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Boris
Pink
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Southern Lord
CD: $13.98
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Relative Recommends! The brand new studio album from Boris: Pink. Followers of the band already know that each release Boris will do something unexpected, entirely unique, and continually forging in a new direction. Pink is absolutely no exception! However, for possibly the first time these new recordings effectively combine all the strongest elements of what Boris is capable of into one solid, complete, concise album. The mega-drone of Amplifier Worship is apparent in songs like: (track 5), the balls-out punk rock is evident (track 4 and track 9), extreme dark-psychedelia manifests itself track 8 and 10) and the '70s fuzzed out acid rock is represented in foot stomping tracks like the title track and track 3. The clincher on Pink and new element that is brought to the table is an infusion of ultra-catchy melodicism into their already heavy foundation. The album opener and closer as well as title track contain infectious vocal melodies that, combined with intelligent song-writing, create a solidified, undeniable union. As with all previous Boris releases on Southern Lord, the packaging is uniquely psychedelic with the utmost attention to detail created by Stephen O' Malley . Pink comes with a die-cut cover that when opened reveals 3 perforated acid-tab cards!
Genre/Style: Rock / Stoner / Psyche
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Brian Jonestown Massacre
Tepid Peppermint Wonderland Vol. 2
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Tee Pee
LP: $19.98
| All you need to know is this. Limited to 750 copies. Gatefold. Blood red vinyl.
Genre/Style: Rock / Psychedelic |
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Don Caballero
World Class Listening Problem
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Relapse
CD: $15.98
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The legendary Don Caballero has re-emerged! Inarguably one of the most celebrated, influential and innovative bands in recent times, Don Caballero is the vanguard of progressive, instrumental music. With World Class Listening Problem, its first full-length album in almost 5 years, Don Cab proves once again that they are head and shoulders above their peers. The bands powerful, percussive-heavy sonic advance is more dense, more expansive, and burns with a newfound urgency. World Class Listening Problem is prime Don Caballero and an indispensable addition to the illustrious Don Cab canon.
Genre/Style: Instrumental / Math Rock |
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Faun Fables
Transit Rider
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Drag City
CD: $15.98
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A rider is born into the transit system- a network of roads, rails, corridors and trails that extends in all directions and meets itself on the far side of the world. In a setting of ongoing motion among strangers & fluorescent lights, limping dogs & sightless beggars and the breathless pace of urban anthems, she will carve a faintly beaten path through the singing landscape with the rhythm of the tracks to find her very own stop: a picnic.
This selection of songs draws from a theme that began in 1994 - when Dawn was introduced to the complete world of the NYC subway in all its repetitious and transient glory and began writing about it. It was made into a full length theater show in 2002 in San Francisco, aided by the inspiration & work of director Allen Willner and a cast of thirteen. Since then The Transit Rider has seen more roadways and sunsets and has enjoyed further songwriting & development by Dawn and Nils, plus collaborations with Dawn's mother Michelina Tyrie ('Earths Kiss') and a poem by her dad Will McCarthy ('I No Longer Wish To') written during his last days as a stock broker. This Transit Rider also incorporates into its setting songs from Zygmunt Konieczny (Taki Pejzaz/Such a Landscape), Soeur Sourire (Je Voudrais/I'd like to Be), and the Anglo Saxon traditional 'House Carpenter.'
Its debut release will be celebrated with a remounting of the theater show, newly adapted, which will tour all over in the times to come......along the network of roads, rails, corridors and trails that extends in all directions and meets itself on the far side of the world.
Genre/Style: Folk / Traditional |
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Mason Jennings
Boneclouds
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Glacial Pace
CD: $15.98
LP: $15.98
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Mason's voice and lyrics are undeniable: whether he is singing sweet, lilting love songs, ranting with embittered rage over societal injustices, or pleasing for understanding with a childlike innocence. His themes are universal and have played a major part in garnering Mason a large and loyal international following. On any given album, Mason will touch upon pain, love, loss, religion, joy, evil, politics and human frailty. Simply put, Mason writes and sings from the heart.
