"Mercedes' is Sarah Klang's first single of 2023, and also announces her upcoming album of the same title. Blending Alt Pop sounds with Americana influences, 'Mercedes' has a lushness that is reminiscent of Stevie Nicks and 'Rumours'. Shimmering synths underpin smooth rock and Sarah's soaring vocals.
Sarah Klang's upcoming album charts a very personal experience of her pregnancy, and title track 'Mercedes' encapsulates her hopes and dreams for her child. In her words, it is ”a letter to my daughter - this is the song I wrote when I was expecting her. A promise of eternal love. And that I will do my best.
Since its release in 2013, Nick Lowe’s holiday album Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family has been critically lauded for “the retro-reinvention of the Christmas album” (Uncut) and was heralded by TIME and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest holiday records of all time. Featuring original tunes by St. Nick himself, such as the witty “Christmas at the Airport” and tender “I Was Born in Bethlehem,” to reimagined covers like an ironically bombastic, swinging rendition of “Silent Night” and the rearranging of
Wizzard’s “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day” and Roger Miller’s “Old Toy Trains.”
Some of Lowe’s collaborators and admirers make songwriting appearances on the album as well, including the Ron Sexsmith-penned “Hooves on the Roof” and Lowe’s co-write with his former Little Village bandmate Ry Cooder on “A Dollar Short of Happy.” Rolling Stone said it best that an album like Quality Street is “worthy of your holiday bonus.” For the album’s 10th anniversary, Quality Street is being reissued on red color vinyl and includes a bonus 45 single of Nick Lowe’s covers of “Winter Wonderland” and “Let It
Snow.” Nick’s longtime tourmates Los Straitjackets are his backing band on both tracks and this marks the first time that either song is available on vinyl. The 10th anniversary LP is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.
Eli Paperboy Reed's Hits And Misses ist eine remasterte Sammlung von Raritäten, Originalen und Coverversionen, darunter Eli's Interpretation von Motörhead's "The Ace of Spades". Eli verwandelt den Hard-Rock-Klassiker von Motörhead in eine Soul-Revival-Version mit Hammond-Orgel, Blechbläsern, E-Gitarre, Eli's charakteristischem Gesang und einem Backbeat, der dem Song einen neuen Touch
verleiht, der nicht weniger kraftvoll ist als das Original. Hits And Misses enthält auch Eli's noirartige R&B-Version von Steely Dan's Hit von 1972, "Do It Again", die das Original 30 Jahre zurückversetzt, sowie eine Coverversion von Latimore's Hit von 1974, "Let's
Straighten It Out", die eine vokale Intensität zeigt, die im fast gesprochenen Original nicht so präsent ist. Neben den overversionen enthält das Album auch Eli Paperboy Reed's eigenes "IDKWYCTD (I Came to Play)", ein hymnenhafter Party-Starter. Dieser ergiegeladene Track ist in der Disney-Marvel-Comicserie "Moon Girl and Devil
Dinosaur" zu hören. Das Album enthält außerdem Coverversionen von Bob Dylan's "To Be Alone With You", Merle Haggard's "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can" und mehr.
Appleton, Wisconsin’s Dusk may seem to have fallen from the sky. Surrounded by a music climate of destination festivals and instagram celebrity, they’ve remained reclusive, yet focused on the proverbial
carrot on the end of the stick that’s hard for so many working musicians to define. For the past four years, they’ve maintained a steady schedule of recording and “hitting the dirt,” as they say: spending weeks on the road playing dives and basements. The group was conceived in 2014 as a casual recording project between vocalist and bassist Amos Pitsch and drummer Colin Wilde. Amos had just
completed recording Predatory Headlights, the critically acclaimed double album by his other group, Tenement, and with the new found down time, he and Colin arranged their own versions of vintage
soul songs. The intention was to treat the project like a revolving door for collaborators, but soon the permanent additions of vocalist/pianist Julia Blair, lead guitarist Tyler Ditter, and Ryley Crowe on pedal steel, rhythm guitar, and vocal duties would cement the band into a connsistent rock and roll ensemble; informed by soul music, country, jazz, and beyond.
