Wednesday, December 12, 2018

New Album Watch :: Teeth of the Sea - WRAITH


London based trio Teeth of the Sea return with their sixth release for Rocket Recordings. Their sound continues to evolve into new zones of psychedelic metal with atypical instrumentation that pleases with its challenges.

WRAITH is due out on February 22nd on both vinyl and CD. Pre-order with us now!

Thursday, December 06, 2018

Best of 2018


For your consideration... 50 favourite albums in alphabetical order. How many did you hear? Just asking.

 01 Aaron Martin - Touch Dissolves
02 Alexander Tucker - Don't Look Away
03 Alva Noto - Unieqav

04 Amen Dunes - Freedom
05 Beak - >>>
06 Ben LaMar Gay ‎– Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun
07 Big Red Machine: Big Red Machine
08 Bonny Doon - Longwave
09 Caroline Rose - Loner
10 Daniel Bachman - The Morning Star
11 Demdike Stare - Passion


12 Dirty Projectors - Lamp Lit Prose
13 Ekin Fil - Maps
14 Ensemble 0 - ensemble 0 plays eight compositions and it lasts 38:36
15 Forth Wanderers - S/T
16 Gas- Rausch
17 Goldmund - Occasus
18 Haley Heynderickx: I Need to Start a Garden
19 Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog
20 How to Dress Well - The Anteroom

21 IDLES - Joy As An Act Of Resistance
22 Jetstream Pony - Self-Destruct Reality
23 Joan of Arc - 1984
24 Low - Double Negative
25 Makaya McCraven - Universal Beings
26 Mary Lattimore - Hundreds of Days
27 M Geddes Gengras - Light Pipe
28 Necks - Body
29 Neneh Cherry - Broken Politics
30 Nils Frahm - All Melody

31 Oneohtrix Point Never - Age of


32 Peel Dream Magazine - Modern Meta Physic
33 Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - King Of Cowards
34 Preoccupations: New Material
35 Rival Consoles - Persona


36 Rosali - Trouble Anyway
37 Saintseneca - Pillar of Na
38 Serpentwithfeet - Soil
39 Shame - Songs of Praise
40 Snail Mail - Lush
41 Soccer Mommy - Clean
42 Sons of Kemet - Your Queen is a Reptile


43 Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Sparkle Hard


44 Superchunk: What a Time to Be Alive
45 Suuns - Felt
46 Swearin' - Fall into the Sun
47 Tim Hecker - Konoyo
48 Tim Rutili & Craig Ross - 10 Seconds to Collapse
49 Uniform - The Long Walk
50 Yo La Tengo: There's A Riot Going On


Friday, November 09, 2018

November Ambience

A quick list of 10 Ambient music titles we have in stock to help make the seasonal change more calm and collected.

1. Billow Observatory - II:Plains/Patterns  /// New Vinyl




2. Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Dolores  /// New Vinyl



3. Dead Light - S/T  /// New Vinyl




4. Grouper - Grid of Points  /// New Vinyl




5. Tim Hecker - Radio Amor  /// New Vinyl




6. Labradford - Fixed::Context  /// New CD




7. Mary Lattimore - Hundreds of Days  /// New CD




Chrisina Vantzou - No. 4  /// New CD




9. William Bansinski + Lawrence English - Selva Obscura  /// New CD




10. Planning for Burial - Quietly /// New Vinyl

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

New Album Watch :: The Good the Bad & The Queen- Merrie Land


After more than a decade, The Good, The Bad, and The Queen (Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong, and Tony Allen) return with a new album, Merrie Land, available November 16th!! 


Saturday, September 01, 2018

New Album Watch :: Swearin' - Fall Into the Sun

Out October 5th on Merge Records



Thursday, August 09, 2018

The 1 Hundred :: Jeremy Jay - Dream Diary

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

 Jeremy Jay - Dream Diary (K Records, 2011) // Used Vinyl

A West Coast American transplanted to the UK, Jeremy Jay makes music that lives in the zone that also features the likes of Mac DeMarco, Jonathan Richman, and bedroom recorded versions of The Smiths or The Cure. If you like a bit of foppishness in your dreamy pop... and in this case you really should... then this is the record for you!



Thursday, August 02, 2018

The 1 Hundred :: Zak Riles - S/T

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

 Zak Riles - S/T (Important, 2008) // Used CD

Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Zak Riles spends the bulk of his time in post-rock / post- world group Grails. For this first and only solo disc he focuses on the acoustic guitar, backed at turns by a full band, playing a kind of modal, Middle Eastern inflected folk that crosses the territory between everything from OM to John Fahey to Sandy Bull to Popul Vuh, and more. With it moods from jubilation to paranoia to melancholy peek though, sometime from bar to bar. 


