out of step with most of
the Flying Nun bands at the time
Joe describes T54 as being stuck in the wrong era somewhat yet enduring well in
NZ for those who bought the music and saw us live at the time. Originally
released in 2011, Ally is proud to bring you an expanded and remastered limited
vinyl edition of their first ep that also includes several demos and live tracks. Be
prepared to be wowed by this noisy three piece from Christchurch influenced by
classic NZ bands who also have three members (The Clean) or numbers in their
name (The 3Ds) -- like The Clean, The 3Ds, and other NZ greats, T54 will not
disappoint!
Tracks: Birds / Julie K / CR Model / Vehicle / Singer in Mouth / Death Drive / CR
Model / Life Is Swell / O Nina / Fred Gavin / Kill Red / Julie K / Le Snack / Choose
Your Own Ending / Localism / Soon I'll Be Nicking Speed Boats / House Music /
Julie's Last Wish / Nurse Jen / Christian Dale

Constant Black is one of the numerous labels in UK artist Burnski's orbit. He's been a man on form on all fronts in recent years and here he snaps up Retrospect for a trio of super slick and funky minimal house cuts. 'Ay-up!' is a cheeky opener with subtle northern welcomes hidden in the mix as the lithe bass and 2-step tinged drums do their thang. It's reet good. 'Schneebly' gets more pacey and balmy, with silky and oily bass and kinetic drum work all underpinned by a sick bass tone. Last of all comes '4 U' which has something of an upright garage skip and downright irresistible groove. These are high functioning, charismatic cuts to pump up any floor.

Highlights: Limey and the Yanks' A-side 'Love Can't Be A One Way Deal' is a garage song with a sound pitched somewhere between the Beau Brummels and the Beach Boys. 'Guaranteed Love', on the flipside, is an outstanding bluesy number with a stinging fuzz guitar, a concise harp solo and a rousing Bo Diddley-fied groove that has made its way to various compilations since the early 80s and now gets reissued for the first time on a 7" single. This release includes notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things Magazine) Details: In California in the mid-sixties, with the British Invasion raging, having an authentic Englishman as the lead singer of your band was an ace in the hole that gave you an edge over the competition. Such was the case with Limey & the Yanks a quintet from Buena Park in Southern California's Orange County. Limey was young Steve Cook, and his Yanks by 1965 were guitarists Gregg DeLorto and Tim Gunne, bass player Bob Batman and drummer Wes Hunsinger. With his blonde Keith Relf-style hair, Steve was a striking front man who fortunately also possessed a decent voice, and with his father managing the group they were soon making waves throughout the area. A victory at a Battle of the Bands at the Hollywood Palladium put them on the map in Los Angeles, attracting the attention of producer Gary Paxton. By this time Wally Downing had joined on lead guitar, replacing Gregg DeLorto who had defected to the Spats. Paxton produced their debut single in late 1965, and it was released in January of the following year on his Starburst label. Paxton's business partner in Starburst was Lloyd Johnson, and the single's A-side was written by Lloyd's son Ken, who also recorded for Starburst with his group Ken & the Forth sic Dimension. Paxton had already produced a version of 'Love Can't Be A One Way Deal,' a couple of years earlier with the Rev-Lons, a girl group from Bakersfield, but the version by Limey & the Yanks took a completely different approach, turning it into a lovelorn garage number with a sound pitched somewhere between the Beau Brummels and the Beach Boys, with bright harmonies, mournful harmonica and a melodic twangy guitar solo. Swinging on a guitar hook based on Bobby Parker's 'Watch Your Step,' 'Guaranteed Love,' took a bluesier approach with a confident Limey vocal, stinging fuzz guitar, a concise harp solo and a rousing Bo Diddley-fied groove. The single was not a hit, but it added heft to the group's growing reputation. A second single, 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind,' was released in October, but it would be the group's last, although they did continue, through several lineup changes, into 1967. Limey's legacy lives on_

Depeche Mode have released their much anticipated new single Where's The Revolution' today. A powerful and timely track, the song vibrates with a drum laden, menacing energy, anchored in frontman Dave Gahan's vocals demanding, Where's The Revolution / Come on people you're letting me down.'

Legenden hat die Heavy-Metal-Welt so einige hervorgebracht. Aber keine ist wie Mat Sinner. So viel Überzeugung, Herzblut und Aufopferungsgabe, so viel puren Heavy-Metal-Geist, so viel Hingabe findet man normalerweise nicht gebündelt in einer einzelnen Person.
Seit 1982 frontet er die nach ihm benannte Band, mit der er sich jetzt triumphal in Form von »Brotherhood« zurückmeldet: ein massives Album, dessen Titel ebenso selbsterklärend ist wie die Mission seines Schöpfers. In Eigenregie produziert und von Jacob Hansen (u.a.
VOLBEAT) gemixt/gemastert, ist sie eine Platte, die die bandinterne Bruderschaft ebenso unter dem Herzen trägt wie die Bruderschaft der weltweiten Heavy-Metal-Gefolgschaft. "Wir gehören zusammen - und
dieses Album soll das zum Ausdruck bringen," so Sinner.

Ins Rampenlicht gerückt wird jene Gefolgschaft insbesondere auch durch die zahlreich auf dem Album vertretenen Gäste (s.u.). Mit Hooks, Riffs und präziser Härte revitalisiert Mat Sinner Tugenden, die er vor vier Jahrzehnten miterfand. Die auf »Brotherhood« vertretene
Wucht und Härte sowie die messerscharfen Riffs werden
selbstAngehörige des innersten SINNER-Fanzirkels aus
den Latschen kippen lassen.

