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>Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat The Devil’s Tattoo CD/2xLP (Vagrant)
The band wrote and recorded most of their new album at The Basement Studio in Philadelphia -- the same room where they wrote and recorded Howl as well as some work in their hometown of L.A. Beat The Devil's Tattoo also marks the first album with drummer Leah Shapiro.
>Broken Bells - Broken Bells CD/LP+MP3 (Columbia)
Broken Bells is The Shins' James Mercer and Danger Mouse. Featuring "The High Road" and "The Ghost Inside," Broken Bells features Mercer on vocals, guitars and bass while Danger Mouse plays organ, drums, piano, synths and bass. Available in regular and deluxe editions. Deluxe version features special packaging and includes a 44-page pocket notebook, glow in the dark stickers, a poster and oversized postcards.
>Gorillaz - Plastic Beach CD/CD+DVD (Virgin)
Five years on from the release of Demon Days, Murdoc Niccals and company return with Plastic Beach. The band have taken up residence, recording on a secret floating island deep in the South Pacific, a “Plastic Beach HQ,” made up of the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity. This “Plastic Beach” is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth; the most deserted spot on the planet. Also available in a deluxe edition, which adds a 45-minute "making of" documentary DVD that provides online access to extra music, games and video.
>The Chieftains (Featuring Ry Cooder) - San Patricio CD/2xCD (Hear Music)
The leading practitioners of Irish traditional music team up with multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer Ry Cooder.
>Jason Collett - Rat A Tat Tat CD/LP (Arts & Crafts)
Follow up to his widely praised 2008 release, Here's To Being Here.
>Deru - Say Goodbye To Useless CD (Mush)
While you will find similar aesthetics to his previous releases -- moody, atmospheric sounds, haunting melodies and organic textures -- they are augmented by his most mature song-writing and cutting-edge beats to date. The album pays homage to classic genres and structures while cultivating a 22nd century smart-party ethic that will snatch the ear of the snobbiest beat head.
>Gonjasufi - A Sufi And A Killer CD/2xLP (Warp)
Gonjasufi stands just outside the spotlight cast on his friends and collaborators Flying Lotus and The Gaslamp Killer, but the sonic brotherhood that exists is implicit rather than as similarities in sound. Drawing from unearthed strains of global psychedelia and merging it with a rejuvenated sense of hip-hop clarity currently distinct to the West Coast, Gonjasufi is more than just a songwriter, MC, or performer.
>JJ - No. 3 CD/LP (Secretly Canadian)
JJ creates R&B and Balearic dub from the ghosts of lost lovers; pop as delicate as a fawn's nose across blades of frosted grass. Vinyl edition includes a bonus track. “It's a gorgeous ode to chemically-assisted euphoria, or an effective, shimmering simulation for those who keep their intoxications on the legal side.” -- Pitchfork
>Ben Harper And Relentless 7 - Live From The Montreal Jazz Festival CD+DVD (Virgin)
Urgent. Infectious. Energized. That's how Ben Harper And Relentless 7 have been characterized and this special CD/DVD combo filmed during the Montreal International Jazz Festival captures their blistering artistry in the summer of 2009.
>Jimi Hendrix Experience - Valley’s Of Neptune CD (Sony/Legacy)
12 previously unreleased studio recordings -- over 60 minutes of unheard Hendrix. Ten of these recordings were made between February and May 1969, as the Jimi Hendrix Experience set out to create the sequel to Electric Ladyland. Free lithograph with purchase -- while supplies last!
>Jimi Hendrix - First Rays Of The New Rising Sun [Reissue] CD+DVD/LP (Sony/Legacy)
>Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced [Reissue] CD/LP (Sony/Legacy)
>Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love [Reissue] CD+DVD/LP (Sony/Legacy)
>Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland [Reissue] CD+DVD/LP (Sony/Legacy)
>Jimi Hendrix Experience - Smash Hits [Reissue] CD+DVD/LP (Sony/Legacy)
Deluxe CD+DVD editions of Jimi’s classic studio albums. Newly remastered, all titles are packaged in lavish 6-panel digipaks featuring detailed booklets that include session info, liner notes, photos and memorabilia. The added DVDs contain exclusive “making of” mini documentaries. Gatefold HQ-180 vinyl versions also available.
>Miles Kurosky - The Desert Of Shallow Effects CD (Shout! Factory)
Kurosky's first solo effort since dissolving Beulah five years ago, and, happily, his singular gift for melody-rich pop hasn't deserted him.
>Patty Larkin - 25 2xCD (Signature Sounds)
2010 marks Patty Larkin's 25th year of recording music. Follow her musical journey as she reworks 25 love songs from 1985-2010 with the help of 25 very special guests including Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Bruce Cockburn, Rosanne Cash, Martin Sexton, Dar Williams and many more.
>Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
This extraordinarily assured, wide ranging album explores new ground for Ted, showcasing his singer/songwriter side while remaining emotionally and energetically true to his punk roots.
