The Fat Angel Sings

There are some storming new release’s tomorrow. There’s albums out from Franz Ferdinand, Ezra Furman, Joan As Police Woman, Brigid Mae Power, MGMT, Son Lux,GoGo Penguin, Fu Manchu, Susanna and a ‘Best Of’ from Bring Me The Horizon (with a very limited red vinyl version still available). Reissues? Of course! How about coloured vinyl from Lords Of The Underground ,Or the first three Ramones albums? Or a fantastic compilation of Nina Simone early recordings?. 

Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers

SLEEPWALKERS sees Brian Fallon once again pushing timeless rock ‘n’ roll into the modern era, recasting British Invasion rock, first generation UK punk, and American pop and soul into a near irresistible sound he’s dubbed – with a nod and a wink towards The Who – as “Heavy R&B.”

Ezra Furman  –  Transangelic Exodus

Transangelic Exodus Ezra Furman’s second album for Bella Union, is a new landmark for the American singer-songwriter: “not a concept record, but almost a novel, or a cluster of stories on a theme, a combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” according to its author. “A personal companion for a paranoid road trip. A queer outlaw saga.” The music is as much of an intense, dramatic event, full of brilliant hooks, with an equally evolved approach to recorded sound to match Furman’s narrative vision. In honour of this shift, his backing band has been newly christened: The Boy-Friends are dead, long live The Visions. In other words, the man who embodies the title of his last album Perpetual Motion People is still on the move… Or in the vernacular of the new album, on the run. His musical DNA remains intact – a thrilling, literate form of garage-punk rooted in The Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman and ‘50s rock’n’roll.
Standout tracks include the album’s lead single Driving Down To LA, a sparse, but explosive, mix of doo-wop and digital crunch. Another is the haunting Compulsive Liar. Transangelic Exodus addresses another kind of coming out, as Furman addresses his Jewish faith on record much more openly than before, from the shivery ballad God Lifts Up the Lowly (which includes a verse in Hebrew) to the exquisite Psalm 151 and the line “I believe in God but I don’t believe we’re getting out of this one” in Come Here Get Away From Me, a heady blend of rock’n’roll rumble and ghostly clarinet. Crossing between love, gender, sexuality and religion, and singing in solidarity with the innocent, persecuted, oppressed and threatened, Ezra Furman has soundtracked the current fear and loathing across America like no other, while pushing ahead with his own agenda, always on the move.

Jay Som –  Jay Som

Jay Som is the moniker of San Francisco-based musician Melina Duterte who, at 22, has already self-released a debut album: a collection of finished & unfinished songs titled “Turn Into”, signed to Polyvinyl Records, and is opening for Mitski across the US and Canada. “Turn Into” sees a wide release this July via Polyvinyl (and vinyl/CD later this year). “Turn Into” was recently described by Pitchfork as “deceivingly textured and intricate pop songs—flush with nimbly intertwined guitar melodies and distressed fidelity”. While Gold Flake Paint said of Duerte: “Melina Duerte is a wizard. Quite how she manages to eek such lustrous, iridescent wonder out of a collection of scraps (“finished and unfinished songs”) is proof that what lies in her songwriting is something mystical, an intangible force of feeling that floods the rooms and walls within which it finds itself”.

MGMT – Little Dark Age 

MGMT release their fourth album Little Dark Age – the follow-up to their 2013 self-titled album is released via Columbia. It features production from Patrick Wimberly (formerly of Chairlift) and Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Spoon, Tame Impala). MGMT are back and more creative, robust, toned and energised in years. The best songs have that eccentric edge but with the pop layer of 2008 debut Oracular Spectacular. Opener She Works Out is a mangled, sunshine pop take on Air’s Sexy Boy whilst You’re Small is an Alice in Wonderland take on the Beatles Across the Universe. It’s a record that embodies a whole world of vulnerability, confusion and unsteadiness without losing shape. Little Dark Age is back to MGMT’s crowd pleasing best.

Twin Peaks – Sweet ’17 Singles

Throughout the second half of 2017, Chicago’s Twin Peaks released a run of a half dozen limited-edition 7″ singles the band affectionately dubbed Sweet ’17. Only 300 copies of each 7″ were made, and subscriptions sold out almost immediately. But due to popular demand, Twin Peaks have compiled all of the songs from the series onto a LP release. Sweet ’17 Singles follows in the footsteps of Down In Heaven, the band’s 2016 full-length release, which expanded on the garage-inspired sounds of 2014’s Wild Onion.

Bat Fangs –  Bat Fangs

NC/DC superghouls Bat Fangs pick up where Roky & the Aliens blasted off — cranking acid-soaked ’80s hard rock for the living and the dead. Making heady heavy music for third eyes and stiff upper lips, Betsy Wright (Ex Hex) shreds ‘n’ howls over Laura King’s (Fleshwounds, The Moaners) deep-thunder drums. Let the Bat Fangs sink in!

Ron Wood & Ronnie Lane – Mahonneys Last Stand OST

What do two Faces do when their lead singer (bon vivant Rod Stewart) doesn’t show up for the Ooh La La recording sessions? They work on a soundtrack for an obscure film by actor and friend Alexis Kanner (most famous for his guest roles on the late-’60s TV series The Prisoner), and draft the uppermost rank of British rock royalty to play on it!

Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending

Always Ascending’ is nothing short of a rebirth. The album’s ten songs are a triumphant recasting of one of everyone’s favourite groups, bursting with fresh ideas and vigorous sonic experimentation. Always Ascending is the new album from Franz Ferdinand. the album’s 10 songs are a triumphant recasting of the group, bursting with fresh ideas and vigorous sonic experimentation. Always Ascending recorded at RAK Studios, London and Motorbass in Paris, with the help of French producer extraordinaire Philippe Zdar (Cassius, Phoenix, The Beastie Boys), the mutual affection between band and producer seeping into every dazzling groove. Always Ascending shows Franz Ferdinand broadening their palate, as exuberant as it is euphoric, creating a sound that singer, Alex Kapranos, refers to as “simultaneously futuristic and naturalistic.”

Joan As Police Woman – Damned Devotion

A new album from Joan As Police Woman, which sees a return to the darker, sensual sound of her celebrated early releases. ‘Damned Devotion’ finds Joan Wasser at her rawest yet. Brand new album from Joan As Police Woman, which sees a return to the darker, sensual sound of her celebrated early releases. A beautiful soul-searching record and the one that Joan has spent her whole life building up to.

Various Artists Revolutionary Spirit – The Sound of Liverpool 1976 – 1988

Extensive 5CD / book set exploring the ‘second wave’ of music on Merseyside, from 1976-1988 Features classics, rarities, album tracks and previously unreleased gems from Echo And The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, OMD, The La’s, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Dead Or Alive, China Crisis, A Flock Of Seagulls, Wild Swans, Big In Japan and many more. 5CD and 56 page A5 book format contains many artists’ own sleeve-notes, previously unseen photographs and essays from key observers and participants in the city’s music scene – Bernie Connor, Mike Badger, Yorkie and Joe McKechnie. Curated and designed by the people who brought you Scared To Get Happy, Still In A Dream, Manchester – North Of England, Silhouettes And Statues and many more extensive box sets. A remarkable journey through the music of a generation inspired and enabled by punk rock to step out from behind the shadow to the Fab Four. Packed with first-hand artist sleeve-notes, insightful essays, imagery and brilliant, essential music, this is a story long in need of telling.

Robert Plant – Live At David Lynch’s FESTIVAL OF DISRUPTION (DVD)

Eagle Rock Entertainment release Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters Live At David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption. Filmed as part of one of Los Angeles’s most anticipated cultural events, David Lynch’s inaugural Festival of Disruption took place at the Ace Hotel Theatre, LA in October 2016, raising funds for The David Lynch Foundation.

Performing with The Sensational Space Shifters since 2012, Robert Plant continues to shift the musical goalposts, blurring the lines between rock, blues, folk & world music and finding new life in exotic beats and African rhythms. With a set including a new take on beloved Led Zeppelin classics, stripped down versions of ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ are met with a rapturous response from the packed theatre audience, with whom Plant enjoys a genuine rapport. Also included are ‘Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You’ and ‘Going to California’, alongside solo standouts ‘Turn It Up’, ‘The Enchanter/Rainbow’ and ‘Little Maggie’. This is a rare opportunity for fans to witness the legendary frontman as they’ve never seen or heard him before. This David Lynch curated event aims to feature artists with ‘knowledge and mystery’, undoubtedly Robert Plant has an abundance of both

9th February
Bring Me The Horizon – ‘2004-2013’ limited vinyl 2LP
Bring Me The Horizon – ‘2004-2013’ 2LP
Don Broco – ‘Technology’ limited picture disc 2LP & CD box set
Europe – ‘Out Of This World’ limited blue vinyl LP reissue
Brian Fallon – ‘Sleepwalkers’ 2LP
Franz Ferdinand – ‘Always Ascending’ limited coloured vinyl LP
Fu Manchu – ‘Clone Of The Universe’ LP
Ezra Furman – ‘Transangelic Exodus’ coloured vinyl LP
Gogo Penguin – ‘A Humdrum Star’ limited coloured vinyl 2LP
Holy Motors – ‘Slow Sundown’ LP
Joan As Police Woman – ‘Damned Devotion’ limited pink vinyl LP
Brigid Mae Power – ‘The Two Worlds’ LP
MGMT – ‘Little Dark Age’ LP
OST – ‘Three Days Of The Condor’ limited gold vinyl LP reissue
Ramones – ‘Ramones’ remastered LP reissue
Ramones – ‘Leave Home’ remastered LP reissue
Ramones – ‘Rocket To Russia’ remastered LP reissue
Nina Simone – ‘Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles’ LP & 7″
Son Lux – ‘Brighter Wounds’ limited coloured vinyl LP
Susanna – ‘Go Dig My Grave’ LP
The Wombats – ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’ LP
Betty Wright – ‘I Love The Way You Love’ LP reissue

Ron Wood & Ronnie Lane – Mahoney’s last Stand OST CD

Toto – 40 Trips Around The Sun CD, 2LP