Legenden hat die Heavy-Metal-Welt so einige hervorgebracht. Aber keine ist wie Mat Sinner. So viel Überzeugung, Herzblut und Aufopferungsgabe, so viel puren Heavy-Metal-Geist, so viel Hingabe findet man normalerweise nicht gebündelt in einer einzelnen Person.
Seit 1982 frontet er die nach ihm benannte Band, mit der er sich jetzt triumphal in Form von »Brotherhood« zurückmeldet: ein massives Album, dessen Titel ebenso selbsterklärend ist wie die Mission seines Schöpfers. In Eigenregie produziert und von Jacob Hansen (u.a.
VOLBEAT) gemixt/gemastert, ist sie eine Platte, die die bandinterne Bruderschaft ebenso unter dem Herzen trägt wie die Bruderschaft der weltweiten Heavy-Metal-Gefolgschaft. "Wir gehören zusammen - und
dieses Album soll das zum Ausdruck bringen," so Sinner.

Ins Rampenlicht gerückt wird jene Gefolgschaft insbesondere auch durch die zahlreich auf dem Album vertretenen Gäste (s.u.). Mit Hooks, Riffs und präziser Härte revitalisiert Mat Sinner Tugenden, die er vor vier Jahrzehnten miterfand. Die auf »Brotherhood« vertretene
Wucht und Härte sowie die messerscharfen Riffs werden
selbstAngehörige des innersten SINNER-Fanzirkels aus
den Latschen kippen lassen.

Legenden hat die Heavy-Metal-Welt so einige hervorgebracht. Aber keine ist wie Mat Sinner. So viel Überzeugung, Herzblut und Aufopferungsgabe, so viel puren Heavy-Metal-Geist, so viel Hingabe findet man normalerweise nicht gebündelt in einer einzelnen Person.
Seit 1982 frontet er die nach ihm benannte Band, mit der er sich jetzt triumphal in Form von »Brotherhood« zurückmeldet: ein massives Album, dessen Titel ebenso selbsterklärend ist wie die Mission seines Schöpfers. In Eigenregie produziert und von Jacob Hansen (u.a.
VOLBEAT) gemixt/gemastert, ist sie eine Platte, die die bandinterne Bruderschaft ebenso unter dem Herzen trägt wie die Bruderschaft der weltweiten Heavy-Metal-Gefolgschaft. "Wir gehören zusammen - und
dieses Album soll das zum Ausdruck bringen," so Sinner.

Ins Rampenlicht gerückt wird jene Gefolgschaft insbesondere auch durch die zahlreich auf dem Album vertretenen Gäste (s.u.). Mit Hooks, Riffs und präziser Härte revitalisiert Mat Sinner Tugenden, die er vor vier Jahrzehnten miterfand. Die auf »Brotherhood« vertretene
Wucht und Härte sowie die messerscharfen Riffs werden
selbstAngehörige des innersten SINNER-Fanzirkels aus
den Latschen kippen lassen.

For Fans Of: Green Day, The Lillingtons, The Queers, The Copyrights, Ramones, Lookout Records. Playing rare reunion shows in the USA and Europe! This is a limited pressing and will be gone in days! We'll be doing PR, taking out ads, and giving it the full Red Scare push! This record was originally released 15 years ago and we finally got off our ass to do the vinyl in time for some fun reunion shows. Here’s the album description from 2007… Chicago’s Methadones got our attention with their last proper album, Not Economically Viable, which came out on Thick Records in 2004. It was their breakthrough, and anyone who overlooked that LP missed out on the BEST pop punk record of 2004. We then hooked up to release a hilarious party album (21st Century Power Pop Riot) that featured The Methadones with a number of guest vocalists covering Cheap Trick, Costello, and more. Now it’s back to business, and the ‘Dones have a new batch of originals that pick up where they left off with the great Not Economically Viable. It’s called This Won’t Hurt… and they recorded it at the famed Atlas Studios in Chi-Town. The same guys that brought you stuff from The Lawrence Arms and Alkaline Trio have captured The Methadones in all their glory and have them sounding better than ever. Fronted by the venerable Dan Vapid, they have yet another album full of undeniable hits, and on top of all this, they have two tours booked in the near future…hide your beer and chicken wings!

‘Raise Hell’, the third album from London DIY punks Fresh out 1st July on Specialist Subject Records. Fresh have been an unwavering fixture within the UK punk scene since their first record in 2017. A joy to behold live, Woods honed her craft not only fronting Fresh but as a member of several heralded indie and punk bands, including cheerbleederz and ME REX alongside Fresh bandmate Myles McCabe. Their new album radiates with their signature mischievous British charm and flourishes of brilliant pop punk flair – though underestimate Fresh at your peril. ‘Raise Hell’ dares to dive deeper than most, delivering Woods’ darker moments and contemplative thought processes through the sharply focussed lens of upbeat indie punk. Since their inception the band have been working tirelessly recording and touring. They released their last EP 'The Summer I Got Good at Guitar' in Spring 2021, to praise from Upset, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, BBC6 Music, Radio X and have toured with the likes of Jeff Rosenstock, The Beths, PUP, Adult Mom. For a band that have existed for a relatively short period of time, the four-piece have already released a hefty catalogue of work – prolific, ever evolving and always fresh (in every sense of the word).

