Florida natives Surfer Blood released their debut and indie breakout album “Astro Coast” over 10 years ago now.
In 2009 Barack Hussein Obama was President and a scrappy bunch of kids from West Palm Beach, Florida were booking their own shows across the country, sleeping in 24 hour Walmart parking lots and going for broke like only teenagers can. They had songs of MySpace. They became CMJ breakout artists. They had a chance meeting with a Brooklyn indie label. And in January of 2010, Surfer Blood released their debut album Astro Coast, 10 tracks that Pitchfork named Best New Music and said upon release that it “succeeds wildy” as a “relentlessly catchy, ‘classic indie’ album”– and their “debut LP … is first and foremost a great guitar album packed with sing-along hooks, but there’s more going on beneath the surface.” Rolling Stone said “they dress up their guitar-mad escapades in a stadium-echo kick that Nineties indie kids were too grumpy to try.” Surfer Blood spent the year touring the world and were the most blogged about indie artist – blogs were a very big thing – culminating with them landing on everyone’s year end lists.
They spent the year touring around the world playing major festivals in Tokyo, Australia, United Kingdom and at home.They have continued to tour and release music in the past 10 years. For the anniversary, Surfer Blood will revisit their most popular release and include some never before heard material.
The limited edition double coloured (blue / purple) vinyl gatefold release, with 10 unreleased demos and live tracks, a foldout poster and download card, is available on Record Store Day 2020 at participating record stores worldwide. This Record Store Day release Includes download code. Limited to 2,000 copies worldwide. Gatefold vinyl. Exclusive color vinyl.
When Land of Talk resurfaced after seven years away in 2017, bandleader Elizabeth Powell’s first single back was “This Time,” a song that began with the line, “I don’t want to waste it, this time.” And Powell made the most of her comeback: Life After Youth was a stunning record, a personal collection of upbeat, dreamy songs that easily ranks as her best to date. Thank goodness we don’t have to wait another seven years. Just three years removed from Life After Youth, Land of Talk are back with their fourth album since 2008,
Land of Talk is singer/songwriter/ guitarist, Elizabeth Powell. All 11 songs on “Indistinct Conversations” were written by Elizabeth Powell (vocals/guitar/keys), and share the hallmarks of the Land of Talk sound: her silvery vocals; masterful, at times cacophonous guitar playing; and a stream-of-conscious lyricism—here perhaps at her most emotionally vulnerable and honest. Powell produced and arranged the tracks together with her bandmates Mark “Bucky” Wheaton (drums/keys) and Christopher McCarron (bass), and the trio recorded the album in a studio built by McCarron in Wheaton’s apartment basement.
“Indistinct Conversations” follows 2017’s acclaimed “Life After Youth”—at the time Land of Talk’s first album in seven years. The release saw praise from Pitchfork, Paste, The AV Club, and NPR Music, among others, with its singles earning additional highlights from The FADER, NPR Music’s All Songs Considered, New York Magazine’s Vulture, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Bandcamp, WXPN, and more.
Vocals/Guitars/Keys: Elizabeth Powell
Drums/Keys: Mark “Bucky” Wheaton
Bass: Christopher McCarron
All songs produced and arranged by Elizabeth Powell, Mark “Bucky” Wheaton, and Christopher McCarron
“The True Story of Bananagun” in the form of “The Master, Regarding the track, bandleader Nick van Bakel stated: “The Master is kind of about evacuating yourself from the absurd but typical life of working your arse into the ground for someone else and how no matter where you’re working or how high up the ladder you are in that world, there’s always a person up higher bossing you around or someone you’re trying to please. I just hate when people flex too much and don’t respect people; that’s what the majority of people deal with their whole life. It’s miserable and there’s no room for stuff to blossom. The trash that’s suggested in school, movies, and everything; have all your milestones planned out. You wanna make god laugh tell him you’ve got your life planned!”
