Pop & Rock Vinyl New Releases - News

Marching Church, the onetime solo project and now bona fide big band formed by singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, has followed its leader's muse everywhere from their early days of 4-track lo-fi tapes, to Sam Cooke-tinged soul on This World is Not Enough, to outré free jazz on their most recent Coming Down 12".

For Telling It Like It Is, Rønnenfelt and his bandmates have foregone much of their past proclivity for wild stylistic swings in favor of thematically unified, complicated, but fundamentally cohesive song arrangements, the studio itself at times acting as an auxiliary band member. The result is the most focused vision of Marching Church yet, but one that has lost none of its swagger, and none of its power to enthrall. We have here one world united under the sparks of one enormous disco ball hanging over us like the moon,' Rønnenfelt elaborates. In one fleeting moment in the light of its mirrored surface we see human endurance, in the next we see doom.' The light and shade he finds in this worldview permeate the songs on Telling It Like It Is. Rønnenfelt describes the new work an album which raises multiple flags,' and the sound of individualism stuck in the center of the modern world, swimming with and against the current.'

The band in 2016 comprises Rønnenfelt and his frequent collaborator and Iceage bandmate Johan S. Weith (on electric viola and guitar here), Lower's rhythm section of Kristian Emdal and Anton Rothstein, trumpet player Jakob Emil Lamdahl, and Hand of Dust's Bo Høyer Hansen. Augmenting these sessions are Maaike Van der Linde and Thora Sveinsdottir of the Stargaze Orchestraon flute and strings, and Sonja La Bianca of Choir of Young Believers on saxophone. The obvious chemistry among these players makes this the most cultivated Marching Church album to date, unveiling the full spectrum of capabilities and musical dexterity of each player. Telling It Like It Is taps into a debauched lunacy that teeters equally on the verge of exhaustion, and the charged sensuality rooted in our loins that keep us going.

This is a true pleasure: The new, the third album by Maurycy Zimmermann aka Mooryc is finally here and it is much more poppy than its predecessors, in places almost folky-dreamy, but one thing especially: delightfully and downright personal. Wiped Out' fits Sonar Kollektiv's repertoire just perfectly and will probably be one of the most respected releases of the Berlin based label this year. When the Pole's first two LPs were mainly electronic affairs and targeted straight at the dance floor, then we have to prepare ourselves now for a cozy listening deeply moving our souls. The blessed and academic trained musician cut eleven genuine, timeless pop jewels for Wiped Out'. You Will Go' is a sugar-sweet ode to goodbye recited in a delicate manner like a wisp of wind. Only on a few tracks (- One Day oder - Bad Luck ) a beat plays a part at all. In this case all the more sophisticated and smarty-pants, so you notice even after all that Mooryc has also released records on the state of the art Jena based techno and house label Freude am Tanzen.
Most of the time it's simply a guitar and the thirtysomething's wonderously magic voice though, which make these songs shine so bright. The title track is one of the many fine examples why this album should be always within easy reach during the imminent winter time. Songs like - Inconceivable or - Who Are You Now air this decent warmth and this tremendous comfort which are more than welcome in these days now when the nights get longer again than the days.

arachute is proud and excited to release art rock unit Starfuckers' legendary "Sinistri" LP, remastered and pressed on vinyl for the very first time since its original version in 1994 on Underground Records.
Formed in 1987, Starfuckers is an Italian avant-garde band primarily from the 1990s, considered a notable part of the experimental rock scene and one of the more "out there" acts during their active tenure. Originally inspired by '80s post-Stooges noise and New York City No Wave, Starfuckers eventually carved their path to their own distinctive sound by following in the footsteps of Xenakis, John Cage, Maderna and Stockhausen - all without ever abandoning their own attitude and raw personality.
n incredibly important record for us here at the label, "Sinistri" feels just as fresh in 2016 as it did in 1994.

Amidst their stellar discography, The Renderers are best known for their album A Dream Of The Sea, released in the mid-nineties by Siltbreeze, and now issued for the first time ever on vinyl in a gatefold jacket on the band's own label. Various forces were at work - a revered label, increased attention towards New Zealand artists - but the greatest achievements were within the band itself. Maryrose and Brian Crook reached a new level of insight and honesty with their lyrics, forming a wave of insight and metaphor that is as forceful today as when first written. Songs draw from ghostly sea tales and personal demons, where the specters as much rise from the waters as emerge from within oneself.

Chicago born Jeff Liberman is a guitar player in the best tradition of 70s guitar Gods like Hendrix, Trower, Clapton or Zappa. The perfect mix between virtuosity and feeling with a gift for brilliant songwriting. Between 1975 and 1978, Liberman self-released three albums on his own Librah label which were some of the first private pressings to gain recognition amongst psych collectors in the 80s.

Jeffery Liberman' is his first one, released in 1975 and recorded at PSR Studios in Chicago. Heavy guitar psych with plenty of fuzz-wah, phasing, effects, mystical / moody vocals, acid-blues, mellow folkie tracks, West Coast vibes and even some crazy synth /electronic / experimental excursions.

Featuring the 8+ minutes psych opus Phenaphen No. 3' and more.
RIYL: BOB SMITH, D.R. HOOKER, TERRY BROOKS, BEVIS FROND, ROBIN TROWER, CREAM, BOB DESPER...

*Remastered sound
*Insert with liner notes by Klemen Breznikar (It's Psychedelic Baby)
*First ever legit vinyl reissue
*Includes digital download coupon

...You have to look to the best of DR Hooker to find something as good...Underrated and very cool, you need to check this out' - Aaron Milenski (Acid Archives)

Chicago born Jeff Liberman is a guitar player in the best tradition of 70s guitar Gods like Hendrix, Trower, Clapton or Zappa. The perfect mix between virtuosity and feeling with a gift for brilliant songwriting. Between 1975 and 1978, Liberman self-released three albums on his own Librah label which were some of the first private pressings to gain recognition amongst psych collectors in the 80s.

Solitude Within' is his second album, released in 1975. A heavy guitar psych / West Coast /acid rock classic with plenty of acid soloing drenched in fuzz-wah plus treated vocals, effects, hard-blues and even some cool mellow folk grooves and experimental excursions.

RIYL: BOB SMITH, TERRY BROOKS, ROBIN TROWER, HENDRIX, DR HOOKER, BEVIS FROND...


*Remastered sound
*Insert with liner notes by Klemen Breznikar (It's Psychedelic Baby)
*First ever legit vinyl reissue
*Includes digital download coupon

Far better than most LPs of its type, this is highly recommended to guitar fans' - Aaron Milenski (Acid Archives)

Gatefold Orange Vinyl 180g LP with song book, A1 poster, download card. 500 only.