‘Raise Hell’, the third album from London DIY punks Fresh out 1st July on Specialist Subject Records. Fresh have been an unwavering fixture within the UK punk scene since their first record in 2017. A joy to behold live, Woods honed her craft not only fronting Fresh but as a member of several heralded indie and punk bands, including cheerbleederz and ME REX alongside Fresh bandmate Myles McCabe. Their new album radiates with their signature mischievous British charm and flourishes of brilliant pop punk flair – though underestimate Fresh at your peril. ‘Raise Hell’ dares to dive deeper than most, delivering Woods’ darker moments and contemplative thought processes through the sharply focussed lens of upbeat indie punk. Since their inception the band have been working tirelessly recording and touring. They released their last EP 'The Summer I Got Good at Guitar' in Spring 2021, to praise from Upset, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, BBC6 Music, Radio X and have toured with the likes of Jeff Rosenstock, The Beths, PUP, Adult Mom. For a band that have existed for a relatively short period of time, the four-piece have already released a hefty catalogue of work – prolific, ever evolving and always fresh (in every sense of the word).

After two UK #1 albums, 2 million album sales and an array of international acclaim, you might’ve thought you knew what to expect from Royal Blood. Those preconceptions were shattered when they released ‘Trouble’s Coming’ last summer. Hitting a melting pot of fiery rock riffs and danceable beats, they delivered something fresh, unexpected and yet entirely in tune with what they’d forged their reputation with.
The reaction was phenomenal, with highlights including 20 million streams, a premiere as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record and a run on Radio 1’s A-list and earned alternative radio support and media attention across the globe. In short, Royal Blood are primed to be bigger than ever before. That feat is set to be realised when they release their eagerly anticipated third album ‘Typhoons’ on April 30th via Warner Records.
When Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher sat down to talk about making a new album, they knew what they wanted to achieve. It involved a conscious return to their roots, back when they had made music that was influenced by Daft Punk, Justice, and Philippe Zdar of Cassius. It also called for a similar back-to-basics approach to what had made their self-titled debut album so thrilling, visceral and original.
“We sort of stumbled on this sound, and it was immediately fun to play,” recalls Kerr. “That’s what sparked the creativity on the new album, the chasing of that feeling. It’s weird, though - if you think back to ‘Figure it Out’, it kind of contains the embryo of this album. We realised that we didn’t have to completely destroy what we’d created so far; we just had to shift it, change it. On paper, it’s a small reinvention. But when you hear it, it sounds so fresh.”

Those traits pulsate throughout the new single and title track. Kerr’s spiralling bass riff casts an hypnotic allure as it grows in intensity, while his vocals switch at will between a raw rock roar and a soulful falsetto. It’s underpinned by Thatcher’s thundering beats, his taut rhythms infused with groove-laden hi-hats.



After setting the tone with ‘Trouble’s Coming’, the album opens in breathless, take-no-prisoners style with the fierce metallic grooves of ‘Who Needs Friends’ hitting an early visceral peak. Royal Blood further reference their fresh array of influences by deploying vocodered vocals on ‘Million & One’ before dynamically switching between the biggest contrasts of their sound with ‘Limbo’. Already a fan favourite having been a regular during the duo’s 2019 shows, ‘Boilermaker’ lives up to its reputation and is more than matched by ‘Mad Visions’, which evokes a hyper-aggressive Prince. It ends with a final surprise in the shape of the stark piano ballad ‘All We Have Is Now’, a vulnerable and revealing reminder to live in the moment.

That song’s unguarded sentiments gives the album a redemptive finale. Whether directly or allusively, the album focuses on exploring the flipside of success that they’ve experienced. It comes from the realisation that success is much more complicated than it seems and that having the time to regain perspective is a precious commodity which becomes ever more elusive. The situation called for reflection and change, which Kerr addressed in Las Vegas. He downed an espresso martini and declared it to be his last drink, and soon discovered that his new-found sobriety would have a positive impact upon his creativity and life as a whole.

That new approach manifested itself in the duo’s decision to produce the majority of ‘Typhoons’ themselves. ‘Boilermaker’ was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, the two bands having first connected when Royal Blood supported them on a huge North American tour. Meanwhile, the multiple Grammy Award winner Paul Epworth produced ‘Who Needs Friends’ and contributed additional production to ‘Trouble’s Coming’.

Nach den Split-EP´s (unter anderem mit Spider Crew oder den großartigen Day Drinker) erscheint das erste Album der italienischen Streetcore / Oi Spezialisten! Druckvolle Härte, rotzige Mittelfinger-Attitüde und eine perfekte Mischung aus rough´n tough Oi-Shoutern, fetten Gitarren und peitschenden Drums mit ein bisschen oldschool NYHC-Anleihen, vielen Versatzstücken des klassischen UK-Streetpunks....dabei aber immer mit fetten Chorals und Bombast-Refrains versetzt ist "Stand your Ground" ein richtig großartiges Debüt-Album geworden. Sei es der grandiose Opener "No Restraints", oder "the flame still burns" oder die United-Hymne "Streetcore Worldwide" (den auch Agnostic Front hätten schreiben können)…. die Italiener haben ihre Hausausgaben gemacht, singen ausschließlich in Englisch und geben einen Scheiss auf Befindlichkeiten in ihren Texten. "Back to the Wall" und "They will never get us" ist keine aufgesetzte Attitüde, dies ist "the real Deal"! Für Fans von Lion´s Law, Last Resort, Hatebreed oder Agnostic Front eine sichere Bank.

