Releases from January–February 2019

Great albums from around the world

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Find releases from 2020 | 2018.

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Releases for 22 February 2019

We kick off 22 February’s recommended releases with Strange Creatures, an incredibly layered and intricate album, and a lot more aggressive and chaotic than Drenge’s past releases, but an excellent listen worth the four-year wait since Undertow. Nobody Told Me, the new studio album from Blues Hall of Fame member John Mayall, boasts an impressive and diverse list of guest guitarists including Todd Rundgren, Steven Van Zandt and Joe Bonamassa. Progressive-metal band Dream Theater lived together in seclusion while they wrote and recorded Distance Over Time, producing a more organic record still with their signature combination of metallic aggression and progressive scope. British rising star Yola’s debut solo album, Walk Through Fire, shows her unshakeable passion for the soul and country music she loves. Her spirit fills the room, just like her voice … she has the ability to sing both in a full roar and in barely a whisper, and that is a true gift. Without a doubt, Delain belong to the golden spear-head of symphonic metal! Hunter’s Moon consists of a live album, a live Blu-ray disc and four brand-new studio tracks that offer a haunting preview of what Delain is working on for their next studio album.

Our album of the week is the latest from Sleaford Mods, one of the most important, politically charged and thought-provoking duos currently working. Eton Alive depicts Britain “once again in the middle of another elitist, plan being digested slowly as we wait to be turned into faeces once more,” according to Jason Williamson. Still angry then!

- Sleaford Mods Eton Alive
Sleaford Mods are one of the most important, politically charged and thought-provoking duos currently making their mark. “Eton Alive speaks for itself really,” says Jason Williamson. “Here we are once again in the middle of another elitist plan, being digested slowly as we wait to be turned into faeces once more. Some already are, some are dead and the rest of us erode in the belly of prehistoric ideology which, depending on our abilities and willingness, assigns to each of us varying levels of comfort that range from horrible to reasonably acceptable, based on contribution. So after the digestive system of the Nobles rejects our inedible bones we exit the Arse of Rule, we fall into the toilet again and at the mercy of whatever policies are holding order in the shitt pipe of this tatty civilisation. It is here our flesh regenerates as we rattle into another form, ready, and ripe for order.” Still angry then!
Note: the LP is available on indies-only blue vinyl.

- Drenge Strange Creatures
Drenge have released something worth your ear-time. Strange Creatures is incredibly layered and intricate, spanning genres and instruments. It feels a lot more aggressive than their past releases, but the intriguing, chaotic atmosphere makes for an excellent listen. It feels a little more akin to art than music. While they have certainly undergone a momentous shift over the years, it’s safe to say Drenge have created an album worth the four-year wait since Undertow.

- John Mayall Nobody Told Me
Nobody Told Me, the new studio album from Blues Hall of Fame member John Mayall, boasts an impressive and diverse list of guest guitarists, all personal favourites of Mayall’s. These include Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band, Alex Lifeson from Rush, Joe Bonamassa, Larry McCray and Carolyn Wonderland.

- Dream Theater Distance Over Time
Distance Over Time is the 14th studio album from two-time Grammy Award-nominated progressive-metal band Dream Theater. For this record they have approached things a little differently: for the first time, the bandmates lived, wrote and recorded together at the secluded Yonderbarn studios in Monticello, NY over the course of four months, with the aim of returning to their roots and producing a more organic record. Despite these changes however, Dream Theater uphold their unique signature of combining metallic aggression and progressive scope and put it in a frame of tighter song-writing.

- Yola Walk Through Fire
British rising star Yola’s debut solo album, Walk Through Fire, is produced by The Black Keys’ eight-time Grammy Award winner Dan Auerbach. Yola has blazed her own trail with an unshakeable passion for the soul and country music she loves. Walk Through Fire is a contemporary twist on a traditional sonic tapestry of orchestral strings, fiddle, steel and shimmering tremolo guitars, it provides the perfect soundtrack to Yola’s arresting vocals, which first came to the attention of Auerbach after a friend sent him a video of Yola performing in Nashville. Her spirit fills the room, just like her voice … she has the ability to sing both in a full roar and in barely a whisper, and that is a true gift.

