Some astonishing vocals this week, plus the odd bit of rattling distortion too!
Hello, Friends.
I Don't Know is the shuddering return of Hull four-piece Bdrmm and it really has a lot going on. Their shoe gazed, whacked out and fuzzy debut was a big one for us here, but there are numerous sonic and stylistic shifts on this second album (and first with Glasgow-based icons Rock Action) that will appeal hugely to the ears of many new fans. Ghostly hues to the vocals, all sorts of beats and riffs that singe the ears before warping into fugged out post-mbv goodness. Great stuff and our Record of the Week.
+ Available on exclusive White Marble colour vinyl.
+ The band have signed some 12” x 12” art cards and we’ll include them with all LP orders.
Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C. releases his absolutely excellent debut solo LP - Chaos For The Fly - this week on Partisan Records. Really strong songs and sensitive production, but the huge victory is his voice. He has such an inimitable style with his strong but battered drawl. His enunciation and phrasing really is something to behold. As we said, great songs, great production, but there is something a bit extra and a bit special with this one, he’s really got it going on.
+ Available on exclusive White colour vinyl.
+ We’ll be making a draw this week for a signed test pressing. All pre orders are in the hat, buy a copy now to be included.
Toil and Trouble is the beautiful return of Angelo De Augustine, absolutely one of our favourite voices. For the vast majority, the album is just acoustic meditations and his fragile yet alluring vocal, but the magic he casts really is captivating. A Sufjan-esque whisper is heartbreaking, but there is a confidence in there too that makes him pretty irresistible to be honest.
It also has to be said too, Daniel Anum Jasper’s artwork is astonishing.
+ Pressed on Gold Colour vinyl.
Such. Good. Fun! Royal is the scorching fifth album from Tel Aviv based band Boom Pam and we’ve gone mad for it. A sort of end-of-the-pier meets voodoo rock and roll opus. If you’re not interested in an exotica take on Middle Eastern Spaghetti Western you’re not gonna like this and you’re not our friend. A real treat.
Octava is the second LP from LA jazz group, Phi-Psonics, led by bassist Seth Ford-Young. Recorded with loads of space, there is such a languorous pace to this LP, it’s a pleasure to get lost in. Each instrument is quite ornate in isolation, but the way they interflow has a really lush vibe to it.
+ Available on exclusive Transparent Clear colour vinyl.
Dream From The Deep Well is the new album from celebrated Irish singer songwriter Brigid Mae Power. Although indebted to a rich folk tradition, it is surprisingly psychedelic and her vocals really do send so many of the songs somewhere pretty special.
I've Got Me is the second LP from NYC songwriter Joanna Sternberg and it is disarmingly charming. Produced by fellow NYC icon Matt Sweeney, it has zero fuss, it’s all about delivering the song. Raw but way less naive then it might allude to, the structure of the songs are smart and self knowing. Really good stuff.
+ Available on exclusive Gold colour vinyl.
LYR - The trio of British poet Simon Armitage, singer-songwriter Richard Walters and multi-instrumentalist and producer Patrick J Pearson - release their second LP this week in The Ultraviolet Age. Musically it is so fluid, from ethereal through to driving, all swirling around the distinctive centre point of Armitage’s spoken word and Walters’ hughley evocative vocals. One for plenty of repeat listens.
A little live section to this week’s ROTW misgivings with three really great and very different live concert recordings.
The Khruangbin live series continues with Live at Radio City Music Hall in partnership with the amazing Nubya Garcia. They really go somewhere on this one, best yet. A Place To Bury Strangers get very loud on Live At Levitation (that includes a deranged-looking Half & Half Neon Coral & Light Blue colour vinyl pressing), this one is intense and really captures the nuance of doing it thunderously. Alex G releases Live From Union Transfer, a limited-edition vinyl-only live album. Now this one is only available over the counter, so come and see us.
Also this week; epic futuristic retro pop from The Japanese House with In the End It Always Does, The return of Nottingham post-punks Do Nothing with the swaggering Snake Sideways, Electro-pop duo Sweeping Promises return with Good Living Is Coming For You on Sub Pop and Blowout is the deliciously assured new LP from Grammy Award-nominated producer, composer, keyboardist and all-round G, John Carroll Kirby. It really is the very centre of vibe; playful and lush.
Lastly this week, Kieran Hebden collaborates with our man William Tyler on a two track EP called Darkness Darkness / No Services. Side A is a truly cosmic cover of The Youngbloods’ Darkness, Darkness, with skiffling beats and trippy waves. Side B is original and uses Tyler’s guitar virtuosity and Hebden’s production ingenuity to the fullest. Goes without saying, this one is a trip.
Reissues include Fairpoint Convention and King Geedorah. We’ll wax lyrical about them on Monday.
- Drift