Un-defined by genre, Ravioli Me Away's high energy, dangerously ambitious and delusional jazzy-post-pop-punk-hip-funk sound with stylistically schizophrenic motifs span all-known past, present and future human cultures and sub-cultures. This is social realism soaked through with a heady dose of fantasy, idiosyncratic poetics, keyboard flurries and vocal vicissitudes described as 'vintage drag-queen Bananarama Youtube footage played with twice the sass and in double time with an incredulous broadband connection reflected in the eyes of a much overworked and downright exhausted Julie Burchill on acid.'
 Ravioli Me Away are Sian Dorrer, Rosie Ridgway and Alice Theobald and more recently, have recruited Monika Kroll as an intermittent member.
Since forming in January 2013, they have performed extensively at various events, venues, festivals and galleries in the UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Czech-Republic and Holland. They have also recorded and released records and appeared on radio shows on 6 Music, Resonance FM and NTS Radio.
Theobald, Dorrer and Ridgway have a mutual interest in identity, politics, human relationships, love, gender, class and current affairs, and use performance, art and music as a means to explore, debate and express such interests using of metaphor, clichés pop references and repetition. To date they have together written and produced up to 30 songs and have performed over 80 concerts, each high-energy and curated to reflect a different theme or character inspired from everyday life ie. City workers, beauty queens, painter and decorators, sportsmen and beatnik poets to more abstract interpretations of everyday life such as luggage, snacks and e-bay. These themes are evident in costume, visuals and stage presence. More recently they have been developing their own individual alter-ego/characters for their performances.
***Ravioli Me Away see and explore symptoms of society. We see ourselves as agents that point out phenomenon and respond to it. We try to sift though it and respond to the surface by challenging audiences perceptions and expectations.***

Kilwater was formed in Poznan in 2011. Initially, the band played cover songs and their own, surf-rock styled compositions. After several member changes, in 2014 a five-person (previously associated with various formations from Poznan) line-up was established: Marcin "Boogie" Wieczorkiewicz - guitarist, leader and author of most compositions (also known as DJ Boogie, former member of Danse Macabre, Brakdanych and Hellow Dog), drummer Adam Nastawski (Plum, a.k.a DJ Czlowiek), bassist Grzegorz Ksiazkiewicz (Snowman), keyboardist Marcin Szczesny (since 2014, also a Snowman member) and saxophonist Michal Fetler (Tsigunz Fanfara Avantura, TonyTony). Debut album was created in Albert Hofmann's Studio (ahstudio.pl), in Poznan. It was recorded, mixed and mastered by Bartlomiej Frank. The album consists of eleven instrumental pieces and two songs, featuring Gosia "Siara" Witkowska and Peter J. Birch. The band describes their music as a psychedelic movie surf rock. On the calm surface of rock'n'roll basin, Kilwater encounters a storm of progressive rock and jazz improvisations. Guitar sails - supported by a solid, rhythmic mast - are being tossed by the squall force of saxophone and synthesizers. Psychedelic wailing sirens and nymphs can be heard in the musical depths of Kilwater music, which is often backed by funky echoes of 70s action TV series.

Liset Alea has the name of chance. Chance that is tossed in the air like the roll of dice, following her footsteps like destiny brimming with surprises and unexpected possibilities. She has lived a thousand lives: born in Havana to an impulsive country man who was working in Fidel's kitchen and from whom he often stole the occasional piece of meat for the family and a literature major mother who has published some of her erotic poetry. At an early age, she already mastered the art of escape, the immigrant's task of learning how to leave behind one's home, family, friends, language, comforts and survive in an unfamiliar place. At 15 she begins to study the voice with America Crespo, a Cuban opera legend known as the Callas of Cuba. In order to pay for her lessons, she cleans homes on the weekend with her mother. She also studies Musical Theater at Miami's New World School of the Arts. Then She moves to New York, a waitress by night,
she enters the New School Jazz Conservatory for Vocal Jazz and buys her first guitar. She becomes the front woman of the electronic band Etro Anime, cowrites their first album which is released through V2. After witnessing the Trade Center fall before her eyes, she decides it's time to leave the United States and moves to Amsterdam with the band. They embark upon a tour supporting Kosheen and later Llorca where she meets Alexkid with whom she writes and records 'Come with Me' on his Mint' album. Come with Me' becomes an instant electro club and radio hit and she joins Alexkid's band for a 46 dates European tour.
Seduced by the European way of life, she settles in London for a while, travels to Milan, Athens, Madrid, Berlin for songwriting sessions, many of these collaborations entered the charts in their respective country.
In 2012, she decides that Paris will be her new home' and from then on will be touring extensively with Nouvelle Vague as a lead vocalist, with Yasmine Hamdan and Elodie Frégé (a chanson française major figure for whom she also co-writes) as an instrumentalist (bass, percussions, guitar).
While not on the road she starts working on what will become Heart-Headed', her new album co-produced with Marc Collin. Months in the making, HeartHeaded' displays a balance of craft and emotion and exhibits the refined craftsmanship of her writing.
Her voice, reminiscent at times of Jennifer Charles (Elysian Fields), Marianne Faithfull or even a Cuban Lana del Rey, is set against string and flute arrangements, vintage synthesizers and urgent guitars.
The first single Hunter & Tiger', heralds Heart-Headed' as an album that comes straight from the heart but remains grounded in the early Rock'n'Roll era echoing Wanda Jackson's Hard Headed woman.

Following extensive touring behind What For, his fourth studio album as Toro Y Moi, acclaimed musician Chaz Bundick brought the band to the middle of the Mojave Desert in April 2016 to play a special concert.

Live from Trona documents this experience, recorded live beneath the geological wonders known as the Trona Pinnacles, which formed thousands of years ago in what used to be a prehistoric lake. The album features unique live arrangements of songs from across the band's catalog, new music, and an expanded band line-up. On the congas, Bay Area multi-instrumentalist Brijean Murphy adds a layer of rhythm, switching between propulsion and deep atmosphere. And for a brand new song, 'JBS,' the group is joined by tourmates The Mattson 2. This collaboration between Bundick and the Mattson twins takes on a classic groove with a jazz fusion approach.

For the film, nine-time Vimeo Staff Pick director Harry Israelson chose to break the fourth wall, revealing the filmmaking process by making equipment, lights, and crew visible at all times. With no audience in attendance and a spectacular natural environment that feels otherworldly, the film pays homage to rock films of a previous era. As the sun sets behind the pinnacles, the supernatural setting seamlessly weaves together with the 13 psychedelic tracks, all recorded on site over the course of an entire day. Through the use of hand-drawn animations and behind-the-scenes VHS footage, Live from Trona offers viewers a surreal concert experience, placing them front row at a private Toro Y Moi show.

With the help of her producer Day Wave's Jackson Philips, they collectively head San Franscisco's current lofi indie explosion. We're just about to get started on her first proper release -a 5-track EP called 'Never Going Home'- but she's already clocked up well over a million plays by herself as an unsigned artist on soundcloud and has never been far from the top end of Hype Machine without so much as a single press release.

