Glam synths, jazz synths, stadium synths and minimal synths. It’s that kind of week.
Hello, Friends.
Our Record of the Week is Harmonizer, the pumped up, sleek and suitably glam new LP from our boy Ty Segall. We've sat with this one for a few months now (as it debuted online back in August) and it really is a grower. His albums often have, smart little production touches that stay with you as the earworms hook deep down into your cerebral cortex. It's not his heaviest album, it's not his most experimental and it's not his most straightforward either, it has its own space, character and a hell of a lot of groove. Love it.
Bremer McCoy is a them, not a him. The Danish duo - with Jonathan Bremer on acoustic bass and Morten McCoy on keys and tape delay, recorded straight to tape so that they had as little time as possible to think about it. Natten (which means “The Night” in Danish) is released on David Byrne's esteemed Luaka Bop label and really is a corker; graceful piano meditations with lush tones, subtle changes of pace and direction. Graceful stuff.
I Don’t Live Here Anymore is the absolutely massive return of The War On Drugs. Their second with Atlantic Records follows the band's evolution into seismic, stadium synthesists. They lock into the grooves and deliver the sort of controlled euphoria that only Bruce Springsteen attained on Born in the U.S.A. / Tunnel of Love. The influences are never that far from the surface (loads of Dylan), but the delivery is all them and there are some glorious moments, especially the subtle ones.
Lily Konigsberg releases her first, proper, full-length set - Lily We Need to Talk Now - on Wharf Cat Records. Lo-fi pop songs with great melody and a really dark underbelly. It has lots of weird rhythms and flitters between power-pop, pop-punk and more downtempo moments. Really engaging.
Khruangbin's Mordechai gets the full rework treatment from a set of trusted hands and ears. Carefully curated by the trio, guests include Kadhja Bonet, Knxwledge, Quantic and more. Good vibes.
Vancouver singer-songwriter Ashley Shadow releases her second studio LP - Only The End - on felte and it is really gorgeous stuff. A modern and emotional take on Rock and Country music with her lush vocals in the middle. Guests include Bonnie “Prince” Billy (in fine voice), Neko Case guitarist Paul Rigby and Black Mountain’s Joshua Wells.
+ Limited LP on Blue and Orange swirl vinyl.
Nightmares On Wax returns on Warp with Shout Out! To Freedom… Swooning synths and guest tones from; Shabaka Hutchings, Greentea Peng, Haile Supreme, Mara TK, Sabrina Mahfouz + Pip Millett. The production is really lush.
+ Limited Indie Shop double Blue vinyl.
Sequence Two is the second album of prismatic, slow-burn analog synth instrumentals by the duo of Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes) and Stephen Ramsay (Young Galaxy) as Light Conductor. Released on the iconic Constellation label, it has a great balance between dark cinematic synths and more minimal tones and hues. We're pretty lost in these landscapes.
The renowned avant-garde artist Phew returns to Mute this week (her first release for the label since 1992) with her brand-new, New Decade album. Working with voice and electronics, it is thematically focused on time and really is a trip. Highly recommended.
Richard Ashcroft releases Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1, twelve newly-recorded acoustic versions of classic songs from his back-catalogue spanning both his solo career and his time with The Verve. The CD is here, the LP format should be here any minute, it's also pressed on Turquoise colour vinyl.
A couple of live albums to end this week's new releases...
Farewell is the first, last and only official live release from Minus The Bear, recorded during the band's 2018 farewell tour. Very limited 3LP edition on Opaque Grey colour vinyl.
After 20 years of absence THE THE celebrated their comeback with a hugely celebrated UK and US Tour in 2018, topped by a sold-out performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the so called "Comeback Special". Also a 3LP edition, pressed on Clear vinyl (or 2CD).
Following yesterday's announcement that Eve Adams is releasing her Metal Bird LP as a Dinked Edition, we revealed today that Spoon's tenth album, Lucifer on the Sofa, will be our 157th Dinked Edition. We're delighted to work with Matador and the Austin, TX rock band on a louder, wilder new album. Don't miss out, as it's not a huge pressing.
Keeping it Dinked for just a few more moments, we're delighted to free up a last few copies of a couple of Dinked Editions that have just landed with us, with Hamish Hawk's Heavy Elevator (No 125) and Untold Futures, the massive and cosmic new LP from London psychedelic space-rockers The Oscillation are both available in the shop and online now!
We'll be talking Not-New releases tomorrow, to include; R.E.M., The Pop Group, Alabama Shakes, Dave Gahan, Teenage Fanclub (we think) and a couple of killer Tarantino soundtracks.
- Drift