The track is out now on streaming services alongside previous singles “Out Of Reach” and the BBC 6 Music-playlisted “People Talk Too Much.”
Melbourne 5 piece who dress like Os Mutantes and dance like Bobby Gillespie, but their grooves are impeccable. Let the sunshine in.” – MOJO, Jun 2020
Taken from “The True Story of Bananagun” out 26th June
Pacing around the stern of an Etihad flight from Sydney to Europe – at a point in her life where everything was ending, Sophie Payten – the folk-pop singer and producer known as Gordi – chose to begin her new record, ‘Our Two Skins’. Payten had recently completed her medical exams after years of studying to be a doctor, and began the process of ending her “nice, safe, but stagnant” long-term relationship. Coming to terms with a new truth in her identity – which played out against the backdrop of the same-sex marriage vote in Australia – led to an isolated internal state, further fuelled by distance, trying communication and lost love ones.
Written in 20 anxious minutes on that lonely plane to an isolated six weeks in Europe, Payten penned album opener “Aeroplane Bathroom”. “It’s like all the adrenaline of the last two months just dropped away and I had a little nervous breakdown, “says Payten, “thinking about all these big changes. I was seeing my life that I thought was evolving in one direction is now evolving in this other direction.” The song and record open with a question: “Do you see yourself unravelling?”
‘Our Two Skins’ chronicles the intense and impossible time Payten spent renegotiating who she is and how she fits in the world. Payten was eager to bottle the isolation and emptiness she felt during this period of rediscovery of her identity, and the remoteness of Canowindra, the tiny town where Payten’s family has lived for over a century, proved the right location. Here, her internal state – one she describes as being alone and fearful, and with “a galaxy of space” around her – could be seen, felt and recorded. She called upon her friends Chris Messina and Zach Hanson – the producers and engineers responsible for much of the music that comes out of Bon Iver’s April Base studio amongst other things – to help her achieve this sonic goal. No phone reception, no wi-fi, and an outhouse located in a nearby shearing shed. “It was very removed, very isolated,” Payten says. Payten, Hanson and Messina each selected their favourite few instruments and studio tools, and restricted themselves to just those resources while making ‘Our Two Skins’. “We cut ourselves off from all things, including choice, forcing us to be a lot more minimalist in the way that we can create stuff. I find I’m much more creative when I’m surrounded by nothing than when I’m surrounded by lots.”
Gordi shares her new single, “Sandwiches”, a soaring, post-new wave anthem. “Sandwiches” is Gordi’s first new recordingsince her 2017 debut album, Reservoir. Since then, Gordi has collaborated with Troye Sivan, toured with Sam Smith, Julien Baker and more, performed at Eaux Claires alongside The National, Bon Iver and Big Red Machine, and finished her medical degree to become a qualified doctor.
‘Volcanic’, my new track from ‘Our Two Skins’ is now available in all your favourite places. At the heart of the record sit a pair of songs, Volcanic and Radiator. The twin ballads fizzle with the urge to be close to a person – a bittersweet truth knowing Payten was far from her partner and reckoning with the love of her family as she made them. “I wrote Volcanic that night. It was a kind of exorcism.” Radiator is similarly loaded with stakes, a resignation and a great letting go: of course I have to love you.
At a piano in a warehouse on a river in Berlin beside the old East Germany broadcast centre, I finished writing ‘Volcanic’. I had written the lyrics while I was in Stockholm about the warring states I sometimes find myself in; shutting down and exploding. I thought of a volcano – sitting dormant, appearing as though all is calm while ferociously bubbling to the surface and spilling over before you have time to process what has happened.
I recorded this song with Chris Messina and Zach Hanson in a small cottage built in the 1860s on my parents’ farm outside of Canowindra, along with the rest of the record. The video for ‘Volcanic’ was made in Canowinda, too. My talented friend Madeleine Purdy directed it on a 43-degree-celsius day. Go check it out to see me diving in a pool repeatedly as a dust storm rolls in.