Genre/Style: American / Singer-Songwriter |
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Melvins
Houdini Live 2005
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Ipecac
CD: $16.98
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Inspired by the invitation to the All Tomorrow's Parties "Don't Look Back" event, where bands convened to play one of their classic albums in its entirety, and the Melvins did indeed play "Houdini" (with Trevor Dunn on bass this time). Unfortunately they didn't record those 2 shows but did re-enact and record the entire mess again in SoCal. It was an invitation-only show, so for those of us not "on the list," here's the document. Mind-boggling.
Genre/Style: Rock / Metal
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The Raconteurs
Broken Boy Soldiers
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: V2
CD: $16.98
LP: $19.98
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The Raconteurs are a new band made up of old friends, consisting of Jack Lawrence (bass), Patrick Keeler (drums), Brendan Benson (guitars, vocals, keys) and Jack White (guitars, vocals, keys). The seed was sewn in an attic in the middle of a hot summer when friends Jack White and Brendan Benson got together and wrote a song that truly inspired them. This song was "Steady, As She Goes" and the inspiration led to the creation of a full band with the addition of Lawrence and Keeler. While each of these four individuals have had successful careers with their own bands, the culmination of all of their talents is what truly makes The Raconteurs a force to be reckoned with.
Genre/Style: Rock / Pop |
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Radio 4
Enemies Like This
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Atlantic
CD: $12.98
LP: $14.98
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Enemies Like This refines the band's signature sound while taking it to the next level, which in this case means a return to a rawer, more emotionally-charged sound of their earlier material. The new album deiivers politically charged, intelligent lyrics over funk riff guitars and deep throbbing dub grooves. They will be playing the shit out of this at Secret Dance Night.
Genre/Style: Rock / Pop / Dance
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Russian Circles
Enter
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: V2
CD: $13.98 Sale $9.98
LP: $16.98
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After all the promotion, the interviews, the advertisements, the onesheets, the haranguing from publicists, it all boils down to one thing: does this band have it -- that impossible-to-define something that you can't explain, but instantly recognize? Even though they don't play the most accessible music -- an instrumental amalgam of punk, metal, indie-rock and even prog -- Russian Circles have it. "Enter," their debut album, definitely doesn't sound like a new band clumsily over-thinking their songs, but instead it sounds like one cohesive composition in six movements. Each movement holds its breath through the intense moments, but exhales through sweeping, airy horizons that slowly collapse into dense panoplies, showcasing the band's shifting dynamics, and not just the binary code of loud/quiet. Coupled with their richly textured guitar-work, thick, growling bass lines and propulsive, polyrhythmic beats, it's an exhausting 44 minutes, yet it'll still leave listeners wanting more.
Genre/Style: Instrumental / Post Rock |
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Thievery Corporation
Versions
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Eighteenth Street Lounge
CD: $16.98
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This is the ultimate collection of remixes by Thievery Corporation. The album includes 18 dubbed-out versions of songs by a diverse group of artists including The Doors, Sarah McLachlan, Wax Poetic feat. Norah Jones, Astrud Gilberto, Nouvelle Vague, Anoushka Shankar, Transglobal Underground and many more. Also included is a brand new Thievery Corporation original featuring reggae legend Sister Nancy. Very hip, very smart, very Thievery Corp.
Genre/Style: Lounge / Down-tempo |
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Red Sparowes / Battle of Mice / Made Out of Babies
Triad
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Neurot
CD: $9.98
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This three-way split features Red Sparowes, Made Out of Babies and Battle of Mice, all of whom have recorded material for Neurot Recordings. Red Sparowes have a full length and split with Gregor Samsa under their belt and contain members of both Neurosis and Isis. Battle of Mice features Josh from Red Sparowes and Neurosis as well as a member of Made Out of Babies. The vinyl is highly limited and colored.
