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After the Dead Boys, Bators embarked on a musical journey that saw him touch upon power pop during a brief solo career. Although included in our past release "I Wanna Be a Dead Boy" (1992), as a limited edition 7" boxset, this is the first time the single gets an official reissue in its original format. This is an essential power pop classic! As the frontman for the Dead Boys, Stiv Bators terrorized audiences with his snotty, in-your-face punk rock style. But after the Dead Boys, Bators embarked on a musical journey that saw him touch upon power pop during a brief solo career. Stiv moved to Los Angeles and signed with Bomp! Records, Greg Shaw's label that released many seminal 70s West Coast punk and power pop groups such as the Nerves, the Weirdos, the Zeros and the Germs. The first Bators single to emerge from Bomp!, 'It's Cold Outside' (originally by Ohio legends The Choir), is a song that the Dead Boys reportedly could not figure out how to play. It was released in May 1979. The B side 'The Last Year' is a Stiv/Jeff Jones (alter ego of Frank Secich) song dedicated to the recently deceased bassist of the Sex Pistols Sid Vicious and would later appear on the LP "Disconnected" (1980).

Sam's Place ist das erste Studioalbum der amerikanischen Blues/Rock/Country/Funk Band seit 12 Jahren und gleichzeitig eine Hommage von Little Feat an den Blues mit dem Schlagzeuger Sam Clayton als Leadsänger im Mittelpunkt. Es ist auch ihr erstes Studioalbum mit Scott Sharrard an der Gitarre und Tony Leone am Schlagzeug sowie den langjährigen Mitgliedern Bill Payne an den Tasten, Kenny Gradney am Bass und Fred Tackett an der Gitarre. Das Album wurde in Memphis, TN im Sam's Phillips Studio aufgenommen und von Little Feat und Charles A. Martinez produziert. Das neue Werk strotzt nur so vor Energie und beinhaltet musikalische Einflüsse vieler verschiedener Künstler wie Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Sam Clayton, Fred Tackett oder Bonnie Raitt die als Gast-Sängering mit von der Partie ist. Little Feat wurde 1969 in Los Angeles von Lowell George gegründet und löste sich nach dessen Tod 1979 auf. 1988 fanden sich die verbliebenen Musiker wieder zusammen und und veröffentlichten seit dem eine respektable Anzahl hochkarätiger Alben, die ihnen auch n Deutschland, Österreich und in der Schweiz Verkäufe in 6-stelliger Höhe bescherten. Nach "Rooster Rag" 2012 geht es jetzt mit Vollgas Richtung "Sam's Place" um mit Little Feat eine große Blues-Party zu feiern.

Produced by is an EP featuring original songs created by Adrian Younge featuring talented artists Black Thought, Estelle, Gallant, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Terrace Martin. From Younge's perspective, each of these songs collectively celebrate the spectrum of black music and were intentionally created for Black History Month. Recorded and mixed by Adrian Younge at Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles, CA.

Adrian Younge Presents: Twelve Reasons To Die II inhabits the grimy streets of mid-1970s, NYC. Younge's cinematic, psychedelic soul returns to set the stage for a clash between crime syndicates and the vengeful spirit of Tony Starks (Ghostface Killah). This gripping sequel features special guest appearances from Wu Tang alumni Rza and Raekwon, who personifies the criminal mastermind, Lester Kane. A Wu-Tang saga unfolds in this thrilling sequel to the acclaimed original. Recorded and mixed by Adrian Younge at Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles, CA.

Original Score To The Motion Picture: Run This Town is the soundtrack created by Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge for Ricky Tollman's 2019 political drama. Based on true events, the film exposes the story of Toronto's drug addicted mayor. With orchestration by Adrian Younge, the rich and complex score takes listeners on an unpredictable journey in to Tollman's world. All Music was recorded in Blakeslee Studios located in North Hollywood, CA. and Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles.

Adrian Younge Presents: Souls Of Mischief - There Is Only Now b/w All You Got Is Your Word. Adrian Younge Presents: There Is Only Now is the sixth album from legendary hip-hop group Souls of Mischief produced in its entirety by Adrian Younge. Inspired by a near fatal incident involving group members A-Plus, Opio, Tajai, and Phesto, the album is a cinematic 90s crime tale of love, loss, and revenge. Set in 1994, the album serves as a bookend to two decades of music since the release of SOM's seminal debut album, `93 Til Infinity. Recorded and mixed by Adrian Younge at Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles, CA.

Die mit dem GRAMMY® Award ausgezeichnete Rockband Cage The Elephant meldet sich mit ihrem kommenden sechsten Studioalbums Neon Pill (17. Mai, RCA Records) zurück. Mit dem neuen Album beschreitet die aus Kentucky stammende sechsköpfige Band - die Brüder Matthew Shultz Gesang und Brad Shultz Gitarre, Daniel Tichenor Bass, Jared Champion Schlagzeug, Nick Bockrath Leadgitarre und Matthan Minster Gitarre, Keyboards, Backing Vocals - musikalisches Neuland, wobei sie ihre kompromisslose Kreativität und ihre wilden, kathartischen Performances beibehalten. "Neon Pill", produziert von John Hill, entstand bei Sessions auf der Sonic Ranch in El Paso, im Electric Lady in New York, im Sound Emporium in Nashville, im Echo Mountain in North Carolina und in Hills eigenem Studio in Los Angeles

Elaine Brown has led a life of distinction. Appointed in August 1974 by Huey Newton from his exile in Cuba to be the one and only female leader of the Black Panther Party, Elaine has pursued a career of community service that continues to this day. But her debut 1969 album Seize the Time leaves one wondering what would have happened had she not put her musical career second. She was first discovered as a performer while singing Thomas Dorsey’s “Precious Lord” at the funeral service for Panther Bunchy Carter. Afterwards, Panther’s Chief of Staff David Hilliard had her audition for him accompanying herself on piano. That session led to her composition “The Meeting” (about an encounter with Eldridge Cleaver) being adopted as the Black Panther Party National Anthem, and an album was commissioned. Elaine enlisted Los Angeles jazz legend Horace Tapscott and his PanAfrikan Peoples Arkestra to arrange and back her, and Seize the Time was born—which the Black Panther Party’s newspaper called “the first songs of the American revolution.” Blending influences ranging from Bob Dylan to classical, and anchored by Elaine’s powerful delivery of her deeply-felt lyrics, this album will stir your blood whether you agree with its politics or not. Now, with the cooperation of Elaine Brown herself, Seize the Time sees its first-ever American LP reissue, complete with original “uni-pak” packaging featuring lyrics and liner notes, plus an insert with new liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen Whitey! The Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975.Limited run of 950 copies in deep purple vinyl. SIDE ONE 1. Seize the Time 2. The Panther 3. And All Stood By 4. The End of Silence 5. The Meeting (The Black Panther Party National Anthem SIDE TWO 1. Very Black Man 2. Take It Away 3. One Time 4. Assassination 5. Poppa’s Come Home SELLING POINTS • Elaine Brown Is an Activist First and Musician Second • But Her 1969 Debut Seize the Time Shows Things Could Have Gone the Other Way • She Was Appointed in 1974 by Huey Newton from His Exile in Cuba to Be the One and Only Female Head of The Black Panther Party • She Has Pursued a Career in Community Service That Continues to This Day • First Discovered as a Performer When Singing Thomas Dorsey’s “Precious Lord” at the Funeral for Panther Bunchy Carter • Then Panther’s Chief of Staff David Hilliard Had Her Audition for Him Accompanying Herself on Piano • An Album Was Commissioned, and Brown’s “The Meeting” (About an Encounter with Eldridge Cleaver) Became the Black Panther Party National Anthem • Seize the Time Was Arranged by L.A. Jazz Legend Horace Tapscott, and Features His Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra • A Unique Record Featuring Influences Ranging from Dylan to Classical, All Anchored by Brown’s Impassioned Singing and Deeply-Felt Lyrics • First-Ever American LP Reissue • Includes Original Uni-Pak Jacket with Notes and Lyrics • Also Contains Insert with Notes by Pat Thomas, Author of Listen Whitey! The Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975 • Deep Purple Vinyl Pressing • Limited to 950 Copes • This Release of Seize the Time Is Fully Authorized by Elaine Brown Herself STREET DATE: MAY 3, 2024 (Limited Deep Purple Vinyl Edition) iBarcoder Trial ELAINE BROWN BLACK PANTHER PARTY BLACK PANTHER PARTY ELAINE BROWN VAULT