>Liars - Sisterworld CD/2xCD (Mute)
A back-to-basics art-pop thrill from start to finish. Limited edition deluxe version adds a bonus CD of remixes and reinterpretations of all 11 tracks from artists including: Thom Yorke, Tunde Adebimpe, Bradford Cox, Melvins, Devendra Banhart, Alan Vega, Chris & Cosey and Blonde Redhead.
>Pavement - Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement CD/2xLP+MP3 (Matador)
This remastered mid-priced, 23-track greatest hits collection, chosen by the band, ranges from their hit "Cut Your Hair" to nearly all their singles, some underrated album tracks, three choice pre-Matador cuts and one obscure compilation track.
>Josh Rouse - El Turista CD (Yep Roc)
Simple, Spanish-influenced street rhythms unfurl into epic versions of Guaraldi-like jazz numbers, resulting in yet another career defining touchstone and a genre-blending album that is as sophisticated as it is infectious.
>Titus Andronicus - The Monitor CD/LP (XL)
The Monitor is a concept album about the Civil War, "sort of", says singer Patrick Stickles. Features contributions by members of Ponytail, Wye Oak, Vivian Girls, and the Hold Steady.
>The Heart Is A Drum Machine - DVD (Lightyear Entertainment)
What is music? Today's top artists, actors, and scholars grapple with the question in this cinematic look at a uniquely human obsession. The Heart is A Drum Machine is a new feature documentary film project from the producers of Moog.
>Athlete - Black Swan CD (Original Signal)
Another release of spirited, electro tinged indie-pop from the London quartet.
>Dee Dee Bridgewater - Eleanora Fagan (1915-1959): To Billy With Love From Dee Dee Bridgewater CD (Emarcy)
Over the course of a multifaceted career that has spanned four decades, Dee Dee Bridgewater has risen to the top tier of today's jazz vocalists, putting her own unique spin on standards as well as taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics. For her latest recording, Bridgewater honors Billie Holiday.
>Clogs - The Creatures In The Garden Of Lady Walton CD (Brassland)
Clogs use sounds and textures from across the musical spectrum -- the immediacy of folk and rock, twisted Americana, the complexity of modern composition. Features guest contributions by Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, Sufjan Stevens, Aaron Dessner and Matt Berninger of The National.
>Flogging Molly - Live At The Greek Theatre 2xCD+DVD (Side One Dummy)
This three-disc set captures Flogging Molly’s epic performance at the Greek Theatre on September 12, 2009, featuring over 90 minutes of music spanning the band’s entire catalog, from Swagger to Float.
>Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back CD/2xCD (RealWorld/EMI)
Gabriel describes this as a very personal covers album with twelve songs performed only with orchestral instruments and voice. He made the choice not to include guitar or drums. The album’s richly diverse sounds include the sparse romance of Lou Reed’s “The Power Of The Heart,” the powerful musical journey of David Bowie’s “Heroes,” and an epic arrangement of Arcade Fire’s “My Body Is A Cage.” Also available as a deluxe edition which adds a disc of alternate versions and remixes.
>Groove Armada - Black Light CD (Om)
New album is a collision of alt and electronic genres featuring vocalist Bryan Ferry.
>John Hiatt - The Open Road CD (New West)
Hiatt and his touring band have recorded a set that gives garage rock a new meaning.
>Jaguar Love - Hologram Jams CD/LP (Fat Possum)
Blood Brothers may have betrayed their blood oath by breaking up, but the spirit of that raucous Seattle act lives on in Jaguar Love.
>Shooter Jennings & Hierophant - Black Ribbons CD (Rocket Science)
Black Ribbons features a unique collaboration between Jennings and best-selling author Stephen King. The 70-minute concept album sees King provide the voice of Will O' The Wisp, a late-night talk show radio host who is in the last hour of his final broadcast before the airwaves is overtaken by “government-approved and regulated transmissions.”
>Little Boots - Hands CD/LP (New Elektra)
An album with well-crafted pop songs and diverse production, Hands primarily features songs about love, relationships, and heartbreak, and takes influence from a variety of music styles such as disco, 1980's pop, and Eurodance.
>Mavis - Mavis CD (!K7)
It began with an instrumental track recorded by Ashley Beedle and musical partner Darren Morris sparked by a night listening to Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers three years ago. It ends with this record, 12 interpretations of that track from some of the finest known and yet to be discovered vocal talent the world has to offer. Revered artists such as Lambchop's Kurt Wagner, Candi Staton, Ed Harcourt, Edwyn Collins, Cerys Matthews, and Saint Etienne's Sarah Cracknell have thrown themselves heart and soul in the Mavis mix.
>Rogue Wave - Permalight CD/LP (Brushfire)
A punchy, deceptively effervescent set of multi-instrumental pop tunes. Rogue Wave has a reputation for crafting classic, inward-looking pop songs highlighted with psychedelic guitars, pastoral sound effects and intricate rhythms. On Permalight, however, Rogue Wave steps away from expectations with synthesizers that simultaneously sound brittle and blissful.