“I’ve been playing since I was 11 years old,” says Charlie Gabriel, the most
senior member of the legendary Preservation Hall Band. “I never did anything in
my life but play music. I’ve been blessed with that gift that God gave me, and I’ve
tried to nurse it the best way I knew how.”
 While he’s faced plenty of challenges nursing that gift for more than 78 years,
none likely rank with last winter’s passing of his brother and last living sibling,
Leonard, lost to COVID-19. For the first time ever, Gabriel put down his horn,
filling his days and weeks instead with dark reflection, a stubborn despondency
broken now and then by regular chess matches in the studio kitchen of Hall
leader Ben Jaffe, working overtime to bring his friend some light.
 One such afternoon also included Joshua Starkman, sitting off in a corner
playing his guitar and half-watching the chess from a distance. When Charlie
returned the next day, he brought his saxophone. “I was just inspired to try it, to
play again. It had been a long time, and a guitar makes me feel free. I do love the
sound of a piano, but it takes up a lot of a space, keeps me kind of boxed in.”
That day was to be the first session for ‘Eighty Nine’, almost entirely the work of
Gabriel, Jaffe and Starkman, recorded mostly right there, in the kitchen, by Matt
Aguiluz.
 Charlie Gabriel’s first professional gig dates to 1943, sitting in for his father in
New Orleans’ Eureka Brass Band. As a teenager living in Detroit, Charlie played
with Lionel Hampton, whose band then included a young Charles Mingus, later
spending nine years with a group led by Cab Calloway drummer J.C. Heard.
While he’s also fronted a bebop quintet, played and/or toured with Ella
Fitzgerald, Tony Bennet, Aretha Franklin and many more, this is the first time his
name appears on the front of a record, as a bandleader.
 Since 2006, Gabriel has been a member of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band,
featuring prominently on ‘That’s It, So It Is’, and ‘Tuba to Cuba’. ‘Eighty Nine’ was
different, and not simply due to a smaller ensemble. “We had no particular plan,
or any particular insight on what we were gonna do. But we were enjoying what
we were doing, jamming, having a musical conversation,” Charlie says, further
musing, “Musical conversations cancel out complications.”
 The album includes six standards and three newer pieces on which Gabriel is a
writer: ‘Yellow Moon’, ‘The Darker It Gets’ and ‘I Get Jealous’. The record also
marks Charlie’s return to his first instrument, clarinet, on many of the tracks. “The
clarinet is the mother of the saxophone,” he says. “I started playing clarinet early
in life, and this taught me the saxophone.”
 Finally, ‘Eighty Nine’ includes three tracks of Charlie singing. “I always sung, but
it wasn’t my forte to become a singer,” he says. “The truth is, people often
develop a real relationship with a song once they hear the words. Sometimes I
enjoy singing them.”
 First pressing on translucent gold Loser Edition coloured vinyl

Halb orange/halb violettes Vinyl. Exklusiv für den Indiehandel! Das einzigartige und von der Kritik gefeierte norwegische Quartett Blood Command meldet sich mit einem brandneuen Album "Praise Armageddonism" über Hassle Records zurück. Das neue Album ist das erste, auf dem Nikki Brumen, ehemals Mitglied von Pagan, als Frontfrau und Leadsängerin der Band zu hören ist. Mit einer Distanz von 10.000 Meilen zwischen Nikki (in Melbourne, Australien) und dem Rest der Band (in Bergen, Norwegen) verlief 2020 nicht ganz nach Plan. Nachdem die ursprünglichen Pläne für die Aufnahmen in Norwegen auf Eis gelegt werden mussten, entschied sich die Band im Januar 2021 dazu, das neue Album aus der Ferne aufzunehmen; die gesamte Musik wurde in Norwegen aufgenommen, während Nikki den Gesang in einem lokalen Studio aufnahm, sobald die regionalen Beschränkungen dies zuließen. "A Villain's Monologue" ist der erste Track des neuen Albums, bei dem Nikki zeigt, warum sie bei Pagan so hoch angesehen war, was Kerrang dazu veranlasste, ihren Gesang als "eine krawallige Zurschaustellung von unbändigem Talent zu beschreiben, die sie zweifelsohne als zukünftigen Star auszeichnet". Die Band, die ihren Sound selbst als als "Deathpop" bezeichnet, ist ein einzigartiges Projekt. Hardcore trifft auf Metal trifft auf Pop trifft auf Punk. Die Band wurde bereits von Rock Sound als "eines der bestgehüteten Geheimnisse der Welt" bezeichnet, erhielt die Auszeichnung als eines der Alben des Jahres in Kerrang! und wurde vom Metal Hammer gelobt.

Halb orange/halb violettes Vinyl. Exklusiv für den Indiehandel! Das einzigartige und von der Kritik gefeierte norwegische Quartett Blood Command meldet sich mit einem brandneuen Album "Praise Armageddonism" über Hassle Records zurück. Das neue Album ist das erste, auf dem Nikki Brumen, ehemals Mitglied von Pagan, als Frontfrau und Leadsängerin der Band zu hören ist. Mit einer Distanz von 10.000 Meilen zwischen Nikki (in Melbourne, Australien) und dem Rest der Band (in Bergen, Norwegen) verlief 2020 nicht ganz nach Plan. Nachdem die ursprünglichen Pläne für die Aufnahmen in Norwegen auf Eis gelegt werden mussten, entschied sich die Band im Januar 2021 dazu, das neue Album aus der Ferne aufzunehmen; die gesamte Musik wurde in Norwegen aufgenommen, während Nikki den Gesang in einem lokalen Studio aufnahm, sobald die regionalen Beschränkungen dies zuließen. "A Villain's Monologue" ist der erste Track des neuen Albums, bei dem Nikki zeigt, warum sie bei Pagan so hoch angesehen war, was Kerrang dazu veranlasste, ihren Gesang als "eine krawallige Zurschaustellung von unbändigem Talent zu beschreiben, die sie zweifelsohne als zukünftigen Star auszeichnet". Die Band, die ihren Sound selbst als als "Deathpop" bezeichnet, ist ein einzigartiges Projekt. Hardcore trifft auf Metal trifft auf Pop trifft auf Punk. Die Band wurde bereits von Rock Sound als "eines der bestgehüteten Geheimnisse der Welt" bezeichnet, erhielt die Auszeichnung als eines der Alben des Jahres in Kerrang! und wurde vom Metal Hammer gelobt.