Soul Jazz Records’ new 10th anniversary one-off limited-edition heavyweight special-edition orange coloured vinyl pressing (+ download code) exclusively for Record Store Day 2024 of their long out of print Punk 45: Kill the Hippies! Kill Yourself! Soul Jazz Records’ debut Punk 45 album charts the rise of underground punk across the United States of America in the years 1973-1980. This album is fully remastered, relicensed with new tracks exclusively for RSD 24 and includes new tracks from Iggy & The Stooges, Nervous Eaters, The Angry Samoans and more!


The Punk 45 album features a collection of seminal, classic, obscure and rare punk and proto-punk 45 singles from the likes of Electric Eels, The Pagans, The Deadbeats, The Randoms, The Lewd and many more - a lightning-rod journey across the states of America - Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Akron, New Orleans, Philadelphia – tracing the rise of punk music in these various towns and cities. The album comes complete with extensive text, biographies on each of the bands, exclusive photos and original record artwork.

Fünf Jahre nach Jessica Pratt's 2019 erschienenen Durchbruch-Album "Quiet Signs", taucht sie mit neuen Ambitionen und neuen Parametern für ihre Musik wieder auf. Für ihr neues, viertes Album "Here in the Pitch" arbeitete sie erneut in Gary's Electric Studio in Brooklyn und mit ihrem bewährten Team: Multi-Instrumentalist/Engineer Al Carlson und Keyboarder Matt McDermott.

Zusätzlich holte sie sich das Rhythmus-Duo Spencer Zahn und Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms for Peace) an die Seite, weitere Beiträge auf dem Album kommen von Ryley Walker, Peter Mudge (Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar) und Alex Goldberg. Die Musik ist intim und emotional, wie es die Fans erwarten und die Texte sind ein impressionistischer Lobgesang auf die Unwägbarkeiten des Ehrgeizes. In den letzten 12 Jahren hat sich die verehrte Künstlerin aus Los Angeles zu einer der einzigartigsten Songwriterinnen ihrer Generation entwickelt. Vor allem durch die mystische, schwer fassbare Mischung aus ihrer zarten Akustikgitarre und ihrem atemberaubenden Gesang. Für "Here in the Pitch" schwebte Jessica Pratt eine größere Bandbreite an Einflüssen vor - große Panoramaklänge, die an den Ozean und Kalifornien denken lassen - und in diesen neun Songs werden Pauken, Glockenspiel, Baritonsaxophon und Flöte mit robusten Gesangsarrangements überlagert, die eine triumphale Stimmung erzeugen, selbst wenn die Texte auf Verwüstung hindeuten. Diese breitere Produktionspalette wird sofort beim eindringlichen Album-Opener und der ersten Single "Life Is" deutlich. Ein Schlagzeugwirbel erinnert an den großen, orchestralen Stil von 60er-Jahre-Pop-Hits wie "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" von den Walker Brothers.

Introducing the next release in Names You Can Trust's long-running collaboration with the prolific and symbiotic musical universe of Bogotá, Colombia. Mau Gatiyo y Los Años Maravillosos formed in 2021, arising from the very same fertile ground of the Teusaquillo neighborhood that has spawned many records and musical mischievousness. At the heart of this experimental movement is what can only be described asTropicanibalismo, where a deep hunger for the roots of Colombian tropical music are only satiated by dissecting it, consuming it and ultimately creating something new again as some kind of untraditional, unholy, and yet referential form of musical sustenance.

Within this concept, there's a clear lineage of inspired and visionary artists that have been featured throughout NYCT's record catalog for the last 15 years that includes luminaries Frente Cumbiero, Meridian Brothers, and Romperayo. Each of these artists' tentacles have touched several parallel projects from their talented neighbors and friends, and whether through production, playing, engineering, or mixing, these collaborations have heavily contributed to a very fruitful and colorful scene that could only exist within Colombia's capital, while also gaining notoriety in the nooks and crannies of northern latitudes like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Mau Gatiyo, a talented accordian player and vocalist, together with his group (translated as The Wonder Years), is precisely one of these projects, a collective that has found their calling in the echoes of thevallenatosandcumbiasthat once populated the nation's airwaves throughout the 20th century. It's a traditional format that has always lent itself to storytelling, whether it be anecdotes about daily life, or using one's voice to raise uncomfortable questions in protest against the system. This is where Mau Gatiyo's poetic, almostnew wavetimbre finds a lane of its own, straddling a 2020s societal landscape under the guise of ostensibly old-time accordion music.

The debut 7-inch from the group, an excerpt from their recently released album Baño Unisex, was recorded at Mambo Negro studios by Ivan Medellin (La Sonora Mazurén) and mixed by Eblis Alvarez of Meridian Brothers, both familiar names and contributors to the NYCT catalog. Alvarez himself, who has emerged in recent years as an international beacon of this new tropical avant-garde, is no stranger to flipping traditional styles on their head, or at least respectfully off-kilter. Mau Gatiyo y sus Años Maravillosos proves to be another great vessel for this veryBogotano expression, draping the classical playing of its group members in a modern day cosmopolitan expression of righteousness, both outwardly in their dashing, performative fashion sense, and lyrically with their cheeky "420, Reloj"ganja-tune promotion – or even their outward dissenter objections to paramilitary and firearm power in "Poder Militar."

Ultimately, these songs lie at the crossroads where two cultural eras connect and become something unique, a protestation one with performance, dance, and artistic expression. This cathartic ritual of protest has a storied history in music, and these two new entries into the NYCT catalog will hopefully find their place amongst a modern day canon, or at the very least, have your feet moving and your head nodding in just approval.