- Delain Hunter’s Moon
Without a doubt, Delain belong to the golden spear-head of symphonic metal! After the release last year of their very first live album, the Netherlanders present another live masterpiece including four brand-new studio tracks. Hunter’s Moon consists of this fresh material, a live album and a live Blu-ray disc. The catchy title track and the larger-than-life orchestral ‘Masters Of Destiny’ offer a haunting preview of what Delain is working on for their next studio album.

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Releases for 15 February 2019

Our gems for 15 February start with Skylight, a seamless blend classic American melodies and emotionally direct lyrics from Pinegrove that swings from whisper to full-belt and back again, and comes with a bonus acoustic version of the album only available with physical copies. Bleeding On The Soundtrack is the second in a trilogy of autobiographical albums from William The Conqueror, darker than the first: a tale of addiction, divorce and crossroads in adolescence and young adulthood. Tedeschi Trucks Band continue to move forwards with their fourth album, Signs, which combines inventive musicality and provocative lyrics along with blistering guitar playing. Funk queen Chaka Khan sings over a hand-picked selection of her favourite tracks by Switch on Hello Happiness, with echoes of R&B, ’70s New York disco and modern minimalist grooves. Florida Georgia Line find a balance between high-energy songs and those that dig deep on Can’t Say I Ain’t Country, featuring some honest story-telling and an authentic country sound. Symphonic metal titans Avantasia return with phase four of their epic journey, Moonglow, continuing the power-metal flavour that made their previous albums so successful.

Our album of the week can only be Psychedelic Country Soul, the first new album in over thirty years from the founders of alt-country, The Long Ryders! The classic line-up perform with precision and fire on an album that is set to spread like wildfire.

- The Long Ryders Psychedelic Country Soul
The founders of alt-country, The Long Ryders, release their first new album in over thirty years! Psychedelic Country Soul features the classic line-up of Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy, Tom Stevens and Greg Sowders, but this is a Long Ryders for the 21st century. You can still hear their personal connection with the music of the 1960s, but as ever The Long Ryders aren’t a band who live in the past. Psychedelic Country Soul is a great testament to that, featuring 11 songs performed with precision and fire. The guitars weave and harmonicas build and ebb, and this album is set to spread like wildfire.

- Pinegrove Skylight
Skylight is the follow-up to Pinegrove’s widely acclaimed 2016 breakthrough album, Cardinal. The band’s classic American melodies and emotionally direct lyrics blend seamlessly with alt-country instrumentation. The songs swing between wider extremes – whisper to full-belt and back again, treading mid-air – and Pinegrove say exactly and full-throatedly what it is they want to say.
Note: The physical edition comes with a bonus disc, Skylight II, which is the entire album performed acoustically. This bonus album is not available via download.

- William The Conqueror Bleeding On The Soundtrack
Bleeding On The Soundtrack is the second in a trilogy of autobiographical albums from William The Conqueror which began with 2017’s Proud Disturber Of The Peace, a sublime record that captured frontman Ruarri Joseph’s early life in rural Cornwall: the long fearless days spent stirring the quiet hum of village life; the glory of bike rides, den building and rope swings; the dappled half light of memory and imagination. Bleeding On The Soundtrack is a darker, more disturbed foray into adolescence then young adulthood: a tale of addiction, divorce and crossroads.
The exact sound of William The Conqueror is hard to pinpoint. The songs have an old soul with moments of blues and dark Americana leading to heavier Southern rock and merged with the more youthful glow of indie- rock and grunge – apt given Joseph’s period of disillusionment covered by the album was spent immersed in the music of Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan.

- Tedeschi Trucks Band Signs
Formed by husband and wife acclaimed guitarist Derek Trucks (member of The Allman Brothers Band) and guitarist/vocalist Susan Tedeschi, Tedeschi Trucks Band is a group intent on moving forwards. Their fourth album, Signs, spotlights this Grammy Award-winning act’s ability to expand musical boundaries while delivering heartfelt song-writing with conviction. Put simply, Signs showcases the band at its best – combining inventive musicality and provocative lyrics.

- Chaka Khan Hello Happiness
Funk queen Chaka Khan is back with a new album, Hello Happiness. The legendary singer’s first record since 2007 is produced by Switch, formerly of Major Lazer. Its production appeals to both past and present. Chaka sings over a hand-picked selection of her favourite Switch-made tracks, which include moments that span R&B, ’70s New York disco and modern minimalist grooves.

