Not for the first time, nor the last time this month, the new release racks are hugely impressive. Shall we elaborate?
CREAM is the new LP from American jazz drummer and bandleader Kassa Overall and we are really hooked on it. The album is a loving tribute to hip-hop, with instrumental interpretations of Wu-Tang Clan, Biggie Smalls, Dr. Dre, Outkast, Juvenile, ATCQ, Digable Planets and more. In lesser hands it could have fallen pretty flat, but there is such flair to it all as the band really whip them into a frenzy. Full-on reimaginings. Really good, really addictive.
Allbarone is the pounding new album from Baxter Dury, a set of disco bangers and biting observations. Recorded and produced with Paul Epworth, it absolutely shimmers, further accentuating Baxter's rich baritone drawl in the middle of the stereo. Poetic and naughty in equal measure.
+ Available on limited ‘Venetian Marble Blue’ colour vinyl.
The legendary (he really is) Gruff Rhys returns with Dim Probs, his ninth solo album, fourth to be written in the Welsh language, and his first release through the esteemed Rock Action Records. As intimate and hypnotic as you’d hope for, it is honestly such a pretty set of songs and just a gorgeous flow. Features fellow Welsh luminaries Cate Le Bon and H. Hawkline for the extra magic.
+ Available on limited Orange vinyl with a signed print.
New Yorker King Princess releases her third LP - Girl Violence - on the Partisan Records affiliated section 1. High pop production, but full of grit and realness. She certainly doesn’t shy away from emotional honesty.
+ Available on limited "GV" Orange vinyl + signed print.
Pain to Power is the highly anticipated debut LP from Manchester’s Maruja and it is gonna make them a lot of new friends. There is something pretty serious going on here, a ranting and hard space in noise and punk, but with a fierce saxophone playing a central character in so much of it. It’s only when it drops out that you clock just how consuming it is, a sort of fevered trance. Angry, but certainly not idly. Highly recommended.
+ Available on exclusive Off White Colour vinyl.
You're Weird Now is the new LP from NYC-based experimental dance punks Guerilla Toss and it’s a bloody riot mate. We’ve always been pretty wowed by the band, but clocking that Stephen Malkmus was on production duties here really promised a trip… and it is a glowing trip. Frenetic and yelping, but way more pop sensitive than before as they rattle through changes of pace and some glorious uppers and downers. Really enjoying this one.
+ Available on limited Light Blue colour vinyl.
+ Now, because we are dead cool, and Sub Pop are dead cool, we have a test pressing to give away. Buy anything between now and Saturday tea time and we’ll enter you into a draw to win it.
Fast rising Londoner Joviale releases Mount Crystal on Ghostly International this week. Soulful vocals, but loads of other timbres elevating this one, with jazz hues and plenty of more angular sounds. Lots to discover.
+ Available on ‘Electric Periwinkle Music’ colour vinyl.
Texan punk-trash-noise band Die Spitz release the explosive Something to Consume debut LP on Third Man Records. Produced by Will Yip, it is hard and full of angst, but equally pretty euphoric in places too.
+ Available on limited Opaque Green colour vinyl.
Also in this vibrant week of new stuff; Baby Man is the gorgeously sparse new LP from Fruit Bats. We have a super limited 12” from The Lemonheads ahead of their forthcoming new LP. Also on Fire Records, Whitney K returns with Bubble. Jens Lekman releases a new collection in conjunction with his Songs for Other People’s Weddings novel. Such an idiosyncratic and enthralling dive into love songs. Rotterdam-based Robin Kester joins Memphis Industries for her new Dark Sky Reserve LP. Mark William Lewis releases his introspective self-titled LP on the all new A24 label. Australian electropoppers Parcels return with their third LP, LOVED. Adam Buxton releases his debut LP, Buckle Up and it’s really good fun! Produced with Metronomy’s Joe Mount for that sparkle. Titanic - the collaborative forces of Mabe Fratti and Hector Tosta - release the life-affirming new Hagen LP. Sydney Minsky Sargeant (Working Men’s Club) releases the expansive Lunga under his own name.
Lots of limited editions, signed bits and wild colour vinyl so do have a good browse.
Lastly this week, Broken Homes and Gardens is the final studio album from the great Michael Hurley, completed in March 2025 shortly before he left us. If you haven’t spent time in his vast and amazing discography before, this is actually a fantastic place to start, with off-kilter gems and re-workings of older cuts too. A perfect parting gift from one of the most idiosyncratic, influential and formidable songwriters of this generation.
