As Colvin & Earle, longtime friends and admirers Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle have united to record their self-titled debut, a true standout in careers already filled with pinnacles and masterpieces. Produced by the masterful Buddy Miller and recorded in his living room studio, Colvin & Earle contains six co-written originals plus some truly inspired covers, including The Beatles’ “Baby’s In Black,” the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday,” and Emmylou Harris’ “Raise the Dead.” Few things can touch the magic of artists so in tune that they seem to be able to read each other’s minds, and Colvin & Earle is a prime showcase for the duo’s inimitable vocals and mesmerizing guitar playing – a flawless example of the creative process gelling into a gorgeous, cohesive whole. For this pair, both considered to be among America’s greatest living songwriters, Colvin & Earle showcase one of the finest records of these hardcore troubadours’ storied careers.
BAND OF HORSES – WHY ARE YOU OK
Very Limited copies come with a A3 Band Of Horses print. Everyone’s favourite American indie export, Band of Horses, are finally Back and bigger and better than ever! Releasing their fifth studio album on the 10th year anniversary of the incredible ‘Everything All The Time’ is fitting as it hearkens back to the vulnerability present on the first album but this time is shaped by the experience of writing at home in between caring for his four daughters. The album was produced by Jason Lytle from alt-rock icons Grandaddy and spurred on by Rick Rubin. ‘Why Are You Ok’ combines universal sentiments with expertly crafted storytelling wrapped in lush melodic textures that have long been the bedrock of Band of Horses‘ sound.
LP – Heavyweight vinyl with download code.
THE FIREWORKS – BLACK AND BLUE EP
Shelflife Records is proud to bring you the Limited Blue vinyl 10″ ‘Black and Blue EP’, the first release by London and Brighton-based group The Fireworks since their debut LP, 2015’s ‘Switch Me On’. Following a handful of fantastic 7″ singles and a self-titled EP, the quartet exceeded already high expectations on their debut album. ‘Switch Me On’s 13 tracks soar by in a blur of warm, fuzzed-out feedback, infectious hooks and pure unadulterated energy. Fans old and new of The Fireworks will not be let down by their new ‘Black and Blue EP’. The release may only be four tracks long, but you’ll be needing to take a breather after it’s done. These songs mark the most rocking we’ve heard The Fireworks thus far, while still keeping the catchy melodies and pop sensibility we’ve come to expect from them. The driving opener ‘All the Time’ is an instant favourite, and the dynamic track tells listeners right off the bat that this is no mellow, passive listen. ‘The Ghost Of You’ features jangly guitar work and fantastic dual vocals from Matthew Rimell and Emma Hall, making the track a shimmering pop gem. Of course, the distortion that smattered ‘Switch Me On’ is still present, and tracks like ‘Bury Me’ will have you jumping around in a fit of uncontrollable vigor (perhaps why they chose to name this the ‘Black and Blue EP’). The band touches down on all bases on this new release, making it an essential listen whether or not you’ve been a fan in the past. For fans of: Razorcuts, Buzzcocks, Girls At Our Best!, Revolving Paint Dream, The Shop Assistants, Meat Whiplash, Bubblegum Splash. Vinyl with Download.
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Whipping up a frenetic, fun-filled brew of surf pop and garage rock, this Manchester quartet have been creating quite a stir with a handful of great 7″ singles and high octane live shows over the last few months.
“Tell Me If You Like To”, is their debut album and it’s choc full of garage-punk gems (including their three 7″ single tracks) as you’d expect – think The Ramones covering The Beach Boys, OD-ing on Haribo’s!
