Buscar:yo la tengo

Seit der Veröffentlichung ihres gefeierten Debüts "Versions of Modern Performance" 2022 (u. a. mit Höchstwertung um US-Rolling Stone) hat sich vieles für Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein und Gigi Reece verändert. Im Herbst desselben Jahres zog die junge Band von Chicago in die Ostküstenmetropole, wo Penelope und Nora an der New York University ihr Studium begannen und das erste Mal überhaupt Musik außerhalb des elterlichen Zuhauses schrieben. Der Einfluss der neuen Umgebung macht sich unmittelbar im Sound bemerkbar. Zugleich wendet sich der Blick in Zeiten beispielloser Veränderungen nach innen. Im Januar 2024 kehrten Horsegirl nach Chicago zurück, um die neuen Songs aufzunehmen. Im "The Loft" Studio stellten sich dort ein Fokus und eine Intimität ein, wie sie wohl nur entstehen können, wenn es schlicht zu kalt ist, das Gebäude zu verlassen. Cate Le Bon führte die Band derweil in neue, helle und klare Sound-Gefilde, die Raum und Textur gegenüber den dichten Soundflächen des Debüts in den Vordergrund rücken und das charakteristische Songwriting von Horsegirl betonen. Dazu zählt auch der erstmalige Einsatz von Violinen, Synths und Gamelan. Die Leadsingle "2468" ist ein Beispiel für die offenkundige Experimentierlust auf "Phonetics On and On". Mit seinen Raincoats-artigen Streichern und energischen Drums verdreht einem der Song in seinem fortlaufenden Crescendo immer mehr den Kopf. Das dazugehörige Video stammt von der Schriftstellerin und Regisseurin Eliza Callahan und wurde von Alexa West choreographiert. Es ist schwer vorstellbar, dass Songs wie die auf "Phonetics On and On" augenblicklich von irgendwem anderes stammen könnten als von diesem Trio bester Freundinnen. Nora, Penelope und Gigi schreiben mit ungefilterter Aufrichtigkeit über Szenen ihrer Jugend als Momentaufnahmen des Lebens. Die Liebe zueinander ist dabei in jedem Augenblick spürbar und resoniert durch und durch im Zusammenspiel auf ihrem zweiten Album. Horsegirl gründeten sich 2019 in der umtriebigen DIY-Szene Chicagos. Die damals 17- und 18-jährigen Schülerinnen zählen Yo La Tengo und Pavement zu ihren erklärten Vorbildern. Ihr Debüt, auf dem Steve Shelley und Lee Ranaldo als Gäste zu hören sind, nahm die Band in Steve Albinis Studio mit John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.) auf. Zuletzt tourten Horsegirl u. a. mit The Breeders.

In 2019, Resistencia Sonora was launched as a collaborative project where urban resistances and ethnic-peasant rural resistances converge in the greater area of Montes de Maria, situated in Colombia's western Caribbean region. This initiative originates in one of the musical epicenters of ancestral sounds that have fostered a now global recognition for styles such as gaita, cumbia, bullerengue, son palenque and son de negro, as well as Sabanero accordion music like porros and pajaritos.

The aim of this extensive project has been to serve as a rare living archive of festive gatherings, conversations, knowledge exchange, and co-creative processes that have spawned specifically from the municipality of Ovejas, which sits in the Sucre Department of Montes de Maria. Resistencia Sonora's documentation in Ovejas is more than just a musical recording, rather an all-encompassing snapshot of a very real folkloric life within neighborhoods such as El Bolsillo, El Corea and La Ciudadela. The initial inspiration of the project can be credited to a specific call to arms from composer Andrés Narváez, who expressed the dream to record his own original compositions set amongst this region's local history. Andrés, like many leaders from the old sabanas beyond Montes de Maria, is a social leader and land-rights activist. He proposed not only to record his songs but also to invite other musicians and composers to take part in this documentation, an extended hand to uphold the legacies, knowledge, and traditions of the region's elders.

All songs recorded between 2022-23 on location in Ovejas and Bogotá, Colombia. Mixed in Brooklyn by Names You Can Trust and mastered by Frank Meritt at The Carvery, London. Limited Edition 250 vinyl press with included 12-page booklet and liner notes in English and Spanish.