“A big theme of the record is: there’s nothing to hide behind. We didn’t have all the bells and whistles. You’re just standing there, with your hands in your pockets going: this is me. This is it. This is all I have.”
One of the very first ‘rarities’ collections, released to try and defeat the bootleggers, the original 11-track album was released on the Track Records label in September 1974.Compiled in band down-time by bass guitarist John Entwistle, it includes the single ‘Long Live Rock’, the unedited unreleased version of ‘The Seeker’, the studio version of ‘Young Man Blues’, alternative versions of ‘Dogs Part Two’ and ‘Water’, amongst many other gems. This reissue includes the original LP sequence on disc one and adds 14 bonus tracks – B-sides, rarities & extras on disc two, ‘Odds & Sods Too’ – to create a definitive, 25-track double LP.
The stunning artwork and design restore the original ‘die-cut’ front sleeve and includes all Pete Townshend’s original track annotation. Graham Hughes shot the cover for Odds and Sods – “I’d stayed up the night before with Letterset, designing the letters on the American football helmets with each of the band’s names printed on. When I finally managed to get them together in one place, which happened to be the bathroom, Pete and Roger’s helmets didn’t quite fit so that’s why their wearing each other’s. That Quadrophenia tour wasn’t very pleasant and the band were arguing a lot. When I showed Pete the blow-up of the cover, he didn’t like it and told me so. I was so frustrated by this time, I started ripping it up . . . That’s when he decided he liked it! I stuck it back together with adhesive tape and Roger said, ‘call it a bunch of odds and sods.”
Tracklisting:
LP1 / SIDE A –
1. Postcard, 2. Now I’m A Farmer, 3. Put The Money Down, 4. Little Billy, 5. Too Much Of Anything, 6. Glow Girl
LP1 / SIDE B –
1. Pure And Easy, 2. Faith In Something Bigger, 3. I’m The Face, 4. Naked Eye, 5. Long Live Rock
LP2 / SIDE A –
1. Zoot Suit (remix with fade), 2. Here Tis (only previously released on 30 Years… box set), 3. Leaving Here (from ‘Pye’ acetate), 4. Baby Don’t You Do It (from ‘Pye’ acetate), 5. Young Man Blues (alternate studio version, included on 1998 CD), 6. Dogs Part Two (B-side, the single mix; included on Tommy SDE), 7. Here For More (B-side single mix), 8. The Seeker (long unedited version; unreleased)
LP2 / SIDE B –
1. Heaven And Hell (B-side single mix), 2. Don’t Know Myself (B-side single mix), 3. When I Was A Boy (B-side single mix), 4. Waspman (B-side single mix), 5. We Close Tonight (included on 1998 CD), 6. Water (B-side single mix
The Kink Kronikles is a compilation double album by the Kinks, released on Reprise Records in 1972, after the band had signed with RCA Records the label assembled this compilation without input from the band. Instead, Reprise invited rock journalist and noted Kinks fan John Mendelsohn to compile this package. Five tracks made their U.S. debut in any format here – “Berkeley Mews”, “Willesden Green”, “This Is Where I Belong”, “Did You See His Name?” and “King Kong”. The latter two were original to this compilation, and “King Kong” would be released as Reprise single 1094 two months after the release of this double album.
in 1971. It contains thirteen non-album singles, fourteen tracks taken from five albums released by the band from 1966 to 1971 (including the UK-only Percy), and one track previously unreleased. Designed specifically for the American market, it peaked at No. 94 on the Billboard 200. The single versions and mixes were not necessarily used for each track.
Featuring the original sleeve-notes.”This limited edition, gatefold, red vinyl 2LP is a reproduction of the sought-after, 28 track, 1972 Reprise US LP compilation (1966-1971). Considered an exemplary compilation Contains hits, album tracks, US-only versions, non-album singles and B-sides. Featuring original sleeve-notes.