Yaya Beys neues Album ‘Ten Fold' knüpft an den kraftvollen Doppelschlag ihres 2022er-Albums, „Remember Your North Star“, und der Folge-EP, „Exodus The North Star“, aus dem Jahr 2023 an und ist ein frei gesprochenes und fließendes Selbstporträt, das von unmittelbaren Reflexionen über die Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft geprägt ist. „Ten Fold“ ist vollgepackt mit den Nuancen von Yaya Beys Identität und den verschiedenen Facetten ihrer kreativen Bemühungen. Es richtet den Fokus nach innen und meditiert über ihr inneres Wesen, während es gleichzeitig Raum für den Humor und den bissigen sozialen Kommentar schafft, der ein bestimmendes Merkmal ihrer Arbeit ist.
Die als Hadaiyah Bey geborene Yaya Bey begann bereits im Alter von neun Jahren mit dem Schreiben von Songs und trat mit ihrem 2020 erschienenen Album, „Madison Tapes“, als neue Stimme in der Avantgarde der R&B-Storyteller:innen in Erscheinung. Ihre 2022 erschienene LP, „Remember Your North Star“ und die darauf folgende EP, „Exodus The North Star“, wurden vom Spiegel, Stern, Zeit Online, Rolling Stone Deutschland, Jazzthetik, Missy Magazine, Plattentests u.v.m. und im Radio von u.a. Deutschlandfunk Kultur, BR 2, Cosmo, ByteFM, RBB Radioeins und FluxFM sehr positiv aufgenommen, sowie international u.a. von der New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, NPR, GQ, Crack Magazine, The Times, Clash ebenfalls hochgelobt.
Kürzlich spielte sie an der Seite von Immanuel Wilkins die Hauptrolle in einer Werbekampagne für die aktuelle Zusammenarbeit von Converse mit der New Yorker Marke AwakeNY. Bevor die in Brooklyn geborene Künstlerin offiziell das Jahr 2023 abschloss, spielte sie eine ausverkaufte Show im New Yorker SOBs für Spotify Stages und krönte damit eine Reihe von Live-Auftritten auf Festivalbühnen rund um den Globus in diesem Jahr, darunter Glastonbury, Pitchfork Festival in Chicago, Roskilde Festival in Dänemark und viele mehr.

Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements are two of contemporary music"s most renowned innovators. Each has managed to expand the perception of their instrument"s capabilities. Lattimore inventive harp processing and looping has brought the instrument to a new audience. Her prolific run of celestial solo albums and evocative film scores have redefined the instrument in the modern consciousness. Her genre-agnostic collaborations include work with Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn, Jeff Zeigler, Meg Baird, and Thurston Moore. McClements, who tours as a member of Weyes Blood, is an acclaimed composer in his own right, sculpting glacial atmospherics from the accordion. The Los Angeles based duo became quick friends on overlapping tours, sharing both a drive to push the sonic possibilities of their instruments and roots in North Carolina. Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements debut collaboration Rain on the Road blossomed out of that time spent on the road together, capturing the liminal existence of touring life in deeply cinematic compositions. Recorded in the cozy setting of McClements" apartment during a rainy December in LA, Rain on the Road unfurls as a series of sonic vignettes, rolling landscapes hewn from longform improvisations for harp and accordion. Embellished with additional instrumentation such as the shimmering constellations of hand bells on "Stolen Bells" that glisten like lights on wet pavement, or the stately piano figures on "The Top of Thomas Street"; their pastoral pieces manage to paint vivid images.

Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements are two of contemporary music"s most renowned innovators. Each has managed to expand the perception of their instrument"s capabilities. Lattimore inventive harp processing and looping has brought the instrument to a new audience. Her prolific run of celestial solo albums and evocative film scores have redefined the instrument in the modern consciousness. Her genre-agnostic collaborations include work with Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn, Jeff Zeigler, Meg Baird, and Thurston Moore. McClements, who tours as a member of Weyes Blood, is an acclaimed composer in his own right, sculpting glacial atmospherics from the accordion. The Los Angeles based duo became quick friends on overlapping tours, sharing both a drive to push the sonic possibilities of their instruments and roots in North Carolina. Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements debut collaboration Rain on the Road blossomed out of that time spent on the road together, capturing the liminal existence of touring life in deeply cinematic compositions. Recorded in the cozy setting of McClements" apartment during a rainy December in LA, Rain on the Road unfurls as a series of sonic vignettes, rolling landscapes hewn from longform improvisations for harp and accordion. Embellished with additional instrumentation such as the shimmering constellations of hand bells on "Stolen Bells" that glisten like lights on wet pavement, or the stately piano figures on "The Top of Thomas Street"; their pastoral pieces manage to paint vivid images.

Curation Records has the vinyl exclusive release of HIGH LIFE, the new album from indie sensations Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes, for fans of Phoenix, Portugal The Man & Spoon as the Nashville lash Los Angeles band continues to develop into something special

Sam Cooke’s SAR Records Story 1959-1965 gathers significant recordings of SAR Records – the label Sam Cooke co-founded, produced the majority of records for and was instrumental in operating. Groundbreaking artists such as The Soul Stirrers, Johnnie Taylor, Billy Preston, and Bobby Womack’s group The Valentinos are all featured, in addition to Sam himself. “The whole SAR Records Story is infused with Sam Cooke’s rapturous sense of how sacred gospel and sexual soul flow together, unbroken,” stated Milo Miles on NPR’s Fresh Air upon the set’s initial release almost three decades ago. In an era where black-owned labels were a rarity, Los Angeles based SAR Records was founded at almost exactly the same time as Motown, its Detroit counterpart. SAR was established in 1959 by Sam Cooke, music publisher J.W. Alexander, and S. Roy Crain, Cooke’s road manager and founder of gospel group The Soul Stirrers. The acronymous name standing for Sam Alex Roy, SAR sought to keep gospel music alive while simultaneously crossing over to pop audiences in the secular world. LPs 1 and 2 of the set focus on the former, while LPs 3 and 4 encompass the latter. From choosing talent, to writing a great number of songs, to producing, SAR was entirely the fulfillment of Cooke’s vision on a musical/creative level. The superstar singer, who had already crossed over from the gospel world himself, tirelessly coached the vocalists during SAR recording sessions, emphasizing diction. His methods are heard throughout the collection, as he is heard speaking to artists between takes. “And by Sam being there with you and just giving you that special attention, you wanted to give it to him like it was supposed to be. I think that’s what made SAR, SAR. Because he was selling himself through different artists.” – Bobby Womack. VERY LIMITED 1-2 COPIES ONLY PER SHOP

Warehouse Find!

Seems like something's going on across the pond at the moment with seemingly blossoming, or at least rejuvenated scenes in the United States and Canada. Our last handful of releases on Freerange have included artists from Montreal, Tujuana, Pittsburgh and Chicago and we're about to add Los Angeles to the list with this new one from Justin Jay and Ulf Bonde. The young producers have been steadily building steam with a number of fine releases the last couple of years
and we welcome them to Freerange for their debut EP entitled Indecision. The title track sets the mood with a low-slung, super-deep house groove complete
with an intimate vocal and a charming simplicity which contributes to the powerful end result. Elements come into focus then disappear in a fog of reverb whilst playful guitar picks add a live jammed feel to the loping groove giving things a Bob Moses/Francis Harris kind of vibe. Next up is Justin's own Dub version which steers a similar course but focuses on
a more floor-friendly arrangement and minimal vocals.
Flipping over we have Giegling and White regular Edward taking the reigns and working his magic on an incredible, epic remix of Indecision. Those who follow his every move as we do here at Freerange might have some idea of what to expect.
The result is a glorious, almost ten minute long fusion of ambient, dub techno and deep, sub-aquatic house to lose your marbles to. It's fairly pointless trying to describe the delicate twists, turns and subtle details that make up this piece, suffice to say, it's the kind of track that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Closing the digital release we have a bonus track in the form of I See You. Once again, Justin and Ulf have created a heady mix of delicate vocals, dubby atmospherics and a crisp beats which drive the groove along perfectly.