Historical power metal force CIVIL WAR enter their fourth battle with Invaders! Swedish historical modern power metal outfit CIVIL WAR fly the flags of international strife once again with their brand new, fourth album, Invaders, set for release on June 17, 2022 via Napalm Records. The band founded by former members of Sabaton returns with 10 new wartime anthems detailing harrowing stories of sorrow and tales of turbulent triumph from around the globe, as well as human nature itself. Invaders marks the band’s first album with masterful frontman Kelly Sundown Carpenter and formidable shredder Thobbe Englund (ex-Sabaton), and grips with riveting accounts ranging from Viking invasions and the greed of powerful nations to legendary Native American battles and magical Arthurian fantasy – all amid a profusion of enthrallingly dynamic vocals, epic soundscapes and impressive, technical instrumentals. The album starts off with the captivating “Oblivion”, inviting the listener into an apocalyptic world with its exotic, menacing sound, strong vocals and heavy guitar riffs. Packed with epic symphonic power, Invaders continues with the war anthem “Dead Man’s Glory”, telling a story of Irish resistance – fighting to preserve their way of life against a Viking invasion. The album rages on with the retelling of a legendary Native American victory at the Battle of the Wabash on the fast-paced “Invaders” and then settles into the pulsating, atmospheric “Heart of Darkness” before arriving at “Andersonville” – recounting the horrors of Confederate prisoner-of-war camp Andersonville Prison through the letters of a Union soldier to his wife. This song soars as a massive power ballad with heart-rending symphonics, choirs and emotive vocals. “Battle of Life” delivers the grand finale of Invaders as a pummeling, fiery power metal pinnacle, summoning listeners of all walks of life to persevere and call on inner strength in times of trouble. In keeping with the album’s Native American theme, the Western-inspired heavy metal battle cry “Custer’s Last Stand” sees its 10th anniversary re-recording and re-release as a bonus track, entrancing the listener with Carpenter’s passionate vocal delivery, searing guitar harmonics, keyboard fanfares and tribal drums. With Invaders, CIVIL WAR prove they’ve once again etched a position all their own in the annals of modern power and heavy metal while proving their deft storytelling skill and knack for engaging lyricism. Invaders is a must-listen! .

Cardiff alternative rock duo James and the Cold Gun are pleased to announce the details of their debut EP False Start, set for release on April 29th 2022 through Gallows' label Venn Records and Seattle-based label Loosegroove Records, owned by Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) & Regan Hagar (Malfunkshun, Brad, Satchel). False Start is available to digitally pre-order now, with a vinyl release scheduled for the summer: https://orcd.co/falsestartep Speaking of the new partnership between the band and Loosegroove Records, the influential indie label that was founded back in 1994, which has issued records from acts such as Critters Buggin, Malfunkshun, Weapon of Choice and Devilhead, and was the launching point for Queens of the Stone Age’s debut album in 1998, Stone Gossard said: “I heard James and The Cold Gun’s ‘Long Way Home’ on KEXP last year and thought this band fricken rocks! Who are these upstarts?! "This new track, ‘It's Mutual’ takes it to another level. Totally unhinged and letting it all hang out. Loosegroove Records is thrilled to be working with James and the Cold Gun on this new EP with a future full-length coming soon.” On 'It's Mutual', James Joseph said: "It's a song that embodies the feeling that you get when you hit a stalemate in a relationship, that feeling when you're both sat together but neither person is able to speak. We've all had those awkward silent car journeys where there has been an argument or something isn't right but we can't even chat about it. Next time you have an awkward car journey, grab the aux and chuck some Cold Gun on." James Biss adds, "We wrote these songs for False Start in our flat in 2020 during the pandemic and our first time playing them live as a band was to record them. It was pretty mad recording live around our drummer, hearing the songs played loud with real drums for the first time after months of being stuck inside writing them on the computer. Recording with Adrian Bushby was a dream though, he was bopping around the control room and egging us on to play louder and harder, he's technically the first person we ever played in front of." Taken from the EP, lead single 'It's Mutual' is out now: https://orcd.co/itsmutual The band have rapidly been building support from some of rock’s most respected taste-makers, including Kerrang! Magazine, Rock Sound, Punktastic, Dead Press, Running Punks, BBC Introducing Wales, Deezer’s Hot New Rock playlist, Triple J’s Short Fast Loud, Apple Music’s New In Rock, Beez at Mosh Talks on Twitch, Alex Baker at Kerrang! Radio, John Kennedy at Radio X, and Daniel P Carter on the BBC Radio One Rock Show.

Jasmyn is the new solo project created by Jasmyn Burke, former singer-songwriter and frontwoman of the critically acclaimed Canadian band, Weaves. Having two JUNO nominations for Alternative Album of the Year and two SOCAN Songwriting Prize nominations, Burke has established herself as one of Canada's most exciting and fresh voices. With this new project, she has decided to use her own name, Jasmyn, to mark the start of exploring her own unique sound as a solo artist. Collaborating remotely with Los Angeles-based producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten) on a body of work she had compiled over months of being in lockdown. Finally in the Spring of 2021, Jasmyn went to LA to record with Congleton, exploring themes of finding patterns in life and how to perhaps change them. On the general direction of her new album In the Wild, Jasmyn said, "This was written during the Fall of 2020; The world was feeling pretty heavy, and I felt myself wanting to write music that created a mood of happiness and space to grow. I feel like I have grown and changed as a person over the last few years and wanted to write songs that created a sense of confidence and well-being." With Weaves receiving worldwide support from the likes of Rolling Stone Magazine, NPR, Pitchfork, and more, Jasmyn is excited to share a new side of herself, perhaps her most honest and raw work to date.