Friday, July 27, 2018

The 1 Hundred ::Tape - Milieu Plus

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

 Tape - Milieu Plus (Hapna, 2008 /// Used CD

Swedish trio, brothers Andreas and Johan Berthling plus Tomas Hallonsten create a music that is as difficult to categorize as it is easy to enjoy. Taking acoustic folk instrumentation and applying a gentle free form jazz approach along with some electronic connective tissue, the results are a pastoral and multiply detailed music that sound superficially easy and familiar but hides volumes of information beneath.


Wednesday, July 18, 2018

The 1 Hundred ::Wrekmeister Harmonies - Night of Your Ascension

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

Wrekmeister Harmonies - Night of Your Ascension (Thrill Jockey, 2015)// New Vinyl

If you like your metal a little more expansive then J.R. Robinson's collaborative project is the perfect place to put your listening. Occupying similar territory to groups like Sunn O))), for Night of Your Ascension Robinson welcomed help from The Body, Mary Lattimore, members of Einsturzende Neubaten, Corrections House, Cave, Indian and many more. The album features two extended tracks that are equal part beautiful and terrifying and definitely epic.


The 1 Hundred ::Gold Sparkle Band - Fugues and Flowers

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

 Gold Sparkle Band - Fugues & Flowers (Squealer, 2002) // Used CD

Brooklyn, NYC based quartet/quintet that had a decade long run from early 90s to early 00s. They play a heady mix of free and post-bop jazz that combines firey horn interplay and a propulsive rhythm section that draws upon 70s Miles Davis minimalist beats. It's great driving jazz.

Couldn't find a clip online from this album, but the one below is a fine representation of the band and what you can expect here.


Tuesday, July 17, 2018

New Album Watch :: Gazelle Twin - Pastoral

out September 21 on Anti-Ghost Moon Ray

Monday, July 16, 2018

The 1 Hundred :: Victor Herrero - Astrolabio

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

 Victor Herrero - Astrolabio (Feeding Tube, 2017) // New Vinyl 

Known for his work with Josephine Foster, also his wife, Herrero presents a lovely work on Portuguese guitar... a resonant 12 string instrument that has the folk appeal of John Fahey or Robbie Basho, but with a tinge of Mediterranean flavour. Very summery, sprightly, fun.



Saturday, July 14, 2018

New Album Watch :: Mitski - Be the Cowboy

Out August 17th on Dead Oceans records

Friday, July 13, 2018

The One Hundred :: Helado Negro - Awe Owe

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

 Helado Negro - Awe Owe (Asthmatic Kitty, 2009) // Used CD

Debut album by Roberto Carlos Lange, formerly known for his contributions to Guillermo Scott Herren's (Prefuse 73) Savath & Savalas side project. Helado Negro (or "Black Ice Cream") blends bedroom electronics with a cool Spanish vibe that's great for easy listens or mellow party situations. There's quite a lengthy discography, but this is the first and one of the best. 



Friday, June 01, 2018

Second chances


SILVER SATURDAY EDITION

Twenty titles in our Used CD New Arrivals that should be in your collection (If they aren't already)

  1. Belle and Sebastian - Tigermilk
  2. William Burroughs - Spare Ass Annie
  3. Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems 
  4. John Coltrane - Giant Steps
  5. Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline 
  6. Fleetwood Mac -Rumours
  7. Hanson Brothers - Sudden Death
  8. Richard Hell - Time
  9. Matt Mays - Coyote
  10. Metallica - ...and Justice for All
  11. Modern English - After the Snow
  12. The Roots - Undun
  13. Sigur Ros - Von 
  14. Patti Smith - Horses
  15. Smiths - The Queen is Dead
  16. Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
  17. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
  18. Sunn O))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
  19. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
  20. Tom Waits - The Black Rider

Wednesday, May 02, 2018

The 1 Hundred :: Gastr Del Sol - Upgrade & Afterlife

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

Gastr Del Sol - Upgrade & Afterlife (Drag City, 1996) // Used CD
Third of four albums from the Chicago group helmed by David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Gastr Del Sol produced music that had tendrils in progressive minimalism, American folk, musique concrete, and a variety of other genres, some of them more or less concocted by the band itself. Upgrade is the most finely balanced of their works, swinging widely into all sectors yet creating a compelling whole.

Wednesday, April 04, 2018

The One Hundred :: Mountains - Mountains Mountains Mountains

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.


Mountains - Mountains Mountains Mountains (Thrill Jockey, 2013 [reissue]) /// New Vinyl 

This is a band that happens when a couple of Dutch dudes, Brendon Anderegg, Koen Holtkamp, meet up in Brooklyn and decide to get all glowy with it, form a label (Apestaartje Records... apestaartje being the Dutch word for "at" or "@") and move to Chicago, eventually signing with Thrill Jockey. Over the course of seven records they've create a body of beautiful work that is meditative and pastoral and sometimes stands as tall as their name implies.



Saturday, March 31, 2018

The One Hundred :: Mountain Movers - S/T

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.