12” paddling pool blue vinyl, is an edition of 500. CD Digifile. Following the runaway success of their critically acclaimed 2021 second album Contender, the question for fast-rising London four-piece Fightmilk was always going to be “what next?” With a tight indie-pop sound that defined their early recordings, the answer was obvious to a band who seem hellbent on the notion of evolve or die… The band originally formed in 2015 in a Brixton pub garden by Lily and Alex, who had both, separately, just been dumped and thought being in an angry punk band would cheer them up. Then they found Nick and Healey to hold the rhythm down and make them sound good. With three albums under their belt, they’ve perfected their chaotic, melodic brand of joy and rage-filled pop with full-throated yelling and sparkling guitar riffs as their trademark. They’ve graduated from angsty whippersnappers in their mid-twenties to overgrown teenage 30-somethings with mild ongoing back and shoulder pain. Their previous 2 albums Not With That Attitude (2018) & Contender (2021) marked them out as an ambitious and rising prospect, and now on their forthcoming new album No Souvenirs the band eschew their former Britpop ties and edge further into DIY punk and heavier rock influences to reveal a leaner, meaner, more abrasive side to their cathartic lo-fi anthems. Whilst collectively diving into their passion for Jimmy Eat World, frontwoman Lily Rae made a conscious decision to strengthen her “big loud yell” with influence from Alicia Bognanno (Bully), Nat Foster (Press Club), and Missy Dabice (Mannequin Pussy). “My voice is the biggest it’s ever been and I’m constantly thrilled when people are surprised at how loud I am, considering I’m so small in stature,” she grins. “Lyrically I always look to Bruce Springsteen for inspiration but I also really enjoyed the angsty candour of Sour by Olivia Rodrigo, and Kacey Musgraves’ impeccable one-liners.” There are a few genre experiments on the record—Yo La Tengo in ‘Paddling Pool’, ‘Canines’ is part The Strokes and part Neu!, and ‘Back From Tour’ was heavily influenced by long term friends Johnny Foreigner. “You could probably make a case for ‘Inferno’ having a bit of Counting Crows to it, but we were never writing to emulate,” explains guitarist Alex. “The references and touchstones just happened along the way. As far as we’re concerned, they just sound like Fightmilk - and that’s a really nice place to be nearly a decade in.” “That said, we’ve also been REALLY picky with the songs that made it onto the album - there’s probably an-other album’s worth of songs that didn’t feel right, even if we loved them. We got really good at finding the “magic thing” in each song that made it work.” Spilling over with candid lyrics about death, doomed love, and dog bites, framed by endless punk energy and the kind of full-throated riff-rock that sounds just at home in a giant stadium as it does in a sticky-floored toilet bar, No Souvenirs is a triumphant return from the band, who are equally enthused by the album. “I only realised after we put the songs together how personal to me this album was,” explains Lily. “Not just because I’m writing about extremely specific sitcom episodes in my life (getting fired from bridesmaid duty, being bitten on the arse by a dog, being relentlessly asked when I’m going to have kids), but because whilst we were making it, I turned 30. It’s a significant age for women, especially in music, because aside from being something called a ‘geriatric millennial’, there’s an unspoken rule that there’s a cut-off point for you to have ‘made it’ and after that you have to settle down and be normal.” For Lily, writing for the album also aligned with the 10th anniversary of the death of a close friend, with the resulting track ‘No Souvenirs’ lending its title to the album as a whole. “It had taken me that long to write about it in a way I felt ok with. But I realised that I couldn’t have written it before,” she explains. “I needed that distance, and that maturity, to be able to articulate those feelings. It feels to me now like the album is about scorched earth, moving on, taking nothing with you for the next ‘thing’ - and realising that getting older is a privilege.” Bringing a huge amount of energy and joy with them whenever and wherever they hit a stage, interacting with the audience is a vital part of the Fightmilk live experience. “Without people singing and dancing at us we wouldn’t have gigs at all, so we want everyone to get involved!” says Lily of the band’s future tour plans

Memorial Waterslides" ist das Debütalbum von MEMORIALS, dem Duo bestehend aus Verity Susman und Matthew Simms (zuvor bei Electrelane und Wire). Es handelt sich um ein surrealistisches Pop-Album, das sowohl zeitlos als auch zeitgemäß ist und eine seltene Mischung aus klassischem Songwriting und Avantgarde-Attitüde aufweist. MEMORIALS kreieren einen Panorama-Pop, der auf Vertrautes und Fremdes zurückgreift, aber bekannte Pfade aber auch neue Wege beschreitet. Mit ihrem verspielten und experimentellen Stil, kombiniert mit einer Liebe zu Melodien, stehen sie in einer Reihe mit Broadcast, Portishead, Arthur Russell, The Velvet Underground, Yo La Tengo und Tortoise. Das Album ist voll von Bildern, die eine verlorene Zukunft, eine verschleierte Gegenwart und eine tagträumerische Vergangenheit heraufbeschwören, wobei jeder Song eine Rolle bei der Schaffung einer wirbelnden Breitwandatmosphäre spielt und den Hörer mit auf die Reise nimmt. Der Sound des Albums, das die beiden komplett selbst produziert haben, wurde von den Experimenten mit Tonbändern inspiriert, mit denen sie zunächst auf der Bühne herumspielten, als sie begannen, ihre vielschichtigen Aufnahmen für Live-Auftritte als Duo zu entwickeln. Nach ihren gefeierten 2023-Soundtracks "Women Against The Bomb" und "Tramps!", einer Europatournee mit Stereolab (sie wurden als "Stereolabs böser Zwilling" bezeichnet) und einem neuen Musikauftrag des Centre Pompidou in Paris kamen Verity und Matthew auf MEMORIALS in umgekehrter Richtung an, indem sie ihren Soundtrack-Alltagsjobs entflohen, um kosmische Reisen durch den Gartenschuppen in psychedelischen Rock, abgefahrenen Folk und wilde analoge Elektronik zu unternehmen. "Exciting and unpredictable" The Guardian. "Everything you'd expect from a duo adept in the strange and esoteric, while also in thrall to pop music's melodic bent." The Quietus. (Limitiertes) Pink farbenes Vinyl mit DLC sowie Digisleeve-CD!

