Here are, at least, a dozen new things that you need on your stereo.
Hello, Friends.
Record of the Week is the summer-smooth eponymous debut LP from San Diego's Thee Sacred Souls. Sweet soul and grooving R&B, the chemistry here is just so damn legit! We were lucky to hear this album a good while back (we worked together on a very handsome Dinked Edition) and we confess to having played it on beaches, balconies and headphones a fair bit this summer already. A real treat, this!
+ Available as (very limited) Dinked Edition 205 on Clear with Orange & Red Splatter vinyl.
+ Available on limited 'Icy Blue' colour Vinyl.
Another one we've been playing and adoring for ages; Tired of Liberty is the debut LP from The Lounge Society and it is our August Record of the Month. Returning to the fertile and nurturing confines of the Speedy Wunderground studio, the Hebden Bridge based band have worked with super producer Dan Carey to really capture something pretty special here. A great set of songs that move gracefully through styles and modes. The delivery is just perfect, this is a hugely established debut album. Get involved folks, you'll love it!
+ Available on Indie exclusive Sky Blue colour vinyl.
+ We have exclusive postcard sets to give away with the album.
+ All orders go into the draw for a signed test pressing.
Air is the hugely impressive return of the mysterious Sault, and this really is an amazing pivot. Air is a bold and stunning album full of orchestral string and choral arrangements. Somewhere between the otherworldly scores of 1960's Star Trek and the spiritual adventures of Alice Coltrane, this really is quite inspirational stuff.
Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin returns with her third LP, Pre Pleasure, a really bold and assured set. Its smart and dense in it's lyricism, but also very direct and like she is speaking directly to us. Lush tones and the production frames her brilliantly. Really highly recommended.
+ Available on Indie exclusive Red colour vinyl.
+ Available on White colour vinyl.
Ezra Furman remains one of the most interesting and engaging artists about and her new solo LP - All of Us Flames - is a sort of creative amalgamation of the solo records that proceed it. There is a real carefree quality, it's quite punk as she snarls a line, but then there are sections where the song structure is so smart you can almost lose track of the narratives. All Of Us Flames warrants attention and time, but it almost changes shape each time you listen to it, it's very, very good.
+ Available on Indie exclusive Clear colour vinyl.
+ Available on Violet Purple colour vinyl.
When you're as well known as a joke-teller as Bret McKenzie is - he is one half of duo Flight of the Conchords - then pivoting to an album where you're not joking is arguably harder than starting in the first place. His new solo LP Songs Without Jokes is warm, honest and actually very sweet. There are more than a few gestures towards the Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman songbooks and the production here is insane, it sounds magnificent.
+ Available on Loser Edition Blue colour vinyl.
A really great double offer from the Gondwana label this week with The Temple Within, a mini-album of exquisite spiritual jazz meditations from Gondwana head-honcho Matthew Halsall. The little electronic flourishes are pretty special. We also have Horizons from Leeds-based saxophonist, composer and band leader Jasmine Myra. The way she uses so many different tones without ever sounding muddled is hugely impressive. A pair of right bangers to spend time with.
Brain Feelings is the debut EP from South London band moa moa. We loved the Speedy Wunderground single so have been hyped for this one. Complicated but delightfully wonky pop vibes. Pressed on Powder Blue colour vinyl.
Hackney-born singer, songwriter and guitarist Mychelle presents her ‘Closure’ and 'Someone Who Knows’ EPs, pressed up on a limited edition 12". Sweet lord, her voice is amazing.
Something About Dreaming is an absolutely wonderful set of acoustic twangs from the revered Ralph White. Recorded in Austin, Texas in March of 2020, just days before the city and the rest of the world shut down, Ralph White spent two days with producer, Jerry David DeCicca and recording engineer, Don Cento, capturing a raw and wild set of performances.
This really is a very special set indeed. Bill Callahan put it well;
"This record is someone touching you all over!”
Let’s Turn it Into Sound is a shimmering and hugely experimental return from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. A hectic, experimental-pop record that really beggars belief, it sounds like nothing else and that is a proper trip. It's also not without plenty of humour.
+ Available on Indie exclusive Neon Pink colour vinyl.
Also this week; Valerie June is in great form covering some of her favourite tracks on Under Cover. A transportive new ambient set from Pantha Du Prince with Garden Gaia. We're going to spend more time with this one today as it's really lush. Muse return, as is the Will of the People it would seem! The production is positively ridiculous, a limited Cream colour vinyl pressing too.
The superb Homegrown album from Carrtoons has landed on CD, but the LP (including the Dinked one) are due next month. It’s so good this, we'll bang on about it more when the LP drops.
All eyes on the Drift socials tomorrow for any of you Bicep fans.
Oh, Björk has announced her forthcoming album, so we can confirm that it is incoming and get ready to get excited about that one!
Lastly this week, the vinyl format of Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is in the house. Loved revisiting it this week, he's just so good, isn't he?!
Reissues this week include; Goat, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Howard McGhee, Spacemen 3 and the much-loved Yo La Tengo!
- Drift
POSTAGE
A friendly reminder that on Friday 26th and Wednesday 31st August, Royal Mail workers are staging strikes and we do not anticipate having deliveries or mail collections from Drift. Monday is also a bank holiday so please anticipate some delays to normal service for the next week or so.
Although it is a little annoying, for what it is worth, we respect unions and we support anyone standing up for their rights. Everyone should be paid enough to live comfortably.