>Ruby Suns - Fight Softly CD/LP (Sub Pop)
Head-spinning combo of big-picture vision and sumptuous detail veers from the path set by 2008's spectacular Sea Lion. Thematically, it's not as wide-eyed or lighthearted, picking apart the relationships faced as we pass through the world -- with our surroundings, each other, and ourselves. Sonically it remains as beat-centric though these beats are deliciously artificial -- stretched and compacted and distorted beyond recognition.
>Yellow Swans - Going Places CD/LP+CD (Type)
The group's conclusion as an entity and their most introspective work to date. The resulting collection is distilled and reflective, retaining the grit and damage of their earlier work but adding layers of harmony and, maybe more surprisingly, pulsing rhythms.
>Various Artists - Stroke: Songs For Chris Knox 2xCD (Merge)
In June 2009 Chris Knox (Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love) suffered a life-altering stroke. This album is a celebration of Chris and his music. Artists include Jeff Magnum, Yo La Tengo, Mountain Goats, Will Oldham, Bill Callahan, Lou Barlow, Jay Reatard, The Bats, The Verlaines, and The Chills.
>Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me 3xCD/3xLP (Drag City)
125 minutes-worth of songs in deluxe packaging. Through the course of the 18 songs, Joanna visits ditties, weepies, court dances, rump-bumpers, epics and moments of Panavision fantasia upon us.
>David Broza - Night Dawn: The Unpublished Poetry Of Townes Van Zandt CD (S-Curve)
12-song set features 10 previously unreleased lyrics and poems written by the late Townes Van Zandt -- one cover of the last song Van Zandt wrote for David and one instrumental Broza wrote for Van Zandt.
>Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain’t No Grave CD (American Recordings)
American VI is deeply elegiac and spiritual, with each song its own piece of the puzzle of life's mysteries and challenges -- the pursuit of salvation, the importance of friendships, the dream of peace, the power of faith, and the joys and adversities that entail simple survival. It is an achingly personal and intimate statement, as, from the end of the line, Johnny Cash looks back on a most extraordinary life.
>Deadstring Brothers - Sao Paulo CD/LP (Bloodshot)
Built on the ample shoulders of masterful forebears, Deadstring Brothers delve into the grit and sweat of dirty blues scooped from the fields of the Delta and polish it in the toxic waters of the Detroit River; the smell of their motor oil, strong coffee and whiskey-stained beards narcotic.
>Madlib - Electro Acoustic Space, Jazz & Percussion Ensemble CD (Stones Throw)
1st album in Madlib's Yesterdays Universe deep-jazz series.
>Madlib - Medicine Show No. 2: Fight To Brazil CD (Madlib Music)
2nd release from Madlib's new once-a-month series. An 80-minute guided tour through 5 decades of Brazilian funk, bossa nova, jazz, psychedelic and progressive rock.
>Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté - Ali & Toumani CD (Nonesuch)
Second and final album pairing the late Malian guitar virtuoso Ali Farka Touré and kora master Toumani Diabaté. Includes contributions from the late Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez (Buena Vista Social Club) on bass.
>Holly Miranda - The Magician’s Private Library CD/2xLP (XL)
Debut full-length album features contributions from Kyp Malone and Jaleel Bunton (TV On The Radio), Eric Biondo and Stuart Bogie (Antibalas), and Holly's long-time violinist, Marques Toliver.
>Carrie Newcomer - Before & After CD (Rounder)
Focusing on change and transformation, this layered work is on one level an exploration of life with a progressive spiritual sensibility. On a second level, the listener is exposed to Newcomer's adept guitar work, soulful voice, and unique musicianship, which stays true to her folk roots, while at the same time allowing Appalachian and classical music to influence her body of work.
>Quasi - American Gong CD/LP (Kill Rock Stars)
Eighth album from the indie-rock mainstays. They've switched labels, from the Chicago-based Touch and Go to Kill Rock Stars, which is based right in their backyard in Portland, OR. Mixed by the impressive line-up of Steve Fisk, Tucker Martine and Dave Fridmann.
>Shearwater - Golden Archipelago CD/LP+MP3 (Matador)
Third album in a triptych of beautiful, dense and ambitious excursions about man's impact on the natural world. This time singer/songwriter Jonathan Meiburg turns his attention to life on islands -- a world of lushness and austerity, silence and sudden cataclysms. Initial pressing includes a 50-page booklet of dossier of records, photos, regulations, and images on islands, displaced peoples, immigration records and more.
>Shout Out Louds - Work CD/LP (Merge)
Realizing that there really is no need to multilayer and fill all the spaces in their songs, the group are keeping it simple now, trusting in the power of bare skin over panache.