With over 100 releases to date Dark Vektor, is considered by everyone in the industry to be the most respected Spanish Elektro producer. On December 3, 2023, Dark Vektor played a historic live set at Ombra Festival. This tribute record includes 99% of the playlist from that performance, featuring tracks from his most acclaimed releases to date. This record is an absolute must-have for any avid collector, its value is guaranteed to increase.. Presented in a ONE-OFF truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid LIGHT GREEN and LIGHT MAGENTA vinyl. All tracks have been specially mastered for vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studios (Germany).

Fire Red Vinyl. As one would expect of any historic city, the houses in Decatur, GA are old, and while many have been renovated to suit the needs of the 21st century family, the one Lunar Vacation calls home has not. The porch is quaint and crumbly, the roof leaks, and there is a single bathroom shared by the band's five members who insist that this is not, actually, a bad thing. "I used to be so protective of the songs when I gave them over to the band," lyricist/vocalist/guitarist Gep Repasky says. "There's so much trust involved, but this house helped us grow as best friends, as musicians, as a band." That newfound sense of trust is apparent on Everything Matters, Everything's Fire, whose title, taken from the concluding track "You Shouldn't Be," is a thesis statement. While Lunar Vacation's last album, 2021's Inside Every Fig is a Dead Wasp, happily bathed in the waters of indie pop, their latest effort is exploratory, a product of many hours shared experimenting in a living room together. Inspired by prolific shapeshifters like Yo La Tengo and Björk, Everything Matters, Everything's Fire adopts an ethos that every idea has the potential to be a good one. "Our last album was super produced, manicured," guitarist/ vocalist Maggie Geeslin says. "This one's organic. We embraced mistakes; it made the work even better." In other words: everything matters, everything's fire.

Typically, a band's big indie label debut doesn't come 15 albums into its career, but with Constant Smiles' Paragons, here we are. Primary songwriter and sole "constant" member Ben Jones_who considers Constant Smiles a collective_sees its impressive output as a way to document the group's evolution. Since its live debut as a noise duo on Ben's home of Martha's Vineyard in 2009, Constant Smiles has grown to include contributions from 50 other members, all of whom have personal connections to the group's extended family. And while the collective has indulged an array of musical whims along the way - including Ben's penchant for penning a new set's worth of material for each live performance - Constant Smiles' sound has tightened up considerably over their past couple of albums, in large part as a result of Ben's working relationship with Mike Mackey, who has become his main creative partner. This increased focus manifests on Paragons in the band's most cohesive batch of songs to date, ranging from shimmering psych-pop excursions to bittersweet, piano and string-accented strummers, and an execution that feels like a massive step forward for the band. Through its recent forays into dream pop and shoegaze (Control) and synth-pop (John Waters), Constant Smiles has learned how to incorporate its experimental inclinations more fluidly into the mix. Artists like Yo La Tengo, and the more recent Rat Columns, are good touchstones for Constant Smiles' musical approach - tethering to an indie-pop core while perennially mining genres, always finding new ways to intrigue listeners and pursue a unique vision. Paragons was produced and engineered by Ben Greenberg in the last two weeks of December 2020 at Gary's Electric, with additional recording done by Ben Jones at his home studio, The Void, and his Aunt Leanne's house. The album was mixed at Circular Ruin Studio and mastered by Josh Bonati. The band on Paragons consists of Jai Berger (who performed "Introduction"), Spike Currier (bass and synth), Matthew Addison (drums), Emma Conley (violin), Nicky Wetherell (cello), Adam Lipsky (piano), and Ben Greenberg (guitar and Mellotron).