The summery-sounding title track announces English's exciting new presence as a songwriter. Brisk drum work and a ringing guitar melody propel the song forward while English's hazy vocals infuse it with refreshing sincerity and an aching, yearning sweetness. 

Speaking about "Never Going Home", English states: "The song is about moving overseas, the feeling of being drawn to California, and really finding myself here."

Released in 2016, It’s Immaterial found Black Marble refining its coldwave and synth-pop foundations into a warmer, more melodic expression of isolation, longing, and quiet resilience. Guided by Chris Stewart’s unmistakable baritone and a palette of analog synths, pulsing basslines, and minimalist rhythms, the album feels simultaneously nostalgic and forward-leaning. Its songs drift between shadowy introspection and subtle hope, creating a cinematic atmosphere that’s both intimate and hypnotic.
With It’s Immaterial, Black Marble deepened its signature sound, offering a collection that resonates like a faded memory—soft, hazy, and endlessly replayable.

"Melodies twist inward and out of the comfort zone, but never overstep their boundaries or demand extra attention they don’t deserve. The fragments that have been found, from beginning to end, click and fall into place almost effortlessly. It’s surprising how nothing feels forced." - Drowned in Sound

Galvanized by Tampa hardcore and inspired by its miscreant noise, 'A Corpse Wired For Sound' signals a new chapter for Merchandise.

Their second for album 4AD, Merchandise have stripped back to the core of Carson Cox (vocals, electronics), Dave Vassalotti (guitar, electronics) and Pat Brady (bass) to make 'A Corpse Wired For Sound'.

The trio travelled to Rosà, Italy to start proceedings, recording half in a studio there and the rest at home, in Tampa as well as in Cox's newly adopted bases of New York and Berlin.

The album's metallic title is inspired by a science fiction short story by JG Ballard but equally sums up the band's current state of mind, We were 'reborn' as a rock band for our last record ('After
The End),' says Vassalotti, and then we straight-up died again. It couldn't last. The result is this distended corpse responding to you from both sides of the Atlantic, forever singing in spite of
everything.'

Featuring the tracks 'Flower Of Sex' and 'End Of The Week', 'A Corpse Wired For Sound is available on CD and LP.

LP format includes digital download code.

Galvanized by Tampa hardcore and inspired by its miscreant noise, 'A Corpse Wired For Sound' signals a new chapter for Merchandise.

Their second for album 4AD, Merchandise have stripped back to the core of Carson Cox (vocals, electronics), Dave Vassalotti (guitar, electronics) and Pat Brady (bass) to make 'A Corpse Wired For Sound'.

The trio travelled to Rosà, Italy to start proceedings, recording half in a studio there and the rest at home, in Tampa as well as in Cox's newly adopted bases of New York and Berlin.

The album's metallic title is inspired by a science fiction short story by JG Ballard but equally sums up the band's current state of mind, We were 'reborn' as a rock band for our last record ('After
The End),' says Vassalotti, and then we straight-up died again. It couldn't last. The result is this distended corpse responding to you from both sides of the Atlantic, forever singing in spite of
everything.'

Featuring the tracks 'Flower Of Sex' and 'End Of The Week', 'A Corpse Wired For Sound is available on CD and LP.

LP format includes digital download code.

* 'Slugger', the debut LP from Sad13 a.k.a. Sadie Dupuis, prioritizes self-possession in every sense. Sadie, who fronts the dynamite grunge-pop band Speedy Ortiz, forewent her usual modes of collaboration on Slugger, writing and producing the record herself-'to exorcise my control-freaky demons,' she says.

* After Sadie moved to Philadelphia in early 2016, Slugger quickly began to take shape: 'I wrote and played and recorded almost all of it in the two weeks I was subletting a friend's tiny bedroom,' she says. Fittingly, directness, self-determinism, and intimacy are the bedrocks of Slugger's overall tone. Sadie maintains her dignified wit even in less-than-ideal entanglements, as on the album's opening track, '<2,' styled to resemble the level of affection of which a heart is capable when it's been twisted out of shape. 'I'm in less than two with you,' sings Dupuis, her crystalline voice steadfastly delicate and assured, recalling self-proprietary forebears like Liz Phair and Fiona Apple.

* Imitating the reflexive wordplay of Slugger's lyrics, Sad13's bedroom recordings are largely about bedroom-based themes. She chews on what it means to give and receive consent, sexual and romantic autonomy, finding new modes of enjoying love and boning after destructive partnerships, shredding joyously past misogyny and other exclusionary gender politics, and so many more exploratory, non-exploitative areas of love. Throughout Slugger, Sadie makes her motives and desires invitingly clear. As she sings on the song 'The Sting' , 'You don't know how I'd like to say yes'—but she intends to tell you, and to be heard in kind.

* Slugger-produced by Dupuis, mixed by Gabe Wax (Beirut, Wye Oak, Boots) and mastered by Emily Lazar (Sia, HAIM, Sky Ferreira)-is less rock-principled than Sadie's other projects, but the talented guitarist makes intelligent work of her instrument throughout the record. The guitar lines are layered with synth melodies written on her laptop and are, occasionally, joined by live drums from Julian Fader (currently of Ava Luna; formerly bandmates with Sadie in Quilty).
This matches Sadie's penchant for bright, tricky assonance and Wilde-style wit, her verses like sailors' knots tying her instrumentation carefully in place. Her MFA in poetry from—and stint teaching writing at—UMass Amherst are apparent. This is also true of the rapper, producer, and PhD student Sammus's guest appearance on the album's final track, 'Coming Into Powers,' where she raps, 'I'm a star/ I'm a pulsar.' The song closes the loop on a thought ribboning around Slugger on the whole: As Dupuis sings, 'I want a life where I can be who I like / Look at me, looking back at me, recognizing who I see.' Slugger identifies an artist and person who, throughout this record, is her own best company.

* 'Slugger', the debut LP from Sad13 a.k.a. Sadie Dupuis, prioritizes self-possession in every sense. Sadie, who fronts the dynamite grunge-pop band Speedy Ortiz, forewent her usual modes of collaboration on Slugger, writing and producing the record herself-'to exorcise my control-freaky demons,' she says.

* After Sadie moved to Philadelphia in early 2016, Slugger quickly began to take shape: 'I wrote and played and recorded almost all of it in the two weeks I was subletting a friend's tiny bedroom,' she says. Fittingly, directness, self-determinism, and intimacy are the bedrocks of Slugger's overall tone. Sadie maintains her dignified wit even in less-than-ideal entanglements, as on the album's opening track, '<2,' styled to resemble the level of affection of which a heart is capable when it's been twisted out of shape. 'I'm in less than two with you,' sings Dupuis, her crystalline voice steadfastly delicate and assured, recalling self-proprietary forebears like Liz Phair and Fiona Apple.