“the most promising band of 2016”
Christine And The Queens is Nantes-born Héloïse Letissier. Moving to London to study in 2010, Letissier instead found herself drawn to the art and theatre underworld of Soho, where she met the drag queens of Madame JoJo’s who inadvertently helped birth Christine And The Queens. The following year she released the first of a series of three EPs, each one building praise and demand for her utterly individual brand of pop. Chaleur Humaine, her French-language debut album produced by Ash Workman (Metronomy) with multi-instrumentalist brothers Michael Lovett and Gabriel Stebbing, arrived in 2014 and has already gone more than five-times platinum to propel Letissier – named Female Artist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique earlier this year – to phenomenon status in her homeland.
Already coveted by those in the know, last year Christine And The Queens took a step further into the international spotlight with a number of high profile European shows and scene-stealing performances at SXSW, a major 16-date North American run with Marina and The Diamonds and a solo sold-out headline show at New York’s Webster Hall. She capped a stunning year by joining one of her all time heroes Madonna on stage in Paris last week. She released her debut, self-titled UK EP in November and now ‘Chaleur Humaine’ makes its long-awaited UK debut. The album features EP tracks ‘Jonathan’ (feat. Perfume Genius) and ‘No Harm Is Done’ (feat. TunjiIge), and has been completely reworked for its UK release, featuring all-new English versions of French runaway hits ‘Saint Claude’ and ‘Christine’, amongst others.
“This is Your Life”, the new album from anthemic rock trio, Augustines, is an urgent, resonant wakeup call, taking stock of where we are now and what the future holds… an open road ahead.
YUNG – A YOUTHFUL DREAM
‘A Youthful Dream’ the debut album from Yung is a revelation. Angst makes space for wisdom, youthful exuberance begins channelling road-tested experience, and a blur of basement shows and self-produced bromides becomes something more. Where the previous releases such as ‘These Thoughts Are Like Mandatory Chores’ found Silkjær masterfully running through buzzsaw riffs, recalling The Replacements and Jay Reatard, ‘A Youthful Dream’ finds Silkjær reshaping his DIY vocabulary and experimenting with a larger sonic palette, in ways that may make fans do a double take. Richer melodies, pianos, and even trumpets made their way into the recording sessions at Sound Studio in Sweden, where Silkjær, Frederik Nybo Veile (drums) and Tobias Guldborg Tarp (bass) decamped with a handful of guest musicians. Consider the airy, self-referential ‘The Child,‘ a reverie or languid guitar lines punctuated by a horn line; the mid-tempo swagger of ‘Uncombed Hair,’ suddenly amping up without losing control; or the slow build of ‘The Hatch,’ its anthemic scope and chugging drums lines showing a new compositional mastery without losing the immediacy and energy of past efforts.
LP – Black Vinyl with Download.
LP+ – Limited Clear Coloured Vinyl with Download.
VAN MORRISON – IT’S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW (LIVE) – VOLUME 1
Remastered reissue of the original ‘It’s Too Late to Stop Now’. The three-month tour, which launched just months before Morrison released his 1973 LP ‘Hard Nose the Highway’, featured the singer backed by the 11-piece Caledonia Soul Orchestra, Morrison’s tight knit backing band. ‘It’s Too Late to Stop Now’ is a live album that was originally released in 1974. Frequently named as one of the best live albums ever recorded, ‘It’s Too Late to Stop Now’ was recorded during what has often been said to be Morrison’s greatest phase as a live performer. The double album is composed of performances that were recorded in concerts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and at the Rainbow in London from a three-month tour with his eleven-piece band, the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, from May to July 1973.
VAN MORRISON – IT’S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW (LIVE) – VOLUME 2, 3, 4 AND DVD
Van Morrison’s 1973 tour that spawned the singer’s classic live album ‘It’s Too Late to Stop Now’ is the focus of an 3CD / 1DVD archival release. Titled ‘It’s Too Late to Stop Now… Volumes II, III, IV and DVD’, the collection boasts three previously unreleased concerts from Morrison’s trek – recorded at Los Angeles‘ the Troubadour, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and London’s Rainbow Theatre – along with a July 24th London gig that was filmed for a BBC Sight and Sound special but never commercially released.