- Florida Georgia Line Can’t Say I Ain’t Country
Florida Georgia Line won’t look back on their new album, Can’t Say I Ain’t Country: instead, Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard mark new territory and find a balance between high-energy songs and those that dig deep. To stay true to the album’s title, Florida Georgia Line have stirred traditional country elements into the production along with honest story-telling to create an authentic country sound.

- Avantasia Moonglow
Symphonic metal titans Avantasia return with phase four of their epic journey, Moonglow. This metal opera spaceship is piloted by Tobias Sammett. Rather than telling a story from beginning to end, this album follows a theme, but without losing the power-metal flavour that made Avantasia’s previous albums so successful.

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Releases for 8 February 2019

Our recommendations from this week’s releases start with The Delta Sweete Revisited, a reimagination by Mercury Rev of Bobbie Gentry’s psychedelic 1968 depiction of a genteel Mississippi suddenly overturned by a grave sinning and suicide, featuring guest vocals from a stellar cast. The ever-evolving Bob Mould – whose face belongs on the Mount Rushmore of alternative music – brings his personal experiences of three years living in Berlin to Sunshine Rock, his catchiest, grabbiest album since Copper Blue. The Lemonheads’ first record in 10 years, Varshons 2, is another eclectic collection of covers of Nick Cave, Yo La Tengo, The Bevis Frond, Eagles and others by the grunge-pop heroes. True North finds Michael Chapman honing an ever keener edge to his iconic writing with an authoritative set of utterly devastating songs with an intimate, atmospheric, textural, and minimalist sonic signature, and is stately and melancholy in equal measure. And folk music pioneers Lau reach a new creative peak on Midnight And Closedown, perhaps closer to late-period Beatles than the traditional tunes and ballads of their 2007 debut.

Jessica Pratt is not a loud performer – she doesn’t have to be. She can hold a small club spellbound. Quiet Signs is a distillation of this power: a spare, beautiful collection of songs with pared-back arrangements that reveals the full scope of her vision, and is a deserved album of the week.

- Jessica Pratt Quiet Signs
Jessica Pratt is not a loud performer – she doesn’t have to be. In a club of a few hundred, even the bar staff are known to go quiet while she’s on stage. Her third album, Quiet Signs, feels like a distillation of this power. This is a spare, beautiful collection of songs that falls perfectly within the course of the Californian artist’s career. Quiet Signs is also Pratt’s first album fully recorded in a professional studio setting. Her songs and guitar arrangements have been pared back to include only what is essential, while the home-recorded haze of previous efforts parts to reveal the full scope of her vision. On the lead single, ‘This Time Around’, Pratt hits on a profound, late-night clarity over just a couple of deep chords, evoking Caetano Veloso’s casual coastal brilliance.

- Mercury Rev Bobbie Gentry’s Delta Sweete Revisited
Mercury Rev bring us a reimagination of Bobbie Gentry’s 1968 album The Delta Sweete, a psychedelic record depicting a Mississippi of hot biscuits, genteel table manners and working-class sense suddenly overturned by a grave sinning and suicide. Carried on an evening breeze of strings and a supple, foreboding voice like sensually charged breath, ‘Ode To Billie Joe’, also reimagined on this album, became a surprise Number One single for three weeks late in the Summer of Love. The Delta Sweete Revisited features guest vocals from a stellar cast including Norah Jones, Hope Sandoval, Rachel Goswell, Vashti Bunyan, Beth Orton, Marissa Nadler, Lucinda Williams and Margo Price.

- Bob Mould Sunshine Rock
Ever-evolving artist Bob Mould – whose face belongs on the Mount Rushmore of alternative music – decided to “write to the sunshine,” as he describes it, not because he likes the current US administration, but from his personal experiences in Berlin, Germany, where he’s spent the majority of the last three years. On Sunshine Rock, Mould has drawn inspiration from new environments. The theme, the cathartic vocals, and the strings all amount to Mould’s catchiest, grabbiest album since Copper Blue.