>Various Artists - Black Man's Cry: Inspiration Of Fela Kuti CD/4x10" (Now Again)
Covers and music inspired by the godfather of Afrobeat. Includes rare and previously unreleased music from Nigeria, Ghana, Colombia and Trinidad.
>Various Artists - Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas: Tropicalista Psychedelic Masterpieces, 1967-1976 CD/2xLP (World Psychedelic Funk Classics)
The heaviest, rarest, best fuzz-funk-psych singles from Brazil, compiled on one CD. Vinyl version includes 3D glasses.
>Various Artists (Martyn) - Fabric 50 CD (Fabric)
26 track mix from the master remixer.
>Various Artists - Westbound Detroit Northern Soul CD (Kent UK)
Import-only compilation of rare, late-‘60s, early-‘70s crossover soul.
>Local Natives - Gorilla Manor CD/LP (French Kiss)
Drawing a line from the vocal stylings of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young and The Zombies through the more esoteric edges of post punk and Afrobeat, this California five piece have communally crafted a brand of indie rock all their own.
>Field Music - Field Music (Measure) CD/LP (Memphis Industries)
Following a self-imposed three-year hiatus, Field Music return with 20-tracks of artful English pop.
>Freeway & Jake One - The Stimulus Package CD (Rhymesayers)
Produced entirely by veteran G-Unit producer Jake One, The Stimulus Package showcases some of Freeway's most dynamic and engaging work to date. Since his breakout Roc-A-Fella debut Philadelphia Freeway in 2003, Freeway has been regarded as "your favorite rapper's favorite rapper."
>Rocky Votolato - True Devotion CD (Barsuk)
Walking the line between autobiographical fact and fiction, True Devotion is deceptively simple, peppering impressionistic narratives with moments of lyrical wisdom that can knock the wind out of you.
>Xiu Xiu - Dear God, I Hate Myself CD/LP (Kill Rock Stars)
The two biggest constants throughout Xiu Xiu's catalog are honesty and evolution. This
remains true with Dear God, I Hate Myself as it delivers a look at responsibility, fear, healing, and societal roles wrapped in rich gothic pop music.
>Backyard Tire Fire - Good To Be CD (Kelsey Street)
A rich, ever-expanding palette of aural rock & roll colors and textures that tap into bouncy, Kinks-meet-Squeeze Brit pop/rock, Tom Petty-styled Southern rock, Beatles-esque majesty, intimate balladry, chiming folk-rock and heartland/populist chest-pounders.
>The Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig CD (Nonesuch)
The Carolina Chocolate Drops are as much about revelation as revival. On their Nonesuch debut, the trio brings exuberance, humor, virtuosity and an infectious acoustic groove to its exploration of a near-forgotten brand of banjo-driven string band music originating more than a century ago in the foothills of North Carolina.
>Fela Kuti - Gentleman/Confusion [Reissue] 2xCD (Knitting Factory)
>Fela Kuti - Koola Lobitos/The ’69 L.A. Sessions [Reissue] 2xCD (Knitting Factory)
>Fela Kuti - Live With Ginger Baker [Reissue] CD (Knitting Factory)
>Fela Kuti - Open & Close/Afrodisiac [Reissue] 2xCD (Knitting Factory)
>Fela Kuti - Roforofo Fight + 2 Singles [Reissue] CD (Knitting Factory)
Knitting Factory resurrects several rare albums from the prolific Afrobeat legend.
>Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More CD (Glass Note)
This West London indie rock quartet, have created a gutsy, old-time sound that marries the magic of Crosby, Stills & Nash with the might of Kings of Leon and the harmonies of Fleet Foxes.
>Scanners - Submarine CD (Downtown/Dim Mak)
Venerable UK rock outfit return with their sophomore full length. Produced by Stephen Hague who has worked with New Order, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Peter Gabriel.
>Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore - Dear Companion CD (Sub Pop)
Dear Companion is a collaboration between three Kentucky musicians; the songs were written and performed by Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, produced by and featuring Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket.
>Various Artists (Ewan Pearson) - We Are Proud Of Our Choices [Mix] CD (Kompakt)
Neville Watson, Lusine, John Talabot, Hot Natured, Taron Trekka and Wah Chu Ku are all featured on this mix, which strays from the more popular club tracks of the year and instead focuses on the secret weapons that Pearson has been utilizing in his sets of late.
>Wu-Tang Clan - Return Of The Wu And Friends CD (Gold Dust)
A collection of various Wu-Tang Clan songs and unreleased Wu-Tang remixes all produced by Mathematics. Features vocals from the entire Clan including Ghostface, Raekwon, RZA, GZA, ODB, Method Man, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck and U-God.
>Hot Chip - One Life Stand CD/CD+DVD (Astralwerks)
The band's most boldly accomplished record yet, at once offbeat and anthemic, cerebral and danceable. Special CD+DVD version includes a “making of” documentary and Live From Brixton 2008.
