Cruising to the end of March with a seriously good new set for you all.
Hello, Friends.
Our Record of the Week for the last time in March is Warm Chris, the excellent and ever evolving fourth album from New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding. Working again with producer John Parish, there is an understated confidence that gives the album such space to ebb and flow. Vocally she sounds so relaxed, her voice bouncing around with warmth and supreme lightness. Definitely more of a grower than her previous work (which has always had an arresting quality), Warm Chris is about repeat listens and finding all the weird and wonderful little gestures. A brilliantly sculpted album.
+ Purchase the LP this week and we'll enter you into the hat to win a test pressing (all you pre-order guys are already in there!)
+ We have some nice stickers.
Electricity is the all-new Hot Chip produced LP from electro Afro-funk ensemble Ibibio Sound Machine... And as you can imagine, it is really scorchin'. The drive is phenomenal, a supercharged and shimmering hybrid of vintage dancefloor bangers and futuristic funk. Eno Williams also sounds amazing, a brilliant central focus.
+ Our indie exclusive edition is pressed on Yellow & Black splatter vinyl.
+ We have signed art prints with the LP editions.
Liminal Space is the first fully produced studio album from free-rolling improvisors Ill Considered and it really is a rich trip. They have self-released some nine albums between 2017 and 2019, and whilst this new LP (on Marathon Artists) sounds controlled, it retains the explosive experimentalism. The core lineup of Idris Rahman (saxophone), Liran Donin (bass) and Emre Ramazanoglu (drums) are joined by Tamar Osborn of Collocutor, Steam Down saxophonist Ahnanse, tuba player Theon Cross and percussionist Sarathy Korwar. Really highly recommended.
Glasgow-based, Istanbul-born Isik Kural releases In February this week on RVNG Intl., an absolutely gorgeous patchwork of folk plucking and synth ambience. You can hear hundreds of little gestures across the tracks, but it's most impressive as a whole as it eases through its own soothing landscapes. A belter.
+ We have exclusive indie editions that are pressed on "Thistle Pink" colour vinyl.
Retreat to Bliss is the (not surprisingly) blissful debut LP from Tom Rogerson, collaborator of Brian Eno and member of the excellent Three Trapped Tigers. Transcendental piano meditations (recorded by Leo Abrahams) with subtle flashes of electronics. Another very special one, this.
Sonancy is the first album in THIRTY-TWO YEARS from drone-rockers Loop. They've done a great job in retaining the fuzz-drenched motoriks, whilst not repeating old ground. There is more definition to the waves, some really killer tones.
+ Pressed on (a particularly impressive looking) Clear with Black Smoke Galaxy effect vinyl.
Brooklyn Post-Punks Bambara return on the Wharf Cat label with the Love on My Mind mini LP. Really good pound to it, this.
+ Available on a very limited Green vinyl pressing.
The James Hunter Six are captured in swooning mood on With Love, a heart-shaped collection of candle-lit ballads and love songs. selected and sequenced with great care, tenderness, and intention by Daptone staff for the solitary purpose of compiling some of the criminally overlooked treasures in the James Hunter Six's critically acclaimed catalogue. What a voice, man.
+ Available on very limited Daptone Silver vinyl.
Barrie Lindsay releases her introspective second album Barbara under the name Barrie. The debut saw Barrie as a five-piece, but this latest iteration is all about the songs reigned right back.
+ Available on an Opaque Orange vinyl pressing.
Yorkshire five-piece Priestgate release their debut EP Eyes Closed For The Winter on Lucky Number. Ones to watch, these lot; big, euphoric guitar pop.
Also this week; The Baltimore duo Ed Schrader’s Music Beat release the super-fun Nightclub Daydreaming on Carpark. Denison Witmer releases the beautiful American Foursquare on Sufjan Steven's Asthmatic Kitty label. Lovely voice, great songs. The Leather Lemon is the sophomore album on Wharf Cat Records from P.E. Really wild mutant-pop. The Hanging Stars release the country-drenched Hollow Heart on Loose. Great production (recorded at Edwyn Collins' Clashnarrow Studios) and available on a limited Yellow vinyl pressing. Andrew Clinco releases Rough Dimension under the punk alias VR Sex on Dais Records. Placebo resurface from a long hibernation with Never Let Me Go, including a limited double Translucent Red coloured vinyl pressing.
This week also has a hefty new section called; 'long delayed, just landed or otherwise held up in the hugely frustrating and seemingly never ending vinyl pipeline™'.
Music For Psychedelic Therapy is the absolutely amazing return of Jon Hopkins, carving philosophical and sonic paths through space and time. It is simply an extraordinary sonic journey, textures and tones that are both deeply affecting and hard to decipher.
+ Available on an exclusive double Clear colour vinyl pressing.
Intra-I is the gloriously powerful LP from tuba supremo and all-round leading-light Theon Cross. Guest appearances and vocals from Remi Graves, Shumba Maasai, Afronaut Zu, Ahnansé, Consensus and Oren Marshall add an extra sonic dimension and allow Cross to keep the tuba bubbling low. Really impressive stuff.
Now on vinyl, King's Disease II is the thirteenth studio album by American rapper Nas.
Anaïs Mitchell (also of Bonny Light Horseman,) releases a self-titled album, her first album of all-new solo material since 2012. Our Indie LPs are pressed on Green Marble colour vinyl.
And at long-last, an absolutely massive-sounding melting pot of afro-disco, funk and jazz with Pigeon's Yagana EP. Led by the powerful vocals of Guinean singer Falle Nioke, Pigeon also features members of Michael Kiwanuka’s band and SAULT. El Scorchio!
A hugely impressive Best New Reissue set coming to you via email on Monday, including: Bon Iver, Goldfrapp, Tinariwen, Gal Costa, Tindersticks and Branko Mataja. All in the shop now for the browsing.
- Drift
