October 20 New Releases
For a complete list of new releases visit our on line store. For rock collectibles visit our web site. New releases are subject to change.
CDs
Bradford Cox was a virtual song machine during the time between Deerhunter’s Cryptograms and the Atlas Sound’s Logos, churning out officially released material as well as plenty of songs only available on his blog. Over that span of time, he became a finer and more fluid songwriter, and his music emerged from the experimental fog of his earlier work just enough to give listeners tantalizing glimpses of almost ridiculously catchy songs. Logos keeps this push-pull between challenging and charming, yet Cox’s second solo album still feels more experimental than Deerhunter, if only because he seems completely unfettered by any kind of rules or concerns about consistency. These songs barely sound like each other, yet they all sound like Cox. Logos comes into focus slowly with its first three songs. “The Light That Failed”’s hazy atmospheres slip effortlessly into “An Orchid”’s spectral recall of Microcastle’s psych-pop, but it’s “Walkabout,” Cox’s irresistibly sunny collaboration with Animal Collective and Panda Bear’s Noah Lennox, that announces that the album has truly arrived — it’s as sudden, and satisfying, as tuning in a perfect pop song from radio static. From there, the album hops from sound to sound, ranging from acoustic rambles like “Criminals” to glitchy confections like the kaleidoscopic “Washington School.” However, Logos‘ most striking moment is “Quick Canal.” Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier lends her instantly recognizable vocals, which pile atop spiralling electronics that stretch for nine minutes, yet somehow feel much shorter than that. And while the album is more abstract than most of Cox’s work with Deerhunter, it still favors his subversive pop side far more than his first Atlas Sound album, the insular laptop collages of Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel. The sugary innocence of ’50s and ’60s pop remains a major influence here, especially on “Sheila,” which boasts a chorus (”we’ll die alone together”) that is equally sweet and unsettling. Even though Logos isn’t as polished sounding as some of Cox’s other releases, it’s still captivating in its relatively raw state. These songs are nearly as wide-ranging and comprehensive as an actual atlas, but Cox keeps charting new territory. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine - The Audacity of Hype
Musically, this album is surprisingly solid. Career provocateur Jello Biafra has assembled a hell of a band behind him, including Faith No More bassist Billy Gould, guitarists Ralph Spight and Kimo Ball, and drummer Jon Weiss. These songs are punk in the acid-fried spirit of riff-heavy acts like Radio Birdman, the MC5, and the Stooges, not Green Day or blink-182. Indeed, songs like “New Feudalism” and “Clean as a Thistle” have more raw power than Iggy & co. were able to muster on the legacy-poisoning The Weirdness. The big problem, of course, remains Biafra himself. His voice is an astonishingly polarizing instrument; for every person who finds his high-pitched barks and ululations captivating, five more run from the room. And it’s not just how he says it, it’s what he says, too. Some of what he’s talking about on this album, like the description of an increasingly high-pressure and low-reward corporate workplace on “Electronic Plantation,” is trenchant and could spark real thought in the listener. The same is true of “Three Strikes,” which tackles the War on Drugs and the prison industry. But other songs, like “The Terror of Tiny Town” and “Clean as a Thistle,” are jabs at the Bush administration and right-wing sexual hypocrisy, released a year after the Bushes left office and the major Republican Party’s sexual scandals broke and were settled. What’s the point? The Audacity of Hype’s cover art suggests that it will be a series of jabs at the Obama administration. That would have been more interesting than re-fighting old battles. ~ Phil Freeman, All Music Guide
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