Genre/Style: Post Rock / Metal / Experimental |
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Twilight Singers
Powder Burns
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: One Little Indian
CD: $16.98
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Greg Dulli – known and loved by many as the leader of pioneering alt-rockers Afghan Whigs – has recorded another album (his fourth) under the celebrated Twilight Singers’ moniker; and it’s a veritable masterpiece.
With every new recording Dulli cements his place as a national musical treasure, consistently turning out great albums bursting with a soulfulness too often missing from ‘rock’ records. Clearly enjoying the freedom allowed by the Twilight Singers’ ever revolving lineup, Dulli has pulled together an eclectic and viciously gifted lot for powder burns. Joseph Arthur, Ani DiFranco and Scott Bennett appear on the record, along with a guest spot from fellow Afghan Whig, bassist John Curley.
The album strikes an immediate impression; songs like "There’s Been An Accident", "Underneath The Waves" and "Forty Dollars" display Dulli’s songwriting perfectly; his lyrics -morose and uplifting in equal quantities- are complimented by his salient vocals. Dulli lets loose his spiraling tales of unyielding desires and personal regrets amid a wash of swirling guitars and string-driven orchestration. Beautifully arranged, the intricate production never gets the better of the songs themselves, always taking a back seat to the sentiment of the lyrics and Dulli’s swelling melodies. There’s no doubting the emotion in these songs.
Genre/Style: Rock / Pop |
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Various Artists
Pickin' and Singin'
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: CMH
CD: $19.98
| Gather ’round friends and music lovers for some of the finest pickin’ and singin’ you will ever hear! Featuring 64 performances by the masters of the Bluegrass including Lester Flatt, The Osborne Brothers, Mac Wiseman, Grandpa Jones and many more, Pickin’ & Singin’ is essential listening for bluegrass fans.
Genre/Style: Bluegrass / Americana |
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The Wedding Present
Search For Paradise
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Manifesto
CD: $16.98
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This CD + DVD collection features the three singles from last year's critically-acclaimed "Take Fountain" album, plus all the B-sides, previously unreleased acoustic versions of the A-sides and a track remixed by the German pop group, Klee.
It comes with a bonus DVD of videos made for the singles and the outstanding album track "Don't Touch That Dial" together with a film made for an acoustic live version of "Perfect Blue," and bonus behind the scenes footage. The set includes 11 tracks never before released in North America!
Genre/Style: Rock / Brit Pop
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Dinosaur Jr.
Green Mind / Where You Been?
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Reprise
CD: $11.98
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Fronted by singer-songwriter/guitarist J Mascis, Dinosaur Jr. formed in Massachusetts in 1984. Their emergence was a musical shot heard round the world as Mascis and company put the heroics of lead guitar back into the forefront of the indie rock realm-amazingly, it was a revolutionary idea at the time. Post-punk and pre-grunge, they were an intense force to be reckoned with, and when the band signed to Sire in '91, Mascis' shreddingly unique alt-rock sound was cranked up for vast new audiences of eardrums. These expanded remasters of Dinosaur Jr's first two major label albums spotlight one of the most distinctive and influential artists of the '90s in prime form.
Genre/Style: Rock Pop
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Tab Benoit
Brother to the Blues
Release Date: 04/25/06
Label: Telarc
CD: $17.98 |
Louisiana native Tab Benoit has been slinging his swamp-R&B-blues-rock concoction for the better part of 15 years, and from the sound of this disc's opening two tunes, it seems that little besides his backing band has changed. But when the title track kicks in with sorrowful fiddle, crying pedal steel (also played by Benoit), and a lovely, lonely honky-tonk melody, it's clear the singer/guitarist has decided to visit some unique territory. Country stalwarts Jim Lauderdale and Billy Joe Shaver swing by to provide duet vocals for Benoit's versions of their songs. Even Hank Williams Sr.'s "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle" gets covered as Benoit finds the blues at the heart of the country standard. Those who are not county lovers need not be concerned that Benoit has gone all George Jones on them. He still grinds out slabs of tough bayou rocking in the crackling "So High" and the opening "Pack It Up." There's also a heartbreaking, loungey, slow blues ("Somehow") and a soul-seared cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me" that shows how effective Benoit is as an interpretive vocalist. The funky Little Feat/Neville Brothers-styled "Can't Do One More Two-Step" truly brings it home on a diverse outing that stretches boundaries and adds depth to Benoit's already impressive roots. --Hal Horowitz
Playing the Jewish Mother May 17.