A song is a song until it isn't, until it's pushed to its limits and beyond to become harder, faster and more dissonant. The music on Oneida's 17th full-length album, Expensive Air, all started as tightly structured, melodic rock songs _ very much in line with the non-stop bangers of Success from 2022 _ but along the way, they changed. Bobby Matador sketched the structures of these songs from his home base in Boston, then sent the demos to Oneida's New York contingent: Kid Millions, Hanoi Jane, Shahin Motia and Barry London. "We were working out the songs in New York without Bobby. We would start out riding the riffs, and then Shahin and Jane would add wild, out-of-tune licks," said Kid Millions. "It seemed so perfect." Oneida has long straddled gray-area boundaries between the NYC punk/psych/rock world and the art/experimental world, playing at gritty rock clubs and elevated cultural institutions, including the Guggenheim, MoMA PS1, ICA London, MassMOCA and the Knoxville Museum of Art. The band has been known for extended live improvisational performances, collaborating onstage with Mike Watt, members of Flaming Lips, Portishead, Boredoms, Yo La Tengo, Dead C, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and many others. Oneida's members juggle a wide variety of other music projects. Drummer Kid Millions has played with Spiritualized, Royal Trux and Boredoms and releases solo compositions under his own name and as Man Forever. Shahin Motia founded noise - punk's Ex-Models and currently plays in Knyfe Hits. Kid and Fat Bobby perform and release music as People of the North, and Bobby's outside projects New Pope and Nurse & Soldier each released new albums in 2023. Oneida's previous album, Success, came after a four-year hiatus, unleashing the band's pent up creative energy in a set of catchy, accessible, nearly poppy songs. Song structure remained important in the run up towards Expensive Air, but so was the instinctual, improvisatory interplay that has always been a part of Oneida's process. The band had been playing live together for two years, sharpening its attack and pushing its songs to go harder, faster and wilder. Oneida recorded Expensive Air in three sessions scattered across 2023, convening at Colin Marston's Menegroth The Thousand Caves studio in Woodhaven, Queens, whenever they had a few songs ready. Marston and the band mixed the album in February 2024 at Menegroth. The new album expands on what Oneida achieved with Success, but also pushes past it, laying down irresistible song structures then blowing them to psychedelic bits. "I found myself thinking about this record as a darker, looser, louder, counterpart to Success," Bobby explains. "Both records charge forward from the jump and mix the elliptical with the blunt, and longing with self-mockery. But Success is like laughing in a car gunning carelessly through an ice storm, and Expensive Air is how you laugh at yourself as the car spins into the ditch, or a tree. Same trip, but a little closer to the bone."

‘’The duo’s music has traces of 1980s dream pop and 1990s slowcore, particularly Low, another married-couple band. There’s more to the comparison than ink on a certificate. Marriage’s suffering and devotion breed a particular kind of intimacy. Windy & Carl often resemble an ambient version of Yo La Tengo, another group that centers on a long-wed duo and conveys a secret, profound sense of life beyond the music.’’ PITCHFORK 7.2
For the first time in almost twenty years, Windy & Carl’s second album for kranky, Consciousness, will be available on the vinyl format once again. The fourth album from Michigan’s premier space duo, again delivers their shimmering trademark wall of sound, beautiful vocalization, and delicate songcraft. Six sweet and easy new tracks recorded in their home studio in Dearborn, that drift and dream with layered guitars, keyboards, bass and a love-arsenal of delicious effects and distortion.
“There is an airy shaft of light that extends straight through these six extended pieces, offsetting the density of sound with a breezy loveliness that’s almost impossible to articulate, towering on a floating sea of mesmerising, sub-level sounds.” —Boomkat
“Genre descriptions such as ‘ambient guitar soundscape’, ‘wall of sound’ and ‘drone’ fail miserably to capture the astonishing, magical emotional beauty of their pieces.” —Cyclic Defrost

With a squall of guitar and a crash of drums, two years on from the release of their exhilarating debut EP, Chicago noisemakers Babe Report finally release their debut album in 2024, in the form of the rough-and-ready Did You Get Better, released this Spring via Exploding In Sound. Formed of ten new songs, and all wrapped in under half an hour, it’s an immediate and breathless arrival.

Opening track ‘Turtle of Reaper’ arrives in a flurry of noise and energy. Presented as an indictment of the fear-mongering in click-bait media, it’s a cacophonous two-minutes of scorched vocals and frenetic drums, the chorus a call back to 12/31/99, when all the news told people to turn off their computers before Y2K hit.

‘Universal’ offers something somewhat more refined, with occasional moments of restraint amid the commotion that arrives in a hardy whack of heavy riffs.

“This one is all about climbing up onto your neighbor’s back to succeed,” the band explain. “Most aspects of life are not a zero-sum game, but when they are, it feels ethically wrong to win.”

Elsewhere, ‘Allergy 2000’ is the album’s weighty centre-point, characterized by its soaring guitar lead line and stifled, murky vocals what might have started out as an experiment in writing a Yo La Tengo song soon comes into its own with a rabid tempo shift that feels indicative of the album’s fervent nature, never allowing the listener to rest on their laurels.

However it finds you or you find it, Did You Get Better finds a way to take the reins, ploughing headfirst into its journey and rarely looking back for approval, to even worry if anyone else is joining for the ride."

