Who is ready for a little bit of normality then? We have a lot for you to listen to.
Hello, Friends.
Record of the Week for the last time in March is a return we're very excited about. We're excited because Nap Eyes are brilliant and we also got snuck their new Snapshot of a Beginner LP ages ago and we've been playing it loads ever since. Focused around frontman Nigel Chapman's idiosyncratic drawl, thematically the album is more mellow, never more so than the opening track So Tired. It's world weary, but funny, smart and able to find some glorious moments of melancholic sunshine... And the odd ripper of a riff. They have captured such a vibe here, albums that are able to do that are really rare and this one is another fine addition to the Nap Eyes collection. Love this band.
+ Indie shop version is pressed on limited, coke bottle clear coloured vinyl.
Sufjan Stevens releases his new collaborative album with his stepfather and longtime collaborator Lowell Brams, (the titular of the incredible 2015 Carrie & Lowell LP). Aporia is largely instrumental and runs through 21 short snippets of hazy and confusing dream shapes. It's one part new age (with the sweeping sounds of clouds rushing throughout) meditational and one part analogue soundscape. We're such big marks for Sufjan that we totally got lost in this one, but wether he's your guy or not, we do really highly recommend giving up an hour to float away, especially in these odd days were floating away is the perfect pursuit.
+ This limited first pressing is on yellow vinyl.
As you will no doubt have read, the Sea Change team had the horrible job this week of announcing the postponement of the 2020 Festival. (Read more here). Understandably then, it brings tears to the eyes, that today we are filling the racks with two new albums from two formidable talents who were to join us.
Ethiopia-born multi-instrumentalist (and living flipping icon to be quite frank) Hailu Mergia releases Yene Mircha on the Awesome Tapes From Africa label. Throughout it is totally mesmerising. That amazing Ethio jazz sound that he was so seminal in bringing to the wider world, with little gestures towards reggae and R&B. If you are looking for a little time away form it all, this is the sort of trip, the sort of headspace that will really take you somewhere special. Very highly recommended indeed... But then again, he is the master.
Another gentlemen who we'd gladly spend any afternoon with is Simon Fisher Turner. This week his collaboration with Edmund de Waal - A Quiet Corner In Time - is released on Mute and it is full of remarkable quiet detail. The project originated as a sound work developed to accompany a de Waal installation at West Hollywood's Schindler House (home to John Cage at one time). Just thrilling sound design this, inventive and otherworldly.
If you built it, they will come. If you rebuild it, they will come back. Let Us Face the Future.
Renowned UK producer Daniel Avery and acclaimed experimental musician and Nine Inch Nails synth artist Alessandro Cortini release their debut full-length collaboration, Illusion of Time. We are obviously ALL OVER THIS. It feels a little like a soundtrack to a day; hazy sunshine wake ups, big blue skies, swirling sunsets and starry nights... It is such a trip and a very beautiful one at that.
+ This first run of the LP is pressed on limited, Indie-shop-only, heavyweight transparent magenta vinyl with full-colour labels and inner sleeve.
925 is the highly anticipated debut LP from North-London's Sorry. It really is pretty marvellous stuff this, it takes cues from a ton of stuff and sounds wildly like nothing very much at all! Pop music that veers from half-sedated to totally jacked up, it's a thrilling ride and the production is just brilliant, reminiscent of the unparalleled wonk of early Metronomy. In a week of lots of big recommendations, do dance about to these guys.
+ Indie shop version is limited and pressed on silver coloured vinyl.
Katie Crutchfield returns as Waxahatchee with Saint Cloud. She sounds more arresting than ever and there are some lush timbres on this LP too. We think it's her best one yet.
+ Indies only LP is coke bottle clear vinyl in matte gatefold jacket, a 24 x 36 poster and download.
One man institution Euros Childs returns with his fifteenth album Gingerbread House Explosion on his own label National Elf Library. Song to song he can conjure such inventive and special pop silliness and such heartbreaking moments. A real gem.
Swedish four-piece Little Dragon return with their sixth studio album, New Me, Same Us. The beats on this LP are lush, been making me dance a bit at the shop i'll have you know.
+ Indie shop version LP is limited and comes pressed on orange coloured vinyl.
1988 is the new album from Grammy Award winning beatmaker, Knxwledge. twenty-two tracks delve into his intricate world of mesmerising loops and warm, lo-fi textures. Really special stuff this.
House Music All Night Long is the lead single from the return of Jarvis Cocker and his JARV IS supergroup's album Beyond the Pale. Lush old rave flyer styled sleeve, not many copies of this pressed, so don't hang about.
As we're sure you can imagine, the schedule and incoming arrivals is a little all over the place, so we'll keep you updated here and on the socials with new arrivals. Pearl Jam is definitely out on Friday, but we can't tell you anymore as we've not heard it... I should imagine that it will sound pretty Pearl Jam-ish no? We have the last few copies loaded on the site now.
One that we have heard and is AMAZING is Chris Forsyth with Garcia Peoples... Expect that one early next week we think.
Incoming shortly with more to follow: Las Kellies, Dana Gavanski, Emma-Jean Thackray, Cable Ties, FACS, Yazmin Lacey and Basia Bulat.
Some neat reissues this week, headed up by the 10th Anniversary pressing of Bon Iver's Blood Bank. The EP was his first movement away from the acoustic guitar led instrumentation of the debut LP and the beginning of an exploration into the experimental sounds. This edition is pressed on red vinyl.
A couple of reissues on Mute from rock royalty Rowland S Howard, with Pop Crimes and Teenage Snuff Film. Been lush to go back and listen to these, did not know them well at all but they are a real joy.
A new 2020 pressing of Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak. He used to be well good. Double LP comes with CD, double sided poster and lyric sheet.
Lastly this week, A Tribute to Jack Johnson is the stunning album by jazz legend Miles Davis. Originally released in 1971, the album achieved widespread critical acclaim and is considered a turning point in Davis’ career. The album is widely viewed as one of his greatest records. Cranked this to the max and gave it both sides in the shop this morning, special stuff indeed.
Now, if you enjoyed these words... just imagine what it will sound like! Head over to our blog shortly for a weekly playlist. A reminder you can catch up with our Drift Trip One & Two playlists too if you want something pretty for your stereo.
Thanks for the messages, thanks for the orders, thanks for the good vibes. Lets get through this.
- Drift