Genre/Style: Blues / Country
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T Bone Burnet
The True False Identity
Release Date: 05/16/06
Label: Columbia
CD: $18.98
Dual Disc Price:$19.98
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Hot off the heels of being the chief music producer for "Walk The Line," "O Brother, Where Art Thou," amd "Cold Mountain," T Bone Burnett's highly anticipated record marks the first new music from him in 14 years. Featuring 12 compelling tracks, The True False Identity is destined to be another treasured record from one of music's greatest legends. The DualDisc version features intimate live music and spoken word performances by T Bone, making the first time T Bone has performed his own material on camera in more than 15 years.
Besides the music on CD the DVD features intimate live music and spoken word performances by him.
Genre/Style: Americana / Roots
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Duke Robillard
Guitar Groove-A-Rama
Release Date: 03/14/06
Label: Stoney Plain
CD: $18.98 Sale $16.98 |
Perhaps his most ambitious album in a career that spans almost 40 years, Guitar Groove-A-Rama jumps out of the gate with the funky lead-off track, "Do the Memphis Grind," (with a tip of the hat to guitar greats James Burton and Steve Cropper) and never lets up. Along the way, Duke explores the grooves of Delta blues (Lil' Son Jackson's "Gambler's Blues"), jazz/gospel ("Sunday Mornin'"), Chicago blues (Sonny Boy Williamson's "One Way Out"), the soul of Ray Charles ("I'll Do Anything But Work"), the country blues of Bob Dylan ("Down Along the Cove") and even Irish folk ("Danny Boy"). In an album filled with highlights, the best may be the 16-minute tour-de-force "Blues-A-Rama," wherein Duke pays tribute to 10 guitar influences with an amazing performance recorded live in the studio.
Playing the Jewish Mother May 21.
Genre/Style: Blues / Jazz / Shred |
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Secret Machines
Ten Silver Drops
Release Date: 04/25/06
Label: Reprise
CD: $14.98
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Honed by the immediacy of playing an 18-month cross-country tour in support of their debut album, New York City-based Secret Machines blend songcraft and melody with their acclaimed power to sculpt epic, dreamy, neo-psychedelic soundscapes on their second full-length album, Ten Silver Drops. While still playing homage to experimentalist pop groups Kraftwerk, Neu and La Dusseldorf with effects laden, heavily processed guitars and primal, stomping drums, Secret Machines expand their universe to reveal both the icy peaks and murky depths of their musical machinations.
Genre/Style: Rock / Psychedelic |
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Neil Young
Living With War
Release Date: 05/08/06
Label: Burgundy
CD: $17.98
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Record of the Week. Who the hell does Neil Young think he is? He’s just another commie, liberal, anti-American hippie criticizing the Bush administration with a new album called “Living with War.” Doesn’t he know our enemies are emboldened if they believe that the American public is not behind our efforts? All these acid-dropping, tree-hugging, “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll” entertainers wouldn’t know the first thing about protecting America from terrorists. On top of all that, he’s Canadian for God’s sakes! His opinion doesn’t matter if he’s not an American citizen. Like Skynyrd said “a southern man don’t need him around anyhow.”
Then again, he’s the artist responsible for “Broken Arrow”, “four dead in Ohio”, “Southern Man”, “The Needle and the Damage Done”, “Rust never sleeps”, Farm Aid, The Bridge School, “Cortez the Killer”, “Rockin’ in the Free World”, “Lets’ Roll.” and has been living and paying taxes in the U.S. for over forty years. So it’s not surprising that he has the audacity to release a concept album about the Iraq War that is so direct and specific than many people will be uncomfortable with it. It was recorded very quickly with an electric back up band and a one hundred singer choir that makes the songs stand out from most of his other material.