- The Lemonheads Varshons 2
The Lemonheads’ first record in 10 years! follows up the critically acclaimed Varshons with another eclectic collection of covers. Varshons 2 includes versions of songs by Nick Cave, Yo La Tengo, The Bevis Frond, Eagles and more. The grunge-pop heroes, no strangers to a cover, perfect the art on this album.

- Michael Chapman True North
True North, the masterful follow-up to his universally celebrated 2017 album 50, finds Michael Chapman, elder statesman of British songwriting and guitar playing, plumbing even deeper and honing an ever keener edge to his iconic writing. This authoritative set of predominantly new, and utterly devastating, songs hews a more intimate, more atmospheric, textural, and minimalist sonic signature than 50, stately and melancholy in equal measure.

- Lau Midnight And Closedown
Lau return with their new album, Midnight And Closedown. Already acknowledged as thrilling live performers and folk music pioneers, this is a new creative peak. The band’s 12-year recording career is resplendent with unexpected collaborations, accolades and innovative ideas. The sound of Lau in 2019 is perhaps closer to late-period Beatles than to the traditional tunes and ballads of their 2007 debut Lightweights And Gentlemen. And yet the new album’s closing track, ‘Riad’, marks a full circle, stripping the lineup back to bare acoustic instruments.

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Releases for 1 February 2019

We lead off 1 February’s recommended releases with The Specials, one of the most electrifying, influential and important bands of all time, who release Encore on the band’s 40th anniversary – the first time founding members Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter have recorded new material together since the 1981 No. 1 single ‘Ghost Town’. Musician and songwriter Andy Burrows and bestselling author Matt Haig release the collaboration Reasons To Stay Alive, a collection of songs loosely inspired by Haig’s much-loved books, including Reasons To Stay Alive and How To Stop Time. A rare blend of eloquent lyrical craft and explorative musicianship, the songs of Tiny Ruins are loved by crowds and critics worldwide. On their greatly anticipated third album, Olympic Girls, they meld delicate folk, lustrous dream-pop and ebullient psychedelia. White Lies release their fifth album, imaginatively called, um, Five. More complex and bolder than its four predecessors, this is a milestone record for White Lies, and a confident stride forward. Unusually for us, we are recommending a reissue this week. When Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon was rendered almost blind and housebound for a period in 1999, he found comfort in listening to radio chat shows, phone-ins and documentaries. He worked snatches of these conversations, along with his own words and orchestration reminiscent of Debussy and Maurice Ravel, to form I Trawl The Megahertz. And Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown brings fans Ripples, his first album in 10 years.

Our album of the week is Gallipoli, the fifth album from Beirut, which started life when Zach Condon returned to the old Farfisa organ he used to write his first two albums. An intense month in the studio has resulted in an album more visceral than Beirut’s more recent works.

- Beirut Gallipoli
Gallipoli, the fifth album from Beirut, started life when Zach Condon returned to the old Farfisa organ he used to write his first two albums, Gulag Orkestar (2006) and The Flying Club Cup (2007). After stints writing and recording in both New York and Berlin, Zach headed to Puglia in Italy to finish the album. With the remote rural setting “the right amount of isolated”, he spent an intense month of 12- to 16-hour days in the studio with day trips around the coastline. Inspired by the surroundings, Gallipoli is more visceral than Beirut’s more recent albums, alive with an energy that is further enhanced by every creak and groan of their instruments, every detuned note, and all amp buzz and technical malfunction being left in the cracks of the songs.

- The Specials Encore
The Specials, one of the most electrifying, influential and important bands of all time, release Encore, their first new music for 37 years. 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of The Specials and the legendary Two-Tone label in Coventry in 1979, and also marks 10 years since the band reformed to play some of the most vital and joyous live shows in recent memory. The 10-song Encore was produced by Specials founding members Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter, and is the first time the three have recorded new material together since the band’s 1981 No. 1 single ‘Ghost Town’.