>Massive Attack - Heligoland CD (Virgin)
Fifth studio album from legendary trip-hop duo and the first new studio album since 2003's 100th Window features an all-star cast of guest vocals from Damon Albarn, Hope Sandoval, Martina Topley-Bird, Guy Garvey and Tunde Adebimpe.
>Sade - Soldier Of Love CD/LP (Sony)
Sixth studio album in Sade’s 25-year career, and the first since 2000’s Lover's Rock.
>Ben + Vesper - LuvInIdleness CDEP (Sounds Familyre)
The outcome of this effort is easy to convey: go out and find a low-budget production of Midsummer Night's Dream, and then go home and Netflix Olivia Newton John's Xanadu. Go to sleep and the music in your fabled dreams will undoubtedly be all five songs in order as they appear here.
>Kath Bloom - Thin Thin Line CD (Caldo Verde)
Recorded several albums in the late '70s but was largely unknown by 1995. Her rediscovery since then with reissues and tribute album contributions by artists such as Devendra Banhart and Mark Kozelek is reminiscent of Vashti Bunyan's.
>Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen [Reissue] 2xCD (Mute)
>Buzzcocks - Different Kind Of Tension [Reissue] 2xCD (Mute)
>Buzzcocks - Love Bites 2xCD [Reissue] (Mute)
Special deluxe double-disc packages containing unreleased tracks, Peel sessions, associated singles, demos, backing tracks, and live versions.
>Durutti Column - 2001-2009 5xCD (Artful)
5-disc box set from guitar genius Vini Reilly catalogs his output in the 21st century, including every album he has released in this period plus unheard exclusive bonus tracks and art prints of each cover.
>Galactic - Ya-Ka-May CD/LP (Anti)
Galactic have made what may be the definitive New Orleans tribute by recognizing the fundamental truth that the city’s seemingly disparate styles (jazz, brass bands and funk -- as well as newer bounce/hip-hop) are intrinsically linked.
>Georgia Anne Muldrow - Kings Ballad CD/LP (Ubiquity)
Slicing pop ‘n' lock-friendly funk with gospel and gracious soul, Georgia’s Anne Muldrow is a true West Coast original who has been called a modern day Nina Simone.
>Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise CD/LP (Rough Trade)
Pantha Du Prince fuses house, techno, shoegazy electronica and psychedelic electro-acoustic soundscapes into music that is at once both beautiful and bewitching. His previous album This Bliss, was a bittersweet take on techno, which appealed to both dancefloors and living rooms alike and was hugely successful. As a result he has become an in-demand remixer and has done tracks for Depeche Mode, Animal Collective, Bloc Party, and many others.
>Phantogram - Eyelid Movies CD (Barsuk)
Phantograms’ music utilizes electronic loops and hip-hop beats with shoegaze, soul and pop stylings.
>Gil Scott-Heron - I’m New Here CD (XL)
His first new album in over 15 years. Without doubt one of the most important voices in 20th century music, Gil Scott-Heron has been called a Vietnam-era Langston Hughes, a proto-rap pioneer, and -- offensively but not inaccurately -- the black Bob Dylan, someone whose unfailingly sharp and ironic eye spared neither black-power phonies or scheming presidents.
>The Watson Twins - Talking To You Talking To Me CD/LP (Vanguard)
New album finds The Watson Twins taking a soulful turn à la Carole King, but with a distinct pop edge reminiscent of Feist.
>Yeasayer - Odd Blood CD/LP (Secretly Canadian)
If All Hour Cymbals was Yeasayer's attempt at global and ambient cultural mash-up, then their new album, Odd Blood, takes place in an off-world colony sometime after the Singularity. Glimmering reverb haze is eschewed and replaced by a cavalcade of disorienting pitch effects and flickering ectoplasmic wisps.
>The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack CD/LP (Kemado)
A duo writing songs in California at the dawn of 2008 goes on to supporting The Breeders, Last Of The Shadow Puppets and Bloc Party as a quartet, and release two attention-grabbing singles that same year. They were the toast of CMJ in 2008 and South By Southwest in 2009, and then toured alongside Franz Ferdinand, Phoenix, White Lies and Black Lips in 2009.
>Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This CD (Carpark)
This multi-cultural juggernaut gathers up the best musical elements from around the globe: R&B, indie rock, electronic dance and psychedelia. Imagine Ulrich Schnauss meets Animal Collective on a mirror balled dancefloor.
>Midlake - The Courage Of Others CD/LP+MP3 (Bella Union)
Existing outside the plane of trends and even time, Midlake has once again conjured a novel world, but one that seems to have existed forever. Looms of intricately textured keyboards, flute, guitars and voice are woven into broad cloaks of sound, all riding the wave of songwriter Tim Smith’s sweeping vocals.
>The Album Leaf - A Chorus Of Storytellers CD (Sub Pop)
For the first time in five albums, The Album Leaf recorded as a whole band. In the past, almost every instrument was performed by principal songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle.
CD now -- double-vinyl available next week.