Rare debut LP by the eccentric Peruvian singer Jean Paul "El Troglodita", known for his wild performances and extreme way of life. Enrique Roberto Tellería made his Peruvian television debut in 1965 under the stage name Jean Paul El Troglodita and wearing an imitation leopard skin suit. He would switch from melodic calm to shouting wildly or suddenly drop to the floor on his knees and smash the furniture like crazy. At the age of 19, DisPerú signed him to the label on the strength of these early performances. His first single included a freely translated version of 'Secret Agent Man' in Spanish. He began to work on the eleven cover versions that would feature on his first LP immediately, writing all his own lyrics and accompanied by the beat band Los Steivos. Despite the predominance of English beat music in Peru, the album only included three songs directly related to the British invasion: 'Bus Stop' by The Hollies, also played in raga rock style; 'Paint it Black' by The Rolling Stones; and 'The House of the Rising Sun', which follows the arrangement recorded by The Animals. So most songs come the American songbook. Apart from 'Tema de El Troglodita' (a versión of 'Secret Agent' by The Challengers), we find the bluesy 'Mustang Sally' (Sir Mack Rice). Two other US numbers, originally performed with orchestral accompaniment, were adapted to fit the rock band format: 'Poor Side of Town' (Johnny Rivers) and 'Take Me to the Moon' (Kaye Ballard). 'El verdadero amor' ('True Love'), an uncredited version is in a similar vein. The Spanish song 'Negro es negro' (Los Bravos) and the Brazilian track 'Que todo se vaya al infierno' (Roberto Carlos) also feature on the LP. El Troglodita's association with the so-called nueva ola, indicated on the back cover, needs clarification. In Peru, nueva ola was a mixed bag rather than a specific musical style and encompassed slow rock, twist, bossa nova and all the styles that the record industry produced to tame the wild rock 'n' roll impulses of teenagers in the early sixties. The Peruvian artists that performed these inoffensive Spanish adaptations of Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka or Frankie Avalon, were presented as successful models of youth culture. This was until 1964, when the Beatles with their mop-top haircuts hit the charts, vindicating rock 'n' roll and imposing the group format over the soloist model. Meanwhile the press continued to call any youth music recorded during the rest of the decade nueva ola. Jean Paul noted these distinctions early on and distanced himself from it in several statements. He saw his performance more in a style as a solo artist as following in the footsteps of e.g. Los Saicos. His 'hippie' lifestyle got him arrested by the new de facto military government in 1968, who accused him of promoting drug consumption and corrupting the Peruvian youth. The charges were soon dropped but his reputation was tarnished, and he ended up emigrating to Central America. The album includes Spanish sung versions of British beat songs and covers of the American songbook as well as various international hits.

Kurt Wagner is back, mit neuer Platte, neuen Sounds und neuen Überraschungen, alles wie immer eigentlich, nur anders. Die Songstrukturen entstanden nicht wie üblich an der Gitarre, sondern wurden als Midi-Piano Miniaturen geboren." Die Befreiung von diesen Einschränkungen führte zu einem überraschenden neuen Sound, mit abgeschliffenen Kanten und durch Kurts eigene, spezifische Linse betrachtet. Etwa zur gleichen Zeit bereitete er sich auf eine Live-Show beim Eaux Claires Sommerfestival in Wisconsin vor, das ursprünglich von Justin Vernon von Bon Iver und Aaron Dessner von The National gegründet wurde. Inspiriert von der Originalität der Performances, die er während des PEOPLE Festivals 2018 in Berlin gesehen hatte, und einigen der Leute, die er dort getroffen hatte, machte er sich wieder einmal auf die Suche nach etwas Neuem und wandte sich an Ryan Olson und Andrew Broder, um seine groben Piano-Ideen zu konkretisieren. Wir müssen an dieser Stelle nicht erwähnen, dass die Show nie stattfand, aber die Ideen wuchsen weiter und führten zu etwas Größerem, zu einer ganz neuen Ära für Lambchop. Außerdem mit dabei Trompeter CJ Camerieri und Grammy-Preisträger Jeremy Ferguson kehrt als Co-Produzent zurück. Da schien es auch ein günstiger Zeitpunkt zu sein, einen weiteren Musiker an Bord zu holen, der ganz hervorragend zu Lambshop passt, eine Zusammenarbeit fühlte sich für viele längst überfällig an. Zum ersten Mal spielt James McNew, ein langjähriger Freund sowie Mitglied von Yo La Tengo, am Kontrabass.

Enid Valu normally relies on lenses and light to express herself. Known to create stunning visuals, to capture sonic worlds with her preferred instrument (the camera), the US-born, Munich-based photographer and video artist has been working with various bands, shooting concerts, creating music videos, visualizing what she hears. However, now that she’s become an indispensable part of the local scene, she for once ditches the cam and steps up to the mic instead – appearing as featured vocalist on two of the four brand-new covers Hochzeitskapelle recorded for the forthcoming EP entitled “We Dance.”

“It’s later than you think,” she reminds us, just like Stephen Malkmus once did in Pavement’s “We Dance” – beautifully rearranged and reworked some three decades later. Also musing about “Stockholm Syndrome,” just like Yo La Tengo’s bass player James McNews did back then, this new Hochzeitskapelle interpretation is obviously less reminiscent of Neil Young, if compared to the original take. Instead, their Yo La Tengo cover feels almost like a song recorded by The Notwist – which, interestingly enough, is not because two of The Notwist’s core members also play in Hochzeitskapelle. Nope, it’s the vibe of Enid Valu’s guest vocals that somehow points in that direction.

