We'll spare you the superlatives, it’s just a busy and scorching new week of music.
Hello, Friends.
Our Record of the Week is Great Spans of Muddy Time, the really superb return of William Doyle. Not only is he an inventive and intimate songwriter, his production is mega and these might well be his grandest moments yet. Super impressed by this one, been playing it a lot.
+ Head to the Drift site now as we have made our last few Dinked Editions available.
Following up on William Doyle's Monty Don-inspired new album, our boy Chad VanGaalen keeps it on-theme with his excellent new World's Most Stressed Out Gardener. Another brilliant producer, this new LP on Sub Pop is packed with warm and fuzzy outsider-pop-bangers. Love it.
+ Limited Indie version LP is pressed on multi-coloured vinyl; a clear with gold, red and blue 'high melt' colourway.
House Music is the first new record in ten years from the acclaimed, Montreal-based Bell Orchestre. Released on Erased Tapes, they coalesce classical and electronic instrumentation for a really lush, improvised set. Been getting deep into this.
+ Indie Edition is Clear vinyl.
Liverpool-based artist Andrew PM Hunt releases Under~Between on RVNG INTL as Dialect, and it is absolutely lush. The eleven tracks began their life as chamber pieces commissioned by Immix Ensemble and the coming together of organic and synthetic sounds is pretty magical stuff. Very highly recommended indeed.
Rooted in English pagan and sacred music, Deep England is an electronic-choral expansion of Gazelle Twin’s 2018 album Pastoral, radically reworked alongside original compositions by electronic drone choir NYX. Intense and super-powerful, must have been an amazing live experience.
+ Very limited edition Green vinyl.
Written & Directed is the second studio LP from Brighton four-piece Black Honey. It's got rock 'n' roll gravel without sounding at all hackneyed, signer Izzy B. Phillips is particularly good. The album was our 75th Dinked Edition, and we have a limited gold vinyl pressing if you're quick.
+ The Dinked release is in-transit and will be shipping next week.
One of the week's biggest sellers is Chemtrails Over The Country Club, the return of Lana Del Rey. Stock is just in the building so we haven't heard all of it, but it appears to have her Tramadol-enthused-lullaby vibes going on, which we're enjoying. Limited Yellow vinyl pressing if you're quick.
Also this week; Amapiano Selections is the debut album by South African DJ and producer Teno Afrika. Bella Union release A.A. Williams' Songs From Isolation cover album on a super impressive Black and White swirl vinyl. We'll be giving away a test pressing on our Instagram too. Waking the Dreaming Body is the super-dreamy new album on Keeled Scales from Karima Walker. We have a limited indie shop colour vinyl pressing. In a Deep & Dreamless Sleep is the new LP of dreamy synth pop from wife-and-husband duo Hollie and Keith Kenniff as Mint Julep. Six Organs of Admittance's Ben Chasny and Skygreen Leopards' Donovan Quinn get back on the same page as New Bums, with Last Time I Saw Grace on Drag City. More accoustic-leaning than before, real-nice vibes. The Sydney-based three-piece Middle Kids release Today We're The Greatest via Lucky Number, we have a limited Transparent Tangerine vinyl pressing.
Steve Earle & The Dukes release J.T, A heartbreaking and wholly beautiful tribute album to his son. R.I.P Justin Townes Earle.
Eccentronic Research Council release the epic and impressive The Dreamcatcher Tapes vol 1 & 2 on Castles in Space. True gold for the experimental music head with spoken word audio colleges on the topic of dream logic and musical flourish.
Roll the tape and kick out the jams! Endless Garbage is more sonic exploration under the direction of John Dwyer (featuring Ted Byrnes, Greg Coates, Tom Dolas, Brad Caulkins). We've just loaded up a super-tasty clear vinyl variant direct from Castle Face HQ.
We talked about Indaba Is a few weeks ago - A compilation showcasing some of the finest jazz musicians and improvisers from South Africa - and we're delighted to have our LP copies in the house. Such good vibes on this one, we also have some really nice art prints to give away with the LP.
Earth Recordings look into the vaults with two brilliant reissues from the Trees catalogue. We have a limited Cream vinyl pressing of The Garden Of Jane Delawney and a Dark Red vinyl pressing of On The Shore.
City Slang have reissued the self-titled and debut albums by Junip, the Swedish folk-rock band featuring José González. Both pretty limited and both on fun colour vinyl too.
We have a 1970 3CD 50th Anniversary collection from Bob Dylan that includes previously unreleased outtakes from the sessions that produced Self Portrait and New Morning. The set also features the 1970 studio recordings with George Harrison.
On-U Sound this week are putting out some pretty serious reissues from New Age Steppers, the evolving line-up, built around the driving forces of Ari Up (The Slits) and producer Adrian Sherwood. All are available on vinyl for the first time in decades and feature sleeve notes and interviews by Oli Warwick.
Full Time Hobby have reissued a very limited edition re-press of Orkney, the debut LP from The Magnetic North (Erland Cooper, Hannah Peel and Simon Tong). Love this one.
Nominated for 'Best Original Score' at the 2014 Academy Awards, Arcade Fire and Owen Palett's original soundtrack for Her finally gets the release it deserves. Includes liner notes from Win Butler and is pressed on White vinyl.
And lastly this week, we have Live at St. Helens Technical College '81, a long-lost and very good Fall live set released by the heads at Castle Face. As part of the big box of stock, we have just a few copies available on super limited clear vinyl. Online in five minutes!
"I’ve had the pleasure of being a Fall fan since I was a teen. I was lucky enough to have some guidance from my local record shop stoner-lords." - John Dwyer.
A good reminder that we spoke to Seattle's Hex Enduction Records about The Fall in the new issue of Deluxe. Printed copies going into all mail order.
Wishing you all a real smooth end to the week.
- Drift