On 2005’s Open Season, British Sea Power traded in some of the chilly post-rock angst that fueled their 2003 debut with a more streamlined, radio-ready approach that left some listeners yearning for the lo-fi majesty of songs like “Carrion” and “Fear of Drowning.” Those tunes were still there, but they demanded repeated spins before revealing their fruits, a tactic that the stoic Brighton, England, quartet employs again — but with far more breathtaking results — on its third full-length, Do You Like Rock Music? Tapping the collective talents of three producers — Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire), Graham Sutton (Jarvis Cocker), and Efrim Menuck (Godspeed You Black Emperor!) — in numerous locations (Canada, Cornwall, and the Czech Republic, respectively), DYLRM should be a mess, but the band has crafted a wintry, nuanced, and bold collection of epic songs that integrate the sweeping theatricality of Arcade Fire-era indie rock without all of the insularity. This is music made for people, not a person. The sound effects, choral vocals, strings, and feedback that populate DYLRM feel organic and necessary rather than just pasted in for drama’s sake. There has always been a sort of rough-hewn sepia-tone unity to BSP songs, and that odd, inclusive wartime fervor permeates each track, from the rousing immigration anthem “Waving Flags” to the rallying, Blur-inspired “No Lucifer” to the sister tracks “All in It” and “Close Our Eyes” that serve as the record’s bookends. Even the more meandering pieces like “Atom” and the instrumental “Great Skua” feel like steampunk soundtracks for polar exploration, a notion that looks weird in print but makes a whole lot of sense through a pair of headphones, a set of vintage basement speakers, or the inside of a freighter as it disappears into the bowels of the Arctic Ocean. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
Leonard Cohen - Live from the Isle of Wight
On August 31, 1970, Leonard Cohen was scheduled to play the third Isle of Wight Festival. The conditions were not optimal. While 100,00 tickets or so had been sold, there were nearly 600,000 in attendance. Fans overran the island to see and hear the Who, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, and many others over five days. Given the gatecrashers, things got ugly and violent. Some acts were booed from the stage while others were pelted with projectiles; fires were set — even the stage got torched during Hendrix’s performance. Murray Lerner, the award-winning documentary filmmaker who had been commissioned to capture it all, packed up his gear. Thank goodness he stayed.
Leonard Cohen, was 35, had two albums under his belt with a third on the way. He was scheduled to play after Hendrix, right in the middle of the chaos. Organizers tried to find a replacement piano for the one that had been burned — he was asleep in his trailer when he was awakened at 1 a.m. An unkempt Cohen took the stage without hesitation at 2 a.m in a safari jacket and jeans over his pajamas, along with the Army — producer Bob Johnson on organ, piano, and guitar; Elkin “Bubba” Fowler on bass and banjo; fiddler Charlie Daniels; guitarist Ron Cornelius; and vocalists Corlynn Hanney, Susan Mussmano, and Donna Washburn. Cohen opened with a story about a man at a circus asking people to light a match so they could see one another; he requested that from the rowdy crowd. Some granted it early, many more later. Lerner instinctually reset a camera just before his performance and got most of Cohen’s show, the vibe of which transformed the festival’s last day.
It’s all here on CD and DVD from Legacy. Cohen played songs from his first two albums, debuted a few — including “Suzanne,” from the forthcoming Songs of Love and Hate — recited poems, and told stories. He offered personal confessions about being in a cheap hotel, trying to pick up a blonde woman in a Nazi poster while coming down from a speed run; he talked of friends who committed suicide because they had no one to talk to; and shared effortlessly, politely, and honestly without artifice or “showmanship.” In other words, the qualities he has become known for throughout his career.