* Imitating the reflexive wordplay of Slugger's lyrics, Sad13's bedroom recordings are largely about bedroom-based themes. She chews on what it means to give and receive consent, sexual and romantic autonomy, finding new modes of enjoying love and boning after destructive partnerships, shredding joyously past misogyny and other exclusionary gender politics, and so many more exploratory, non-exploitative areas of love. Throughout Slugger, Sadie makes her motives and desires invitingly clear. As she sings on the song 'The Sting' , 'You don't know how I'd like to say yes'—but she intends to tell you, and to be heard in kind.

* Slugger-produced by Dupuis, mixed by Gabe Wax (Beirut, Wye Oak, Boots) and mastered by Emily Lazar (Sia, HAIM, Sky Ferreira)-is less rock-principled than Sadie's other projects, but the talented guitarist makes intelligent work of her instrument throughout the record. The guitar lines are layered with synth melodies written on her laptop and are, occasionally, joined by live drums from Julian Fader (currently of Ava Luna; formerly bandmates with Sadie in Quilty).
This matches Sadie's penchant for bright, tricky assonance and Wilde-style wit, her verses like sailors' knots tying her instrumentation carefully in place. Her MFA in poetry from—and stint teaching writing at—UMass Amherst are apparent. This is also true of the rapper, producer, and PhD student Sammus's guest appearance on the album's final track, 'Coming Into Powers,' where she raps, 'I'm a star/ I'm a pulsar.' The song closes the loop on a thought ribboning around Slugger on the whole: As Dupuis sings, 'I want a life where I can be who I like / Look at me, looking back at me, recognizing who I see.' Slugger identifies an artist and person who, throughout this record, is her own best company.

* Shining Bird, an experimental-pop group from Austinmer on the south coast of NSW, was originally founded by Dane Taylor and brothers Russell and Alastair Webster. Now a six-piece, the band released their 'Shade of the Sea' EP in 2012, followed by their acclaimed debut album 'Leisure Coast' on Spunk Records in 2013. The album received widespread acclaim for its unique brand of Australiana-infused dream-pop. On the back of strong reviews from credible publications such as Rolling Stone, Russh and Sydney Morning Herald, along with an Album of the Week on ABC's Radio National, 'Leisure Coast' helped propel Shining Bird towards a broad and loyal bunch of listeners. Touring extensively to promote the release of 'Leisure Coast', the band's live shows earned them a finalist nomination for 'Best Live Act' in FBi Radio's Sydney Music, Art & Culture Awards (SMAC) in 2014.* After much anticipation by fans, the band emerged late 2015 with a premier of Rivermouth' (which premiered on The Music), a track steeped in Australian bush and coastal imagery, with a vision that recalled the widescreen sweeping vistas of The Triffids. The song reflected a maturity of songwriting and production, filled with layers of detail that offer a different journey on every listen. * Mixed by Russell Webster and Tim Whitten (The Go-Betweens, Hoodoo Gurus), new album 'Black Opal' was written and recorded over the past two years in the Blue Mountains of NSW. Trekking to remote lookouts and watching classic Australian films fueled the creative process. The album art was painted by Australian artist Luke Sciberras, and the record also includes a collaborative effort with didgeridoo player Charlie McMahon (80's Australian pioneers Gondwanaland).* Having played alongside acts such as Kurt Vile, Franz Ferdinand, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Drones and Father John Misty, and appeared at numerous festivals including Fairgrounds Festival, Secret Garden, Sydney Festival, Melbourne Music Week and Newtown Festival - Shining Bird is now gearing up to take their music further both sonically and geographically. The group will tour consistently from now until the end of the year, including an appearance at this year's BIGSOUND industry showcases in September, and the Yours & Owls Festival in October with a full national tour and international tour dates released shortly.

* Shining Bird, an experimental-pop group from Austinmer on the south coast of NSW, was originally founded by Dane Taylor and brothers Russell and Alastair Webster. Now a six-piece, the band released their 'Shade of the Sea' EP in 2012, followed by their acclaimed debut album 'Leisure Coast' on Spunk Records in 2013. The album received widespread acclaim for its unique brand of Australiana-infused dream-pop. On the back of strong reviews from credible publications such as Rolling Stone, Russh and Sydney Morning Herald, along with an Album of the Week on ABC's Radio National, 'Leisure Coast' helped propel Shining Bird towards a broad and loyal bunch of listeners. Touring extensively to promote the release of 'Leisure Coast', the band's live shows earned them a finalist nomination for 'Best Live Act' in FBi Radio's Sydney Music, Art & Culture Awards (SMAC) in 2014.* After much anticipation by fans, the band emerged late 2015 with a premier of Rivermouth' (which premiered on The Music), a track steeped in Australian bush and coastal imagery, with a vision that recalled the widescreen sweeping vistas of The Triffids. The song reflected a maturity of songwriting and production, filled with layers of detail that offer a different journey on every listen. * Mixed by Russell Webster and Tim Whitten (The Go-Betweens, Hoodoo Gurus), new album 'Black Opal' was written and recorded over the past two years in the Blue Mountains of NSW. Trekking to remote lookouts and watching classic Australian films fueled the creative process. The album art was painted by Australian artist Luke Sciberras, and the record also includes a collaborative effort with didgeridoo player Charlie McMahon (80's Australian pioneers Gondwanaland).* Having played alongside acts such as Kurt Vile, Franz Ferdinand, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Drones and Father John Misty, and appeared at numerous festivals including Fairgrounds Festival, Secret Garden, Sydney Festival, Melbourne Music Week and Newtown Festival - Shining Bird is now gearing up to take their music further both sonically and geographically. The group will tour consistently from now until the end of the year, including an appearance at this year's BIGSOUND industry showcases in September, and the Yours & Owls Festival in October with a full national tour and international tour dates released shortly.