Across eight studio albums, DECAPITATED grew from the adolescent dream of teenagers from a small Central European town to one of the leaders of the metal genre. Each successive album further expands the band’s sound with genre-bending authenticity and integrity. As Metal Injection rightfully observed, “any self-respecting death metalhead knows the name well.”

DECAPITATED’s music is a weapon forged by four young men from a historic medieval-fortified town in Poland, which catapulted them to the top of a worldwide subculture. Like a rose in the devil’s garden, the DECAPITATED story builds triumph from tragedy. The gleeful grotesquery of extreme metal imagery and rifftastic bludgeoning beckons listeners to uncover broader truths.Upon the release of 2017’s Anticult, Metal Hammer declared DECAPITATED “a serious successor to the likes of Pantera and Lamb Of God – a band who can draw new legions into the metal world as its new champions.” Their diverse follow-up, 2022’s Cancer Culture, delivers on that promise.

Instantly recognizable devastation and deceptively sinister hooks abound. Freshly minted DECAPITATED anthems like “Last Supper,” “Hello Death,” “Just Cigarette,” “No Cure,” “Iconoclast,” and “Cancer Culture” shimmer with sonically sharp production and unrelenting bombast. There’s also a newly increased emphasis on melody, even venturing into darkly romantic territory. Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (guitar), Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski (vocals), Paweł Pasek (bass), and James Stewart (drums) are at the top of their game, delivering the goods at peak performance. Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk and Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn make guest appearances.

Set on the descending plains of a mountain range amid a dense forest, Krosno boasts a 14th-century Gothic church, a Subcarpathian museum, and stunning artisan glassware. In this Polish town, teenage music student Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka discovered records from bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Metallica, and Machine Head. The guitarist and his younger brother, drummer Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, cofounded DECAPITATED in 1996, inspired by a wide range of technical death, blackened thrash, and local heroes, like KAT and the world-renowned Vader. Death and black metal reigned supreme in the Polish scene of the 1990s, where Behemoth originated as well. In fact, a Vader song called “Decapitated Saints” inspired the band’s moniker.
The organic musical chemistry between the Kiełtykas was akin to the brotherly connectivity and vibe driving Pantera, Gojira, and the classic era of Sepultura. In 2006, Kerrang! praised the first three DECAPITATED albums - Winds of Creation (2000), Nihility (2002), and The Negation (2004) – as “superbly conceived and executed eruptions of technical brilliance and razor-sharp songwriting that turned these youthful Poles into one of the genre’s most widely respected bands.” That year’s Organic Hallucinosis further perfected Vogg’s penchant for blending extremity with catchy hooks.

The rule-breaking ferocity and invention of the first four albums reinvigorated death metal, as DECAPITATED inspired a new generation of bands who followed suit. Sadly, this era came to a shocking end in late 2007. While touring Russia, the band’s bus collided with a large truck near the border with Belarus. Both Vitak and then-singer Adrian “Covan” Kowanek sustained severe head injuries. Tragically, Vitak passed away in a Russian hospital a few days later. He was just 23.Vogg summoned the courage to continue, in honor of his brother and what they created, and returned with a new incarnation of DECAPITATED and the fiercely adventurous comeback album, Carnival is Forever (2011) featuring new vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski. Blood Mantra (2014) introduced bassist, Paweł Pasek. Blabbermouth declared it “perhaps the most poised and gutsy” DECAPITATED album, adding “its courageous bends make it a turbulent but pleasurable ride.”

Cancer Culture sounds brilliant, modern, and tasty. “There is no place for any fake, plastic, bullshit drum machine or anything like that,” Vogg insists. “It’s all organic, pure, and clear, showing the true face of the band. Vogg and company entrusted the Cancer Culture mix to David Castillo at Sweden’s Fascination Street Studios / Studio Gröndahl (Sepultura, Carcass, Opeth, Katatonia), and legendary American producer Ted Jensen (Metallica, Slipknot, Pantera, Machine Head, Korn).
The devoted supporters who traveled to see DECAPITATED on international tours with the likes of Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Suffocation over the years will recognize the ever-present pummeling backbone. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will connect to the variety of atmospheric depth throughout Cancer Culture’s ten boundlessly energetic and creative tracks.
“If you told me 25 years ago, in my neighborhood in the South of Poland, that I would be in Machine Head, sharing riffs with Robb Flynn,” Vogg marvels. “It’s simply incredible. It means that everything is possible in your life. That gives me the faith to believe that I can achieve even more in my career. The dreams we have when we are kids, things we can barely imagine, can happen.” Flynn contributes a hauntingly beautiful vocal to the Cancer Culture track “Iconoclast.” “Clean vocal singing is a really new thing in DECAPITATED,” Vogg notes. “It’s really unique and amazing.”

Driven by Vogg’s passion and integrity, the dual emphasis on creative invention and technical prowess maintains DECAPITATED’s stature as genre-leaders in 2022 and beyond. The band’s supporters continually demonstrate confidence and absolute certainty DECAPITATED will deliver.