As for the two remaining cover choices, it’s all-instrumental business as usual. For Low’s classic “Silver Rider,” it’s the banjo that does Alan Sparhawk’s vocal part, whereas the trombone soon joins in, contributing Mimi Parker’s second vocal layer as the tune unfolds. Eventually adding a German song to the mix – Wir Sind Helden’s “Elefant” –, it’s an EP that comprises four beautiful half-forgotten indie classics that Hochzeitskapelle reworks, adding the group’s unique, charmingly handmade/oddball “Rumpeljazz” trademark. One can immediately tell how much they love the original tracks: these are recordings, done by fans and admirers who aren’t even trying to sound much like the musicians who wrote them. However, the new versions are so compelling in their own right, they make you want to revisit the original tracks as well… (Dirk Wagner)

In the corner of your vision, there’s a daydream on a mission” says Russell Edling in the beginning of “Park (Rye)”. Humming vibrations crescendo around the words floating inthe air and a listener may visualize a flower growing in fast motion, or a dog running backwards, lava flowing, children jumping rope in the evening sun. Suddenly these visions plumet and new frenetic images appear as drums, percussion, and full accompaniment burst into space. The band has arrived, a theme recurrent in Golden Apples’ new record, Bananasugarfire.

A listener might hear echoes of the Velvet Underground, Stereolab, Stone Roses, Yo La Tengo, but there is more going on than just a studied homage to indie rock’s progenitors. The themes of doubt and bewilderment found on previous albums are still present, but they are thrown into a kaleidoscope with beams of positivity, hope, and optimism.

McCombs is one of the most highly regarded bassists/guitarists working today, known for his pioneering band Tortoise, his bass playing in Chicago"s Eleventh Dream Day, and his innovative instrumental group Brokeback. He has released albums with guitarist David Daniell, and collaborated with the likes of Tom Zé to Yo La Tengo, Stereolab to Daniel Lanois. In addition to being the touring bassist for The Sea and Cake, McCombs has somehow found time to form a new trio Black Duck with guitarist Bill MacKay, and percussionist Charles Rumback. Douglas McCombs" VMAKMcCombs" debut solo album is a mix of improvisation, textural explorations and recurring melodic themes. Taking after Brokeback"s classic Morse Code in the Modern Age: Across the Americas, "Two To Coolness" is a piece that McCombs refined through a series of improvised performances and features Calexico drummer John Convertino, as well as singer/guitarist/synth player Sam Prekop (also of The Sea and Cake). "Green Crown"s Step" was largely improvised working through melodies and patterns. The stately "To Whose Falls Shallows" reshapes three key themes that Tortoise and Brokeback fans will find to be signature McCombs, buoyed by fellow Brokeback member James Elkington (Tweedy), who also engineered and mixed the album. On the album, McCombs plays with spare instrumentation and primarily plays electric and acoustic guitars as well as the Bass VI, drawing out textures that stretch the scope of his instruments. McCombs" work is pastoral and expansive, his playing is refined and nuanced, and his melodies often bely his admiration for Ennio Morricone as his guitar imbues endlessly sprawling fields of the midwest with the same sense of magic. It is a true pleasure to hear him perform in such an intimate way. This is an absolute essential for followers of McCombs and newcomers alike, as the album lays bare his influence on each of his groups as well as firmly stakes McCombs as a force all his own.