First complete Sonic Youth album is one of Thurston Moore's favorites. Includes live cover of The Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog'. Vinyl includes digital download. Originally slated to be a 7' to follow up their self-titled debut, Sonic Youth's Confusion Is Sex blossomed into the band's first album: a brain-bludgeoning, completely fried endeavor of dissonance and disarray, a perfect soundtrack for running from a chain-wielding gang near the SIN Club. This was the sound of 1983 New York City, nothing like the jangly roots of college radio rock starting to formulate in Athens, Georgia. It sounded like no one else on Earth, for that matter. The raw, Wharton Tiers 8-track production is dark, the Kim Gordon- scrawled cover figure art of Thurston Moore is dark, Lee Ranaldo's back cover photo-collage and Catherine Ceresole's crumpled-xeroxed images that adorned the inside are dark. It's an album that moves Sonic Youth forward from their first EP almost by devolving backwards into true ugly, lo-fi primitivity. The bareboned arsenal of junkpile guitars and implementation of alternate tunings was growing, and so were the songs that matched the individual attributes of each instrument: certain ones groan and growl a specific way that the band started to realize itself could become the compositional germ of a song. Herein is the threshold of a new explosion of the band's creativity, replacing the comparatively cleaner buzz of the Sonic Youth EP with guitars that spew fractured, uglier chunks of sound everywhere, held down by menacing minimalist basslines (actually played by Thurston on half of this LP, and for the only time ever on Protect Me You,' Lee) and the brutal-yet-controlled metronomic drumming of Jim Sclavunos, augmented with replacement drummer Bob Bert's notable bashing on Making the Nature Scene' and grotty no-fi live rendition of I Wanna Be Your Dog.' Hearing the crashedwindow intro of Inhuman' and subway-brake screech of The World Looks Red,' you can attest that while Sonic Youth's guitars are not quite yet being utilized in the totally controlled, lyrical fashion seen later on albums like Evol, Daydream Nation et al., they were well aware of the colors and tonalities that were unfolding and the possibilities presented. Also, they were getting a grasp on adding colors to the chaos with tempered, simmering moments like Gordon's Shaking Hell' and Renaldo's chimy, home-taped Lee is Free.' Making the Nature Scene' and The World Looks Red' even toss in glints of hip-hop vocal approach way ahead of its time, albeit through a blender. While its confrontationalism might have put off some critics, time has rewarded Confusion with a truly distinctive air and atmosphere in the Sonic discography, enough to have Moore declare it his fave along with the band's swan-song The Eternal. Brian Turner, WFMU.

Following a hugely successful Big Top Headline slot at this summer's Isle of Wight festival, British rock heroes FEEDER this week announced their full live return to the UK and Ireland with a 14 date Tour. With the band poised to announce their 9th studio album in the coming weeks, their first since 2012's 'Generation Freakshow', it also heralds the bands live return following a 4 year hiatus. Following lead singer/guitarist and chief songwriter Grant Nicholas's recent, critically acclaimed solo releases 'Yorktown Heights' and 'Black Clouds', which saw Grant play a host of shows with a very different, 'lo-fi' line up, the FEEDER frontman says he feels in the best creative space of his life. Feeder first shot to fame when their debut EP 'Swim' was released to huge critical acclaim in 1996. Since then they've had 25 Top 40 hits with the likes of 'Feeling A Moment, 'Just The Way I'm Feeling', 'Just A Day' and 'Buck Rogers' and amassed over 5 million record sales along with 3 Platinum and 2 Gold Albums. Since 'Generation Freakshow', the band has appeared at a number of UK festivals, performed at Hyde Park to celebrate the 2012 Olympics and headlined London's Brixton Academy before announcing they were taking some time off. FEEDER's autumn tour will see the band revisit some of their biggest hits whilst also performing tracks from their forthcoming new studio album.

Following a hugely successful Big Top Headline slot at this summer's Isle of Wight festival, British rock heroes FEEDER this week announced their full live return to the UK and Ireland with a 14 date Tour. With the band poised to announce their 9th studio album in the coming weeks, their first since 2012's 'Generation Freakshow', it also heralds the bands live return following a 4 year hiatus. Following lead singer/guitarist and chief songwriter Grant Nicholas's recent, critically acclaimed solo releases 'Yorktown Heights' and 'Black Clouds', which saw Grant play a host of shows with a very different, 'lo-fi' line up, the FEEDER frontman says he feels in the best creative space of his life. Feeder first shot to fame when their debut EP 'Swim' was released to huge critical acclaim in 1996. Since then they've had 25 Top 40 hits with the likes of 'Feeling A Moment, 'Just The Way I'm Feeling', 'Just A Day' and 'Buck Rogers' and amassed over 5 million record sales along with 3 Platinum and 2 Gold Albums. Since 'Generation Freakshow', the band has appeared at a number of UK festivals, performed at Hyde Park to celebrate the 2012 Olympics and headlined London's Brixton Academy before announcing they were taking some time off. FEEDER's autumn tour will see the band revisit some of their biggest hits whilst also performing tracks from their forthcoming new studio album.

Following a hugely successful Big Top Headline slot at this summer's Isle of Wight festival, British rock heroes FEEDER this week announced their full live return to the UK and Ireland with a 14 date Tour. With the band poised to announce their 9th studio album in the coming weeks, their first since 2012's 'Generation Freakshow', it also heralds the bands live return following a 4 year hiatus. Following lead singer/guitarist and chief songwriter Grant Nicholas's recent, critically acclaimed solo releases 'Yorktown Heights' and 'Black Clouds', which saw Grant play a host of shows with a very different, 'lo-fi' line up, the FEEDER frontman says he feels in the best creative space of his life. Feeder first shot to fame when their debut EP 'Swim' was released to huge critical acclaim in 1996. Since then they've had 25 Top 40 hits with the likes of 'Feeling A Moment, 'Just The Way I'm Feeling', 'Just A Day' and 'Buck Rogers' and amassed over 5 million record sales along with 3 Platinum and 2 Gold Albums. Since 'Generation Freakshow', the band has appeared at a number of UK festivals, performed at Hyde Park to celebrate the 2012 Olympics and headlined London's Brixton Academy before announcing they were taking some time off. FEEDER's autumn tour will see the band revisit some of their biggest hits whilst also performing tracks from their forthcoming new studio album

Smash The System' is the first non-concept solo album by Luke Haines (The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder) in six years.
Smash The System follows on from such critically acclaimed works as Nine and a half psychedelic meditations on British wrestling from the late 1970s and early '80s' (2010), New York In The '70s' (2014) and last year's electronic British Nuclear Bunkers'.
Think Hunky 'Dory' or Sabbath's eponymous debut played on pixiephones and Moog, Graham Bond Organisation and Haines' own 1996 classic Baader Meinhof', Or Sunn 0))) at the school disco with tunes.
Smash The System' pays homage to Marc Bolan, Vince Taylor, The Incredible String Band and Morris Dancing to name just a few as Haines makes a melodious return to his rock 'n' roll roots... 'Do you like the Monkees'
The album will be preceded by the stompalong single 'Marc Bolan Blues'.
Autumn and Winter live dates to be confirmed.