Across eight studio albums, DECAPITATED grew from the adolescent dream of teenagers from a small Central European town to one of the leaders of the metal genre. Each successive album further expands the band’s sound with genre-bending authenticity and integrity. As Metal Injection rightfully observed, “any self-respecting death metalhead knows the name well.”

DECAPITATED’s music is a weapon forged by four young men from a historic medieval-fortified town in Poland, which catapulted them to the top of a worldwide subculture. Like a rose in the devil’s garden, the DECAPITATED story builds triumph from tragedy. The gleeful grotesquery of extreme metal imagery and rifftastic bludgeoning beckons listeners to uncover broader truths.Upon the release of 2017’s Anticult, Metal Hammer declared DECAPITATED “a serious successor to the likes of Pantera and Lamb Of God – a band who can draw new legions into the metal world as its new champions.” Their diverse follow-up, 2022’s Cancer Culture, delivers on that promise.

Instantly recognizable devastation and deceptively sinister hooks abound. Freshly minted DECAPITATED anthems like “Last Supper,” “Hello Death,” “Just Cigarette,” “No Cure,” “Iconoclast,” and “Cancer Culture” shimmer with sonically sharp production and unrelenting bombast. There’s also a newly increased emphasis on melody, even venturing into darkly romantic territory. Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (guitar), Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski (vocals), Paweł Pasek (bass), and James Stewart (drums) are at the top of their game, delivering the goods at peak performance. Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk and Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn make guest appearances.

Set on the descending plains of a mountain range amid a dense forest, Krosno boasts a 14th-century Gothic church, a Subcarpathian museum, and stunning artisan glassware. In this Polish town, teenage music student Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka discovered records from bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Metallica, and Machine Head. The guitarist and his younger brother, drummer Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, cofounded DECAPITATED in 1996, inspired by a wide range of technical death, blackened thrash, and local heroes, like KAT and the world-renowned Vader. Death and black metal reigned supreme in the Polish scene of the 1990s, where Behemoth originated as well. In fact, a Vader song called “Decapitated Saints” inspired the band’s moniker.
The organic musical chemistry between the Kiełtykas was akin to the brotherly connectivity and vibe driving Pantera, Gojira, and the classic era of Sepultura. In 2006, Kerrang! praised the first three DECAPITATED albums - Winds of Creation (2000), Nihility (2002), and The Negation (2004) – as “superbly conceived and executed eruptions of technical brilliance and razor-sharp songwriting that turned these youthful Poles into one of the genre’s most widely respected bands.” That year’s Organic Hallucinosis further perfected Vogg’s penchant for blending extremity with catchy hooks.

The rule-breaking ferocity and invention of the first four albums reinvigorated death metal, as DECAPITATED inspired a new generation of bands who followed suit. Sadly, this era came to a shocking end in late 2007. While touring Russia, the band’s bus collided with a large truck near the border with Belarus. Both Vitak and then-singer Adrian “Covan” Kowanek sustained severe head injuries. Tragically, Vitak passed away in a Russian hospital a few days later. He was just 23.Vogg summoned the courage to continue, in honor of his brother and what they created, and returned with a new incarnation of DECAPITATED and the fiercely adventurous comeback album, Carnival is Forever (2011) featuring new vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski. Blood Mantra (2014) introduced bassist, Paweł Pasek. Blabbermouth declared it “perhaps the most poised and gutsy” DECAPITATED album, adding “its courageous bends make it a turbulent but pleasurable ride.”

Cancer Culture sounds brilliant, modern, and tasty. “There is no place for any fake, plastic, bullshit drum machine or anything like that,” Vogg insists. “It’s all organic, pure, and clear, showing the true face of the band. Vogg and company entrusted the Cancer Culture mix to David Castillo at Sweden’s Fascination Street Studios / Studio Gröndahl (Sepultura, Carcass, Opeth, Katatonia), and legendary American producer Ted Jensen (Metallica, Slipknot, Pantera, Machine Head, Korn).
The devoted supporters who traveled to see DECAPITATED on international tours with the likes of Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Suffocation over the years will recognize the ever-present pummeling backbone. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will connect to the variety of atmospheric depth throughout Cancer Culture’s ten boundlessly energetic and creative tracks.
“If you told me 25 years ago, in my neighborhood in the South of Poland, that I would be in Machine Head, sharing riffs with Robb Flynn,” Vogg marvels. “It’s simply incredible. It means that everything is possible in your life. That gives me the faith to believe that I can achieve even more in my career. The dreams we have when we are kids, things we can barely imagine, can happen.” Flynn contributes a hauntingly beautiful vocal to the Cancer Culture track “Iconoclast.” “Clean vocal singing is a really new thing in DECAPITATED,” Vogg notes. “It’s really unique and amazing.”

Driven by Vogg’s passion and integrity, the dual emphasis on creative invention and technical prowess maintains DECAPITATED’s stature as genre-leaders in 2022 and beyond. The band’s supporters continually demonstrate confidence and absolute certainty DECAPITATED will deliver.

Iconic female fronted metal band from The Netherlands. Formed in the late 90s by the later Epica founder Mark Jansen. The band split up shortly after their eponymous self-titled album “After Forever” in 2008. Keyboard player Joost Van Den Broek became a famous producer for Epica, Blind Guardian and many more, while singer Floor Jansen joined Nightwish and recently also the German TV show Sing Meinen Song (Sing My Song). Fans never forgot After Forever and even if their last album came out in the pre-streaming days, it gained over 15 million streams.
The re-issue of their swansong “After Forever” (2007) is remastered by Joost Van Den Broeck and includes liner notes by all bandmembers, as well as the two rare Japanese bonus tracks: the beautiful piano ballad "Lonely" and "Sweet Enclosure" which keeps their high standard of progressive symphonic metal with an oriental flavor and catchy melodies.

