The Fat Angel Sings

Experimental indie rock lifers Oneida came to their 17th album in circuitous fashion. Singer/guitarist Bobby Matador created templates for songs from his home in Boston, and then sent them to the rest of the band in NYC to finish. “We were working out the songs in New York without Bobby. We would start outriding the riffs, and then Shahin and Jane would add wild, out-of-tune licks,” says drummer Kid Millions.

“It seemed so perfect.” What started as straightforward, hooky songs in the same vein as Oneida’s 2022 album “Success” turned darker, looser and decidedly louder. “Expensive Air” rocks with defiant fists in the air, and with those ragged riffs (and Kid Millions’ heavy-on-the-fills style) they really rip it up. Bobby says if “Success” was “like laughing in a car gunning carelessly through an ice storm,” then “Expensive Air” is “how you laugh at yourself as the car spins into the ditch, or a tree. Same trip, but a little closer to the bone.” Buckle up.

A song is a song until it isn’t, until it’s pushed to its limits and beyond to become harder, faster and more dissonant. The music on Oneida’s 17th full-length album, “Expensive Air”, all started as tightly structured, melodic rock songs—very much in line with the non-stop bangers of “Success” from 2022—but along the way, they changed.

released July 19, 2024

Oneida is:
Kid Millions
Bobby Matador
Hanoi Jane
Barry London
Shahin Motia

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings release their 10th album together, “Woodland”, on August 23rd. Here’s the first single.  Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at Welch and Rawlings’ own Woodland Sound Studio. Produced by David Rawlings. “Woodland is at the heart of everything we do, and has been for the last twenty some years,” the duo say. “The past four years were spent almost entirely within its walls, bringing it back to life after the 2020 tornado and making this record. The music is (songs are) a swirl of contradictions, emptiness, fullness, joy, grief, destruction, permanence. Now.”

On their first original composition since 2011, Welch and Rawlings demonstrate their penchant for deeply personal song writing and compelling performance. A journey through their clear adoration of folk and country music, ‘Empty Trainload Of Sky’ is the perfect accompaniment to a summer’s evening, even if you don’t reside on a ranch in the rural United States.

Acony Records is proud to announce “Woodland“, the new album from Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. “Woodland” comes out on August 23rd,

Laura Jane Grace unleashed another new punk song with her new band The Mississippi Medicals, “Karma Too Close.” “How’s your Karma? Coming a little too close for comfort? Mine too,” she says. “Take heart, keep your focus, keep going and also don’t forget to kick back and listen to the rippin electric sitar solo that Mike Patton plays.”

Europe! Uk! Ireland! You have asked and now here is the answer! I’ll be heading across the proverbial pond this November for a full month long run. Unfortunately some of the Mississippi Medicals have prior touring obligations but the good news is this will still be a full band tour. I’m bringing Paris Campbell Grace with me and we’ll be backed by Jacopo Fokas on bass & Ramirez O’Riley on drums and with that said I give to you “Laura Jane Grace & the Trauma Tropes”! We’ll also be joined on this run by Pet Needs opening the show… Oh, and John Gerhardt will be there holding the stage down too!

Recorded as part of the same daydreaming puzzle as “Unwishing Well”, “Still Clouds at Noon” brings out the slowcore/sadcore elements that drift through The Reds, Pinks & Purples’ melancholy catalogue. Donaldson names ’90s hometown San Francisco acts such as American Music Club and the more obscure Timco as pivotal to his guitar playing and development as a songwriter, both of which shine bright here. The slower tempo ballads on “Still Clouds…” often culminate in heavy fuzz drenched codas and showcase the more abstract poetic side of Donaldson’s lyricism. There’s an inherent pop-sensibility always at work though, with ear-worm melodies appearing over intoxicating circular riffs.

Formerly a Bandcamp only digital release, this white vinyl version is remastered and adds two unreleased tracks, one featuring Mark Monnone from Australian pop-legends The Lucksmiths on bass. Tour/Bandcamp exclusive, edition of 500 on black vinyl.

released July 22nd, 2024

Vancouver duo Japandroids announce their fourth and final record ‘Fate & Alcohol’ out October 18th. At once a return to form, and a thrilling step forward, this album is a monument to the chemistry they’ve honed over nearly two decades side-by-side.

Japandroids have returned with their first new album in seven years (not including 2020’s live LP) called “Fate & Alcohol“. The first single to be released from the project, “Chicago,” begins with—surprise, surprise—a flurry of guitars beneath Brian King singing of “two shots of the good stuff” and “being tired of being tired.” A bit cliché, I guess, but also, this shit rips harder than Malört. When he sang about sweating through his shirt?

“On our last record we wanted to broaden the definition of a Japandroids song and purposely left our demos quite open and malleable so that we had more flexibility to experiment in the studio,” King shared in a press statement. “At the time, this approach was new and exciting, and inspired us to be bolder, to take more chances.