- Andy Burrows & Matt Haig Reasons To Stay Alive
Musician and songwriter Andy Burrows and bestselling author Matt Haig release the collaboration Reasons To Stay Alive. With Haig providing lyrics around which Burrows composed music, the duo, who struck up a friendship after ‘meeting’ on Twitter, have spent the past year passing ideas back and forth to create a collection of songs loosely inspired by Haig’s much-loved books, including Reasons To Stay Alive and How To Stop Time. This is a rich, colourful suite of gutsy, classic songwriting full of shades of Elton John, Supertramp and Queen, and with an emotional undercurrent that could not be more relevant in today’s world. Together the pair spin love stories, travel space and time, celebrate soul-mates and venture unflinchingly into the tenderer recesses of the mind.
The album burst into life over an intense first fortnight, with Andy Burrows (Razorlight, We Are Scientists) in Los Angeles and Matt at home in Hove. Each afternoon, piano parts with the kind of melodies Haig had never envisaged would arrive in his inbox. “As soon as I heard what Andy was doing, I couldn’t have imagined it any other way,” says Haig. “He had somehow unlocked the melody inside the words. It was so instantaneous, to have that back and forth. When you write books it’s not the same, that’s more like the musician-producer relationship. I’ve hated collaborations before!”
“The reason his words rang so true with me,” says Burrows, “is that the darkness of life is so important to filter, and take on board, and put back out – but these songs all have a trim of colour and an optimistic flare.”

- Tiny Ruins Olympic Girls
A rare blend of eloquent lyrical craft and explorative musicianship, the songs of Tiny Ruins are etched into the memories of crowds and critics worldwide. Taking influences that cross genre and era, the artistry of Hollie Fullbrook and her band spans delicate folk, lustrous dream-pop and ebullient psychedelia. Building on the sparse arrangements and “a novelist’s eye for detail” (Uncut) cultivated over the past several years, the group’s greatly anticipated third album, Olympic Girls, is replete with vital lyricism and galvanising rhythms. Sparkling electric guitar jangles pull against the unique thrum of Fullbrook’s acoustic as the cryptic poetry for which she is known rings out.

- White Lies Five
White Lies release their fifth album, imaginatively called, um, Five. More complex and bolder than its four predecessors, and with the addition of the personal and at times intimate lyrics of primary songwriter Charles Cave, Five provides a confident stride forward. As the London trio explains: “This is a milestone record for White Lies. It marks our decade as a band, which has pushed us to expand our sound and reach new territory artistically – it marks the start of a new and exciting chapter for us.”

- Prefab Sprout I Trawl The Megahertz
When Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon was rendered almost blind and housebound for a period in 1999, he found comfort in listening to short-wave radio transmissions such as chat shows, phone-ins and documentaries. He recorded conversations from these programmes and fragmented them, adding lines from other sources, along with his own words and musical passages and orchestration reminiscent of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, McAloon’s two favourite composers. With themes of old memories and time passing, I Trawl The Megahertz is an intensely personal work.

- Ian Brown Ripples
Ripples is Ian Brown’s first solo album in 10 years and serves as the long-awaited follow-up to 2009’s My Way. Brown self-produced and wrote a majority of Ripples, as well as creating the artwork and playing most of the instruments heard throughout the record. His sons have co-writing credits on three songs and provided additional instrumental contributions. Ripples was recorded in Liverpool and ‘enhanced’ at London’s Abbey Road Studios before undergoing mixing by long-time collaborator Steve Fitzmaurice. Includes the single, ‘First World Problems’.

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Releases for 25 January 2019

Our six crackers for this week start with Nocturne – The Piano Album, a soothing collection of solo piano pieces by Vangelis, featuring 11 new compositions inspired by night-time and his long-held passion for space, plus ‘Chariots of Fire’ and the ‘Love Theme’ from Blade Runner – guaranteed to relax us all at a fraught time! British alt-rock legends Swervedriver’s brand-new album, Future Ruins, exhibits their fabled widescreen escapism, but with a tension that echoes the sleeve image of Coney Island in skeletal monochrome, like a post-mortem photograph of a failed utopia. Jay Buchanan, singer of American blues-rock maestros Rival Sons, said of Feral Roots: “The primal intensity reflects a certain unrest at the heart of the album. With its nuanced explorations of both the wild and domestic struggles of love and truth, the album ultimately argues for pushing beyond pure survival instincts and striving for something more exalted.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but the album is great! Hot on the heels of their acclaimed 2016 album Bounce, The Beat featuring Ranking Roger release Public Confidential, which showcases the band at their joyful skanking best with 10 brand-new songs pointing the finger at the mess of current politics, and is chock-full of catchy, bass-led reggae ska. Shimmer Into Nature is the debut solo album by Ed Wynne, psychedelic visionary and founder of the legendary Ozric Tentacles, whose incredible flair for creating masterful tapestries of sound will grab fans of psychedelic music.