The Flenser is pleased to announce the release of Living Is Easy, the latest EP from ecstatic black metal band Agriculture. Ecstatic black metal from Los Angeles. Follows up 2023’s critically acclaimed debut. A new EP plus first vinyl release of their first EP. Appearing prominently at the 2024 edition of Roadburn. US and European tour dates in the works through 2024. Video for title track featuring Flenser goons, Chat Pile. This new EP will be paired with the band’s debut EP, The Circle Chant. For the first time, both EPs will be pressed together on a single 12-inch vinyl record as well as a cassette format Living Is Easy represents a significant new statement from the band. With their debut self-titled, Agriculture embarked on a journey to explore how heavy music can provide insights into the joys of life, both everyday and divine. Their extensive touring with this material led to a profound experience of ecstasy, surpassing expectations as they shared the intensity and joy of these songs with audiences worldwide. This experience was a catalyst for the band, inspiring them to delve even deeper into the realm of “ecstatic black metal” music. They believes that with this release they have pushed this concept to its limit, resulting in a transformative explosion of sound and meaning. The record delves into themes of community connection, holiness, violence, and the cycles of life. The title track is especially notable, featuring a retelling of a story from one of the Buddha’s past lives. In this narrative, the Buddha encounters a starving family of tigers and sacrifices himself to save them, a tale of serenity and selflessness. This story resonates deeply with the band, reflecting the humility and inspiration they find in their collaboration and echoing the generosity and interconnection they strive to explore through their music. Touring holds a special place in the heart of Agriculture. It brings them immense joy to share their music, visit new places, and meet new people in cities around the world. This constant interaction with diverse audiences serves as a continuous source of inspiration for this work. Agriculture is eager and excited to share Living Is Easy as well as give new life to the first vinyl pressing of The Circle Chant

Fünf Jahre nach Jessica Pratt's 2019 erschienenen Durchbruch-Album "Quiet Signs", taucht sie mit neuen Ambitionen und neuen Parametern für ihre Musik wieder auf. Für ihr neues, viertes Album "Here in the Pitch" arbeitete sie erneut in Gary's Electric Studio in Brooklyn und mit ihrem bewährten Team: Multi-Instrumentalist/Engineer Al Carlson und Keyboarder Matt McDermott.

Zusätzlich holte sie sich das Rhythmus-Duo Spencer Zahn und Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms for Peace) an die Seite, weitere Beiträge auf dem Album kommen von Ryley Walker, Peter Mudge (Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar) und Alex Goldberg. Die Musik ist intim und emotional, wie es die Fans erwarten und die Texte sind ein impressionistischer Lobgesang auf die Unwägbarkeiten des Ehrgeizes. In den letzten 12 Jahren hat sich die verehrte Künstlerin aus Los Angeles zu einer der einzigartigsten Songwriterinnen ihrer Generation entwickelt. Vor allem durch die mystische, schwer fassbare Mischung aus ihrer zarten Akustikgitarre und ihrem atemberaubenden Gesang. Für "Here in the Pitch" schwebte Jessica Pratt eine größere Bandbreite an Einflüssen vor - große Panoramaklänge, die an den Ozean und Kalifornien denken lassen - und in diesen neun Songs werden Pauken, Glockenspiel, Baritonsaxophon und Flöte mit robusten Gesangsarrangements überlagert, die eine triumphale Stimmung erzeugen, selbst wenn die Texte auf Verwüstung hindeuten. Diese breitere Produktionspalette wird sofort beim eindringlichen Album-Opener und der ersten Single "Life Is" deutlich. Ein Schlagzeugwirbel erinnert an den großen, orchestralen Stil von 60er-Jahre-Pop-Hits wie "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" von den Walker Brothers.

The Los Angeles-based indie-dance duo is comprised of Australian-born Jordan Feller and Southern California native Marc Gilfry. Their sophomore studio album, It’s All A Bit Fuzzy, comes packed with new, epic collabs and sets the stage for their riveting live show.

Laufey ist eine in Los Angeles lebende Sängerin, Komponistin, Produzentin und Multiinstrumentalistin, deren Jazzsongs von junger Liebe und Selbstfindung handeln. Aufgewachsen zwischen Reykjavik und Washington, D.C. mit jährlichen Besuchen in Peking, wuchs die isländisch-chinesische Künstlerin mit Cello und Klavier auf und wurde süchtig nach den Jazzstandards von Ella Fitzgerald, nachdem sie die Plattensammlung ihres Vaters durchstöbert hatte. "Typical of Me" ist Laufeys Debüt-EP, die auch ihre Debüt-Single "Street by Street" enthält.

DEATH LENS relentlessly seeks a place in your consciousness, a persistent presence whispering in your ear. Concealing ferocity beneath a stylish veneer, their live shows unleash energy and chaos, leaving spectators disarmed and forever transformed. After successful tours with Militarie Gun and Together Pangea and hometown support, DEATH LENS is poised to release their latest album, Cold World, on May 3rd, through Epitaph Records. In recordings, DEATH LENS forges unyielding rock, blending West Coast surf punk with Britrock"s tight, bouncy rhythms. Despite their deceptive chill and vibe-focused portrayal, live performances brim with hardcore intensity. Rooted in slick guitar sonics and sugary backing vocal harmonies, reminiscent of indie punk and shoegaze, DEATH LENS channels the energy of bands like Turnstile and Militarie Gun on stage, creating soundtracks for indelible memories of high-energy, sweat-soaked singalongs. Hailing from La Puente, the self-described "five Brown boys" transition from showcasing explosive energy in recordings to embodying a refined representation of hard work and early influences gaining traction in their scene. Growing up as minorities east of Los Angeles amidst police harassment and gang violence, DEATH LENS faced risk factors that could have led them astray. Evolving from a party garage punk band, they now serve as a platform addressing life in heavily policed and immigrant-dominant areas, advocating for immigration reforms, and utilizing resources to support their community. Their experiences form a powerful narrative within their music.

It was the summer of 1996 in London. Rat Scabies had his studio 'The Arch' underneath Kew Bridge, in which various projects were recorded. At some point, Rat (The Damned), Derwood Andrews (Generation X) and Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) drifted in to rehearse and write songs to record an album. Pretty soon they were ready to start recording, but they didn't have a singer. They called upon an old friend Gary Twinn (20 Flight Rockers), who flew in on the red eye from Los Angeles and immediately started recording. It may have been a good idea to give Gary time to get over the jet lag, and write some more songs. But Gary's lyrics were working well and it was sounding so good they started laying down the tracks. A day or so later, Martin Lee Stephenson, a young hot mixer came down to the Arches and mixed the seven tracks that were recorded. The plan was to do a few more songs and have a finished album. Gary went back to the west coast and started booking shows. It was all looking good, and it was fun. Then Glen called to say the Pistols had offered him to reform with a world tour called Filthy Lucre, and he'd be doing that for the next six months at least. So, Dead Horse was truly dead, and the whole idea was abandoned. These tapes have been on the shelf for almost 30 years. These tapes are being released in the interest of music history, and the fact that they were never quite finished shouldn't matter to anyone. The quality of the people involved shines through.

