Welcome to November and the first of five new music Fridays. It's a huge one, some really lush new releases for you. Ready?
Hello, Friends.Honestly... this week is bonkers but worth the customary glance.
Our Record of the Week is Yawn, the fourth full-length solo release from singer-songwriter Bill Ryder-Jones. Entirely self-produced (and featuring guest vocals from The Orielles and Our Girl) it's a beautifully sincere set of songs. Romantic and maudlin, it really does highlight what a superb songwriter he is. Two superb ears and one blue nose.
+ Available on limited heavyweight clear vinyl.
Ultraviolet is the Warp Records debut from composer, producer, keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Kelly Moran... it's utterly stunning. The real masterstroke is packing in so much, whilst making something that is so evocative and coherent. Stylistically it has everything from jazz and minimalism to dream pop, but there are dark shadows that give this some incredible contrasts. Really lush.
Now! (in a minute) is the debut LP from London duo audiobooks. Who they? Evangeline Ling - a 21 year old art student and musician from Wimbledon - and David Wrench - one of the most in-demand mixers and producers in modern music. Lush balance between bubbling analogue and glistening pop, and Ling is a total revelation. You can't take your ears off her! Great stuff this.
Paint is the self-titled debut LP from guitarist and singer Pedrum Siadatian of the Allah-las. Lo fi psych with some gloriously New York sounding ramshakle, enjoying this a great deal.
As regular visitors will know, we don't stock masses of 7" singles, but on occasion, we can't resist. Tim Showalter (AKA Strand Of Oaks) is a huge fan of Jason Molina and his band Magnolia Electric Co. (aren't we 'kin all!) and was offered the chance to front the band, assembled as Goshen Electric Co., for a morning in the recording studio, which resulted in new versions of two songs from the band’s back catalogue. Really good. The Apparition / Melt the Arms is the third release from Los Angeles band Flat Worms on New York's Famous Class Records. The 7" single (we have limited ones on Butter Yellow Vinyl) follows their debut LP on Castle Face records and were recorded with Ty Segall in his home studio.
Georgia Anne Muldrow releases Overload on Brainfeeder. Some pretty serious modern soul right here.
Jon Spencer is back! Often imitated, never duplicated, the original NYC underground-rock legend returns from the wilderness with Spencer Sings The Hits. Twelve red-hot hits, each more powerful than the last!
+ Indie version is limited to just 500 copies and comes on coloured vinyl.
Paul Alexander from Midlake releases his new project Two Medicine today with Astropsychosis on Bella Union. This is so pretty and it's hung on really solid rhythms. Been playing this a bunch.
Night School release the beastly Twenty Twenty from Molly Nilsson. Synth pop shapes with some really lush hooks. Love it.
Doug Paisley releases his first LP in five years with Starter Home. Vocally he sounds incredible and he plays perfectly. Such an underrated talent is Doug. Great stuff.
This will either thrill you or terrify you... no middle ground. Thought Gang is the esoteric jazz side-project of David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti. Us, we're in. Very limited, indie-shop-only 'Steel Grey' coloured vinyl.
Australian duo Dead Can Dance return with Dionysus and the production is positively organic. Really lush textures. Next week we'll have a deluxe format on exclusive heavyweight transparent purple 12” vinyl, accompanied by a CD and deluxe 16-page 12” x 12” hardback picture book with padded cover. They will not last.
Mirror is the new LP from Orchestra Of Spheres. Really into this, experimental without noodling about, loads of rhythms and builds. The sleeve is also lush, if not totally unphotographable.
Dean Wareham has recorded an album of western dream-pop with his friend Cheval Sombre. They take turns singing western-themed songs by the likes of Marty Robbins, Ricky Nelson, Bob Dylan and Magnetic Fields. The sort of project that could veer towards self indulgance, but this is really really great, this is for everyone, not just for them.
The Transition is the first solo album by David Allred (collaborator with Peter Broderick on last year’s Find the Ways). Beautifully simple this.
Moonface release This One's For The Dancer & This One's For The Dancer's Bouquet on Jagjaguwar. The Prodigy return with their seventh studio album, No Tourists. David Loca releases Spell #6 under the Part Time moniker on Tough Love.
OCS played a set of shows last December, this one, in particular, was recorded live at The Chapel, San Francisco. The shows sold out in a trice, and thankfully one of the San Francisco shows were recorded by Eric Bauer, Dwyer mixed the record and it was passed onto old friends the Austrian Label ROCK IS HELL (Oh Sees fans will note early releases by Thee Oh Sees appeared on Rock is Hell a whiles back).
Looks and sounds so good.
More Blood, More Tracks, More Bob, More Bootlegs. From where we sit, Blood On The Tracks is doubtless one of the finest albums ever recorded. Bob Dylan's Bootleg No.14 focuses in on the sketches, processes and outtakes, it is pretty thrilling and possibly one of the best instalments yet. Available on CD, double LP and limited 6CD set with some incredible extras.
Trunk release David Shire's soundtrack to The Conversation today, amazingly the first time the complete score has been available on vinyl, following pretty protracted sounding American and Japanese 7" issues. Looks lush and naturally sounds amazing.
Devotion: Songs About Rivers and Spirits and Children is a limited-edition deluxe box set from our good friend Sir Hiss Golden Messenger, which includes remastered reissues of the classic Hiss' albums 'Bad Debt', 'Poor Moon', and 'Haw'; as well as 'Virgo Fool' a rarities compilation that will only be available physically as part of this collection. CD is here, LP is here shortly.
A couple of weeks ago, the young Dutch band Pip Blom released the Paycheck EP on the Persona Non Grata label. We just got hold of a few copies and it's MEGA... man these guys are great, this is going to be a huge jangling part of 2019 for us we're sure. Don't miss out.
The Captured Tracks label are ten.... wayyohh!!! and Happy Birthday. As part of the celebrations, they have released two budget-priced vinyl samplers that showcase now-classics from a roster of vibrant and varied artists. There are also some exclusives and... you remember us talking about Shitfather right?
Last one for today. The most excellent Manchester based D.U.D.S. release their second LP Immediate today... and without going way OTT, we think it might be utterly amazing. It's jaunty and frenetic, a sort of art-school take on post-punk but that's totally underselling it. Really recommend you all make the effort to check this out. Now? Why not do it now?