If you want twenty new musical tips for your stereo, then today, we’re the guys to help!
Our last Record of the Week for October is Signs, the epic new LP from Bonnacons Of Doom. The masked troupe (man do we ever love a mask!) have really crafted something special here, swirling and dangerous music, but also strangely pastoral when it beds down into a low mood. Kate Smith joins throughout right in the middle of the mix like with stunning vocals like a Banshee, beautifully matching the swells. Highly recommended.
+ Available as a limited Dinked Edition.
So Vanilla is the highly-anticipated debut LP from Viji on Speedy Wunderground and it really has a vibe. High fidelity sonics with a woozed-out bedroom pop aesthetic, it’s really evocative. The pacing is great, for the best part dreamy but with the ability to thrash out of the hazy shoegaze mode into something much harder to define and quite unique.
+ Pressed on Cream vinyl and all LP orders include a signed print.
+ Order before the close of the weekend to go into the draw for a personalised test pressing (yep, we’ll automatically include all you pre order crew!)
Famous Last Words is the long-awaited debut album from CASISDEAD on XL Recordings… another masked man! The mysterious and elusive rapper has been releasing music for over a decade, but this full-length debut is brilliantly formed and very worthy of the hype and excitement. The ’80s-inspired synthpop soundscapes give it a strong sci-fi vibe, modern dystopia, with plenty of guests (including Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant!) and contributing production to include Kyle Dixon (Stranger Things) and Johnny Jewel (IDIB). This is one to really get lost in.
+ Available on limited double Clear vinyl.
Sofia Kourtesis releases her debut LP Madres on Ninja Tune this week, a dance-floor primed set of boilers. Her production is superb, such blissful sounds and it keeps a lovely pace up. She’s Peruvian and there is a flowing latin energy that makes this one feel full of life. Good vibes only.
Hold is the first album in five years from Wild Nothing and it is full of light. The layers of guitars and pedals have been replaced with waves of synths and pop sensibilities. Jack Tatum’s voice really suits it, full of nostalgic builds and euphoria.
+ Pressed on Sea Blue in Coke Bottle Clear colour vinyl.
+ LP orders will include a signed print.
Action Adventure is the return of DJ Shadow and he’s really taken it back to the start; a rich tapestry of samples and sounds. He moves through genres with a lot of fluidity without ever sounding too jerky. It’s funny, you’re just flowing to the pop vibes and you realise it’s somehow morphed into really broken trip hop beats.
This week also sees the release of Chronicles of a Diamond, our October Record of the Month from Black Pumas. It’s really good. A swirling - and brilliantly produced - set of rock and roll, soul and gospel. Really great stuff. We have limited and exclusive Transparent Red colour vinyl and you can read a little more about it here.
Cincinnati’s The Serfs release Half Eaten By Dogs on Trouble In Mind and it’s a dark one. Tight and knotty songs with plenty of reverb and crunching urgency. It’s very in the post-punk world, but the brooding bleep of the synths give this one some lush drones and quite the edge. Really great stuff.
+ Available on ‘Raw Meat’ colour vinyl.
Also released this week via Trouble In Mind is the fantastic Ahora from Pamplona band Melenas. Another dreamy one, with synths that clunk and wooze. It’s really joyous stuff, and any of you Stereolab heads will squeak. Been playing this one loads.
+ Available on limited Red colour vinyl.
Aprender a Ser is the new LP from Mexico City's Mint Field. It is such a woozer, really delicious stuff. It has less clatter and drive than their previous record, this time floating on more melancholic waters.
+ Pressed on limited Fruit Punch colour vinyl.
Also this week…
Am I British Yet? is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter V V Brown. Really charged stuff, had this on a few times already. Egyptian Blue release their highly-anticipated debut LP A Living Commodity on Yala! Music. We have a limited Clear vinyl pressing. Big pop bangers from Cologne-formed trio SPARKLING with We Are Here To Make You Feel on Moshi Moshi. Jenny from Thebes finds The Mountain Goats in really good form,with moments of big rock and roll chug and some pretty balladry too. History Books is the very jacked-up sixth LP from The Gaslight Anthem, even featuring a guest appearance from longtime champion Bruce Springsteen. Microclimates is the new EP from noisy Cornwall neighbours Mildred Maude. Their CPA I-III debut is also reissued this week on Sonic Cathedral, a great time to swim in their murky waters. Black Dog is the dark return of Gazelle Twin on Invada records. The sound design is amazing. Anches En Maat is the new LP from Portland experimental post-rockers Grails. God Games is the richly dark new LP from Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince as The Kills. We’re trying to get hold of more copies. We’ve only really had one listen through, but it’s hardly surprising to report that The Silver Cord, the newest new LP from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is super good fun. It has a sort of sci-fi vibe to it with plenty of synth. It’s available as a 2LP edition with extended mixes of all tracks for epic effect.
So lastly then today, The Bug Club cap off their breakout year with Rare Birds, a double LP of crackling pop bangers. Man alive, they are just always such a treat, a rare treat in fact! Lots of funny moments, a few sad little bits and so many stompers it’s practically rude. A brilliant band, really glorious.Don’t miss out folks, we literally only have a few.
We have essential printed matter too with Paused in Cosmic Reflection from The Chemical Brothers with Robin Turner and Thurston Moore’s Sonic Life memoir.
Reissues include Nirvana, Mogwai, Les Rallizes Denudes, José González and Keith Jarret. You just know we’re gonna tell you all about it.
- Drift