When you think of a singer-songwriter, who comes to mind' Nathan Graham says it probably isn't somebody who looks like he does, and he wants to change that.Born and raised in Chicago, Graham meshes South Side Blues with Nashville Americana, beginning his career
acking blues singers at famous haunts like Buddy Guy's Legends and Kingston Mines. This is Nathan Graham's stunning debut album.
Santa Chiara is the solo project of Italian musician, Chiara D’Anzieri, who officially moved to the United States in January 2020. Born in Turin, Italy she began her career as a classical cellist at the age of 10. After years spent touring with various orchestras throughout Europe she decided to explore other instruments, songwriting and producing and began working in recording studios near her hometown in Italy.
“IMPORTED” is her first collection of songs written in English and will come out on legendary indie label, Kill Rock Stars in the fall of 2023. The record talks about her experience becoming an immigrant, leaving her home country, adapting to her new country, discovering her new life in Nashville, growing and asking herself questions about her existence and the meaning of life. She plays most of the instruments on the record herself with guests Ron Gallo, Dominic Billett (Courtney Marie Andrews, Julia Jacklin, Faye Webster), Jerry Bernhardt (Courtney Marie Andrews) and Eric Slick (Dr. Dog).
Stand by your friends that are hurting. That’s what New Jersey power punks Teenage Halloween do
through soaring arrangements of melodic angst, wracked vocals that insist “I love you so much I would
die for you”, and passion-packed two-minute dispatches tackling topics from gender euphoria, to state
abuses, and an eternal quest for mental wellbeing. The results are potent punk vistas that document
young queer life at the edge of America. In February 2023, the group headed into Headroom Studios
in Philadelphia, PA, under the guiding hand of producer Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Beach Bunny,
Joyce Manor), and tracked the 13 dispatches on isolation, uncertainty, and hope for better days, that
make up Till You Return. This second full-length outing (due for Oct 20th release via Don Giovanni)
finds the band, which operated as a ‘rotating cast’ in it’s early years, now firmly entrenched as an
essential four-piece comprised of Henderiks alongside Eli Frank (guitar, vocals), Tricia Marshall
(bass, vocals) and Peter Gargano (drums). The quartet maintains the vital energy of their previous
incarnations but brings an even more focused punch to the arrangements that leaves greater room for
Henderiks’ lyrics. Fans of the band will also have noticed the creative assent of Marshall who takes
the vocal lead on multiple songs that have become defining features of the band’s recent live shows
and which bring a fresh new viewpoint to the band’s ongoing sonic mission for a more equal and just
world.
André Hazes' 23. Album "Strijdlustig" wurde 2002 veröffentlicht. Wie gewohnt handelt es sich bei den meisten Liedern um von Hazes selbst übersetzte Versionen ausländischer Lieder, diesmal unter anderem von Charles Aznavour, Traffic, Gary Moore und Marc Anthony. Als Gast spielt Carel Kraayenhof Bandoneon auf "Bloed, Zweet en Tranen", das Lied handelt von André Hazes' bewegtem Leben. Die Songs enthalten Verweise und Elemente auf Hazes' erkennbare Schwächen und Unsicherheiten. "Strijdlustig" ist erstmals auf Vinyl erhältlich und ist als limitierte Edition auf Silver Vinyl erhältlich
Tim Easton creates songs for the Great American Songbook. With reverence for the past, but an outlook toward the future, Easton is easily among the greatest songwriters of our time. Pulling from a
wide range of influences, he crafts his songs to lead you on a journey. Folk, Rock, Blues, Rockabilly, there's no folk-influenced genre that can stump Tim Easton.
Tim Easton creates songs for the Great American Songbook. With reverence for the past, but an outlook toward the future, Easton is easily among the greatest songwriters of our time. Pulling from a wide range of influences, he crafts his songs to lead you on a journey. Folk, Rock, Blues, Rockabilly, there's no folk-influenced genre that can stump Tim Easton.