The CD captures the entire performance in nearly pristine sound. The hits (of the time) are here, the banter is here, and the entire performance by the band is so special it will leave the listener utterly satisfied. Whether it’s “So Long Marianne,” the poem “They Locked Up a Man,” the stellar reading of “The Partisan,” or the chilling version of “Famous Blue Raincoat,” this is top-notch Cohen. The DVD is imperfect, but that’s alright; it is still essential viewing artistically and historically. What Lerner captures is utterly magical, and not to be missed. His sense of timing is impeccable, his taste unassailable. Since he hastily reset his gear, there is one camera instead of three, but it hardly matters. He captures the essence of what happened, he understood instinctually what was going on on-stage and with the crowd, and he portrays that throughout the gig. The concert is interspersed with brief interviews with eyewitnesses Judy Collins and Joan Baez; but their input is unnecessary and self-serving. Kris Kristofferson’s first person commentary, however, is wonderful, because it is journalistic and simple, without nostalgic interpretation. Cohen is not present as a commentator, which is unfortunate, but this is only a small complaint, really. This is one CD/DVD package that is so complementary, its pieces are inseparable. [There is also a double-vinyl, audio-only package available, and a Blu-Ray DVD with extra material.] ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Converge’s eighth studio album is packed with guest performances by kindred spirits from Massachusetts and beyond. “Effigy,” one of four songs on the album that comes in under the two-minute mark, features Steve Brodsky and Adam McGrath of Cave In on guitar and that group’s drummer, J.R. Conners, behind the kit. Uffe Cederlund of Disfear takes over lead guitar on “Wishing Well,” while Steve Von Till of Neurosis sings on “Cruel Bloom” and Genghis Tron‘ Mookie Singerman does guest vocals on the seven-minute album closer, “Wretched World.” But it’s the core group that delivers the most astonishing displays of hardcore fury and progressive musical exploration on Axe to Fall. Opening cut “Dark Horse,” propelled by a Disfear-esque riff so insane it’ll make you think your CD is playing at the wrong speed, kicks off a breathless sprint that lasts all the way to the doomy, noisy fifth track, “Worms Will Feed.” From there, Converge continues to mine the dissonant blend of Agnostic Front and Unsane that has served them so well for years at this point. Though Jacob Bannon’s vocals are as indecipherable as ever, this album somehow feels even angrier — and that rage is apparently more outwardly directed, given track titles like “Slave Driver” and “Wretched World” — than previous releases like Jane Doe and You Fail Me. Given the furious pace at which they tour, record, and work with their various side bands, it’s astonishing that Converge have time to put this much thought into their music instead of just cranking out one more rote album, but Axe to Fall is a big step forward for them. ~ Phil Freeman, All Music Guide
Do Make Say Think - Other Truths
For their sixth album on their pals Godspeed You Black Emperor!’s Constellation label, Canadian post-rockers Do Make Say Think offer four long tracks, each named for a different word of the band’s name. According to the label, the tunes are titled in this manner because the band feels like The Other Truths represents the ultimate distillation of the group’s musical message. Imagine if you will, though, that there’s a more literal-minded logic at work, and each track’s sonic setting truly corresponds to its one-word title; once you start thinking about it, it’s by no means a far-fetched notion. Album-opener “Do,” for instance, is undeniably the most active track, chugging along on the strength of kinetic, forward-moving rhythms and concise, rather Mogwai-like guitar riffs for what is probably the closest thing to a conventional rock (or at least post-rock) feel, occasionally teetering toward a Neu!-like Motorik beat. This is clearly music in motion. “Make” marks a shift towards a less streamlined, busier sound. Midtempo, syncopated rhythms rub up against thick chunks of distorted guitar, and one is tempted to think of an expedition slowly making its way up an incline, beginning to build a city once they get to the top — a city whose skyscrapers lurch toward the sky like horn lines that echo La Monte Young’s work with trombone drones. Things are indeed being constructed here. Sure enough, “Say” is defined by a latticework of interlocking guitar riffs captured in an overlapping conversation with each other — Tower of Babel-esque it may be, but it’s undoubtedly a form of communication. And finally, damned if “Think” doesn’t have the most contemplative vibe of the four cuts, making good use of open spaces, working with cyclical, minimalist melodic structures, and focusing more on tone and atmosphere than anything else. So did Do Make Say Think actually intend to attach this level of conceptualism to “Do,” “Make,” “Say,” and “Think?” Probably not, but it sure is fun to listen to that way. ~ J. Allen, All Music Guide
