The Fat Angel Sings

“Loaded (Fully Re-loaded Edition)” is a new vinyl box set that includes nearly all of the music from its expansive 2015 CD reissue but comes with nine LPs boasting stereo, mono and “full-length” mixes of the original album. Demos, studio outtakes and live recordings also feature in the box set and several tracks will be available on vinyl for the first time.

Loaded (Fully Re-loaded Edition) comes in a deluxe, foil-wrapped slipcase containing the vinyl, a poster of the album’s cover art, and an illustrated booklet with liner notes by Lenny Kaye that appeared in Loaded: Re-Loaded 45th Anniversary Edition.

In addition to the nine LPs, the set also comes with four 7″s that reproduce the official singles and B-sides released from Loaded.

The songs “Rock & Roll” and “Who Loves The Sun” both come in the generic record sleeves used at the time by Cotillion, the band’s label. The former is being reissued for the first time ever because the original release was cancelled in 1970, while the latter is being reissued for the first time since 1970. The other two singles come in picture sleeves originally released in Europe: “Head Held High” in France and “Sweet Jane” in Germany.

Loaded (Fully Re-loaded Edition) opens with three different versions of the original studio album: remastered stereo and mono mixes, plus a “full-length” version featuring extended takes of “Sweet Jane”, “Rock & Roll” and “New Age”.

Early versions of “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” and “Lonesome Cowboy Bill” as well as alternate mixes for “Rock & Roll” and “Train ’Round The Bend” feature, as do songs that eventually appeared on frontman Lou Reed’s 1972 solo debut (early versions of “Ocean”, “I Love You” and “Ride Into The Sun”).

Those studio recordings are bolstered by a selection of live performances recorded before Loaded was released in November 1970, including a show at Second Fret in Philadelphia in May 1970.

A fan, Bob Kachnycz, who hitchhiked to the gig recorded it on reel-to-reel as The Velvet Underground played just as a trio that night: Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison. and Doug Yule. The three band members alternated between bass and drums to fill in for Moe Tucker, who was pregnant at the time. The show recording is available for the first time ever on vinyl and uncovers early performances of several songs destined for the album: “Cool It Down”, “Rock & Roll” and “New Age”

Meanwhile, the second performance was recorded in New York City at Max’s Kansas City nightclub on August 23, 1970, the day that Reed left The Velvet Underground.

Several songs from the show were released in 1972 as the live album, Live At Max’s Kansas City. In 2004, Rhino released a remastered version of the live album that was expanded to include both sets the band played that night.

Featured on two LPs in the new collection, the recordings touch on all the band’s past albums with live versions of “I’m Waiting For The Man”, “White Light/White Heat”, “Pale Blue Eyes” and “Sweet Jane”.

Limited to 1,970 numbered copies, the set features nine 180-gram LPs plus four 7-inch singles and comes in a deluxe, foil-wrapped slipcase containing the vinyl, a poster of the album’s cover art, and an illustrated booklet with liner notes by Lenny Kaye.

Marking 40 years of The Jesus And Mary Chain, “Glasgow Eyes was recorded at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio in Glasgow, where Jim and William continued the creative process that resulted in their previous album, 2017’s “Damage and Joy”, becoming their highest charting album in over twenty years. What emerged is a record that finds one of the UK’s most influential groups embracing a productive second chapter, their maelstrom of melody, feedback and controlled chaos now informed more audibly by their love for Suicide and Kraftwerk and a fresh appreciation of the less disciplined attitudes found in jazz.

Jim Reid says, “But don’t expect ‘the Mary Chain goes jazz.’ People should expect a Jesus and Mary Chain record, and that’s certainly what “Glasgow Eyes” is. Our creative approach is remarkably the same as it was in 1984, just hit the studio and see what happens. We went in with a bunch of songs and let it take its course. There are no rules, you just do whatever it takes. And there’s a telepathy there – we are those weird not-quite twins that finish each other’s sentences.

”Glasgow Eyes” not only extends The Jesus and Mary Chain’s story, but feels simultaneously like a return to roots. From the incendiary “Psychocandy” debut and its classic ‘Just Like Honey’ onwards, the Reid brothers steadily became the misfits who made good without compromise.

