New Release Round-Up 04-15-14

Do to the Beast sees the return of the Afghan Whigs after 16 years away and follows their 1998 release, 1965. After a successful reunion tour in 2012, Greg Dulli and John Curley decided to return to the studio -- without original guitarist Rick McCollum -- to record the album. Signing once again to Sub Pop -- the label that had originally launched the band -- the album sees Dulli and co. successfully continue with their soul-infused brand of indie rock.

Esteemed musician, songwriter and author Rodney Crowell has teamed up with New West Records to release Tarpaper Sky, his new self-produced album. It comes fast on the heels of Old Yellow Moon, Crowell s critically lauded collaboration with Emmylou Harris, which won a 2013 Grammy® Award and was named 2013 Album of the Year by the Americana Music Association.

Rivers In The Wasteland is the follow up to Needtobreathe's acclaimed album The Reckoning, which saw the band spend over two years on the road in support of a collection of anthemic rock that caught the attention of The New York Times, NPR, Entertainment Weekly and USA Today.

Make My Head Sing, is the new album from Jessica Lea Mayfield. Of the new music Mayfield comments, “The whole record is just me and Jesse and my drummer Matt Martin. I think a lot of my favorite bands are guitar, bass and drums. I wanted to simplify things. Bands are so big these days, I wanted to get in the studio and make a rock record and hear real guitar tones and something heavy.” The album is available now and you can preview the album here as well as watch the albums trailer.

In 2012 Ian Anderson released Thick As A Brick 2, the follow-up to Jethro Tull's legendary concept album. The album was a critical and commercial success, charting around the world. Now he returns with Homo Erraticus, his new studio album. The original Thick As A Brick album, released in 1972, was based around the poem of disgraced child prodigy Gerald Bostock. For Homo Erraticus Anderson is reunited with Bostock, using lyrics written by Gerald based on an old historical manuscript. The manuscript examines key events from throughout British history before going on to offer a number of prophecies for the future.

Plus there are other great, new releases including Singer Songwriter Ingrid Michaelson who is back with her 5th studio album, Lights Out, which features duets with A Great Big World, and Mat Kearney. Hip Hop legend Nas presents Illmatic XX, a 2 disc, 20th anniversary special edition featuring new artwork, a 24 page booklet with new liner notes by Sacha Jenkins, artist tributes with rare & previously unseen photos. Petty's Peculiar Picks is a 30-track compilation which collects together the best and more unusual, even peculiar, picks from Tom Petty's treasured shows. Jason Derulo presents his third U.S. album Talk Dirty, which features the title track, "The Other Side," "Marry Me," and "Vertigo" from the September 2014 Tattoos EP with seven additional songs. Sevendust didn't waste any time getting 2014 started the best way they know how: being holed up in the recording studio to create their long-awaited and highly-anticipated acoustic album, Time Travelers & Bonfires. And The Birds Of Satan is the self-titled debut album from the Alt-Rock band formed by The Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins alongside Wiley Hodgden (bass, background vocals), and Mick Murphy (guitar). .

Plus, The Both, Triptykon, Secret Sisters, Pharoahe Monch, Courtney Barnett, Plaque Vendor, Chuck E. Weiss, Chet Faker, Ziggy Marley, Slint, Elvis, The Walking Dead - Vol 1 [Vinyl Soundtrack], Murphy's Law, Bobby Rush, Dan Wilson, Oak Ridge Boys, Billy Porter, Oath, Junkie XL and Duck Sauce all have new albums today.

CURRENT SINGLES

There are also a couple of singles available, including The Black Keys who in anticipation of their new album Turn Blue (Out 05/13) release their new single Fever. And Fix release their gatefold 2x7" single of Vengeance / In This Town & Jan's Rooms which is limited to 1000 copies.

EARLY LISTEN AND PREVIEW

Looking ahead to next week's chart, We are excited to present an Early Listen for Mark Oliver Everett's long-running indie rock project Eels who follow 2013's Wonderful, Glorious with their eleventh album, The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett, on April 22. The introspective new 13 track album is being described as "an extraordinarily vivid and intimate document of a personal struggle."  The album is available now for pre order and you can preview the album here as well as watch the fantastic video for the track Mistakes of My Youth. 




Undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories of 2013 was that of Glaswegian electropop outfit Chvrches. They made a huge impact with their debut album which included contemporary, sharp and beautifully crafted songs such as Gun, We Sink and Recover.  The Bones of What You Believe has now been expanded with three additional tracks from the Alucard Sessions and features special metallic packaging. The album is available now for pre order and you can preview the album including the bonus tracks here as well as watch the incredible video for the track The Mother We Share.  And don't forget that Chvrches are also releasing a Limited Edition 12' Vinyl of their Recover EP for Record Store Day so make sure you grab one of those. 

For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section and don't forget that many of these titles are also available on vinyl.

New Release Round-Up 04-08-14

Wasted Years is OFF!'s second proper album, and like their self-titled debut (and the EP collection that preceded it), this thing goes off like an M-80, with Keith Morris laying out some of his sharpest and most articulate rage, filtered through lyrics that are smarter and more severe than what he usually tossed out in his days with Black Flag or the Circle Jerks, good as they both could be. Wasted Years confirms OFF! are wasting no time -- they're among the very best American punk bands of their day, and show there's plenty of snarling, howling life left in the beast after all these years.

Signed to 4AD in April 2013, SOHN is an English musician, songwriter and producer based in Vienna, Austria. Tremors is SOHN's debut album. Informed by a rich legacy of electronic music, SOHN creates a sound that blends his haunting vocals with a backdrop of analogue drum machines and synths, which makes nods to the past, but always forges forward into the new.

In partnership with Dave Sitek's (TV On The Radio) Federal Prism Records and his own Federal Prism imprint Sounds Like Fun, Cool Kids co-founder and renowned hip-hop producer Chuck Inglish releases his debut solo album Convertibles. The album features appearances by Chromeo, Mac Miller, Black Hippy star AB Soul, Action Bronson, Vic Mensa, Sir Michael Rocks and Chance The Rapper.

For the uninitiated, Los Angeles-based Nostalghia's music is compelling, provocative and cinematic, and its vocalist and heart-and-soul, Ciscandra Nostalghia, is an art-pop adventurist with a flair for the dark and dramatic. The new album Chrysalis is one you will not want to miss.

This one feels a little different, Joan Osborne says of her new release Love and Hate. In addition to being the beloved singer-songwriter and seven time Grammy nominees eighth studio album and her eOne debut, the 12 song set is one of the most personally charged, creatively ambitious efforts of her two-decades-plus recording career.

A group of three hippies on a road trip through the backwaters of 2013's rural music scene fall prey to a murderous cannibalistic band, including a leather-masked, guitar-wielding Avey Tare (Himself, Animal Collective), his knife-wielding keyboard player Angel Deradoorian (Deradoorian, Dirty Projectors), and their cannibal chief drummer and decaying grandfather Jeremy Hyman (Ponytail, Boredoms, Dan Deacon). Enter The Slasher House is their debut album.

Plus there are other great, new releases including Erika M. Anderson, better known as EMA who releases The Future's Void. Squarepusher takes on Z-Machines for their new album Music For Robots. Catacombs of the Black Vatican will stand as an enduring testament to Black Label Society's sheer force of will and mastery of each and every musical neighborhood the hard rock titans choose to stomp through. Giving his own debut album the full remix treatment Avicii releases True: Avicii By Avicii which takes the original's acoustic atmosphere and pumps it full of the prime-time dancefloor stuff it deserved. Protomartyr have made one stunner of a sophmore album, Under Color Of Official Right emerges with a sound that is idiosyncratic but relatable, hooky but off-kilter, and economical in a way that elicits comparisons to possible antecedents like Pere Ubu or The Fall as well as local contemporaries like Frustrations or Tyvek. L.A.'s De Lux are a post-disco dance-punk DIY duo that sound like they could have come out of 1979 or 1982 just as easily as 2013 and their debut album Voyage is just DeLightful.  Kingdom, the second studio album from Heathers, retains the raised, punk-folk backbone that served as the foundation for their 2007 debut, and adds a punchy, radio-ready sheen that propels each cut into the pop stratosphere with explosive results. And Peter Gabriel releases the international edition of Hit. The 2003 compilation of solo material by former Genesis vocalist and musical visionary Peter Gabriel features a different track listing from the domestic version and bonus audio and interactive tracks.