Frank’s Christmas Greetings features Frank Sinatra performing a number of holiday standards. The
songs are lush and gentle,underscoring the warmth in Sinatra’s voice. These 20 wonderful season’s
greetings from “Ol’ Blue Eyes” make a worthwhile album addition to any Sinatra or Christmas music
collection. Frank's Christmas Greetings includes a.o. the following tracks: “Jingle Bells”, “Mistletoe
And Holly”, “O Little Town Of Bethelehem”, “Adeste Fideles” and more. Limited edition on coloured
"surprise" vinyl.
The sophomore album from The Three O'Clock found the band further blending psychedelic pop with
contemporary sounds. Producer, Earle Mankey, encouraged the band in their experimentation. The
result yielded a college-radio hit, "Jet Fighter," which remains one of the group's most well-known
songs. Other standouts include, "A Day In Erotica," "Stupid Einstein," "Fall to the Ground," and their
version of the Bee Gees "In My Own Time". This album positioned the band at the forefront of the
Paisley Underground scene. Many fans and critics consider this to be their masterpiece. For the
album's 40th anniversary, the album was remastered by Bill Inglot and Dave Schultz. Additionally, the
band decided to update the cover art and give the album two front covers with no back cover. The LP
lacquer was cut at Bernie Grundman Mastering, and pressed at Citizen Vinyl on clear green vinyl
Music is an integral part of the Christmas season, and there’s nothing quite as magical and nostalgic
as classic Christmas songs from the 1950s, specially the period that Rock sneaked in the tree. Two of
the great classics on this album, "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" performed by Gene Autry, "Run
Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry was written by John David Marks an American songwriter specialized
in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas). "Jingle Bell
Rock" is an American popular Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. The final track
of the album is for Diahann Carroll, an American actress, singer, model, and activist with the English
traditional “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”
This Christmas album contains some of the biggest evergreens of the season. These are the holiday
songs you know by heart, the ones that immediately put you in the Christmas mood. Featuring Bing
Crosby with "White Christmas", Elvis Presley with his "Blue Christmas", Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around
The Christmas Tree", Johnny Cash's "Little Drummer Boy", Louis Armstrong's evergeeen "Winter
Wonderland", Ella Fitzgerald and many others. Limited Edition on Solid White vinyl.
Um das wegweisende Kult-Album „Glut und Asche“ der deutschen Proto-Post-Punks von Fehlfarben zum diesjährigen 40. Jubiläum gebührend zu feiern, erscheint das Album erstmalig als strikt auf 1000 Exemplare limitierte, farbige Purple-Vinyl-Doppel-LP im Gatefold-Cover – signiert vom 1983er Fehlfarben-Frontmann Thomas Schwebel und mit exklusiven Linernotes von Kulturjournalist Marc Hairapetian versehen. Als besonderes Schmankerl enthält die 2LP drei bislang komplett unveröffentlichte und bis dato als verschollen gegoltene, englischsprachige Songs aus den frühen 80er Jahren.
Mit “Twentysomething” gelang Jamie Cullum der internationale Durchbruch. Zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum erscheint das Album jetzt erstmals auf Vinyl!
“Twentysomething” machte den Engländer 2003 noch nicht ganz zum Popstar, aber immerhin zum bestverkaufenden britischen Jazzkünstler in der Geschichte der UK-Charts. Das Album, auf dem der Sänger und Pianist eine peppige Mischung aus Jazzstandards, Pop-Covern und eigenen Songs bot, verkaufte sich weltweit über 2,5 Millionen Mal und brachte Jamie 11 x Platin, 11 x Gold und 2 x Silber ein.
Zum Jubiläum erscheint “Twentysomething” als ”20th Anniversary Edition” auf Doppel-LP mit fünf BonusTracks, darunter die Single Version des Ohrwurms “Everlasting Love”, die Jamie 2004 für den Soundtrack des Blockbusters “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” aufgenommen hatte.