American rock band Vixen was formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1980. During its most commercially successful period from 1987 to 1992, the band consisted of Jan Kuehnemund (lead guitar), Janet Gardner (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Share Ross (bass guitar), and Roxy Petrucci (drums). The band‘s eponymous first album was released in 1988, and reached No. 41 on the Billboard 200. As part of the Los Angeles glam metal scene, the band has been described as „the female Bon Jovi.“ Several singles reached theBillboard Hot 100, including the Top 40 singles „Edge of a Broken Heart“ and „Cryin“. While the band originally disbanded in 1992, it reformed several times and in 2018 ’Rare Vintage‘ was released. As of 2022 the band currently consists of Roxy Petrucci, Britt Lightning, Lorraine Lewis, and Julia Lage.

American rock band Vixen was formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1980. During its most commercially successful period from 1987 to 1992, the band consisted of Jan Kuehnemund (lead guitar), Janet Gardner (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Share Ross (bass guitar), and Roxy Petrucci (drums). The band‘s eponymous first album was released in 1988, and reached No. 41 on the Billboard 200. As part of the Los Angeles glam metal scene, the band has been described as „the female Bon Jovi.“ Several singles reached theBillboard Hot 100, including the Top 40 singles „Edge of a Broken Heart“ and „Cryin“. While the band originally disbanded in 1992, it reformed several times and in 2018 ’Rare Vintage‘ was released. As of 2022 the band currently consists of Roxy Petrucci, Britt Lightning, Lorraine Lewis, and Julia Lage.

A humanity-reminding suite of miracle moments, Someone Like Me unites a geographically unbound cast of real people in pursuit of a meaningful connection. Taping their lived experience in economic studios in quiet English counties, Pacific Northwest woodland retreats and the big city bustle of Sydney and Los Angeles, these kindred spirits rendered sheer beauty in the process. Custom pressed folk songs of love, loss and the lord saviour.

Illuminating minor works from seasoned players such as former Syndicate Of Sound chart-topper Sharkey and late-era Canned Heat lynchpin James Thornbury, the collection simultaneously honours the fleeting amateurism of hobby musicians. With their one shot at tangible vinyl, freshman Lynne Ann Kingan realised her loose bubblegum rocker on campus time, while U.S. Navy recruit Fred Potts cut his unconditionally serene ballad remotely stationed on a Spanish naval base. Spartan production continues to reign with Jon Betmead’s hair-raising gospel, howling into infinite space, and Goldrust’s stripped back garden hymn.

Throughout the hour-long reflection, faith has an intermittent yet revelatory presence, most overtly with the divine choral soul of Seventh-day Adventist quartet Remnant. More subtly, Gary Ramey and Jim Kennedy both turned to song in their spiritual quests, offering their all to a universal power. An irrefutable compilation cornerstone, the National Office For Black Catholics showcased Charles Murphy’s lionhearted account of the Black experience at a 1971 concert. Five years earlier, high school seniors The Superwomen would use their hauntingly angelic harmonies to address racial inequity with a breathless take on ‘Lowlands’.

Reaching the furthest corners, Someone Like Me secures the inaugural licence of three homespun masterpieces. Discovered by fluke in the digital haystacks of Youtube and Soundcloud, Jim Huxley’s bedroom pop earworm melds peacefully into Charlie Webster’s synthesized reverie. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s John Agostino introduces us to the bizarre world of tax scam records, with the artist only now learning that his tender psych-folk demos were leaked via a 1977 bootleg.

Compiled and lovingly restored by armchair digger Mikey Young (Eddy Current Suppression Ring/The Green Child), Someone Like Me pays due service to seventeen rarefied journals of truth and devotion. Adorned with visual artist Chris Fallon’s figure and flora dream extractions, the uniting songbook is further detailed by expansive track-by-track liner notes and a forward from San Franciscan poet Rod Roland.

If the Chateau Marmont could sing. This would be it. Loren Kramar's voice vibrates with the shameless hum of a room after a celebrity exits Ecstatic aspiration. Doubt. Proximity. Desire. The album "Glovemaker" is about the skins we craft to be seen by the world, and Loren reminds us that we are all in drag. All exposed. No matter what gloves we slip on. "I'm a slut for all my dreams", Loren Kramar sings with Patti Smith brashness, "I'm a whore for them, I've got more of them". Loren's lyrics move like tinsel, shimmering bravely, then just as quickly, curling, fragile under the spotlight. Loren has always been obsessed with fame. Not with famous people, but with the electricity that perverts attention - the crushing desire to be truly seen. And all of Loren, and this obsession, is in this album. He grew up in the Valley, forced to hide his Barbies from his father, so the closet was a gorgeous Spanish ranch house on a gilded cul-de-sac crawling with celebrities. Naturally this gay boy wanted to be a child star so his mother secretly shuttled him to tap and jazz and figure skating lessons. "I've got hands and feet to put in the concrete", Loren croons, in "Hollywood Blvd", a song which clangs with brawny bravado. But "Gay Angels" reminds us that Loren's infatuation with stardom is inextricably linked with his queerness and his own desire to live outside of fear. To be famous is to be out. To be known. To be himself. "Glovemaker has become a kind of code for art making itself. A glove as a covering or mask that follows the contours of the life beneath it. As a song and a symbol, this is an album about studying and tracing a life - and then sharing what's there," Loren says. And his desire to share truth feels urgent. To listen to Loren is to understand there is no choice; the songs must tear through the air right now. This very second. "I see myself tearing and splitting and becoming a trampoline", he belts in "No Man," breaking our hearts right alongside his. Part poet, part theatrical diva, Loren loops together the tragedy of breathing on this planet, because like Eartha Kitt or Cat Stevens, Loren is at his core - an incredible story teller. This whole album is a shrine, a mantle atop a blazing fire of life, spread with the memorabilia of Loren; all of the pain and lust dazzling on unabashed view. This is a songwriter's album. Loren's lyrics are all his, and you feel it with every bright, Maraschino-cherry-like word that falls from his lips. "Like a lover, You scream and I shatter, I hit like a hammer" Loren sings. And we get to feel what Loren feels We live in his brain, riding his genre bending emotions, on a wave of modern pop. And the songs lift, they are anthems of belief, "Hollywood Blvd", "I'm a Slut", "Euphemism", "Gay Angels", are all odes to triumphing over the corroding powers of fear and doubt. And on this ride, Loren's voice is the guard rail, ever eager to stretch and transform, belting, talk-singing, multiplying, keeping us safe. "Glovemaker" slaps and soars. The album is an ecstatic overture to love and loneliness, to dreams and promises, to everything Los Angeles dangles. Buckle up. Loren knows how to craft space, how to move us through darkened bars, strobing arenas, beige carpeted bungalows and yellow lit highways. "How do you like LA?" Loren asks. I hope you love it.