This limited edition, gatefold, red vinyl 2LP is a reproduction of the sought-after, 28 track, 1972 Reprise US LP compilation (1966-1971).Contains hits, album tracks, US-only versions, non-album singles and B-sides .Featuring original sleeve-notes. “This limited edition, gatefold, red vinyl 2LP is a reproduction of the sought-after, 28 track, 1972 Reprise US LP compilation (1966-1971).Contains hits, album tracks, US-only versions, non-album singles and B-sides. Featuring original sleeve-notes.
Tracklist:
SIDE 1 1 Victoria 2 The Village Green Preservation Society 3 Berkeley Mews 4 Holiday In Waikiki 5 Willesden Green 6 This Is Where I Belong 7 Waterloo Sunset
SIDE 2 1 Lola 2 Mindless Child Of Motherhood 3 Polly 4 Big Black Smoke 5 Susannah’s Still Alive 6 She’s Got Everything 7 Days
SIDE 3 1 David Watts 2 Dead End Street 3 Shangri-La 4 Autumn Almanac 5 Sunny Afternoon 6 Get Back In Line 7 Did You See His Name?
SIDE 4 1 Fancy 2 Wonderboy 3 Apeman 4 King Kong 5 Mr.Pleasant 6 God’s Children 7 Death Of A Clown”
In November 2019, Girl Band played back to back sold out shows at Dublin’s iconic Vicar Street, this was following the release of long awaited second album ‘The Talkies’ hailed as ‘more abstract and more focused than their debut’ and a sold out East coast U.S & European tour. Recognised for their ferocious live shows which have been described as chaotic, electrifying and ‘genuinely dangerous, like one last rave before the apocalypse’, these shows were highly intimate and intensely sought after creating an air of ‘you had to be there’. This is their first ever Live vinyl and features tracks from their whole repertoire, some of which have only been performed a handful of times.
“As perfect an expression of rock n roll essentials auto – destructive impulse as this writers ever heard” The Guardian 5/5
“Girl Band play ugly noise with a charisma and energy to drag them from the no wave ghetto to somewhere bigger” Mojo 4/5
“It’s a hellish noisy odyssey in vicious rock n roll” Crack 8/10
GIRL BAND are: Dara Kiely (vocals) Daniel Fox (bass) Adam Faulkner (drums) Alan Duggan (guitar)
Tracklist:
1.Pears for Lunch – 3.35 2.Fucking Butter – 7.49 3.Lawman – 6.14 4.Heckle The Frames – 1.31 5.The Last Riddler – 1.21 6.Laggard – 5.56 7.Salmon of Knowledge – 6.21 8.Amygdala – 1.43 9.The Cha Cha Cha – 0.29 10.Shoulderblades – 6.07 11.Prefab Castle – 7.39 12.Why they hide their bodies under my garage? 13.Going Norway – 4.13 14.Paul – 6.54
For Craig Finn, these three records feel like one big body of work, and the songs on this collection are a part of that piece. For various reasons, these songs didn’t appear on the records they were recorded with, but they still tell a part of the same story – modern people trying to make it through, to keep their heads above water, to live past their mistakes, to survive. “All These Perfect Crosses” gives a glimpse into what this collection of odds and ends will sound like. It’s a tender piano ballad that clocks in at just under three minutes and its easy to see how this didn’t fit into what went on his three solo albums.
Craig is best known as the frontman of The Hold Steady, however he is also a skilled songwriter in his own right. 2019’s I Need A New War solidified Craig as one of today’s most important storytellers, among the ranks of Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits.
I wanted to tell you about my new release! “All These Perfect Crosses” is a 2xLP set out for Record Store Day, courtesy of the amazing people at Partisan Records. The songs largely come from the sessions that made up my last three records, but it’s also got a few demos and acoustic versions. All of this music was lovingly produced by Josh Kaufman, and a great deal of it was recorded by the awesome Dan Goodwin. (The demos and acoustic tracks were recorded by Josh).