Classic black vinyl plus bonus 7"-single with two exclusive tracks! Babydoll is the fifth Rat Columns album and, following 2021's Pacific Kiss, the second to be released on Tough Love. The recordings took place in Perth, Western Australia, partially by engineer Jason Hayles in a 1960's office building that formerly housed the secretarial pool of a successful mattress company, and partially by DW in an industrial unit, and feature the ensemble cast of Taylah McLean, Chris Grunwaldt, Scott Payne, Richard Ingham, Cohen Bourgault and, of course, DW himself. It was then mixed and mastered in Melbourne by Mikey Young and Joseph Carra, respectively. Babydoll seems to mark a return to a murkier, dirgier Rat Columns format. Distortion is fetishized again and many small amplifiers were tortured in the album's production. Tempos have drifted down and the lyrical concerns move ever inward, in an inverse bloom. The mood is dour, introspective, circular, the songs long, and short attention spans are neglected. 'Cerulean Blue' churns through a crystalline memoryscape, homaging low-brow grunge auto-fiction and a partial history of mid-period rave. 'Life In The Jungle' is a fever dream of imperialist wartime fantasy projection. 'Heavenly Assault' attempts a crushing density amid visions of transcendent devotion. 'Virtual Sweden' takes us ever northwards into the frosted tip of Scandinavian détente. 'Babydoll', like 'Cerulean Blue', homages a primarily imagined low-cosmopolitan world of alt-lit digi-poets, bedroom fantasists, underwater prisons for gorgeous, gorgeous girls. 'Bees Make Honey' lets more sophisticated music machines into the conversation, and marks the first use of vocal tuning software on a Rat Columns album, albeit in an avant-amateurist fashion. 'Jane, I Live For You' enters the space-ballad race, dreaming of synthetic folk-rockers, leaning on sampler keybeds in the half-light. 'December' is yet another tribute to fallen Stars, mansions on the hill, winter skin in cashmere sweaters, truth in education, love, faith, (im)purity. In all these respects, it is a classic Rat Columns record. Because all Rat Columns records are classic records.
Produced by Katie von Schleicher and Sam Griffin Owens (Sam Evian), A Little Touch of Schleicher in
the Night was recorded with a bunch of poker buddies the two accumulated during the pandemic.
Lyrically wry and classically lush with strings and horns, it’s a songwriter album that nuzzles up to the
Arthur Russell and Kirsty MacColl LPs in one's record collection. In narrowing the gap between her
personality and her songwriting, von Schleicher has made her most untroubled album.
Timeless. A voice, once heard, forever recognized. Like Edith Piaf, or Patsy Cline. Not that Jill Barber sounds like them, but she has the kind of voice they had. Unmistakable. Somehow so connected to
the heart, that the song comes clear and true to the listener, naffected, unsullied by fashion, untouched by commercial necessity. It is a voice that stops time. And the songs. Great songs need an
underlying truth, even wisdom. Jill’s songs don’t sound “written”. They sound like standards, like they were always there, waiting for her voice to take full flight. For those that believe they don’t write songs
like they used to, there is new hope for old romantics: On Chances, Jill Barber takes a giant step forward from the typical confines of the singer-songwriter and delivers an album of original, fully orchestrated songs that are often mistaken for classics. The moment the music starts you are taken back to a time where music was romantic, where it dwelled in beauty, and was full of life.
With Chances, Jill has aligned herself with a talented array of performers in capturing the classic sound of a bygone era. Outside Music is proud to reissue Chances for its 15th Anniversary, pressed on limited edition Orchid coloured vinyl.
Florencia Andrada is an Argentine singer-songwriter who
discovered her passion for music while spending hours listening
to CDs and reading their lyrics. She began taking sporadic
singing lessons at 19 and in 2006, started studying music at the
Escuela de Blues (Buenos Aires). Her musical identity was forged
there, and she started a blues and soul cover band. In 2011, she
began composing her own music in Spanish, taking inspiration
from artists such as Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley, and Amy
Winehouse. She released her first album in 2012 and her second
in 2016, always working as co-producer with Julio Fabiani. She
has released several singles and is set to release her third album
titled NADA MAS POR HOY in vinyl edition with LOVE SOUL
PRODUCTIONS labe
A wonderful collection of early seventies recordings produced by Alton Ellis himself. High-impact reggae tunes with a great horn section. Alton Nehemiah Ellis OD (1 September 1938 – 10 October 2008) was a Jamaican singer-songwriter. One of the innovators of rocksteady, he was given the informal title "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.