Plus, Todd Terje, Carlene Carter, Marc Ford, Pup, Your Friend, SoMo, Faint, James Durbin, Tweens, Sweet Apple, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey, John Frusciante, For The Fallen Dreams, The Graviators, Jaguar Skills, Groove Ghoulies, Thus Owls and Ratking all have new albums today.

CURRENT SINGLES

There are also a couple of singles available, including The Whigs who in anticipation of their new album Modern Creation (Out 04/22) release their new single Hit Me. Sticking with the Whigs theme there is also a single from The Afghan Whigs who release Algiers. The single is taken from their forthcoming album Do To The Beast, out next week. And White Lung release their exclusive 7" single Drown With The Monster which is sure to satisfy their already devoted fan base, and bound to excite new fans, who have yet to truly experience White Lung! 

EARLY LISTEN AND PREVIEW

Looking ahead to next week's chart, We are excited to present an Early Listen for Make My Head Sing, the new album from Jessica Lea Mayfield. Of the new music Mayfield comments, “The whole record is just me and Jesse and my drummer Matt Martin. I think a lot of my favorite bands are guitar, bass and drums. I wanted to simplify things. Bands are so big these days, I wanted to get in the studio and make a rock record and hear real guitar tones and something heavy.” The album is available now for pre order and you can preview the album here. 

For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section and don't forget that many of these titles are also available on vinyl.

Grammy Winners 2014

Another year, another Grammy ceremony.  With 83 awards in total, 2014 was the biggest year in the ceremony's 56 year history.  Daft Punk and Lorde were among the biggest winners, winning five and two awards respectively.  

The French duo were also amongst the performers as they alongside Pharrell Williams performed their huge track Get Lucky.  Other performers included Lorde, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Jay Z, Beyonce, Metallica, Queens Of The Stoneage with Nine Inch Nails and Paul McCartney teamed up with Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear for a rendition of 'Cut Some Slack' from last year's Grohl-fuelled 'Real To Reel: Sound City' Album/Documentary.

Here is a rundown of some of the winners for 2014.


Record Of The Year: Get Lucky - Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers

Album Of The Year: Random Access Memories - Daft Punk

Song Of The year: Royals - Lorde


Best New Artist: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Best Pop Solo Performance: Lorde - Royals

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers - Get Lucky


Best Pop Vocal Album: Unorthodox Jukebox - Bruno Mars

Best Dance/Electronica Album: Random Access Memories - Daft Punk


Best Rock Performance: Imagine Dragons - Radioactive


Best Metal Performance: Black Sabbath: God Is Dead?

Best Rock Song: Cut Me Some Slack - Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear

Best Rock Album: Celebration Day - Led Zeppelin

Best Alternative Music Album: Modern Vampires Of The City - Vampire Weekend

More....

On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2

In 1994, The Beatles' Live at the BBC was released to worldwide acclaim - hitting number one in the U.K. and number three in the U.S. and selling more than five million copies within six weeks. Now comes a new companion to The Beatles' first BBC collection, On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2  On Air's 63 tracks, none of which overlaps with The Beatles' first BBC release, include 37 previously unreleased performances and 23 previously unreleased recordings of in-studio banter and conversation between the band's members and their BBC radio hosts. 

Also newly remastered for reissue, The Beatles' first Live at the BBC album sounds and looks better than ever. This collection of the group's BBC sessions mixed versions of their hits with a treasure trove of 30 songs The Beatles performed on air but never released on record in the 1960s. 

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