Titles like “Lets Impeach the President” and “Lookin’ for a Leader” will never get on W’s I-pod and Young’s most powerful venom is unleashed on “The Restless Consumer” with its repeated mantra “Don’t need no more lies!” More personal songs like “Families”, “The Flags of Freedom” and the album’s closer, an accapella version of “America the Beautiful” serve to humanize the message. Neil Young’s music has always had as many detractors and supporters as the Iraq war itself so whether you like it or not will depend on your point of view. -Paul Shugrue
Genre/Style: Rock / Folk |
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Cities
Self - Titled
Release Date: April 06
Label: Yep Rock
CD: $13.98 Sale $9.98 |
Cities - four bright-eyed college kids, keen on creating a decidedly American brand of melancholic, but hooky, indie rock - have a bone to pick with those hipster highbrows focusing their attention across the pond. The bands self-titled Yep Roc debut slices through Brit-influenced post-punk with mid-90s, layered guitar rock, and the organic, indie aesthetic that was born in Chapel Hill, NC. Committing Cities sound to record was up to Brian Paulson (Beck, Superchunk, Wilco, Rosebuds), whose knack for straightforward production allowed the band to transfer their sweeping, moody epics to disc.
Playing at Relative with Asobi Seksu on 6/10
Genre/Style: Rock / Post Punk / Awesome |
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Madlib
Beat Konducta vol 1-2 Movie Scenes
Release Date: 03/21/06
Label: Record Label
CD: $14.98 Sale $11.98 |
Following up his successful Beat Konducta vinyl only releases, Madlib rounds out his first CD collection of hip hop instrumentals with Beat Konducta vol 1-2 : Movie Scenes. These new, orginal tracks have been culled from the now-legendary beats CDs which provided the basis for Madlib's 2004-2005 productions from Madvillian, Quasimotot and Jaylib. Movie Scenes presents a vivid hip hop soundtrack for each mood in the model of vintage "library records" made for TV and film background music in the funky 1960s & 70s. Each of the 40 tracks has a title as well as a parenthetical mood or theme to correspond with what's unfolding on the screen. The film is for you to imagine, the score courtesy of Madlib the Beat Konducta.
Genre/Style: Hip-Hop / Jazz / Funk |
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Rahim
Ideal Lives
Release Date: 04/04/06
Label: French Kiss
CD: $12.98 Sale $8.98
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Debut full length from this NYC based indie rock trio. Blending elements of the Talking Heads, The Beatles and Blonde Redhead for a unique sound all their own.
Genre/Style: Rock / Post Punk |
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Snowden
self-titled
Release Date: 01/08/04
Label: self-released
CD: $6.98 |
This is Snowden’s debut EP. Snowden formed in the summer of 2003 in Atlanta and have been steadily captivating local audiences. Creatively utilizing such influences as My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead and The Cure, Snowden give the listener an excellent debut cdep featuring six tracks. Lead by Jordan Jeffares on vocals and guitar, Snowden are a five piece which does a very good job of blending reverb saturated guitars and keyboards for a lush sound which is anchored by catchy bass hooks and complex rhythmic patterns.
Genre/Style: Rock / Pop |
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Spankrock
YoYoYoYoYo
Release Date: 04/18/06
Label: Big Dada
CD: $14.98 Sale $9.98
LP: $17.98
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This is going to blow your mind! Cutting edge without really caring, phenomally rude without even meaning to be, this is Spank Rock. Don't be the last one on your block to know, the party is on.
Genre/Style: Hip-Hop / Booty House / Baltimore |
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Astronautalis
Mighty Ocean & Nine Dark Theaters
Sale $11.98 |
Mission of Burma
The Obliterati
Sale $15.98 |
Red Sparrowes | Gregor Samsa
Split
Sale $11.98 |
Shooting at Unarmed Men
Yes! Tinnitus!
Sale $11.98 |
VCR
Power Destiny
Sale $13.98 |
The Walkmen
A Hundred Miles Off
Sale $15.98 |
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