Following the news that all three Lush albums are going to be reissued, Emma Anderson, the band’s co-founder, has announced her debut solo album, Pearlies. One of the most underrated British songwriters to emerge from the era that encompassed shoegaze and Britpop, she has teamed up with producer James Chapman (aka Maps) for this collection that combines effervescent electronic pop with psych and folk textures with lyrics covering themes such as confronting your fears, embracing independence and moving on in life.
The lush psych-pop sound of Copenhagen's Halasan Bazar returns with their ambitious third album, "Burns". After numerous shows, recording sessions, a powerful collaboration LP and tours, "Burns" finds the band even more seasoned and impressive, giving the record a breezy naturalism from these gurus of their psychedelic craft.
Recorded in the French mountains, armed with a magical unending bag of weed, Halasan Bazar laid down these tunes mostly live - all vocals, acoustic guitars, drums and piano. This immediacy emphasizes their blissed out sonics, buoyant melodies and kaleidoscopic composition, each moment purposefully placed creating their rich sonic tapestry. Inspired by the greats of Greenwich Village's '60s folk, the lavish production of Lee Hazlewood, vocal harmonies of yesteryear and hallucinogenic day tripping. Some surf-y guitar vibes and plenty of driving piano jams too.
Tunes like "Freak" wave that Halasan flag proudly atop infectious guitar melodies and layered vocal harmonies creating a sing-a-long anthem for the misfits and the weirdos out there. "Get Sick and Die" incorporates swelling strings for an unexpectedly dreamy passage alongside sophisticated rock 'n' roll. One of many highlights, "Burns My Mind" has a driving, catchy groove and the entire band firing on all cylinders crafting a bombastic party atmosphere.
A beautiful and vivid album from an unapologetic band of freaks and dreamers, Halasan Bazar effortlessly leave their mark with "Burns".
The Swedish electronic pioneers Eddie Bengtsson and Marina
Schiptjenko have played together since the beginning of the 80s
The new album "En Ny Vag", which is released on 12" vinyl and CD in gatefold sleeve, contains 10 newly written songs recorded during 2022-2023. This time Page has worked with guest artists such as Chris Payne and Rrussell Bell known from UK groups Dramatis, Tubeway Army as well as Gary Numan in the 80 ´s.
Within Temptation, the renowned Dutch symphonic metal band, are set to captivate fans with their eighth studio album "Bleed Out". Bleed Out signifies a bold leap forward for the band. From contemporary, hard-hitting djenty riffs to soaring melodies displaying their symphonic roots, Within Temptation have created a sonic journey that fuses diverse musical styles and thought-provoking themes. Embracing a new era of musical exploration and lyrical depth, Within Temptation have pushed boundaries and showcased their artistic evolution, delivering a fist-in-the-air proclamation of both their moral convictions and their fearless approach to music. This is an album that is as epic as it is unflinchingly outspoken, and now more than ever, this is a band who aren’t afraid to make a stand on issues they care about.