>Bassekou Kouyate - Ba - I Speak Fula CD (Next Ambience)
Malian maestro is a virtuoso picker and musical visionary whose work blurs the lines between West African and American roots music. Bassekou's instrument, the ngoni, is a spike lute, an ancestor of the banjo.
>Madlib - Medicine Show # 1: Before The Verdict CD (Madlib Medicine)
First installment in a 12 CD series from the rapper/producer -- a full 17-track hip-hop album featuring "the OJ Simpson remixes" with Guilty Simpson.
>Malachai - Ugly Side Of Love CD (Domino)
Ugly Side Of Love sounds like a Jamaican garage rock band. At other times it sounds like Merseybeat if the beats were supplied by RZA. Or like Dick Dale surfing the River Severn.
>Pierced Arrows - Descending Shadows CD/LP (VIce)
New from Portland-based trio comprised of legendary members Fred and Toody Cole of the seminal punk band Dead Moon.
>Various Artists - Pop Ambient 2010 CD/2xLP+CD (Kompakt)
Landmark installment in Kompakt’s annual tour through the freshest facets of blisstronica. Features tracks by The Orb, Wolfgang Voigt, Thomas Fehlmann, Dettinger and more.
>Whitefield Brothers - Earthology CD/LP (Now Again)
“The Whitefield Brothers are a down-and-dirty funk group that makes raw, organic funk using nothing but instruments and an Afro-Caribbean sense of rhythm.” -- Allmusic.com
>BT - These Hopeful Machines 2xCD (Nettwerk)
With his latest two-hour, double-disc opus, BT weaves both the technical prowess and compositional mastery that reminds us all why he's the composer others study. As with previous albums, These Hopeful Machines is rife with vocal collaborations that expose his influences and bend them toward his unique perceptions of song structure and sonic parity.
>Lil Wayne - Rebirth CD (Cash Money)
Crossover rock album from the self-proclaimed “greatest rapper of all time.” Features a guest appearance by Eminem. Also available as a deluxe edition which adds two bonus tracks.
>Animal Collective - Campfire Songs [Reissue] CD (Pawtracks)
An idea originally thought up by Dave Portner and Noah Lennox while in college, Campfire Songs is not a record of songs sung around a campfire but a record that hints at songs emerging from the fire itself: "We wanted to give the music the feeling and atmosphere of the outdoors and the warmth of a fire, so people could bring it indoors." 2003.
>Beach House - Teen Dream CD+DVD/LP+DVD (Sub Pop)
Third album from the Baltimore-based duo. Companion DVD features a video for each song on the album, each by a different director.
>Bei Bei And Shawn Lee - Into The Wild CD/LP+MP3 (Ubiquity)
This uplifting, genre-bending sound clash recalls the Afro-centric harping of Dorothy Ashby and hypnotic spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane.
>Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own CD/LP+MP3 (Rough Trade)
Nearly all the songs on Heart Of My Own were written while on the road: traveling between cities, crossing the Canadian prairies, searching for a place to stop in the Nevada desert, trailing through the Smoky Mountains, standing in the bright dusk of a summer night in the Yukon.
>Cave In - Planets Of Old CDEP+DVD (Hydra Head)
The insurmountable Hydra Head all-star traveling team has... yep, you guessed it... officially un-disbanded! 4 brand new tracks with DVD.
>Four Tet - There Is Love In You CD/2xLP (Domino)
Four Tet's first full-length album in over four years and is his fifth album to date.
>F##ked Up - Couple Tracks: Singles 02-09 2xCD/2xLP (Matador)
Compilation of 25 songs from F##ked Up's many, many hard-to-find, uncollected 7"s and 12"s. Couple Tracks spans an extraordinarily varied (and extraordinarily collectible) musical career that has mainly been documented on 7" singles released around the world on many labels in many countries. Includes 5 unreleased tracks.
>Charotte Gainsbourg - IRM CD/2xLP (Elektra)
What started as a brief recording session between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck ended up to be the body of work that is IRM. Over the course of a year and a half of writing and recording together, Beck's role grew to encompass all aspects of the creative process. He worked seamlessly with Charlotte, co writing the lyrics and produced and mixed the recording.
>Patty Griffin - Downtown Church CD (CMG)
A collection of Gospel-infused songs produced by longtime friend, bandmate and acclaimed producer Buddy Miller at the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN.
>Yuka Honda - Heart Chamber Phantoms CD (Tzadik)
Versatile composer/performer who has worked with Cibo Matto, Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Mike Watt, etc. Mixing funky beats, hip samples, and instruments both acoustic and electric, Yuka's dramatic sense of sound and color creates a hypnotic groove for young moderns.
>Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring CD (Arts & Crafts)
Romance Is Boring is an ambitious record that’s bigger, deeper, more complex and direct than anything Los Campesinos! have recorded. Produced by John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Wu-Tang Clan), it’s filled with added brass, strings, drum machines and electronics, plus guesting from Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls and Jherek Bischoff of the Dead Science. Romance Is Boring feels like a band that’s not so much grown up, but “fully realized.”
