Seeing out July with an excellent week full of newness; both loud and quiet.
Hello, Friends.
Our last Record of the Week for July 2020 is A Hero's Death, the euphoric and driving return of Fontaines D.C. Their follow up to the Mercury Prize nominated debut - Dogrel - is a fascinating one to pin down. As a whole it feels tense and loud and brash, but track to track there is a lot of intricacy in what they are doing, the builds are slow and careful, everything has a mood and the hazy spells never get broken. Instantly gratifying, but full of hypnotic moments to go back for. Excellent stuff.
+ Deluxe 2LP: 45rpm cut Double LP on 180g black vinyl. Cut at Abbey Road Studios. Double gatefold LP. Comes with 12”x12” photo/lyric book.
+ Limited Edition single LP on Stormy Blue vinyl.
The album cover statue isn't from their local graveyard, it's mythic Irish hero Cú Chulainn, who tied himself to a tree so he wouldn't fall over while fighting a whole army. It's on display in the GPO in Dublin, the band's hometown.
Now this is RIGHT up our street. Sly & The Family Drone make intense, abrasive, and really quite dangerous sounding music. Walk It Dry, with it's scronked electronics, bulging noise blasts, wailing sax and Kalashnikov drums is nothing short of life-affirming. Make sure to get this one on your stereo at least once, it's got something really special going on.
We're delighted to have Daniel Blumberg back this week with his new On&On LP for Mute. A really fascinating set here, fiercely experimental in its flow and instrumentation, but at the same time full of sweet and utterly heartfelt moments. He has such an addictive voice.
+ Limited clear vinyl pressing.
+ Includes exclusive A5 lyrics sheet.
Mike Polizze (Purling Hiss frontman) steps out of the thrashing wall of noise to deliver his introspective, sun-bleached and really quite pretty solo debut LP, Long Lost Solace Find. Any of you holding out for a new Kurt Vile jam would be WELL recommended to take a listen here.
+ We have a very limited transparent blue vinyl pressing.
The Chicago based Ohmme release Fantasize Your Ghost this week on Joyful Noise Recordings and it's a bloody cracker! Really lush twisting and turning pop songs with joyous dual vocals. Been playing this a lot of late.
+ Limited spectral blue vinyl comes with download.
+ LP includes an exclusive bonus flexi disc with a cover of David Bowie's 'Girl Loves Me.'
Emma-Jean Thackray releases Um Yang, her long-dreamed project dedicated to the Taoist philosophy of duality and harmony. An accomplished trumpeter, its more about the wilder influences that she brings into the mix and expertly uses to create vivid and sonic moods. Here she leads a septet featuring Soweto Kinch and Steam Down’s Wonky Logic, recorded straight to vinyl. She really is quite amazing, we got lost in this one, very highly recommended.
William Tyler has recorded the soundtrack to Kelly Reichardt's film First Cow, a really beautiful and sweeping pastoral set. It is recorded almost entirely on several of his guitars and a dulcimer, which makes it really intimate in a sort of widescreen way. Very special music, he really does have such magic hands.
Also this week, Max Richter releases the hugely ambitious Voices, inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Psychedelic Furs release Made Of Rain, their first in nearly 30 years. We may have already told you about the Land of Talk album Indistinct Conversations a few weeks back when we got our dates wrong, but it is here now and that's really lovely.
We have a couple of pretty limited Caribou 12"s this week. Four Tet and Morgan Geist go back to back with takes on Never Come Back. Floating Points' also takes on the track, with a Sister rework too. Not many of either folks.
A nice reissue of Push Barman To Open Old Wounds, a chronological double CD / triple LP collection of all twenty-five songs from Belle and Sebastian's Jeepster record label EP and single releases. Originally issued in '05, this is twenty years of absolute bangers, from the fragile to almost-Spector-sound massive. They really are one of the finest!
+ Limited Indie Version Triple LP is pressed on clear vinyl.
Island drop a very limited 7" single from Mumford & Sons (on White vinyl) with the 'Garage Version' of Forever.
Merge issue a really limited new pressing of Lou Barlow's (Dinosaur Jr. / Sebadoh) debut Emoh. In the blurb Lou clarifies that this isn't officially his solo debut as "Weed Forestin' under the name Sentridoh," supersedes it, but this has been out of print almost since its release in '05 and is a really great collection of songs.
Ghost Box issue a special limited gold vinyl edition of the exceptional Advisory Circle Ways of Seeing LP. Warm and hazy electronics, really special stuff. It's been out of print for a good while now and returns in a very handsome metallic gold foil sleeve.
We try not to proclaim "classic" every bloody week, but in the case of Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete, it's a solid gold, sure fire #CLASSIC. Originally released on February 5th 1968, it is a concept album inspired by her Mississippi childhood. The songs are both deeply personal and full of broad themes, a big part of what makes it so universally appealing. The double CD/LP release features the original album remixed and mastered from multi-tracks by Andrew Batt, and is supplemented by outtakes and demos, featuring two previously unreleased tracks. The sleeve-notes also feature unseen images from the Capitol archive.
One of the finest vocalists ever to record (in our humble...) and The Delta Sweete in 2020 sounds amazing.
Plenty to get stuck into here. A reminder that you can easily scroll back through the month(s) in our news section with playlists to help you find new friends.
- Drift