Miki Berenyi Trio are Miki Berenyi on vocals/guitar (Lush), Kevin ‘Moose’ McKillop on guitar (Moose) and Oliver Cherer (Gilroy Mere, Aircooled). The three musicians first worked together during Piroshka’s 2021 tour – Miki and Kevin being founder members, Oliver coming in on bass to replace Mick Conroy (Modern English) who had moved to the US.   

Originally Released as a bootleg, the album was made available in AIFF and MP3 format on spiritulized.com. 

Recorded 1990-1991 Originally released as a bootleg 01 – Why Don’t You Smile Now (Alternate Mix) 02 – Step Into the Breeze Instrumental (Alternate Instrumental Mix) 03 – Angel Sigh Guitars (Alternate Mix) 04 – If I Were With Her Now (Alternate Mix) 05 – Any Way That You Want Me (Violin Outtake) 06 – Didgeridoo (Sway Demo) 07 – Take Your Time (Alternate Mix) 08 – 200 Bars (Alternate Mix) 09 – These Blues (Demo Version) 10 – Angel Sigh (Take Two) 11 – Sometimes (First Spiritualized Rehearsal)

Atlanta trio Omni will release their latest and greatest album, “Souvenir” for Sub Pop Records. Following their previously released singles, “Exacto” and “Plastic Pyramid (Feat. Izzy Glaudini of Automatic), comes the spellbinding visualizer for their latest track, “INTL Waters,” which was created by the band’s drummer, Chris Yonker.
 
The band shares about the song: “‘INTL Waters’ came together quickly with minimal intentions but soon grew lush with melodies and decadent piano flourishes.

Thinking about the sadness of villains as they float around between imaginary borders seemed interesting and amusing to minimize. We hope you enjoy this left turn as much as we do.” 
Omni has also announced headline shows supporting the album release “Souvenir”, 

“Burial Ground,” the Portland group’s first new material since their 2018 “I’ll Be Your Girl” LP, features The Shins’ James Mercer on vocals.

The Decemberists are back with a new single “Burial Ground,” marking their first new music in the six years . In addition to featuring The Shins’ James Mercer on backing vocals, clever lyrics, melodic guitar lines, jangly percussion, and the comforting vibes of a Ren Faire campfire abound. The Decemberists are so back.

“‘Burial Ground’ is in that time-honoured pop song tradition, a paean to hanging out in graveyards,” said bandleader Colin Meloy. “The melody hook came to me in a dream and I hummed it into my phone on waking. Most dream-songs are bad; this was the exception.” and recorded with our old pal Tucker Martine once again behind the board.

The Decemberists will head out on a massive American tour this spring and summer, 

The Reds, Pinks & Purples shares new single “Learning To Love A Band” from their upcoming “Unwishing Well” that is out April 12th on Slumberland / Tough Love Records.

“Learning to Love a Band” is about that blissful moment when you realize you truly love and understand a band’s music, but it’s also about being in a band, and that honeymoon phase you find yourself in which inevitably ends. I love music, and I love the people I have played music with over the years (mostly).”—Glenn

Crystalizing the tragic self-celebrating kingdoms of fortunate failures, false heroes, music press deities of limitless deceit, hometown dive gods and humanity in the grips of all its romanticized wonder and woe — the latest missive from DIY pop titan The Reds, Pinks & Purples takes aim at the threads of hope with an untethered abandon into the intimacy and dualities of idolatry and isolation with “Unwishing Well”.

Distilling the timelines of distinction from yesterday, today, tomorrow and whatever may be;  Glenn Donaldson has materialized a musical phenomenon that embodies something more than all of its analogous inspirations.

From a musical legacy that chronicles a long list of minor triumphs and major tragedies— the continued saga of The Reds, Pinks & Purples stands tall as the encapsulation of Donaldson’s own proliferation and prestige ever since its emergence in the late 2010s.