Red Vinyl

If the Chateau Marmont could sing. This would be it. Loren Kramar's voice vibrates with the shameless hum of a room after a celebrity exits Ecstatic aspiration. Doubt. Proximity. Desire. The album "Glovemaker" is about the skins we craft to be seen by the world, and Loren reminds us that we are all in drag. All exposed. No matter what gloves we slip on. "I'm a slut for all my dreams", Loren Kramar sings with Patti Smith brashness, "I'm a whore for them, I've got more of them". Loren's lyrics move like tinsel, shimmering bravely, then just as quickly, curling, fragile under the spotlight. Loren has always been obsessed with fame. Not with famous people, but with the electricity that perverts attention - the crushing desire to be truly seen. And all of Loren, and this obsession, is in this album. He grew up in the Valley, forced to hide his Barbies from his father, so the closet was a gorgeous Spanish ranch house on a gilded cul-de-sac crawling with celebrities. Naturally this gay boy wanted to be a child star so his mother secretly shuttled him to tap and jazz and figure skating lessons. "I've got hands and feet to put in the concrete", Loren croons, in "Hollywood Blvd", a song which clangs with brawny bravado. But "Gay Angels" reminds us that Loren's infatuation with stardom is inextricably linked with his queerness and his own desire to live outside of fear. To be famous is to be out. To be known. To be himself. "Glovemaker has become a kind of code for art making itself. A glove as a covering or mask that follows the contours of the life beneath it. As a song and a symbol, this is an album about studying and tracing a life - and then sharing what's there," Loren says. And his desire to share truth feels urgent. To listen to Loren is to understand there is no choice; the songs must tear through the air right now. This very second. "I see myself tearing and splitting and becoming a trampoline", he belts in "No Man," breaking our hearts right alongside his. Part poet, part theatrical diva, Loren loops together the tragedy of breathing on this planet, because like Eartha Kitt or Cat Stevens, Loren is at his core - an incredible story teller. This whole album is a shrine, a mantle atop a blazing fire of life, spread with the memorabilia of Loren; all of the pain and lust dazzling on unabashed view. This is a songwriter's album. Loren's lyrics are all his, and you feel it with every bright, Maraschino-cherry-like word that falls from his lips. "Like a lover, You scream and I shatter, I hit like a hammer" Loren sings. And we get to feel what Loren feels We live in his brain, riding his genre bending emotions, on a wave of modern pop. And the songs lift, they are anthems of belief, "Hollywood Blvd", "I'm a Slut", "Euphemism", "Gay Angels", are all odes to triumphing over the corroding powers of fear and doubt. And on this ride, Loren's voice is the guard rail, ever eager to stretch and transform, belting, talk-singing, multiplying, keeping us safe. "Glovemaker" slaps and soars. The album is an ecstatic overture to love and loneliness, to dreams and promises, to everything Los Angeles dangles. Buckle up. Loren knows how to craft space, how to move us through darkened bars, strobing arenas, beige carpeted bungalows and yellow lit highways. "How do you like LA?" Loren asks. I hope you love it.

Patt Todd & The Rankoutsiders die Underground-Rock'n'Roll-Ikonen aus Los Angeles sind in Höchstform mit einem neuen Album zurück. "Keepin' Chaos At Bay" ist ein genreübergreifenden Album von knurrendem 70er-Jahre-Punkrock, Country, Blues und Roots-Rock voller Hooks.

Jahrzehntelang hat Pat Todd die dunklen Ecken und hinteren Regale der Americana Thrift Stores durchforstet und einen außergewöhnlichen Sound daraus entwickelt. Das neue Album destilliert alles, was er im Laufe seiner Karriere darüber gelernt hat, in einer genreübergreifenden Dosis von knurrendem 70er-Jahre-Punkrock, Country, Blues und Roots-Rock voller Hooks, die mit Hirn und Herz vorgetragen werden. Während diese Erfahrungen schon immer die hymnischen Songs der Rankoutsiders kreiieren, kommen sie auf Keepin' Chaos at Bay in einem der härtesten und zugleich gefühlvollsten Alben von Todds Karriere voll zur Geltung, und niemand, aber auch wirklich niemand, spielt die Songs wie Pat Todd himself.

Mafia Musik is the fourth studio album from mercurial Los Angeles rapper, D. Savage. Initially breaking out in the SoundCloud rap scene in 2016 with the track, “30 Round Clip,” D. Savage has blossomed from underground icon to full-fledged star, with Mafia Musik serving as his magnum opus. At 13 tracks, D. Savage relentlessly keeps his foot on the gas for the entire duration of the album, with scorching hits such as “Kome On,” “Dirty Dan,” & “JOKER, Pt. 2.” One of the leading artists in the plugg sub-genre, his delivery and style is melodic and airy, yet far from soft. It’s clear the future is bright for D. Savage, and Mafia Musik serves as a great foundation for what is to come for him.

Blitz Vega is a Rock band based between New York City and Los Angeles featuring Andy Rourke, bassist of The Smiths alongside frontman and guitarist Kav Sandhu of the Happy Mondays. The band debuted their first single "Hey Christo" in 2019. It was described as 'a
rager that springs from the Primal Scream/Kasabian/Black Rebel Motorcycle Club family tree' by Buzz Bands LA.

Roy Buchanan gilt bis heute als "der beste unbekannte Gitarrist der Welt". Die Rolling Stones wollten ihn als Nachfolger für Brian Jones, Eric Clapton als Gitarrist bei Derek & The Dominos - beides Angebote, die er ablehnte. Roy Buchanan war ein Meister auf der Fender Telecaster-Gitarre, sein Spiel beeinflusste Musiker wie z.B. Gary Moore, oder Jeff Beck maßgeblich. Roy Buchanan wuchs in Kalifornien auf, wo er auch Gitarre lernte. Als Teenager zog er nach Los Angeles und spielte mit Spencer Dryden (später der Drummer von Jefferson Airplane) in der Band Heartbeats. Danach tourte er mit Dale Hawkins und spielte mit Robbie Robertson (The Band), der Buchanan später als einen seiner Haupteinflüsse bezeichnete. In den 60er Jahren heiratete Roy Buchanan, zog nach Washington DC und arbeitete als Studiomusiker an mehr als 100 Produktionen, vornehmlich für Freddy Canon und Leiber/Stoller. Erst 1971 erschien sein erstes Solo-Album, was dazu führte, dass er und sein unnachahmliches Spiel auf der Fender Telecaster von Größen wie John Lennon, Eric Clapton oder den Rolling Stones als Geheimtipp gehandelt wurde. Die ab 1985 aufgenommenen Alben "When A Guitar Plays The Blues" (1985), "Dancing On The Edge" (1986) und "Hot Wires" (1987) gehören zu den Highlights seiner Karriere. Nur drei Jahre vor seinem tragischen Selbstmord wurde dieses Rockpalast-Konzert am 24. Februar 1985 in der Markthalle in Hamburg aufgenommen. Ein Auftritt, bei dem Roy Buchanans Genie als Gitarrist in einzigartiger Weise überzeugt - nicht zuletzt durch seine kongenialen Cover-Versionen u.a. von Jimi Hendrix oder Don Gibson. Es ist kein Geheimnis, dass Roy Buchanan seine Qualitäten vor allen Dingen bei seinen Auftritten ausleben konnte, von denen nur wenige aufgezeichnet wurden. Ein beeindruckendes Vermächtnis!