Our release of the week is At The Edge Of Light, over the course of whose ten songs legendary former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett unites a vast number of styles ranging from guitar-driven rock to epic orchestration, from world music to the reflective and atmospheric, all brought together in his unique style.

- Steve Hackett At The Edge Of The Light
At The Edge Of Light is the latest album from legendary former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, and follows the tremendous success of 2017’s The Night Siren. The album features ten songs, over the course of which Steve unites a vast number of styles ranging from guitar-driven rock to epic orchestration, from world music to the reflective and atmospheric, all brought together in his unique style.
Note: the deluxe CD is a mediabook edition, and the LP is available on indies-only white vinyl.

- Vangelis Nocturne – The Piano Album
Nocturne – The Piano Album is a soothing collection of solo piano pieces by Vangelis, recorded in his inimitable style. The album features 11 new tracks as well as brand-new versions of iconic hits ‘Chariots of Fire’ and the ‘Love Theme’ from Blade Runner. Nocturne is Vangelis’s first new album in two years, and the first time he has recorded himself playing a grand piano. It includes a host of new piano compositions inspired by night-time and his long-held passion for space. This is guaranteed to relax us all at a fraught time!

- Swervedriver Future Ruins
British alt-rock legends Swervedriver release their brand-new album, Future Ruins. The record presents a band moving with real-time, real-life vitality, showcasing new tricks alongside classic hallmarks. Future Ruins exhibits Swervedriver’s fabled widescreen escapism, but with a tension that echoes the sleeve image of Coney Island in skeletal monochrome, like a post-mortem photograph of a failed utopia.

- Rival Sons Feral Roots
American blues-rock maestros Rival Sons release their sixth album, Feral Roots. Singer Jay Buchanan said of the forthcoming LP: “The primal intensity reflects a certain unrest at the heart of the album. With its nuanced explorations of both the wild and domestic struggles of love and truth, the album ultimately argues for pushing beyond pure survival instincts and striving for something more exalted: to reclaim a long diluted genre through a galvanizing return to form.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but the album is great!

- The Beat feat. Ranking Roger Public Confidential
Hot on the heels of their acclaimed 2016 album Bounce, The Beat featuring Ranking Roger release a brand-new album, Public Confidential. This will delight all 2-Tone fans, who had to wait more than 30 years after 1982’s Special Beat Service for a new album by the band. Public Confidential continues to showcase the band at their joyful skanking best with 10 brand-new songs. The whole album is chock-full of catchy, bass-led reggae ska tunes pointing the finger at the mess of current politics.

- Ed Wynne Shimmer Into Nature
Shimmer Into Nature is the debut solo album by Ed Wynne, psychedelic visionary and founder of the legendary Ozric Tentacles. Wynne is undoubtedly a gifted instrumentalist, a prodigal symphonist and one of the UK’s most influential musicians. He is credited as one of the lynchpins of the re-emergence of the UK festival scene with Ozric Tentacles, who formed at Stonehenge Free Festival 1983 and became staples of the Glastonbury Festival, with their most recent performance at Glastonbury in 2016 on the Glade stage.
With an incredible flair for creating masterful tapestries of sound, his debut solo album will be quick to take a hold on fans of psychedelic synth and rock music. Shimmer Into Nature was recorded and inspired by the different locations to which Ed travelled over three years, from deep in the Colorado Mountains, to the coastlines of Cornwall and South Devon, before being completed on Scotland’s east coast by the Firth of Forth.

