Well, we are still here for a bit, so we thought we best tell you about some new records for your stereo…
A reminder, we are here through February selling all the round discs that we have in the building. Like today, there will be some new arrivals and we’ll tell you about them.
For The First Time, Again is the debut LP from LA troubadour Tyler Ballgame and it’s a bloody hoot. His voice is just the real deal, a versatile and swooping tenor, but more importantly full of such charisma. Soaked in a lineage of 60s and 70s singer-songwriters, these are ballads of broken hearts and chest pounding rock and roll euphoria. It’s just all such alluring stuff. We like!
Brighton’s Plantoid release their second LP on Bella Union this week and it is called Flare. It is again swirling with prog rock energy, but the inventive and restless energy, not the needless smug complications that make prog basically a chore. Guys, prog is basically a chore to listen to. Phew, got that one out there after all these years. They are another of Bella’s genre and tempo smashing stars, it’s just such a trip to listen to something entirely change shape before your ears. Good vibes on this one.
Carlow-based brothers Diarmuid and Brían Mac Gloinn return to Rough Trade’s River Lea label as Ye Vagabonds with All Tied Together. It really is beautifully crafted, full of traditional elegance and the richness of the production is hugely impressive.
In the week’s least surprising shocker, the esteemed Sonic Cathedral release a fantastic album with its feet firmly in shoegaze-y waters! No one does it better. London-based group Whitelands release their sophomore album Sunlight Echoes, a super poppy record of big reverbs, sparkling riffs and Etienne Quartey-Papafio has a fantastic voice to front it. It is emotional music and it even features the majestic Emma Anderson. Good stuff.
Now this one is really limited, so we shouldn’t make a fuss… but goddam! Geologist (aka, Brian Weitz of the fabled Animal Collective) releases his first proper solo album - Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights? - and it is bloody amazing. Principally, it answers the not-oft-enuf-ast question: What if, back in the 80s, Ethan James had made a hurdy-gurdy album for SST? A swirling psych journey with herding and gurding, traditional sounds and so many other surprises. This is one to sit back, load up the PAX and rip through Friday night with. Trust.
Also this week… In Search Of A Revival is pure cinematic soul heaven on Daptone from The Olympians. Electro-pop supremo Sébastien Tellier releases the all-new Kiss the Beast and the swagger is supreme. Guest appearances from Slayyyter, Kid Cudi and Nile Rodgers. Italian singer-songwriter Marta Del Grandi returns to Fire Records with Dream Life and it really is a bit gorgeous, moving from pop to more ambient synth haunts. Lankum release a very limited 12” with an otherworldly interpretation of The Specials’ 1981 number one single, ‘Ghost Town’. We also have just a handful of copies left of KNEECAP’s ferocious No Comment 7”.
Lastly… it’s the man! Live "At" "The" "BBC" captures Ty Segall & The Muggers in splendid form for Mark Riley’s seminal BBC show back in 2016. A hazy time capsule from the Manipulator / Emotional Mugger era, with a simply ludicrous band. Five juicy cuts including an incendiary take on L.A. Woman. Boom. What a treat, not one to miss.