Career trajectories are rarely linear or make logical sense. Life is always unpredictable so all you can do is put in good work and keep at it. Joh Chase is a testament to this. Over the past two decades, the Seattle-raised, Los Angeles-based artist has persistently honed their songwriting and toured, opening for acts like Noah Gunderson and David Bazan. This dedication comes out entirely in their songs, which are so timeless, confident, and inviting they can only come from someone who’s devoted their whole life to their craft. Chase’s new album SOLO feels like a turning point for them: it’s the culmination of a lifetime of writing, losing, loving, and doing it all yourself. The LP adventurously toes the line between genres and sensibilities but it’s all filtered through Chase’s charming and fully-formed vision. SOLO is a testament to Chase’s do-it-yourself ethos throughout their entire career—they chipped away, self-funded tours, and crowdfunded this LP. But by finding their voice, they now no longer feel alone. “This is the most support I've ever had in my life,” says Chase. “I do not feel alone at all. There’s so much energy and generosity here around these songs.” Though it’s not their debut, SOLO feels like a reinvention for an artist: a daring reintroduction for a timeless talent. “I spent my life making music and trying to do it about 10 different ways,” says Chase. “Now this one feels like it. This album feels like a leveling-up of my music in general. When I look at it now, I realize this is the first record that's really me.” “Mesmerizing, infectious, joyful, and heartbreaking; this is the best new album I've heard in a decade. Joh Chase has arrived

With the new album Wiggle Your Fingers, GospelbeacH is back with their 70s Laurel Canyon sounds drifting down to Hollywood in the early 80s - this time the Lonesome LA Cowboy vibes reflect the neon lights of New Wave, Power-Pop, and Post-Punk. The Los Angeles group was formed in 2014 by Brent Rademaker, Tom Sanford and Neal Casal all from the Beachwood Sparks camp. Over the years has featured many harmonious friends, luminaries and guest stars over the years. The sound harks back to several eras of California sounds, folk-rock, sunshine pop country-rock and of course, the Paisley Underground.

With the new album Wiggle Your Fingers, GospelbeacH is back with their 70s Laurel Canyon sounds drifting down to Hollywood in the early 80s - this time the Lonesome LA Cowboy vibes reflect the neon lights of New Wave, Power-Pop, and Post-Punk. The Los Angeles group was formed in 2014 by Brent Rademaker, Tom Sanford and Neal Casal all from the Beachwood Sparks camp. Over the years has featured many harmonious friends, luminaries and guest stars over the years. The sound harks back to several eras of California sounds, folk-rock, sunshine pop country-rock and of course, the Paisley Underground.

Veteran producer Blende debuts on Studio Barnhus, the Athens-based Swede delivering 3 cuts full of force and rich in detail, perfectly straddling that line between weirdo pop and freaky dance that the Stockholm label loves to explore. Vocal contributions from Belgian rock experimentalist Mickael Karkousse and Los Angeles-based singer-DJ sensation Smiles Davis complete the package, along with a trippy and menacing cover by graphic wizard Stefan Fält. An essential Studio Barnhus dance record!
Johan Blende is a Swedish music producer, song writer and DJ. For the biggest part of this side of the millennium he’s been weaving together modern dance music elements with retro sounds of the ‘70s and ‘80s.

"Nothing and no one can extinguish this flame within you," sings Emilie Simon from the opening title of Polaris, her first true album in ten years. An apparent long eclipse that the French singer, musician, and producer has nevertheless used to explore new territories, open uncharted paths, and reinvent her musical vocabulary and narrative threads. Like Ariane in a dreamlike world, she stretches these threads along her journey, inviting us to blindly follow.

After composing music for the film "The Jesus Roll" with John Turturro, and a musical journey between Earth and Mars through a series of singles, in 2023, Emilie Simon chose to revisit her debut album, both in the studio and on stage, to definitively close a chapter begun twenty years earlier. She also published "Phoenix," a gothic tale with a "vampiric" theme, sung and spoken in alexandrines. The central character, Lily Mercier, is the same one found at the heart of the Polaris adventure. Clearly, Lily is a projection of Emilie, on a quest for the North Star that symbolizes the never-extinguished desire to find her way. The dazzlement too, when one is a musician always eager to ignite again for the infinite mysteries of sound and to translate its shivers into songs.

This album, sung in both French and English, succeeds in combining the clarity of melodies with the demands of production. It immediately captivates (the irresistible burn of the Sun) and enchants over repeated listens, like a lasting iridescence of a thousand sonic fragments. Recorded in New York (where Emilie lived for a long time), Los Angeles, Montreal, Rome, and Paris (where she returned to settle), Polaris has its own cartography. Its universe is the standard scale, its pulsation inspired by cosmic rhythms, and its unique poetry both disturbs and captivates. A sign that nothing and no one can extinguish this flame within her.

The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours was made with the black watch bandmates and producers/engineers Rob Campanella (Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Tyde, The Warlocks) and Andy Creighton (The World Record, Parson Red Heads). Ben Eshbach, formerly of The Sugarplastic, arranged the strings. Kesha Rose guests on lead vocals on the second single, Oh Do Shut Up. And the great Lindsay Murray once again lends her beautiful backing vox to a number of tracks.

the black watch songwriter/frontman John Andrew Fredrick wrote the ten songs on this, his Los Angeles-based band's latest album, entirely unselfconsciously, with no set goal in mind other than to revel in the joy of songwriting, and, eventually, the luxury of recording his music with his more-than-accomplished band. The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours, produced separately and together by Rob Campanella and Andy Creighton evinces the black watch's often stunning ability to, as Andy Gill once observed in The Independent, "find chaos in the calm, melody in the miasma."

Fredrick, who has also published four comedic novels and a book on the early films of Wes Anderson, jovially describes himself as "a recovering Anglophile--one who'll never, one hopes, fully recover." From his home studio in the Angeleno Heights district of L.A., he waxes eloquent about how being branded, as it were, as a too-ardent lover of British music, film, and literature has left him as bemused as has the tag "prolific" that is often affixed to reviews of his work.

"I just don't think it's all that interesting to note that we've made so many records. Looked at one way, it's a sort of deflection from talking about the timbre if not the quality of the individual songs. Though I know it can be intimidating for fans who've just discovered us--a sort of 'My goodness, where do I start with this band that has put out LPs since 1988?' I get it. I do. I picture someone standing at our slot at a bin at a record store becoming overwhelmed at the prospect of picking the 'wrong' title. And then walking away and not picking up anything from us!" Fredrick laughs. "What can you do indeed?"

He started his career as a songwriter as a result of an American Football injury that left him bedridden in the home he grew up in in Santa Barbara, California. The year The Beatles immortal double-album came out at Christmastime he broke his leg so badly that he had to be home-schooled for an entire year. His parents, ex-teachers themselves, refused to let him watch telly for more than an hour a day. He propped a Silvertone acoustic on top of the massive cast that screamed all the way up to his thigh from his toes, and began to write little melodies and lyrics that, doubtless, did not in the least mask his love for the Fabs, The White Album in especial.

And he read and read and read--histories of the American Revolution and Civil War, mostly, and as many Dickens novels as his mum and dad could bring him. "That year," Fredrick observes, "surely made me who I am today. Proof that intensely unfortunate-seeming events can prove most fortunate. As a sport-mad kid, it made me absolutely mental that I was exiled from the activities I loved most and the school teams I played on. What a blessing undisguised that injury was! Not that I'd like to experience anything like it ever again, mind you."