Seit mittlerweile über 40 Jahren arbeitet Christian Pfluger an einem faszinierenden Universum aus Zeichnungen, Texten und Liedern, in dessen Mittelpunkt das imaginäre Trio Die Welttraumforscher steht. Während Pflugers musikalische Kollegen Sun Ra und Karlheinz Stockhausen mit ihren Ausflügen zu den Sternen den Weltraum als utopischen Sehnsuchtsort bereits prominent und vom Feuilleton gefeiert durchmessen haben, warten Die Welttraumforscher noch auf entsprechende irdische Würdigung. Einen weiteren Schritt in Richtung Ruhm und Erfolg hienieden machen jedoch die 16 Geschichten in Pflugers literarischem Debüt. Hier geben die Held:innen aus dem vielgestaltigen musikalischen und künstlerischen Repertoire der Welttraumforschung ihre ganz eigenen Geheimisse preis - und entführen mit leichter Hand die Leser:innen in ein kindlich-surreales Paralleluniversum, das in seiner liebevollen Ausgestaltung wohl einzigartig ist. Mit 16 Abbildungen aus dem Welttraumforscher-Kosmos versehen. "Sehr schön mal wieder, was der Ventil Verlag da drucken lässt, ich bin jetzt schon total überfordert: Die Welttraumforscher, die seit 40 Jahren Musik für die geschmackvollsten Wesen des Universums machen, erobern das Reich der Literatur. Und treffen dort alle ihre alten Freunde wieder: Leguan Rätselmann, Kip Eulenmeister, die Muschelmänner und was da sonst noch so lebt im Welttraum. Man braucht zehn, nein, sagen wir: sieben Minuten Lektüre, bis man sich wünscht, man wäre auch solch ein Strichzeichnungsgeschöpf, irgendwo da draussen im All. Wunderbare Geschichten sind das, wie LSD, nur aus Buchstaben." (Philipp Theisohn, Autor von "Einführung in die außerirdische Literatur" "Alle, die 4-Spur-Homerecording und Audiokassetten lieben, werden irgendwann den Welttraumforschern verfallen. Sie sind die ultimativen Kassettentäter. Täter? Nein, Träumer. Wann immer der Blick in der Ferne verlorengeht, sind Träumer am Werk. Sie sind die letzten Utopisten." (Felix Kubin, Musiker) Hardcover 224 Seiten
Breaking new boundaries for himself creatively Matt Hegarty played almost all
the instruments on the record as well as largely self-producing it with some help
from the talented producer Ali Chant (Yard Act, Sorry, Katy J. Pearson).
Matt has built up a loyal following from his years touring with Mumford & Sons,
Daughter, Bear's Den, Ben Howard - finding fans amongst those audiences and
musicians alike.
The cult singer- songwriter delivers songs full of wisdom, emotional heft and a
relatable sentimentality in his striking and distinctive vocal.
Knifeplay's sophomore full-length, and first ever studio album Animal
Drowning is a sprawling landscape of shoegaze and lofty slowcore
The album finds the band in a blend of folk instruments, walls of distortion,
orchestral strings and delicate vocals, all carefully organized by Philadelphia
engineer/ producer Jeff Zeigler, known for his work with Nothing, Kurt Vile, and
more.
Though their sonic palette is vast, Knifeplay craft a cohesive aesthetic to carry
frontman TJ Strohmer's thematically heavy songwriting, which touches on loss of
all kinds against the backdrop of a nihilistic world. These songs cry out with
urgency no matter their ever-varied tempo and dynamic, each painting a unique
vignette of tragedy. Yet the band's dense, meticulously composed
instrumentation exudes beauty, creating a lightness to balance the subject
matter.
With Animal Drowning, Knifeplay goes deeper into the sonic experimentation and
brutally honest lyricism so beloved on their early bedroom recordings, creating an
enrapturing experience that deftly builds on previous work.
Originally released in 1986, Life Is Hard Then You Die was the debut
album from Liverpudlian indie-pop band It's Immaterial - Now reissued
and repackaged by Last Night From Glasgow, available October 2023
Simon Braithwaite of Smash Hits wrote that Life's Hard and Then You Die shows
that It's Immaterial "write jolly good pop songs - In fact everything else here is just
as inspired and original as their recent hit."
In a retrospective review, Michael Sutton of All Music wrote, "Musically, the LP is
all over the place - new wave country, blues, folk, and synth pop - Somehow the
smorgasbord of styles works, because the band members aren't being eclectic
just for the sake of it; they simply have a wide canvas, keeping the album fresh
from beginning to end."
On his latest album as The Drums, New York-based indie pop artist Jonny
Pierce plunges into the work of healing from childhood trauma and the
long shadow it casts over adulthood
The sparkling, eponymous Jonny unfurls a love letter to a galaxy of younger
selves, all hungry to be nourished, all rejoicing now that they finally get to belong.
Playful, heartbreaking, raucous, and serene all in turn, Jonny embraces the mess
of life in all its facets. It renders the magic that happens when you fall in love with
yourself down to the marrow.