“Unwishing Well” pontificates on the promiscuity of the pop machines’ propped up and exploited brand ambassadors with the cutting “Your Worst Song is Your Greatest Hit,” or the collective commissaries of commerce exhibitionism on “Public Art,” to auditing the forums of obsessive fandom with “Learning to Love a Band.” “What’s Going on with Ordinary People” balks with concern over contemporary states of regressive trends, while “Faith in Daydreaming Youth” questions what hope and valour can be found in the new pop culture vanguards that govern the world’s sovereign daydream nations. The dustbins of dastardly discontinuity are imbued with desire and grief on “Dead Stars in Your Eyes,”  to the discarded ditches of obscurity on “Nothing Between the Lines at All.”

The human addiction to languishing in anguish, misery and negativity tussles, tosses and turns on “We Only Hear the Bad Things People Say,” the penultimate ode to inherent human fallibility as “Goodbye Bobby” rides out into the gilded sunset glow.

The central set piece of “Unwishing Well” revolves around the title track that wrestles with wellness and wishes tempered by the sobering reality of ultra pragmatic skepticism. “Unwishing Well” is a reflection of us, the icons we adore, the Adonises we worship, the false prophets that proselytize the edicts from theses cults of personality, the fallouts, the third acts and the artistic fabrics that spool these sub-sects of artful dodgers into the stuff of legend. Glenn once again uplifts and uproots the undercurrents that carry the commonalities between the spectators and the spectacles.

releases April 12th, 2024

The Ophelias composed of Spencer Peppet (guitar & vocals, she/her), Mic Adams (drums, he/him), Andrea Gutmann Fuentes (violin, she/her), and Jo Shaffer (bass, they/she) have announced their new EP, “Ribbon”, out April 12th.

The Ophelias started amongst Peppet, Adams, and Fuentes in high school, with Shaffer joining in 2019. Although they began as an “all girl band,” they now identify as joyfully queer and trans. “Ribbon” finds the band fully in the adult world for the first time. Its songs explore spaces between right and wrong, good and bad, friend and enemy. Experiences that can’t be compartmentalized: the glowing in-betweens. 

“Black Ribbon” is the most synth-heavy and shoegaze-y track, and explores the newness of a queer relationship. Over swelling, emotive instrumentation, Peppet captures the rush of unpredictable romantic feelings: “Some kind of desire // That I cannot categorize // You are a Springsteen song // Dark sky in overdrive into the warm night.” The accompanying video, directed by Shaffer and Peppet, is stunning, featuring the band and fuzzed-out, Midwestern imagery that visualizes the track’s mood. 

The Ophelias are now spread across the States, reconvening in New York or Cincinnati to record and prepare for touring. They released their first album “Creature Native” in 2015, followed by 2018’s “Almost” and 2021’s “Crocus”. Throughout “Ribbon”, The Ophelias’ sound moves between genres, finding the niche between indie rock, folk, and pop. Fuentes’ violin sweeps cinematically through the EP, and Peppet’s emotive vocals work in tandem as she sighs, belts, and gasps from one song to the next. Adams and Shaffer stay locked in as the rhythm section, with both purposeful drive and intentionally placed embellishments.

The band members have a cerebral awareness of one another that only comes with years of collaboration. “What distinguishes The Ophelias in a field of indie auteurs is the dynamism of the quartet, whose other members… know exactly how much space to take up at any given moment.”

“To me, Lou stood out. The real deal! Something important to American music and to all music! I miss him and his dog.” – Keith Richards In honour of Lou Reed’s birthday, Keith Richards has recorded a cover of “I’m Waiting for the Man.” The digital single & music video are out now and featured on the upcoming album “The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed”, which includes newly recorded covers from Keith Richards, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Rufus Wainwright, Lucinda Williams, Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen, Rickie Lee Jones, Mary Gauthier, Bobby Rush, Automatic, The Afghan Whigs, and Rosanne Cash.

This special collection will be released by Light in the Attic Records and available on Vinyl & CD at fine independent record shops worldwide on Record Store Day (April 20th). It goes without saying that the legendary Lou Reed was a true rock ’n’ roll pioneer. From The Velvet Underground’s debut in 1967 all the way through the end of his days, Reed sang truth from his heart. He lived life to the limit—and then some. “The Power of the Heart” is a tribute to Reed’s freedom of expression with covers spanning his ground breaking years with the Velvets into his majestic solo career. Each track is a glorious extension of the Rock ’n’ Roll Animal’s soul, ever adventurous and avant-garde.