>Magnetic Fields - Realism CD (Nonesuch)
Realism was cut in the distortion-free environs of a Los Angeles studio, and its sound is as pristine as a plein-air painting. There are no drum kits to be heard, and the fascinatingly varied instrumentation - guitars, accordions, violins, cellos, tablas, banjos, tuba, even a smattering of mellifluous falling leaves -- did not need to be plugged in. And, as with Distortion, the album credits emphasize: No synths.
>Pat Metheny - Orchestrion CD (Nonesuch)
Metheny works with an extraordinary set-up of acoustic instruments, assembled for him by a visionary team of inventors. What they have created is a veritable made-to-order solenoid orchestra that includes, among other things, bass, pianos, percussion, marimbas, guitar-bots, and a mellifluous cabinet of carefully tuned bottles.
>My Brightest Diamond - Shark Remixes 2xCD (Asthmatic Kitty)
A cohesive and conceptual project as opposed to a mere remix album. Four remixers (Alfred Brown, DM Stith, Son Lux and Roberto Carlos Lange) were commissioned to each create a separate EP of remixed material.
>Red Krayola - Five American Portraits CD/LP (Drag City)
The five subjects in sequence of appearance are: Wile E. Coyote; George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter; John Wayne; and artist Ad Reinhardt. Their portraits in words and music will hang in the halls of your mind, taking shape as their features are described against backdrops of familiar and characteristic music performed by Red Krayola.
>Retribution Gospel Choir - 2 CD/LP (Sub Pop)
New album from the band fronted by Low’s Alan Sparhawk.
>Strong Arm Steady - In Search Of Stoney Jackson CD (Stones Throw)
In Search of Stoney Jackson was produced entirely by Madlib. The album’s conception owes a great deal to World Famous Beat Junkie, J.Rocc, who provided the trio with close to 200 of the prolific beatsmith’s tracks to choose from. It’s a hip-hop jam session, with the group acting as the rhythm section for an all-star cast of guest vocalists such as Talib Kweli, Planet Asia, Guilty Simpson, Evidence, Chase Infinite, and Phonte of Little Brother.
>Spoon - Transference CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
Follow up to 2007's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. 11 new gems that honor the Spoon tradition while pushing the envelope of the band's sound ever further.
We’ll even throw it in a cool Spoon plastic record bag. Austin Tx is back! Great record and GREAT price--we are selling the CD for $9.99!
>Eels - End Times CD/LP+7” (Vagrant)
Largely self-recorded on an old four-track tape machine by E in his Los Angeles basement, End Times a “divorce album” with a modern twist: the artist equates his personal loss with the world he lives in losing its integrity. Vinyl LP includes a bonus four track 7”.
>Keb Darge & Paul Weller - Present Lost & Found: Real R’n’B & Soul CD (!K7)
Keb Darge's Lost & Found series sets out to expose lesser known or forgotten lights of soul music from the ‘50s and ‘60s. This collection has Keb teaming up with Paul Weller for a selection of R&B and soul classics, including hits by Big Mama Thornton, The Tempos, The Creations, The Flirtations, The Intruders, Tammi Terrell, The Dells, Albert King, Slim Harpo and more.
>Aziz Ansari - Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening CD (Comedy Central)
You may know Aziz Ansari from his work on Parks And Recreation, Human Giant, or Flight Of The Conchords. Intimate Moments... is his debut stand-up comedy album.
>The Hotrats - Turn Ons CD/LP (Fat Possum)
Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey of Supergrass have teamed up with producer extraordinaire Nigel Godrich to bring you the must-have party record of 2010.
>Lindstrom & Christabelle - Real Life Is No Cool CD/LP (Smalltown Supersound)
Norwegian electronic pioneer Lindstrom teams up with vocalist Christabelle (AKA Solale) to create an edgy pop album of structured chaos and hypnotic beats.
>Kevin Barker - You & Me CD/LP (Gnomonsong)
Full of sunny, rural country rock, You & Me recalls the rustic grooves of The Band and The Grateful Dead, the heady melancholy of Roy Harper, and the golden harmonies of CSNY. You & Me features Pat Sansone (Wilco), Joanna Newsom, Jonathan Wilson (Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis), Eric Johnson (Shins, Fruit Bats), and Otto Hauser (Vetiver, Espers).
>RJD2 - Colossus CD/2xLP (RJ Electric)
Fourth studio album from “one of the few DJs who seems like an artist rather than just a record collector” -- Rolling Stone. Features contributions from Phonte Coleman (Little Brother), and Kenna.
>Cold War Kids - Behave Yourself CDEP/12” (Downtown)
New EP from the Southern California-based indie pop rockers contains four brand new tracks: “Audience,” “Coffee Spoon,” “Santa Ana Winds” and “Sermons.”