Woods are in bloom again, inviting you to disappear into a new spectrum of colors and sounds and dreams on Perennial. Formed in Brooklyn in 2004, Woods have matured into a true independent institution, above and below the root, reliably emerging every few years with new music that grows towards the latest sky. Operating the Woodsist label since 2006 and curating the beloved homespun Woodsist Festival for the musical universe they’ve built, Perennial is the sound of a band on the edge of their 20th anniversary and still finding bold new ways to sound like (and challenge) themselves. Perennial grew from a bed of guitar/keyboard/drum loops by Woods head-in-chief Jeremy Earl, a form of winter night meditation that evolved into an unexplored mode of collaborative songwriting. With Earl’s starting points, he and bandmates Jarvis Taveniere and John Andrews convened, first at Earl’s house in New York, then at Panoramic House studio in Stinson Beach, California, site of sessions for 2020’s Strange To Explain. With a view of the sparkling Pacific and tape rolling, they began to build, jamming over the loops, switching instruments, and developing a few dozen building blocks. The album’s resulting 11 songs, 4 of them instrumental, are in the classic Woods mode--shimmering, familiar, fractionally unsettling--but with the half-invisible infinity boxes of Earl’s loops burbling beneath each like a mysterious underground source. From source to seed to bloom, each loop unfolds into something unpredictable, from the jeweled pop of the aching “Little Black Flowers” to the ecstatic starlit freak-beat of “Another Side.” They are blossomings both far-out and comforting, like the Mellotronic cloud-hopping of “Between the Past,” or sometimes just plain comforting, like the widescreen snowglobe fantasia of the instrumental “White Winter Melody,” touched by Connor Gallaher’s pedal steel. Woods have long used the studio as a place of songwriting, naming 2007’s At Rear House after their shared dwelling and recording space. But Perennial also carries with it an even longer view of Woods. Emerging from the process alongside the music was Earl’s reflection that “perennial plants and flowers are nature’s loops,” an idea rolling under the album’s lyrics like the loops themselves. It certainly applies to the band, too, who have quietly tended to a long, committed project of being a band in the weird-ass 21st century, both individually and communally. Though separated by coasts, the communal sprit carries through Earl, Taveniere, and Andrews’ collaboration, a living embodiment of the freedoms rediscovered every time a new collectively created piece of music emerges. For nearly two decades, Woods have survived subgenres, anchored in the fertile soil below hashtags like lo-fi and freak-folk and psychedelic and indie, and built a shared history that’s something to marvel at. As the flagship band for Woodsist, they’ve accumulated a striking extended family of collaborators (and Woods alum) that have made the label one of the most dependable imprints in the kaleidoscopic low-key underground. It’s a glow that’s transferred whole to the blissed-out Woodsist Fests held in Accord, New York in recent years, which have folded in a wide range of diverse sounds, from the the jazz cosmoverse of the Sun Ra Arkestra and adventurous legends Yo La Tengo, to a hard-to-even-count family tree of contemporaries, like Kevin Morby (who served a few tours of duty as Woods bassist) and Kurt Vile (who released his 2009 debut on Woodsist), a living community in sound. Perennial carries all of this, shaped by decades, but made in the moment, and here right now. The smell of the flowers doesn’t remain, but sometimes the flowers do. Jesse Jarnow Recorded and mixed by Jarvis Taveniere at Panoramic House in Stinson Beach, CA with additional recording at The Ship in Los Angeles, CA and Cottekill Bird Sanctuary in Stone Ridge, NY. Produced by Jarvis Taveniere and Jeremy Earl. Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering in Portland, OR. Jeremy Earl - vocals, guitars, drums, percussion, sk-5, mellotron, vibraphone, autoharp, loops Jarvis Taveniere - guitar, bass, upright bass, hammond, vocals John Andrews - piano, organs, mellotron, drums, vocals Connor Gallaher - Pedal Steel Kyle Forester - sax, wurlitzer

Woods are in bloom again, inviting you to disappear into a new spectrum of colors and sounds and dreams on Perennial. Formed in Brooklyn in 2004, Woods have matured into a true independent institution, above and below the root, reliably emerging every few years with new music that grows towards the latest sky. Operating the Woodsist label since 2006 and curating the beloved homespun Woodsist Festival for the musical universe they’ve built, Perennial is the sound of a band on the edge of their 20th anniversary and still finding bold new ways to sound like (and challenge) themselves. Perennial grew from a bed of guitar/keyboard/drum loops by Woods head-in-chief Jeremy Earl, a form of winter night meditation that evolved into an unexplored mode of collaborative songwriting. With Earl’s starting points, he and bandmates Jarvis Taveniere and John Andrews convened, first at Earl’s house in New York, then at Panoramic House studio in Stinson Beach, California, site of sessions for 2020’s Strange To Explain. With a view of the sparkling Pacific and tape rolling, they began to build, jamming over the loops, switching instruments, and developing a few dozen building blocks. The album’s resulting 11 songs, 4 of them instrumental, are in the classic Woods mode--shimmering, familiar, fractionally unsettling--but with the half-invisible infinity boxes of Earl’s loops burbling beneath each like a mysterious underground source. From source to seed to bloom, each loop unfolds into something unpredictable, from the jeweled pop of the aching “Little Black Flowers” to the ecstatic starlit freak-beat of “Another Side.” They are blossomings both far-out and comforting, like the Mellotronic cloud-hopping of “Between the Past,” or sometimes just plain comforting, like the widescreen snowglobe fantasia of the instrumental “White Winter Melody,” touched by Connor Gallaher’s pedal steel. Woods have long used the studio as a place of songwriting, naming 2007’s At Rear House after their shared dwelling and recording space. But Perennial also carries with it an even longer view of Woods. Emerging from the process alongside the music was Earl’s reflection that “perennial plants and flowers are nature’s loops,” an idea rolling under the album’s lyrics like the loops themselves. It certainly applies to the band, too, who have quietly tended to a long, committed project of being a band in the weird-ass 21st century, both individually and communally. Though separated by coasts, the communal sprit carries through Earl, Taveniere, and Andrews’ collaboration, a living embodiment of the freedoms rediscovered every time a new collectively created piece of music emerges. For nearly two decades, Woods have survived subgenres, anchored in the fertile soil below hashtags like lo-fi and freak-folk and psychedelic and indie, and built a shared history that’s something to marvel at. As the flagship band for Woodsist, they’ve accumulated a striking extended family of collaborators (and Woods alum) that have made the label one of the most dependable imprints in the kaleidoscopic low-key underground. It’s a glow that’s transferred whole to the blissed-out Woodsist Fests held in Accord, New York in recent years, which have folded in a wide range of diverse sounds, from the the jazz cosmoverse of the Sun Ra Arkestra and adventurous legends Yo La Tengo, to a hard-to-even-count family tree of contemporaries, like Kevin Morby (who served a few tours of duty as Woods bassist) and Kurt Vile (who released his 2009 debut on Woodsist), a living community in sound. Perennial carries all of this, shaped by decades, but made in the moment, and here right now. The smell of the flowers doesn’t remain, but sometimes the flowers do. Jesse Jarnow Recorded and mixed by Jarvis Taveniere at Panoramic House in Stinson Beach, CA with additional recording at The Ship in Los Angeles, CA and Cottekill Bird Sanctuary in Stone Ridge, NY. Produced by Jarvis Taveniere and Jeremy Earl. Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering in Portland, OR. Jeremy Earl - vocals, guitars, drums, percussion, sk-5, mellotron, vibraphone, autoharp, loops Jarvis Taveniere - guitar, bass, upright bass, hammond, vocals John Andrews - piano, organs, mellotron, drums, vocals Connor Gallaher - Pedal Steel Kyle Forester - sax, wurlitzer