Queer punk band PWR BTTM announce the UK release of their groundbreaking debut album Ugly Cherries via Big Scary Monsters. Having already created an underground storm in the US, the UK version features two brand new tracks 'New Hampshire' and 'Projection'. PWR BTTM consists of Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce. The band was formed at Bard College, New York, where Bruce and Hopkins bonded over a mutual interest in bringing elements of performance and drag artistry into DIY punk culture. While at Bard the duo recorded a demo, Cinderella Beauty Shop, and the Republican National Convention split EP with Jawbreaker Reunion. On these releases, Hopkins plays guitar and sings, and Bruce plays drums. Since then, the two have begun to share vocal/songwriting duties and have also started to trade off instruments. This development is very much apparent on their debut LP, Ugly Cherries, an album documenting the duo's experiences with queerness, gender, and adulthood over the course of a year of living in upstate New York. Ugly Cherries was recorded by Christopher Daly at Salvation Recording Company in New Paltz, NY and mastered by Jamal Ruhe at West West Side Music. Since recording the album, the band has toured alongside Mitski, Ra Ra Riot, Pity Sex, among others, as they spread their infectious live show across the USA and beyond.

Sleaford Mods are pleased to announce the release on their new EP TCR' through their new label Rough Trade Records on October 14th 2016. The EP contains five new tracks and will be available digitally and 12 inch vinyl & CD.
Jason Williamson discusses TCR: The idea behind the TCR video was to show and use the actual 1980's toy racing kit in its original environment which would of most probably been the living room floor for most kids at that time It's a pretty crap device and I thought it married perfectly to the idea of life's (at times) rotating dross. The narration/vocal over the song is just that, an account of a bloke reacting to what he feels is a routine laden existence by 'escaping' for the night to the pub only to realize this is also a limited experience and in turn all options kind of merge into a circular experience of never ending repetition that he tries to navigate.Sleaford Mods signed to Rough Trade earlier this year and have been spending the last year playing shows and festivals and prepping new material, some of which is on this EP.

Weight of Matter, the band's second full-length, is a Neil-Young & Crazy Horse guitar-inspired album, dialing in tones akin to Mercury Rev and The Walkmen while maintaining the airy psychedelia of early Flaming Lips. Whereas lead songwriters Kate Perdoni and Adam Hawkins took turns to provide drums, keys, guitars and other instrumentation on the band's first record, they were joined in their home studio by new members Alex Koshak (drums), Mitch Macura (keys) and Ryan Spradlin (bass) on new full length 'Weight of Matter', continuing an exploration of sonic landscapes while creating space for each individual member's contribution to shine through.

First single, Rxx,' calls to mind dozens of missed moments in rock and roll history set against a backdrop of pop hooks and mayhem, while Bop Shoo Bop' pays homage to legendary Tropicalia ensemble Os Mutantes. Repose and the cosmos dance on point throughout the track list, providing a contemplative backdrop of harmony and keen melodies to a sometimes brusque outlook. The group borrows popular country standard Cry,' adding a Casio backbeat and shoe gaze twist, then treads the waters of thematic love and loss on the heartbreakingly emotive title track.

Operating in the realm of the heart, Perdoni and Hawkins' lyrics and subsequent delivery manifest the sight of creative intuition, bringing awareness of unexplored possibilities to light and letting the listener know that the journey is possible.

Eros and the Eschaton began as the experimental two-piece recording project of Kate Perdoni and Adam Hawkins in 2012, weaving magic into shoegaze pop' (SPIN). Perdoni and Hawkins spent that year exploring the sound frontiers in the master-bedroom-turned-studio of a swampy North Carolina rental, set against an outlaw country scape of kudzu, atrocious spiders, wild mammals, and copperhead snakes, writing and recording, self-releasing two singles and touring whenever possible before catching the ears of Bar/None through a video session with Love Drunk.

Siam, one of Israel's pioneer new wave bands from the 80's, get a steamy Red Axes rework for their underground killer Tel Aviv Downtown on the a side, and a re-master for their anthem In the realm of on the B-side.

Maxence Cyrin is a French pianist and composer living in Paris. After asolid classical music education at the conservatory, he became interestedin electronic music and recorded numerous songs during the 90's. In thealbum entitled Modern Rhapsodies, released in 2005 with FCom (LaurentGarnier's label), he covered and re-arranged solo piano tracks fromMassive Attack, Depeche Mode or Moby. The album Novö Piano was initiallyreleased in 2009 on CD but it's the 1st time it's available on vinyl.
On this seminal album, he transposes and covers pop, rock and electro hits for piano (from Daft Punk, Nirvana,MGMT to The Pixies or Justice). The music video of his version of Where
Is My Mind' has been viewed more than 5 million times on Youtube and the track was featured in the series Mr Robot'. Highly modern, MaxenceCyrin performs in classical music festivals, and frequently works withfashion's most prestigious brands such as Lanvin, Chanel, Hermès orValentino. He also composed several movie soundtracks for the Cinémathèque Française, illustrating masterpieces of French silent cinema filmed by Jean Epstein, Albert Capellani.

Players:
Oren Ambarchi, Crys Cole, Mark Fell, Will Guthrie, Arto Lindsay, Jim O'Rourke, Konrad Sprenger, Joe Talia, Ricardo Villalobos, Keith Fullerton Whitman

Mastered & cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin, April 2016

Photography by Estelle Hanania

Sculptures by Daniel Druet

Design by Stephen O'Malley

Hubris continues the exploration of relentless, driving rhythms heard on Ambarchi's Sagittarian Domain (2012) and Quixotism (2014). Where those records looked to Krautrock and techno for their starting points, the sidelong opening track here begins from the perhaps unlikely inspirations of disco and new wave, drawing particularly from Ambarchi's love of Wang Chung's soundtrack to William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. Leaving behind the song-forms of these reference points, Ambarchi weaves a sustained and pulsating web of layered palm-muted guitars from which individual voices rise up and recede, eventually setting the stage for some lush guitar synth from Jim O'Rourke. Arnold Dreyblatt collaborator Konrad Sprenger contributes overtone-rich motorized guitar, pushing the piece into a satisfying intersection of shimmering minimalism and rhythmic drive that smoothly builds up until the entrance of Mark Fell's electronic percussion in its final section.

After a short second part, in which Ambarchi, O'Rourke and Crys Cole pay tribute to the skewed harmonic sense of Albert Marcoeur with a track built from layered bass guitar figures and abstracted speech, the long final piece pushes the concept of the first side into darker and denser areas. Joined by electronic rhythms from Ricardo Villalobos and the twin drums of Joe Talia and Will Guthrie, the layered guitars of the first piece are transformed into a raw and tumbling fusion-funk groove that calls to mind early Weather Report or even the first Golden Palominos LP. As this stellar rhythm section rides a single repeated chord change into oblivion, a series of spectacular events emerge in the foreground: first, aleatoric synthesizer burbles from Keith Fullerton Whitman, then slashing skronk guitar from Arto Lindsay, until finally Ambarchi's own fuzzed-out guitar harmonics take center stage as the piece builds to an ecstatic frenzy. Few artists could hope to include such an incredible variety of collaborators on one record and still hope for it to have a unique identity, but Ambarchi manages to do just that, crafting three pieces that emerge directly out of his previous work while also pushing ahead into new dimensions.