Soaring to alt- pop prestige on arrival, The Drums have released studio albums
that deftly walk the line of aching melancholy and irresistible pop sensibilities,
presented through a kaleidoscope of pastel guitars, reverb, modular synthesizers
and drum machines. It's a sound that's wholly unique, and unmistakably The
Drums.
The Drums' music remains timeless, as evidenced by the recent explosion of their
RIAA Gold- certified song Money, which first appeared on their breakout
sophomore album Portamento, reaching #1 on the Alternative Global Shazam
Chart and #2 on the TikTok Global Hashtag Chart
Caleb Nichols put himself on the map with Ramon, a critically acclaimed
queer Beatles rock opera
Now, he's tackling something of a more radical proposition -- just 11 great songs,
full stop.
Nichols is out with his new album, Let's Look Back -- his second full-length album
on the hallowed indie label Kill Rock Stars.
"It's about the idea that you have to look back and confront stuff before you can
move forward," Nichols says. "It's about vindication, and reintegration, and
trusting yourself."
Produced by Zach Rogue, Let's Look Back's highlights are everywhere -- from the
unstoppable power-pop rocket that is "Demon Twink" to the luminous pop of "J'ai
Vu La Lune!" to the bold and brassy "Wicked."
"I'm not the good witch/ I'm the bad one!" goes Nichols' infectiously catchy
refrain. But Let's Look Back is most definitely a good one -- one that will send fans
of early 2000s indie rock, from the Shins to the Decemberists to Belle and
Sebastian, to heaven.
King Tree & the Earthmothers is Henry James, Adam Ditt & Derek Eglit
Guitarist/singer Henry James (Robert Jon & The Wreck) and bassist
Adam Ditt (Balto, Gethen Jenkins) met in high school and were always
performing around and touring with different bands
There was a lot of chaos and inconsistency, but the constant would be after
school improvised jam sessions which would inspire the name and core concept
of the project. There was a certain freedom involved in performing as a trio that
always seemed to spark inspiration. Over the years James would find himself
working on psychedelic and progressive rock-influenced bedroom demos. Some
of these can be heard on 2020's "King Tree & The Earthmothers", an effort
performed, produced and recorded entirely by Henry James.
There were various incarnations of King Tree as a live band (as far back as 2016),
but the full potential of the group would not be realized until the addition of
drummer Derek Eglit (Painted Wives, Pinkly Smooth) in 2021. With an undeniable
and explosive chemistry, the trio became locally known in Southern California for
eclectic and virtuosic live performances. They brought a collection of songs to
the studio as a band in 2022 and are now preparing to release their true debut
album in 2023 and hit stages across Europe for the first time in October and
November.
King Tree & the Earthmothers is the "other" band for Henry James, guitarist for
Robert Jon & The Wreck - They will be touring Europe in October/November 2023
Oakland CA's Blue Ocean have been working around the fringes of the
Bay Area indie scene since 2019, honing their very particular noisesoaked racket into a unique and instantly identifiable sound - They blend
elements of shoegaze, pop, noise rock and electronics into a dense,
sometimes disorienting soundworld that embodies a spectral mystery
that recalls forebears like Disco Inferno, Bark Psychosis and Flying
Saucer Attack
"Fertile State" is their debut album, following on the heels of 3 tape EPs and a LP
drawn from those tapes that sold out instantly on release in 2021. Songs like
"Ode," "Fertile State" and "Syncnine" show how much Blue Ocean has grown in the
last few years. They've easily shrugged off many of the markers of their punk/
indie roots, allowing their experimental urges free rein and and the noise to find
it's own level. It's a bracing, invigorating album that truly rewards deep listening
and points the way forward to an intriguing future
Tallahassee, FL singer-songwriter Sarah Morrison's debut studio album
Attachment Figure depicts the strangeness of exploring new
relationships with subtle and spacious electronic production - As a
former live keyboardist in Locate S,1, Morrison co-produced Attachment
Figure with fellow bandmates Ross Brand and Clayton Rychlik, both of
whom also play in Of Montreal's backing band
She was motivated to experiment with looser song structures and more
unconventional chord progressions by her collaborators' fondness for avantgarde jazz, as well as Locate S,1 frontwoman Christina Schneider's idiosyncratic
writing style.