These are songs I really love, they often just didn’t fit the theme or the flow of the record they were recorded for. Thus, I’m thrilled to be putting these together and putting them out in the world on vinyl. I wrote liner notes about each of the tracks, and the whole package is really cool. Artwork by Vance Wellenstein .
Double black LP collecting B-sides and alternate version from Craig Finn’s previous three albums Faith In The Future (2015), We All Want The Same Things (2017), I Need A New War (2019).
Craig Finn – ‘All These Perfect Crosses’ is the title track from Craig Finn’s Record Store Day exclusive album. Record Store Day will take place on June 20, 2020
Aoife Nessa Frances’ debut album Land of No Junction, one of the few good things to come out of 2020, doesn’t feel like a first record. With her breezy early ’70s sound, the rich timbre of her voice and atmospheric production, she possesses a world-weariness that few other newcomers can evoke. Frances recorded the LP at Oxford Lane Music Society Studio in Ranelagh, Dublin, accompanied by Brendan Jenkinson (keyboard, engineering and mixing), Brendan Doherty (percussion) and Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (strings). Land of No Junction actually gets its name from Frances’ mishearing of Nugent’s boyhood trips to Wales, she says, “passing through a station called Llandudno Junction… Land of No Junction later became a place in itself. A liminal space – a dark vast landscape to visit in dreams.”
Blow Up’ by Aoife Nessa Frances
Directed by Anna McCarthy
‘Geranium’ by Aoife Nessa Frances
Video by Cáit Fahey & Anna McCarthy
Taken from the album ‘Land of No Junction’ released January 2020
CHANGESNOWBOWIE is a 9-track session recorded for radio and broadcast by the BBC on David’s 50th birthday on 8th January, 1997. The broadcast originally featured an interview with David by Mary Ann Hobbs interspersed with specially recorded birthday messages and questions from the likes of Scott Walker, Damon Albarn, Bono, Robert Smith and many more. The interview and birthday messages do not feature on this album. This mostly acoustic session was a stripped back affair featuring some of David’s favourites of his own compositions and was produced by Bowie himself, Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati.
The first greatest-hits set was called Changesonebowie, and the title has proven irresistible to his compilers: That collection was followed by 1981’s Changestwobowie, 1990’s Changesbowie, and 1997’s radio special ChangesNowBowie. Interspersing clips of a long interview with Mary Anne Hobbs with exclusive performances recorded during November 1996 rehearsals for his 50th-birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, ChangesNowBowie originally aired on BBC Radio 1 the week of Bowie’s birthday. Bowie was feeling valedictory at the time, a mood that came through in both the musing interviews and the laid-back performances, backed only by guitarist Reeves Gabrels, bassist/vocalist Gail Ann Dorsey, and keyboardist Mark Plati.
The Hobbs-hosted show circulated intact on bootlegs for years, and the official LP was initially slated as a Record Store Day 2020 exclusive. Thanks to COVID-19, the physical release was pushed back, but the digital version is here, and the sanctioned release differs from the fans-only versions in substantial ways. All the interview segments with Hobbes have been excised, as have the birthday wishes from his peers and acolytes, leaving a tight 32 minutes of music—nine songs that appear in a different order than they did in the broadcast.
In strict terms of listenability, all the edits are logical. Radio requires a different rhythm than an album, and the BBC Radio 1 broadcast sometimes bogged down in discussions, albeit many of them fascinating. The show hit its emotional peak with a greeting from Scott Walker, who thanked Bowie “for your generosity in spirit when it comes to other artists. I’ve been the beneficiary on more than one occasion, let me tell you,” a sentiment that left Bowie speechless and teary. It was the one time he let his guard slip in the interview. Throughout the rest of the broadcast, he was garrulous and charming, sounding utterly comfortable embracing his role as an elder statesman of rock.