>Editors - In This Light And On This Evening CD (Fader)
2009 album from the British quartet. US pressing featuring bonus material.
>Bill Fay - Still Some Light 2xCD (Coptic Cat)
Double-disc collection from the British singer/songwriter contains both old and new material. The first CD, Piano, Guitar, Bass & Drums, consists of studio recordings, sourced from archival tapes. The second CD, Still Some Light, is a home-recorded studio album from 2009.
>Major Stars - Return To Form CD/LP (Drag City)
“Major Stars continue to be bent on the steady demolition of the soul via grimy metal riffs, blue collar garage rock hooks, guitar solos seemingly akin with the swirling heroics of area-rockers yet so transmogrified by those ear-piercing distortions and vocals dipped into the soul of blues balladeers.” -- Deepcutzmusic.blogspot.com
>BJ Nilsen - The Invisible City CD (Touch)
Using unrecognizably tweaked field recordings of cats, crows, bees, wasps, boat ramps, and dead trees, the ever-reliable BJ Nilsen has crafted yet another complex and desolately beautiful suite of droning ambiance that subtly crackles and buzzes with life.
>Fela Kuti - Music Is The Weapon DVD (Knitting Factory)
Shot in Lagos at the peak of his career in 1982, this documentary contains interviews with Fela detailing his thoughts on politics, panafricanism, music and religion, alongside unpublished versions of songs like “ITT,” “Army Arrangement” and “Power Show.”
> VAMPIRE WEEKEND INDEPENDENT RETAIL EXCLUSIVE
One of the most anticipated releases for 2010 is 'Contra' from Brooklyn's Vampire Weekend.
We here at LUNA have a super nice exclusive to offer you! ORDER either the vinyl LP (with download coupon) or CD and you will get the independent retail version, that has a bonus three song CD single! Whoot!
>Blockhead - Music Scene CD/LP (Ninja Tune)
Blockhead has worked with some of the key figures in independent hip-hop: Slug (Atmosphere), Murs, Mike Ladd, Cage and Aesop Rock. On his third album he takes his emotive, melancholic hip-hop "stories without words" to another level.
>Nick Cave/Warren Ellis - The Road OST CD (Mute)
Soundtrack for the film based on Cormac McCarthy's novel. An evocative score featuring violin and piano with beautiful fleeting melodies and eerie sound loops filled with terror and suspense.
>Final Fantasy - Heartland CD/2xLP (Domino)
Final Fantasy’s third album is the product of nine months work in four countries. Heartland is a fully orchestral record, designed to exist simultaneously as an album, a 45-minute piece of orchestral music and a set of songs for looped violin and voice.
>Chris Joss - Monomaniacs Volume 1 CD (ESL Music)
Like a long lost vintage LP plucked from a time capsule buried sometime in the 1970s, Monomaniacs brings Joss back to a distinctly traditional and dusty funk groove. Recalling the iconic blaxploitation and grindhouse film soundtracks of that era, the album is filled with ricocheting breakbeats, whirlwinds of wah-wah, rubber-band basslines, cosmic organs, and even a few shredding rock guitars.
>King Crimson - Lizard [Reissue] CD+DVA (Discipline)
Continuing with the 40th Anniversary Series, this remastered version of Lizard contains an audio CD with 5.1 Surround Sound mix from the original studio masters, as well as three extra tracks and a new stereo album mix by Robert Fripp and Steven Wilson.
>O.A.R. - Rain Or Shine 4xCD (Everfine)
4-disc live set recorded over two nights at Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago. 37 tracks.
>Slum Village - Fantastic Vol. 2 [Reissue] CD (Rocket Science)
“Rising from the rugged streets and rich musical tapestry of Detroit, Slum Village was poised to carry on the old-school, funk, and soul-filled hip-hop torch of genre pioneers A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde. Growing up in the Conant Garden neighborhood of Detroit and forming during high-school days at Detroit's Pershing High School, MCs Baatin, Jay Dee, and T3 quickly garnered praise and recognition in the local underground scene.” -- All Music
>Various Artists (Dengue Fever) - Presents Electric Cambodia CD/LP (Minky Records)
14 newly remastered 1960s surf garage psychedelic rockers never released outside Cambodia, chosen by the members of Dengue Fever from their collection of rare Cambodian cassettes.
>Laura Veirs - July Flame CD/LP (Raven Marching Band)
“For July Flame, Laura Veirs reverts to the simpler mode of her earlier records after the folk-jazz band arrangements of Year Of Meteors and Saltbreakers, the producer Tucker Martine keeping extraneous instrumental detail to a minimum -- just the occasional textural tint of organ, horns or strings -- in order to focus more closely on her fingerstyle guitar technique.” - The Independent
+Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind CDEP/LP (Domino)
Five brand new studio tracks that are every bit as lush and beautiful as those found on this year’s stellar Merriweather Post Pavilion.
>>>2009 essentials...