Jay Farrar/Benjamin Gibbard - One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Music from Kerouac’s Big Sur
While Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar have had their share of differences since the acrimonious breakup of Uncle Tupelo, at least they now have one rather remarkable thing in common — they’ve both had the opportunity to collaborate with a noted American writer who happened to be dead. In 1998, Tweedy’s group Wilco joined forces with Billy Bragg on the album Mermaid Avenue, in which they set a handful of newly discovered poems by Woody Guthrie to music, and now Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie have released One Fast Move or I’m Gone, a collection of songs created for a documentary film about the fabled Beat-era writer Jack Kerouac and the troubling circumstances that inspired his 1962 novel -Big Sur. For One Fast Move or I’m Gone, Farrar has taken passages from Kerouac’s book and, with a bit of editing and paraphrasing, set them to original melodies, with Farrar and Gibbard trading off on the lead vocals. Though only a few of the songs actually appear in the movie, Farrar has included 12 tunes on the album, and while they don’t quite tell the whole tale of alcoholic excess and spiritual despair Kerouac set down in -Big Sur, the songs honor the spirit of the author, if not quite the letter of his original source. Musically, this material follows the same moody, lonesome, and expansive sound that’s been Farrar’s melodic trademark in his work with Son Volt and on his solo recordings, and if it hardly matches the swinging bebop jazz usually associated with the Beats (one lyric cites digging Stan Getz on the hi-fi), the bluesy undertow of this music is a good match for Kerouac’s long, unblinking look into the emotional void. But while Farrar’s voice is keyed well to the melodies, Gibbard’s lighter and more playful tone captures the restless meter of Kerouac’s writings much more comfortably than Farrar, who somehow manages to make the words of one of the most distinct literary voices of the 20th century sound like outtakes from Wide Swing Tremolo — not bad, mind you, but not all that different from his usual work. One Fast Move or I’m Gone might have evoked Jack Kerouac more vividly with other vocalists besides Farrar, but as a composer and producer, he’s done right by his lyricist, and the results are modest but rewarding. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky
After a glorious first season that earned the HBO show six Emmy nominations, Flight of the Conchords‘ second run didn’t quite pack the same comedic punch. Some would say it was because the premise lost its luster, but it was mostly because the music just wasn’t as strong. Most of the songs in season one were pre-written and hashed out over years of stand-up, and for season two, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie were in a time crunch: forced to write a dozen or so funny songs and ten episodes from scratch. Considering the circumstances, FOTC’s second Sub-Pop outing, I Told You I Was Freaky, has some worthwhile moments. In the R. Kelly-based “We’re in Love with a Sexy Lady,” Bret and Jemaine debate semantics while trying to determine if they’re after the same lazy-eyed girl. “When’d you meet this lady?/Then./When?/Then./Right then?/Right then./Where?/There./Over there?/Over there./Over there there?/Over there there there,” and so on, building up to Bret’s ultimate question, “Was her name Brabra?” To which Jemaine replies, No I think it was Barbara.”…”It was Barbara there’s no such name as Brabra.” It’s the same straight-faced humor fans have grown to love. There’s no satire quite as on-point as their tribute to David Bowie, but the duo busts out a hearty batch of sad-faced raps (“Hurt Feelings”), dance party hits (“Suga Lumps” and “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor”), and the brilliantly ’80s “Fashion Is Danger,” along with the strange sea shanty, sung by hungry cannibals on a boat ,“Petrov, Yelyena and Me.” ~ Jason Lymangrover, All Music Guide
Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence
In the five years since their last record, the duo of Erlend Øye and Erik Glambek Bøe have each been busy, Øye with DJ gigs and his other band the Whitest Boy Alive, and Bøewith his day job and fighting Clear Channel in their hometown of Bergen, Norway. Getting back into Kings of Convenience mode sounds like it was as easy as putting on a fresh pair of socks. Their third album, Declaration of Dependence, sounds like it could have been recorded at the same session as Riot on an Empty Street; it’s just as relaxed, mellow, and dreamy. The pair’s voices blend like honey and more honey, each of them possessing vocal chords made of cotton candy. They twine their voices around complex but warmer-than-a-Snuggie harmonies on every song; the comparisons to Simon & Garfunkel still hold up, though by now they really sound most like themselves, and not imitators. This album is sparser than the last; there are no guest vocals and very infrequent extra instruments (strings, piano). It gives the proceedings a very intimate sound, between this, the duo’s hushed voices, and the peaceful songs, it’s even quieter and more subdued than anything they’ve done so far. The mood of introspective reflection never breaks, and almost becomes unbearably powerful on a track like “My Ship Isn’t Pretty.” Bøe and Øye pull no punches and spare no emotions, they are skilled veterans who know how to format and pace an album. The only thing the record lacks is a song as catchy as “I’d Rather Dance with You,” or any songs with drums. It’s not really a problem, though, since the overall effect of the album’s melodies adds up to something just as powerful. A few of the songs stand out as possible singles, too, like the bossa nova-y “Mrs. Cold” or the almost peppy anti-war song “Rule My World.” The lack of drums isn’t much of a problem,either, the acoustic guitars that underpin the songs provide all the rhythmic push they need. Adding drums might have spoiled the introspective and feather-light feel of the record. Anyone who’s been on their bandwagon all along will be glad of that, as they’ll rejoice that Declaration of Dependence turns out to be another autumnal treasure from the Kings. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
Retreating to generally quieter territory after the somewhat splashy It’s Not Big It’s Large, Lyle Lovett also backs away from original tunes on Natural Forces, choosing to devote the bulk of the 11-track album to other writers. Covers are common for Lovett, but not since 1998’s Step Inside This House has he spent so much time singing other’s songs, and he revisits some of the same composers as before, picking tunes from Townes Van Zandt and Vince Bell, while co-writing “It’s Rock and Roll” with Robert Earl Keen. As before, Lyle gravitates toward gentle, moody songs, with Tommy Elskes‘ slyly sarcastic blues, “Bohemia,” being the liveliest of the bunch, opting to give Natural Forces some humor and tempo through his originals, particularly the bawdy, rollicking “Pantry” and the dirty jump blues “Farmer Brown/Chicken Reel.” These aren’t scattered throughout the record, they act as anchors to a record that wanders down its own quiet, idiosyncratic path, grounding the album and keeping things amiably unpredictable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Loreena McKennitt - The Olive and the Cedar
Also billed as A Mediterranean Odyssey, Loreena McKennitt’s Olive and the Cedar collection includes an 11-track anthology of her more Mediterranean-influenced works, as well as a ten-track live performance recorded in 2009 called From Istanbul to Athens. McKennitt’s transition from Celtic balladeer to worldbeat superstar began in the early ’90s with the genre-hopping Visit. Her penchant for Mediterranean/Far East/Middle Eastern instrumentation came to fruition on 1994’s Mask and Mirror and 1997’s Book of Secrets, the latter of which spawned her biggest commercial hit with “The Mummer’s Dance.” The bulk of Olive and the Cedar is made up of material from those three albums. From Istanbul to Athens mines much of the same material, but draws more heavily from 2006’s Ancient Muse. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
Rammstein - Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da