Francis Plagne

Players:
Oren Ambarchi, Crys Cole, Mark Fell, Will Guthrie, Arto Lindsay, Jim O'Rourke, Konrad Sprenger, Joe Talia, Ricardo Villalobos, Keith Fullerton Whitman

Mastered & cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin, April 2016

Photography by Estelle Hanania

Sculptures by Daniel Druet

Design by Stephen O'Malley

Hubris continues the exploration of relentless, driving rhythms heard on Ambarchi's Sagittarian Domain (2012) and Quixotism (2014). Where those records looked to Krautrock and techno for their starting points, the sidelong opening track here begins from the perhaps unlikely inspirations of disco and new wave, drawing particularly from Ambarchi's love of Wang Chung's soundtrack to William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. Leaving behind the song-forms of these reference points, Ambarchi weaves a sustained and pulsating web of layered palm-muted guitars from which individual voices rise up and recede, eventually setting the stage for some lush guitar synth from Jim O'Rourke. Arnold Dreyblatt collaborator Konrad Sprenger contributes overtone-rich motorized guitar, pushing the piece into a satisfying intersection of shimmering minimalism and rhythmic drive that smoothly builds up until the entrance of Mark Fell's electronic percussion in its final section.

After a short second part, in which Ambarchi, O'Rourke and Crys Cole pay tribute to the skewed harmonic sense of Albert Marcoeur with a track built from layered bass guitar figures and abstracted speech, the long final piece pushes the concept of the first side into darker and denser areas. Joined by electronic rhythms from Ricardo Villalobos and the twin drums of Joe Talia and Will Guthrie, the layered guitars of the first piece are transformed into a raw and tumbling fusion-funk groove that calls to mind early Weather Report or even the first Golden Palominos LP. As this stellar rhythm section rides a single repeated chord change into oblivion, a series of spectacular events emerge in the foreground: first, aleatoric synthesizer burbles from Keith Fullerton Whitman, then slashing skronk guitar from Arto Lindsay, until finally Ambarchi's own fuzzed-out guitar harmonics take center stage as the piece builds to an ecstatic frenzy. Few artists could hope to include such an incredible variety of collaborators on one record and still hope for it to have a unique identity, but Ambarchi manages to do just that, crafting three pieces that emerge directly out of his previous work while also pushing ahead into new dimensions.

Francis Plagne

Norwegian artist Jenny Hval announces the release of her new album, Blood Bitch, out September 30th via Sacred, debut single, Female Vampire,' plus performances in New York, Los Angeles and throughout Europe. Co-produced with acumen noise producer Lasse Marhaug, Blood Bitch is in many respects a complete 180° from her last album, Apocalypse, girl, in subject matter, execution and production. It is Hval's most focused album, but the lens is filtered through a gaze which the viewer least expects.

In the words of Jenny Hval: Blood Bitch is an investigation of blood. Blood that is shed naturally. The purest and most powerful, yet most trivial, and most terrifying blood: Menstruation. The white and red toilet roll chain which ties together the virgins, the whores, the mothers, the witches, the dreamers, and the lovers. Blood Bitch is also a fictitious story, fed by characters and images from horror and exploitation films of the '70s. With that language, rather than smart, modern social commentary, I found I could tell a different story about myself and my own time: a poetic diary of modern transience and transcendence. There is a character in this story that is a vampire Orlando, traveling through time and space. But there is also a story here of a 35-year old artist stuck in a touring loop, and wearing a black wig. She is always up at night, jet lagged, playing late night shows - and by day she is quietly resting over an Arp Odyssey synthesizer while a black van drives her around Europe and America. So this is my most fictional and most personal album. It's also the first album where I've started reconnecting with the goth and metal scene I started out playing in many years ago, by remembering the drony qualities of Norwegian Black Metal. It's an album of vampires, lunar cycles, sticky choruses, and the smell of warm leaves and winter.'

Jenny Hval has developed her distinct take on intimate sound since the release of her debut album in 2006. For her last two solo albums, 2013's Innocence Is Kinky and 2015's Apocalypse, girl, Hval has received thoughtful and widespread international acclaim for her fascinating voice, singular delivery and markedly non-traditional arrangements which incorporate elements of poetry, prose writing,
performance art, and film. She eloquently brings to light issues of both male and female gaze.

Norwegian artist Jenny Hval announces the release of her new album, Blood Bitch, out September 30th via Sacred, debut single, Female Vampire,' plus performances in New York, Los Angeles and throughout Europe. Co-produced with acumen noise producer Lasse Marhaug, Blood Bitch is in many respects a complete 180° from her last album, Apocalypse, girl, in subject matter, execution and production. It is Hval's most focused album, but the lens is filtered through a gaze which the viewer least expects.

In the words of Jenny Hval: Blood Bitch is an investigation of blood. Blood that is shed naturally. The purest and most powerful, yet most trivial, and most terrifying blood: Menstruation. The white and red toilet roll chain which ties together the virgins, the whores, the mothers, the witches, the dreamers, and the lovers. Blood Bitch is also a fictitious story, fed by characters and images from horror and exploitation films of the '70s. With that language, rather than smart, modern social commentary, I found I could tell a different story about myself and my own time: a poetic diary of modern transience and transcendence. There is a character in this story that is a vampire Orlando, traveling through time and space. But there is also a story here of a 35-year old artist stuck in a touring loop, and wearing a black wig. She is always up at night, jet lagged, playing late night shows - and by day she is quietly resting over an Arp Odyssey synthesizer while a black van drives her around Europe and America. So this is my most fictional and most personal album. It's also the first album where I've started reconnecting with the goth and metal scene I started out playing in many years ago, by remembering the drony qualities of Norwegian Black Metal. It's an album of vampires, lunar cycles, sticky choruses, and the smell of warm leaves and winter.'

Jenny Hval has developed her distinct take on intimate sound since the release of her debut album in 2006. For her last two solo albums, 2013's Innocence Is Kinky and 2015's Apocalypse, girl, Hval has received thoughtful and widespread international acclaim for her fascinating voice, singular delivery and markedly non-traditional arrangements which incorporate elements of poetry, prose writing,
performance art, and film. She eloquently brings to light issues of both male and female gaze.

Norwegian artist Jenny Hval announces the release of her new album, Blood Bitch, out September 30th via Sacred, debut single, Female Vampire,' plus performances in New York, Los Angeles and throughout Europe. Co-produced with acumen noise producer Lasse Marhaug, Blood Bitch is in many respects a complete 180° from her last album, Apocalypse, girl, in subject matter, execution and production. It is Hval's most focused album, but the lens is filtered through a gaze which the viewer least expects.