Throughout the album, echoing keys, woodwinds, and guitar ripple like a moonlit
lake from which Morrison's voice emerges. Her presence is spectral, yet
conversational, willing to conjure concrete imagery of mango- flavored vitamins
and the warmth of phone chargers alongside ghost stories of mannequin corpses
and epistolary curses, a balance shaped by an obsession with the theatrical
sincerity of Kate Bush and Mark Hollis.
Lyrically, Attachment Figure meditates on questions about identity, personal
growth, and helplessness - whether within a relationship or the oppressive
structures of society itself - often rooted in Morrison's experiences growing up in
the South. "There's a connection between Southern hospitality and femininity and
just allowing things to happen," Morrison says. "I've been in many relationships
with people who have used that 'southern charm' to their advantage. I think a lot
of people, non- men in particular, put on this charm instinctively. It's a defense
mechanism that I was interested in studying."
Attachment Figure is perpetually suspended between states of being, harmony
and dissonance, and contradictory sentiments we all hold as we enter into the
arms of someone new, but ultimately, it's guided by a desire for authentic love--
and a flair for intricate, intuitive songcraft.
Heart's Ann Wilson is releasing a new record with Tripsitter, 'Another
Door'
Prior to starting the 2023 tour, Ann Wilson and her band Tripsitter finished
'Another Door', a record of all-original material, which marks the first time since
the '70s that Ann has written a full- length album collectively with a band.
Tripsitter features Tony Lucido (bass), Ryan Wariner (guitars), Sean T. Lane
(drums), and Paul Moak (guitars and keyboards). Tom Bukovac (guitars) was also
a primary contributor.
ANOTHER DOOR marks the first time in her career where Ann was the sole lyricist
and her presence on a record has never been greater. Ann says, "This is an
exciting time in my creative life; so much new and fresh to remind me of why I
love my calling!"
The cover for 'Another Door' was created by Storm Studio which began in the
early 1990s with Storm Thorgerson, Peter Curzon, Rupert Truman, and Dan
Abbott. Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell co- founded Hipgnosis, who
between 1968 and 1983 created artwork for the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin,
Paul McCartney & Wings, 10cc, AC/DC, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, and many others.
Following Storm's passing in 2013 Aubrey Powell has worked closely with Storm
Studio on numerous projects since.
** Widely praised as one of the greatest singers in the history of Rock, Ann's
extraordinarily powerful voice has been sending chills down her audience's
collective spine for over five decades, earning record sales of more than 35
million, an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award.
** "Barracuda," "Crazy On You," and "Magic Man" are among the many songs she's
written that now reside in the pantheon of Rock's greatest hits. "This Is Now" from
ANOTHER DOOR plays seamlessly alongside the classics in her current live set.
** Last year Ann sang with Disturbed's frontman David Draiman on the duet,
"Don't Tell Me," from their recently released DIVISIVE album, and lent her voice to
Dolly Parton's forthcoming rock record "Rock Star." Ann Wilson defies genre!!
The songwriter that helped kick off indie rock as we know it" NPR… // Remixed and remastered under the supervision of Martin Phillipps, this expanded edition of The Chills’ debut album is reissued for the first time in over 35 years. The newly mixed edition features additional rarities and unreleased tracks from The Chills vaults, along with brand new reimagined artwork by Martin Phillipps and a host of additional liner notes. Originally produced by Mayo Thompson (Pere Ubu/Red Krayola) and featuring standout tracks ‘Wet Blanket’, ‘Night Of Chills Blue’, this extended 18-track edition includes much-lauded tracks from the era, such as ‘House With A Hundred Rooms’ and the awesome ‘Party In My Heart’. Part of the 80s extraordinarily vibrant and innovative independent music scene in New Zealand, The Chills became flag bearers, taking the Dunedin sound, as championed by the Flying Nun label, to the world. Long recognised as one of New Zealand's most influential bands, Brave Words is a shining example of their unique sound and has been praised as a masterpiece by critics and fans alike. “‘Brave Words’ may well be The Chills' finest album