Als eine der spannendsten, neuen Stimmen im Alternative-Bereich haben Porridge Radio sich innerhalb von nur einem Jahr mit ihrem Album Every Bad (2020) von den DIY-Lieblingen hin zur Mercury Prize nominierten Band gewandelt. Mit Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky kündigen Porridge Radio heute ihr drittes Studioalbum für den 20. Mai via Secretly Canadian an. Während Every Bad die scharfsinnige und offenherzige Ehrlichkeit von Frontfrau Dana Margolin offenbarte, befördert Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky dies auf ein neues hymnisches Level. Dies ist der Sound einer Person Ende Zwanzig, die sich den Enttäuschungen der Liebe und des Lebens stellt und herausfindet, wie man in dieser Welt existiert - ohne dabei so zu tun, als wüsste sie alle Antworten. Ganz nebenbei ist das Ganze höllisch eingängig. Das Album beginnt mit "Back To The Radio" als kraftvoller Aufruf, der einen Kontrast zu Margolins Lyriks um Panik und Abgeschiedenheit zeigt ("lock all the windows and march up the stairs"), bis sich ein stürmischer Chorus aufbauscht, der einen sofort all seine Freund*innen fest umklammern lassen möchte. Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky ist wie ein surreales Gemälde, das teilweise durch eine Collage der Künstlerin Eileen Agar inspiriert ist und an das Unter- und Eintauchen, heikle Lagen und existentielle Lebensängste der letzten Zeit erinnert und gleichzeitig aus der Erzählung der Jakobsleiter aus dem Alten Testament schöpft, die wiederum "symbolizes the ups and downs of human life, of virtue and transgression", erklärt Margolin. Die Vorstellung, dass ein emotionaler Zustand nicht ausschließlich binär ist, ist dabei wesentlich für das neue Album. "With this album, the feelings of joy, fear and endlessness coexist together", fügt Margolin hinzu.

Out of print for almost 30 years. Includes rare never-before-seen vacation photos by Anna Lee Van Cleef who shot the original album cover. 1987's High Priest was the first full length solo record for legendary frontman Alex Chilton (Big Star/ Box Tops) since 1979's ground shaking Like Flies on Sherbert. It shows Chilton in full control of his faculties as both a musician and a musicologist. He leads a solid band of Memphis/ New Orleans studio heavyweights through 4 newly penned originals and a well curated list of covers. What it lacks in polish, it more than makes up in charm, verve and just plain ol’ soul. This could be what rock’n’roll is all about.” Trouser Press

Dena Miller grew up on a diet of folk before spending 6 years writing and exploring projects through Philly's punk scene, Oberlin's conservatory experimentalist and NY's DIY history before arriving at her debut album 'Woodpecker' . Think Waxahatchee, Told Slant & Moldy Peaches...
Black vinyl with inner sleeve lyrics & download.

Deer Scout’s debut full length Woodpecker is a record about memory and the subconscious. And like an unforgettable dream that keeps you puzzling over its riddles for days, it’s as packed with direct symbols as it is with ruminative haze. “I approach songwriting as a process of boxing things up, or putting away a time capsule,” explains front person Dena Miller, who wrote the album over a period of six years. It’s a culminating collection of the project’s many sounds and influences to date, from Philly’s punk cooperatives to Oberlin’s conservatory experimentalism to New York’s DIY history. At the center is Miller’s assured guitar fingerpicking and boldly clear voice, firmly grounded even as it gently probes uncertain emotional and musical terrain.

Raised by two folk musicians in Yonkers, Miller began recording songs as Deer Scout her freshman year of college in Philadelphia. There, she wrote Woodpecker’s earliest song “Synesthesia” about a train ride home from a basement show: “Night in the city / Big house on the corner / Her voice has the timbre of summers ago,” recalls Miller resonantly. After Miller’s transfer to Oberlin College, Deer Scout began touring DIY venues around the country and sharing stages with favorite artists including Waxahatchee and Told Slant. The twinned intimacy and intricacy of those two influences is reflected in the carefully adventurous arrangements on Woodpecker, which features, among other contributors, bass from close collaborator Ko Takasugi-Czernowin, cello from Zuzia Weyman, drums from Madel Rafter, and guitar from Miller’s father Mark—who also wrote the song “Peace with the Damage” and originally released it with his band Spuyten Duyvil in 2011.

Many of the songs on Woodpecker were written during periods of grief or change. “I used to sing myself to sleep as a baby and I think music still plays the same role in my life—it’s a way of self-soothing or seeking comfort,” explains Miller. “But there’s also part of it that comes from wanting to connect with people." Recorded and mixed primarily by Heather Jones at So Big Auditory in Philly with overdubs by Miller at home, Woodpecker is an exercise in portraying the incommunicable. “Cup”—about a relational psychology test called “a walk in the woods” that turns encounters with symbols into meaning—uses watery arpeggios, wintry strings, and roving bass to create a liminal sonic space, optimistic but tense. “Cowboy,” with airy layers of acoustic guitar riffs and Miller’s charmingly double tracked voice, takes its little fish, big pond inspiration from the character Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy. And “Afterthought,” with its unexpectedly bright resolutions, is about God, love, and the complexity of empathy; “Heaven isn’t watching us,” sings Miller candidly over pedal steel.

Though Woodpecker is a record about uncertainty and the unknown, it’s also about compassion and connection—as Miller was able to find over the course of writing and recording this next chapter for Deer Scout and first release for Carpark, which she’s excited to at last share with the world.