Anyone familiar with the industrial metal band’s dark sense of irony should take one look at the title of Rammstein’s 2009 album Liebe Ist fur Alle Da (”Love Is There for Everyone”) and conclude that this one is a mean monster. Combining the tightness and punch of their 1998 album, Sehnsucht, with the musicianship and elaborate textures of their later work, Liebe Ist is a grand achievement, skillfully dividing its time between razor sharp metal rockers like “B********,” or the opening theme song “Rammlied” and nostalgic cabaret pieces that conjure the spirits of Weil and Brecht at a goth club. The best of the latter is the naked and haunting closer “Roter Sand,” but little touches of a sinister yesteryear are everywhere, like the fake vaudeville music in “Haifisch,” or the soundtrack strings of “Wiener Blut,” which are eventually overcome by a guitar-crunching juggernaut. This strange mix of styles is more effective here than it has been for about a decade, and there’s no threat of the album becoming ponderous, either, as an economical track list and purposeful songs wipe away the sins of their previous album, 2005’s Rosenrot. The group’s loyal fans have remained loyal throughout the past decade and have braved all the difficult but ultimately rewarding efforts that came with it. To them, Liebe Ist fur Alle Da is the big payoff and an instant classic. For the rest of the world, this is that once-a-decade, perfectly balanced Rammstein album that’s immediately accessible but wide and deep enough to explore for years to come.. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
Chicago-based alternative metal outfit SOiL’s fifth album picks right up where 2006’s True Self left off. Lead-off track “Tear it Down” wastes little time in convincing the listener that vocalist A.J. Cavalier is now the definitive SOiL vocalist (he replaced Ryan McCombs in 2004), and his mastery of the notoriously difficult tone between dirty and clean, along with the kind of solid musicality that comes from over a decade of playing together, helps keep Picture Perfect on the north side of mediocre. Never ones for subtlety (the cover features a weepy blonde in her underwear in front of a mirror), SOiL consistently puts out the kind of solid hard rock that earns slots on action/horror/science fiction movie soundtracks — stand-out cuts like “Temptation” and “Last Wish” echo Black Album-era Metallica, while tracks like “Lesser Hand” and “Surrounded” aren’t too far removed from Creed or Nickelback. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
A decade after Pavement’s last album — and directly in the wake of their announced 2010 reunion — Scott Kannberg finally releases his first album under his Spiral Stairs‘ moniker with Real Feel. Not too far removed from either Preston School of Industry album, Real Feel slightly emphasizes a California pop vibe, using these vague Beach Boys aspirations and Kannberg’s patented, rippling indie pop as punctuation to a bunch of pleasantly lazy, ambling country-rock. Spiral Stairs remains a pleasing singer/songwriter and Real Feel rambles on nicely. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
After successfully navigating his way into the mainstream with 2005’s epic Illinoise, ultra-prolific indie pop prince Sufjan Stevens had no intention of laying low. Instead, he released a set of Illinoise outtakes, a five-disc collection of Christmas songs, and staged a “symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City’s infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway” that included a self-made Super 8 mm film, a full orchestra, and a small army of hula hoopers performing live in front of a sold-out Brooklyn Academy of Music. While it could be argued that the ambitious BQE serves as the “New York” chapter in his abandoned 50 states project, it hardly fits in with the other two entries. Many pop musicians have ventured into the classical realm (David Byrne, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Elvis Costello, to name a few), but Stevens had already been dabbling in strings, woodwinds, and horns quite admirably since his lo-fi 2000 debut. Closer to the Godfrey ReggioPhilip Glass collaboration Koyaanisqatsi than it is to Byrne’s The Forest, fans of the liberal, staccato woodwinds that peppered Illinoise will find much of the BQE familiar. As always, Stevens‘ melodies are circular, occasionally precious, and often dissonant, but they are presented here with a maturity that will no doubt turn more than a few heads in the classical community, while simultaneously turning some away in the indie pop world. The package itself is truly impressive, boasting a highly stylized Japanese pop art-inspired jacket, a 40-page booklet, a stereoscopic 3D View-Master reel and a DVD of the Super 8 mm film that accompanied the performance. As lyrical a musician as he is, without his commanding use of language (the song cycle is entirely instrumental), the BQE loses some momentum near the end, but by then it’s become clear that, as is the case with all of his projects, the term “half-assed” does not apply. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
LPs
Lots of stuff but not worth listing!