In the words of Jenny Hval: Blood Bitch is an investigation of blood. Blood that is shed naturally. The purest and most powerful, yet most trivial, and most terrifying blood: Menstruation. The white and red toilet roll chain which ties together the virgins, the whores, the mothers, the witches, the dreamers, and the lovers. Blood Bitch is also a fictitious story, fed by characters and images from horror and exploitation films of the '70s. With that language, rather than smart, modern social commentary, I found I could tell a different story about myself and my own time: a poetic diary of modern transience and transcendence. There is a character in this story that is a vampire Orlando, traveling through time and space. But there is also a story here of a 35-year old artist stuck in a touring loop, and wearing a black wig. She is always up at night, jet lagged, playing late night shows - and by day she is quietly resting over an Arp Odyssey synthesizer while a black van drives her around Europe and America. So this is my most fictional and most personal album. It's also the first album where I've started reconnecting with the goth and metal scene I started out playing in many years ago, by remembering the drony qualities of Norwegian Black Metal. It's an album of vampires, lunar cycles, sticky choruses, and the smell of warm leaves and winter.'

Jenny Hval has developed her distinct take on intimate sound since the release of her debut album in 2006. For her last two solo albums, 2013's Innocence Is Kinky and 2015's Apocalypse, girl, Hval has received thoughtful and widespread international acclaim for her fascinating voice, singular delivery and markedly non-traditional arrangements which incorporate elements of poetry, prose writing,
performance art, and film. She eloquently brings to light issues of both male and female gaze.

Premium is the glistening debut album from New York-based Sam Evian. Sam describes the album as, an analogue dream in a digital world.' Like flowing water, its cool surface entices and refreshes - then reveals hidden emotional depths. The sound of Premium recalls a sunbaked cassette of Pet Sounds or All Things Must Pass, composed with glowing guitar chords, aching pedal steel, Wurlitzers and iconic 20th-century synths. Inspired by the soulful classic sounds of Jackson Browne, Shuggie Otis, Sly and the Family Stone and The Band, as well as contemporary influences such as Cass McCombs, Broadcast, Cate Le Bon, and Chris Cohen, this is music meant for a close-up experience, spacious, dreamy, fun, and disarmingly open and honest.

The music came together quickly when Sam found himself in what he calls, a premium set of circumstances.' An engineer and producer as well as in-demand guitarist, Sam befriended the founders of Brooklyn's Figure 8 Studio, Eli Crews and the enigmatic and inspiring Shahzad Ismaily. After helping them to build and wire the studio, Sam explains how he found himself at the centre of a musical community, I was surrounded by endlessly talented and fun musicians in a beautiful recording environment that I helped build. I felt confident and happy, so the music came together easily.'

That musical community included the group that recorded Premium. The album's nine songs reflect the casual, relaxed atmosphere Sam created for himself at Figure 8, gathering his friends to record in o­ff hours, capturing moments of o­ffhand inspiration and laughter. There was Austin Vaughn on drums (Here We Go Magic, Luke Temple), a long-time friend from North Carolina School of the Arts, and Brian Betancourt on bass (Hospitality, Here We Go Magic, Luke Temple). They were joined by Michael Coleman on keys, a prolific player and producer, as well as being Figure 8's studio manager. Pedal steel was provided by Dan Iead (Cass McCombs), and recorded at New York's legendary Magic Shop studios in the days just before it closed. The tracks were some of the very last recordings in the room that had witnessed sessions by David Bowie, the Ramones, Blondie, Real Estate, Kurt Vile and generations of others. Other guest performers include vocalists Cassandra Jenkins and Hannah Cohen, Shahzad Ismaily, Eddie Barbash (the saxophonist on the Colbert show) and Steve Marion (aka Delicate Steve)

Premium is the glistening debut album from New York-based Sam Evian. Sam describes the album as, an analogue dream in a digital world.' Like flowing water, its cool surface entices and refreshes - then reveals hidden emotional depths. The sound of Premium recalls a sunbaked cassette of Pet Sounds or All Things Must Pass, composed with glowing guitar chords, aching pedal steel, Wurlitzers and iconic 20th-century synths. Inspired by the soulful classic sounds of Jackson Browne, Shuggie Otis, Sly and the Family Stone and The Band, as well as contemporary influences such as Cass McCombs, Broadcast, Cate Le Bon, and Chris Cohen, this is music meant for a close-up experience, spacious, dreamy, fun, and disarmingly open and honest.

The music came together quickly when Sam found himself in what he calls, a premium set of circumstances.' An engineer and producer as well as in-demand guitarist, Sam befriended the founders of Brooklyn's Figure 8 Studio, Eli Crews and the enigmatic and inspiring Shahzad Ismaily. After helping them to build and wire the studio, Sam explains how he found himself at the centre of a musical community, I was surrounded by endlessly talented and fun musicians in a beautiful recording environment that I helped build. I felt confident and happy, so the music came together easily.'

That musical community included the group that recorded Premium. The album's nine songs reflect the casual, relaxed atmosphere Sam created for himself at Figure 8, gathering his friends to record in o­ff hours, capturing moments of o­ffhand inspiration and laughter. There was Austin Vaughn on drums (Here We Go Magic, Luke Temple), a long-time friend from North Carolina School of the Arts, and Brian Betancourt on bass (Hospitality, Here We Go Magic, Luke Temple). They were joined by Michael Coleman on keys, a prolific player and producer, as well as being Figure 8's studio manager. Pedal steel was provided by Dan Iead (Cass McCombs), and recorded at New York's legendary Magic Shop studios in the days just before it closed. The tracks were some of the very last recordings in the room that had witnessed sessions by David Bowie, the Ramones, Blondie, Real Estate, Kurt Vile and generations of others. Other guest performers include vocalists Cassandra Jenkins and Hannah Cohen, Shahzad Ismaily, Eddie Barbash (the saxophonist on the Colbert show) and Steve Marion (aka Delicate Steve)

Oracle War is the product of a series of rituals during which Taman Shud attempted to establish contact with the aquatic races that will inherit the earth following the extinction of mankind. It is a crude representation of the liturgical music of an elasmosaurid priestly class, members of whom transmitted to Taman Shud fragmentary information concerning their culture's aesthetics and eschatology.

This transmission was not unbroken. The first few séances yielded little - damaged locutions, brief flashes of illuminated script - but on the occasion of the ninth we were granted a vision of splendour: a vast chasm in which innumerable marine species, dazzling in every hue, gathered before a domed temple inscribed with elaborate designs in coral and pearl. We were permitted to hear (or at least intuit) some of the vibrations produced by the lesser plesiosaurs in worship - these we later referred to as 'hymns'. On further excursions our contacts were more generous still.

We received information regarding certain words and symbols of power, as well as partial insights into their technology, including processes of water enrichment and the application of moonlight in surgery. We have documented, imperfectly and in encoded form in places, a selection of the secrets deemed inconsequential enough for us to possess them. We have also tried to impart some of the grandeur of the accomplishments of this pelagic society - though nothing human can do justice to the degree of its refinement.