Fredrick can even recall a few of the melodies he wrote as boy ("Utterly trite, of course, completely jejune"); and in a way, The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours showcases a kind of get-back-to-where-you-once-belonged sensibility. "I didn't intend, this time, to make an album per se. I write both songs and fiction in order to find out what happens, to find out what I might want to say," he notes. "Rob often asks me what a particular song is about; and I often reply that I either don't know, or would prefer that others say. Same thing goes for when people ask me where they should start with our discography. I never know what to say. Our LP from 2011, Led Zeppelin Five (remastered in 2021 for its tenth anniversary), has been our best seller, I think--but that may be because some stoned Zepheads thought their gods had perhaps put out a record they'd missed!"

Despite being deadly serious about music-making, TBW's been known to either whimsically or perversely title their albums. Examples: Jiggery-Pokery (an allusion to John Lennon assessing George Martin's productions), After the Gold Room (a pun on the Neil Young classic plus a local eastside L.A. watering hole), Sugarplum Fairy, Sugarplum Fairy (echoing Lennon's famous count-off to A Day in the Life), Fromthing Somethat (a garbled spoonerism/lyric while doing a vocal), Brilliant Failures (the 2020 release that, along with Fromthing Somethat, was named Album of the Year by venerable indie rock magazine The Big Takeover), and the aforementioned LZ5.

For the new LP, the band recruited longtime friends and allies Ben Eshbach (the Emmy-Award-winning frontman of The Sugarplastic) and Lindsay Murray (Gretchens Wheel) to compose and arrange strings and sing heaps of lovely backing vocals, respectively.

And the result? A collection of songs that Fredrick, in his quite-but-not-quite self-deprecatory way, might call another set of brilliant failures. "Every song, every LP we do, is a failure of sorts--no matter how powerful or beautiful or pleasing-to-us it turns out," John concludes. "I have often said that my aim is to write songs as good as anything on The Beatles... and I will never achieve my goal. And thus I'll have to keep at it, keep trying. And chin-chin to that!"

And now your attention's been brought to a band (or you've heard of them or heard a track or two down the years) that has been pegged by The L.A. Weekly as "a national treasure" as well as "the most criminally-neglected indie pop group imaginable."

So here's to the prospect of that ostensible neglect becoming as much of a thing of the past as John Andrew Fredrick's year-long stint in bed.

The sophomore album from acclaimed US musician Vanderwolf and follow-up to 2022 debut '12 Little Killers' ("Soul, gospel, theatrical rock and more" Mojo), 'The Great Bewilderment' is a major rock record full of big emotions and adventurous songs. Whereas '12 Little Killers' was written and recorded during Vanderwolf's final years in London following the break-up of his semi-legendary band Last Man Standing, 'The Great Bewilderment' was mostly written during the pandemic, during which he relocated from New York to Los Angeles. For the recording, Vanderwolf reached out to an old friend, drummer Angie Scarpa, while a recommendation from John Cale's guitarist, Dusty Meadows, led to bassist H Chris Roy joining the band. Tim Sonnefeld contributes a variety of guitars, including beautiful crying feedback throughout album centrepiece "Gaza", which also features a guitar solo from Portishead's Adrian Utley. The album title itself is drawn from the mood of writing music during the pandemic. "I think we're still in that great bewilderment," insists Vanderwolf. "With threats to democracy, the division of opinion, plus this latest war on top of the war in Ukraine, and the climate crisis becoming acute, there's a looming sense that there's nothing we can do. 14 years of Tory corruption in an alleged democracy...that is bewildering. That a twice impeached President with 91 indictments against him can be the frontrunner in a presidential election...that is bewildering." As a music programmer and concert producer, Max Vanderwolf has worked for some of the worlds' most celebrated clubs and concert venues. These include New York's legendary Knitting Factory and London's internationally renowned Royal Festival Hall, where for 9 years he produced the Meltdown Festival working closely with artists including David Bowie, Patti Smith, Jarvis Cocker, Massive Attack and Ornette Coleman.

Demenz ist ein Dieb. Die bösartige Krankheit raubt ihren Opfern erst Stück für Stück ihr Gedächtnis, dann ihre Identität, schließlich Familie und Freunde - und oft genug sogar ihre Menschenwürde. Die in Los Angeles ansässigen Electro-Forscher THIEF nehmen auf ihrem vierten Album "Bleed, Memory" das Thema "Erinnerung" sowohl lyrisch als auch musikalisch unter die Lupe, was sich wie ein roter Faden durch das gesamte Album zieht. Der Kopf des Soloprojekts, Dylan Neal, wurde zu diesem Album durch das Schicksal seines Vaters inspiriert, der nach der Diagnose einer Demenz von leichter Vergesslichkeit und Verwirrung unaufhaltsam zu akuten Episoden von falschen Erinnerungen, Wahnvorstellungen, Visionen und seltsamem Verhalten überging. Das macht "Bleed, Memory" zu einer sehr persönlichen Schöpfung. Durch die harte Erfahrung begann Neal damit, erst seine eigenen Erinnerungen zu hinterfragen und dann mit der Erforschung, wie sie seine Identität und Realität formen. Erinnerung besteht nicht nur aus den Geschichten, die wir uns selbst und anderen erzählen. Neal vergleicht sie mit Geistern, die keine physische Existenz haben und dennoch unter denen Schrecken verbreiten, die an sie glauben. Das Rückgrat von THIEF bilden wieder einmal gesampelte sakrale Gesänge. Einige wurden beim Wühlen in digitalen Kisten gefunden und gesampelt, andere in verschiedenen orthodoxen Kirchen aufgenommen. Diese Samples wurden gedehnt, geschnitten, verstümmelt, umgeformt und gepitcht, um letztlich so wie jedes andere Instrument zu funktionieren. Neal hat "Bleed, Memory" bewusst so gestaltet, dass es gespenstisch klingt. Eine der Techniken, die er zur Erzielung dieses Effekts einsetzte, ist "Granular Synthesis". Der verstärkte Einsatz der Methode auf diesem Album bedeutet, dass Samples in kleine Audioschnipsel zerlegt wurden, die kaum mehr als 100 Millisekunden andauern. Dieser einzigartige Ansatz, der musikalische Elemente aus Ambient, Industrial, Chormusik, Black Metal und Trip-Hop sowie andere Einflüsse zu einem neuen Klangerlebnis verschmelzen lässt, hat THIEF unter Eingeweihten längst Kultstatus verschafft. Den Großteil des Albums hat Neal wieder einmal in seiner Wohnung aufgenommen und abgemischt. Für das Mastering konnte er erneut John Greenham gewinnen, der mit Künstlern von THE LOCUSTS über KATY PERRY bis hin zu DEATH GRIPS zusammengearbeitet hat und für sein Mastering für BILLIE EILISH im Jahr 2019 mit drei Grammy Awards ausgezeichnet wurde. Mit "Bleed, Memory" liefern THIEF eine verstörende und doch wunderschöne künstlerische Betrachtung eines grausamen Leidens, die gleichzeitig Emotionen wie Wut, Melancholie, Trauer und Verlust als lyrisches, musikalisches und visuelles Gesamtkunstwerk verarbeitet. Aber Vorsicht! Dieser Geist aus Klängen wird lange in der Erinnerung seiner Hörer spuken!