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Releases for 18 January 2019

Our super six for 18 January start off with Steve Mason’s latest, About The Light, which marks a change in approach for Steve: “I decided with this album to get my live band involved at every stage to capture the energy that we produce when we play live shows.” For over a decade, Steve Gunn has been one of American music’s pivotal figures, releasing acclaimed solo albums alongside exploratory collaborations; on his breakthrough fourth album, The Unseen In Between, he explores his own emotional landscapes with his most complex, fully realised set of songs to date. As thrilling and unpredictable as anything in Deerhunter’s near 15-year career, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? is a science-fiction album about the present, on which the band reinvent their approach to instruments; whatever guitars are left are pure chrome, plugged straight into the mixing desk with no amplifier or vintage warmth. Following the 2015 release of the critically acclaimed Fast Forward, legendary songwriter Joe Jackson is releasing the 20th studio album of his career. Fool is the fulfilment of a career-long dream: to finish a tour and head straight into the studio with the band firing on all cylinders. So Joe wrapped up his 2018 summer tour and entered the studio on the following day. The Twilight Sad’s ascent has been forged the old way with grit, graft and four exceptional studio albums; now signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action Records, the band’s fifth album, It Won’t Be Like This, will certainly not disappoint fans of their previous work.

Our release of the week is Remind Me Tomorrow from Sharon Van Etten, an ambitious album with curling low vocals and brave intimacy that provokes our most sensitive impulses: reckless affections, spirited nurturing, and tender courage. The songs are as resonant as ever, the themes still an honest and subtle approach to love and longing.

- Sharon Van Etten Remind Me Tomorrow
Remind Me Tomorrow comes four years after Are We There, and reckons with the life that gets lived when you put off the small and inevitable in favour of something more present. Throughout the album, Sharon Van Etten veers towards the driving, dark glimmer moods that have illuminated the edges of her music and pursues them full force. This is an ambitious album with curling low vocals and brave intimacy, that provokes our most sensitive impulses: reckless affections, spirited nurturing, and tender courage.
The songs are as resonant as ever, the themes are still an honest and subtle approach to love and longing, but producer/arranger John Congleton has plucked out new idiosyncrasies from Van Etten’s sound.

- Steve Mason About The Light
Steve Mason’s latest, About The Light, follows up 2016’s Meet The Humans. Having written most of his previous albums alone, About The Light marks a change in approach for Steve. “I decided with this album that I wanted to get my live band involved at every stage because I wanted to capture the energy that we produce when we play live shows, so this time the band and myself worked on a collection of songs over the course of last year.” The goal was to capture the songs live and draw out their soulful elements. “David Bowie said that you should always be slightly out of your comfort zone if you want to achieve greatness, and for the first time perhaps ever, I deliberately pushed myself into that place. Who doesn’t want greatness?”

- Steve Gunn The Unseen In Between
For over a decade, guitarist and vocalist Steve Gunn has been one of American music’s pivotal figures, conjuring immersive and psychedelic sonic landscapes both live and on record, and releasing revered solo albums ranking high on in-the-know end of year lists alongside exploratory collaborations with artists as diverse as Mike Cooper, Kurt Vile and Michael Chapman (whose most recent studio album he produced). Gunn is known for telling other people’s stories, but on his breakthrough fourth album, The Unseen In Between, he explores his own emotional landscapes with his most complex, fully realised set of songs to date.

- Deerhunter Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?
As thrilling and unpredictable as anything in Deerhunter’s near 15-year career, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? was recorded at several strategic geographic points across North America, and produced by the band, Cate LeBon, Ben H. Allen III and Ben Etter. Forgetting the questions and making up unrelated answers, Deerhunter’s eighth LP is a science-fiction album about the present. Exhausted with the toxic concept of nostalgia, they reinvent their approach to microphones, the drum kit, the harpsichord, the electromechanical and synthetic sounds of keyboards. Whatever guitars are left are pure chrome, plugged straight into the mixing desk with no amplifier or vintage warmth.

- Joe Jackson The Fool
Following the 2015 release of the critically acclaimed Fast Forward, legendary songwriter Joe Jackson is releasing the 20th studio album of his career. Fool is the fulfilment of a career-long dream: to finish a tour and head straight into the studio with the band firing on all cylinders. So, on 29 July, Joe wrapped up his 2018 summer tour at The Egyptian Theatre in Boise, Idaho – and the following day set up shop at Tonic Room Studios in town.

- The Twilight Sad It Won’t Be Like This
From their unassuming origins as a group of school friends drawn together by a shared passion for music to the global touring force they have quietly become, The Twilight Sad’s ascent has been forged the old way with grit, graft and four exceptional studio albums. Now signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action Records, the band’s fifth album, It Won’t Be Like This, does not disappoint and will certainly delight fans of their previous work.

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Other releases for 2019

Find releases from 2020 | 2018.