The Tallest Man On Earth - the project of Swedish musician Kristian Matsson - presents Too Late For Edelweiss, an album of new covers out ANTI. With Too Late For Edelweiss, Matsson weaves together a sparse collection of home recordings made in Sweden and North Carolina, captured fresh off a 39-date run with the adrenaline of tour rattling through his veins. The songs on Too Late For Edelweiss have been with Matsson since he started playing music as The Tallest Man on Earth in 2006. In those early years, Matsson used to perform "Lost Highway" by Hank Williams before he had enough songs to flesh out a full set. In July 2022, Matsson released a cover of Swedish super star Håkan Hellström"s "För sent för Edelweiss," a precious song that has been The Tallest Man"s walk-on music before every performance for over a decade and what inspired the title of this covers album. Since then, in the lead-up to this announcement, he has quietly released other selections, including Lucinda Williams" "Metal Firecracker," Yo La Tengo"s "Tears Are In Your Eyes" and now "Lost Highway." Mattson explains, "When I was a teenager I borrowed a Hank Williams album at the local library, and "Lost Highway" has been haunting me ever since. Many vocal sound checks throughout my career have heard Hank"s advice." As much as Too Late For Edelweiss feels like a scrapbook, an intimate memento with the ghosts of The Tallest Man"s earlier, sparser sound hovering at the edges, it"s also just the artifact of a moment - a flash of joy, of feeling recharged, of feeling good. These are the songs that happened to be in Matsson"s head at the time he sat down to record It came together so simply and easily - and in that way, it"s the purest distillation of making music - and being a fan of it, charting the connective tissue of a songwriter"s life.

Black Duck captures a band already deeply in tune with one another. The three-piece super-group consists of Douglas McCombs, Charles Rumback, and Bill MacKay each has a distinct musical voice that is instantly recognizable, yet blends seamlessly with one another-their time performing together, playing to the moment and reading each other and the spaces they"re in formed a fluency between the trio which allows them to follow each other down winding paths and short tangents alike. McCombs is a founding member of Tortoise, Pullman, and Brokeback and the long-standing bassist for Eleventh Dream Day, an artist whose contribution to the music world can not be overstated. MacKay began releasing records in the early 2000s. He has released several acclaimed solo albums with Drag City as well as a duo album each with Nathan Bowles (Banjo, Black Twig Pickers), and Katinka Kleijn (Cello, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)), and two beloved records with Ryley Walker. Rumback burst onto the fertile Chicago improvised music scene in the early 2000"s. His fluid technique and expressive playing garnered him much attention. In addition to his solo releases, Rumback has recorded with Ryley Walker, jazz greats such as Jim Baker, James Singleton, and Greg Ward. Black Duck"s debut is a testament to that fluency, an expedition led by three veterans into alluring worlds bathed in myriad splendors. Black Duck is a gallery of sonic tapestries, unbound by any genre constraints. Black Duck redefines what two guitarists and a drummer can do, pieces move from breezy shuffles to stormy blues rumbles to gorgeous textural drones. Playing entirely improvised live sets for years helped develop the trio"s acute senses for one another, knowing precisely how to listen to the others and bolster whatever direction they move in. In the short time the trio have played together, they have performed at Big Ears Festival and alongside acts like Yo La Tengo.

The second in Jazz Room's occasional Pure Latin releases this Underground Masterpiece first emerged in 1980 and is an outstanding example of the Classic Era Nu Yorican El Barrio Underground Sound! If you dig the Tata Vasquez LP on Jazz Room then this is for you.

Featuring the Afro-Cubano Salsaero Jazz Heavyweights of the day including Chocolate Armenteros, Jose Mangual, Mauricio Smith and Orestes Vilato and a huge seven man Percussion Section it really blasts out the Afro-Latin message.

A part history of the Afro-Cuban Music Journey from the Hinterlands of Cuba via Havana and eventually arriving in Jazz Age New York it is a welcome addition to the Jazz Room Catalogue (as well as being Jazz Room Head Honcho's favourite albums).

Floor filler cuts for Latin Lovers with "Esa Brujeria" always turning up the heat.