We were aiming for a more cinematic take on our signature sound. This time, we made certain that every song ripped in our jam space before [producer] Jesse [Gander] ever heard it. If you listen to our first demo of ‘Chicago,’ it’s obviously much rougher than what you hear on record, but it’s all there. Even on a blown-out iPhone recording, the energy was obvious, and the feeling cut through loud and clear.”

releases October 18th, 2024

All songs written by JAPANDROIDS

Laura Jane Grace is a major figure in today’s rock scene as both a solo artist and the front person of Against Me!, which she founded in Naples, FL in the late 1990s. As a working artist, she has released four solo offerings and seven albums with Against Me!, and in 2012 went public with her gender transition in the pages of Rolling Stone. In her music, she continues to detail her journey all while staying true to her earlier themes of outspoken political critique – environmentalism along with personal and social liberation – with a base in American music including country and folk-rock, with a penchant for noise and anarchy.

“I’m Not A Cop” is taken from latest album, ‘Hole In My Head’

Eight CD Box Set include’s a massive 88 tracks and explores the era which included four Faces studio albums “First Step”, “Long Player”, “A Nod Is As Good As A Wink…To A Blind Horse”…, and “Ooh La La” as well as several solo albums that Rod Stewart recorded with most of the band “Gasoline Alley, “Every Picture Tells A Story”, “Never A Dull Moment”, and “Smiler“. 

Amongst the many rarities is a stereo mix of the May 13th, 1971, Paris Cinema concert, which was only broadcast in mono, and a February 1973 show that was never aired due to the BBC’s concerns over the band’s on-stage banter with the rowdy audience (!). All audio has been remastered with the full participation of the remaining band members Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones.

The Blu-ray includes newly restored footage of the Faces’ April 1972 appearance on Sounds for Saturday

This large format set comes with a 48-page booklet with new commentary from surviving band members and archival quotes from Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and BBC broadcaster John Peel, the latter of whom was very important, as the band acknowledge:

Rod Stewart says, “If it wasn’t for John Peel, the Faces would never have broken through”. Ronnie Wood concurs, “He gave the Faces our first break” as does Kenney Jones: “John Peel helped the Faces so much in England, in the press and on his show.” 

It is therefore appropriate that John Peel’s Christmas Carol Concert rounds out the collection. Originally broadcast on Boxing Day 1970, this unique holiday performance features Stewart singing “Away In A Manger” and a Christmas carol medley sung by a choir that includes the Faces, their roadies, John Peel, Marc Bolan of T-Rex, and others. 

​“Faces At The BBC: Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973” will be released on 6th September 2024, via Rhino Records.

XTC’s 1986 album “Skylarking” is to be reissued on CD and Blu-ray and, for the first time, on 200g heavyweight vinyl through Ape House/Panegyric Records on September 27th.

The album is the second of the band’s reissues to feature a new Dolby Atmos remix from Steven Wilson (1984’s “The Big Express” was reissued last year) from the original multi-track studio master tapes.

The CD/Blu-ray also features the 2016 album mix as well as bonus album track mixes, also by Wilson and is presented in replica mini-vinyl style packaging with booklet including photos and album lyrics. The vinyl version comes presented in a gatefold sleeve with lyrics inside and features the 2016 Steven Wilson mix.

“Skylarking” was recorded by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory with Tubes member Prairie Prince filling in on drums, and was a concept album of sorts, about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life.the album was produced by Todd Rundgren. Rumours of tension between Partridge and Rundgren were rife.

The album’s major hit, “Dear God“, was originally left off the album, forcing Geffen Records to pull the original and reissue the album with the track included. The 2010 reissue featured Partidge’s original idea for the album sleeve.

With the release of Cigarettes After Sex’s third album, “X’s“, the band finally takes center stage as not just one of today’s preeminent indie bands, but as one of the most globally accomplished acts across any genre. Filled with raw, imagistic, sometimes smutty vignettes set to entrancing, slow burn pop songs, bandleader Greg Gonzalez captures every emotion a romantic arc inspires.

The Modern indie pioneers Cigarettes After Sex return with their third album, pivoting from their former 50’s and 60’s influences to pop touchstones 70’s and 80’s. Over these burgeoning, dark melodies lead vocalist and bandleader Greg Gonzalez focuses on one relationship, purging his feelings with brutal intensity. 

Soaring slo-mo balladry and shimmering ambient washes beneath the echoic guitar melodies and Gonzalez’ always haunting vocal syrup. It’s as enchanting and ethereal as ever, and will no doubt be a big hit like everything else they’ve done. A beautifully rich, decadent return for Cigarettes After Sex.

The Dream Machine return with a focused version of their kaleidoscopic, \’60s organ-infused aural ecstasy. Produced by The Coral‘s James Skelly, the album’s heightened musicianship and tighter track lengths are matched by Zak McDonnell‘s matured lyricism, spanning adolescent life in modern Britain, unrequited love, and escaping small-town ennui.

Bold, inventive psychedelic indie that clearly draws influence from the North West’s rich musical heritage, and displays that influence without ever sounding like a pastiche. Crisp, full of warmly familiar melodies and brilliantly conceived harmonies.