Mountain Movers - S/T (Trouble in Mind, 2017) // New Vinyl 

Straight outta Connecticut, Mountain Movers has spend a little more than a decade honing their spacey magic around the songs of Dan Greene. This self-titled sixth album answers the question, what if War on Drugs had veered into the lane plowed by a speculatively prog rock inspired Black Sabbath than the actual Dire Straits one. Hypnotic and muscular, but with a little folk twang lurking just under the surface. Stoner rock for the lower grade users.



Thursday, February 08, 2018

The One Hundred :: RickWhiteAlbum - Memoreaper

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

 RickWhiteAlbum - Memoreaper (Blue Fog, 2007) // New CD

After the dissolution of Eric's Trip, Rick White formed Elevator aka Elevator to Hell aka Elevator Through for a string of releases that combined DIY indie rock with a leaning towards psychedelic and new wave. Eventually recording under this own name (kinda) White put out two solo albums, the second (and last output for over 10 years now) is Memoreaper. A fourteen song cycle that feels a bit like a summation of his many moods and means over the years. Currently out of print, as is most Eric's Trip / Elevator / etc. stuff, we have a sealed CD copy still lingering on the shelf for some reason. Come take it away.

Saturday, February 03, 2018

New Album Watch :: Palm - Rock Island


On Rock Island, their second LP, Palm produces evidence of a distinct musical language, developed over time, in isolation, and out of necessity. On the island, melodies are struck on what might be shells or spines. Rhythms are scratched out, swept over, scratched again. Individual instruments, and sometimes entire sections, skip and stutter. There is the sense of a music box with wonky tension or a warped transmission in which all the noise is taken for signal.



Out February 9 on Carpark // Recommended if you need an Animal Collective fix.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

New Album Watch :: Jeff Rosenstock - POST-


Like his breakthrough 2015 solo album We Cool? and its 2016 follow-up, WORRY., POST- is packed with hooky pop-punk jams that beg for singalongs and fray at the edges. According to Rosenstock, it was recorded with friends in secret, and finished just before it was released. You can hear all of that in these songs, which crackle with urgency and fun. POST- feels less like an album and more like a document of tightly knit people working hard to make something that feels cathartic and good. —Ben Salmon // PASTE

 
---

Out as Vinyl/CD on Polyvinyl Late March 2018


New Album Watch :: Anna Burch - Quit the Curse


Though the deceptively complex pop of Quit the Curse marks the debut of Anna Burch, it’s anything but the green first steps of a fledgling new artist. The Detroit singer/songwriter has been visible for the better part of her years-long career singing in Frontier Ruckus, or more recently co-fronting Failed Flowers, but somewhere along the way a vibrant collection of solo material slowly began taking form.
 


[Backstreet nerd note: the little bit of Liz Phair we hear in Burch's delivery makes us smile]

The 1 Hundred :: Eleanor Friedberger - New View

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

 Eleanor Friedberger - New View (French Kiss, 2016) // New Vinyl

Eleanor Friedberger was half of the brother / sister (with occasional appearances by grandmother) group Fiery Furnaces. That band's outfit was prone to, shall we say, fits of fancy? At the very least they were an acquired taste with a few albums that really merit your time and energy. As a solo artist Friedberger still has some idiosyncracies, but her focus is tighter and her way around a song that seems to have fingerprints from every decade and genre from 60s pop to current experimental rock is indisputable. This third solo effort proves her staying power.

--

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

New Album Watch :: Soccer Mommy - Clean


Following a few Bandcamp releases, Soccer Mommy, aka 20 year old Nashville musician Sophie Allison and her band, are releasing their debut album, Clean, out March 2 via Fat Possum.

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Second Chances


Twenty titles in our Used CD New Arrivals that should be in your collection (If they aren't already)

  1. Alt-J - Awesome Wave 
  2. Arab on Radar - Stolen Singles
  3. Belle & Sebastian - Fold Your Hands, Child
  4. R.L. Burnside - A Ass Pocket of Whiskey 
  5. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
  6. Eminem - Recovery
  7. Emmylou Harris - Blue Bird
  8. Ladytron - 604
  9. Daniel Lanois - Acadie
  10. Midnight Oil - Red Sails in the Sunset 
  11. Modest Mouse - Sad Sappy Sucker
  12. Nirvana - Nevermind
  13. Portishead - S/T
  14. Portugal the Man - Church Mouth
  15. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
  16. Amon Tobin - Permutations
  17. Tragically Hip - Music @ Work
  18. Tycho - Dive
  19. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
  20. XTC - Fossil Fuel

Tuesday, January 09, 2018

New Album Watch :: Brigid Mae Power - The Two Worlds

Ireland's Brigid Mae Power returns with a new album, 'The Two Worlds'. The album will be released worldwide in all formats February 9th, 2018 on San Francisco's Tompkins Square label.