Records of the Week: Field Music, Chris Forsyth, Dinosaur Jr., Khalab & M'berra Ensemble, Toumani Diabaté and Spiritualized.
New stuff in weird directions and some bangers from the vaults. Another good week full.
Hello, Friends.
Our Record of the Week is Flat White Moon, the glorious return of the Brewis Brothers of Field Music. As much musical alchemy as anything else, it is hugely inventive and really beautifully-constructed pop songs. Beaming with confidence without ever sounding bloated or complacent, they really are such a rare pair. The release is - and was - our 100th Dinked Edition. To celebrate, we held back a few of the super limited (and long sold-out) copies and will be putting them online... Now!
Sweep It Into Space is the fifth, new studio album cut by Dinosaur Jr. during the 13th year of their rebirth. It's a really joyous one, full of bubbling, off-kilter pop and plenty of the grizzled riffs you'd expect from the trio.
M'berra is a collaboration between Italian electronic producer, Khalab and a Malian collective of musicians from the M'berra Refugee Camp in southeast Mauritani. Although recorded in both solo and group recording sessions, it's really coherent whilst still offering up plenty of surprises. The primitive instrument tones and the hypnotic rhythms really are a thrill, collaboratively they really go somewhere. Highly recommended.
Nobody rocks as hard as Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band. Rare Dreams is a killer set, recorded live at Cafe OTO, London on February 27, 2018. They were just wrapping up an 18-date tour of the EU and UK and were in wild form.
+ We have a limited Red vinyl pressing.
Hanazono is the absolutely beautiful new LP from Satomimagae on RVNG INTL. Each song is dedicated to a simple theme, object or image, out of which grows uncomplicated melodies wrapped in layers of textural warmth. Really special stuff.
Kôrôlén is a very special collaboration between two titans in music: Toumani Diabaté, the Grammy-winning Malian kora virtuoso, and the London Symphony Orchestra, renowned worldwide for their performances of orchestral music on record, film and stage. It's lush how it moves between the low-key and intimate to the massive and sweeping.
Infinite Pleasure is the pounding rawk debut from The Pale White. We have a limited, white vinyl pressing if you're quick.
Invisible Music is a collection of traditional folk songs that influenced novelist Angela Carter, gracefully re-crafted by Polly Paulusma. Really lush book-bound CD editions.
Cerulean is the first full-length recording from the Nashville Ambient Ensemble. We got hold of a few copies of the very limited (300 copies on black vinyl) pressing. Any of you who dig William Tyler or North Americans are gonna LOVE this one.
One that we're super-excited to get into is Alfa Mist's new Bring Backs LP. We've only heard as much as you guys yet, but he is due in the building today and we're hyped to give him a spin.
Smith & Burrows' Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough is now in stock and shipping out the door on vinyl.
The reissue that really has us stood on our toes today is Lazer Guided Melodies, the 1992 debut record from Spiritualized®. Everything that followed was amazing, which means this one often gets overlooked; but my word, it's a peach. That was our start to the day over here and we have not come down again yet.
+ Online now, we have very very very limited Indie editions on White vinyl.
The Who's The Who Sell Out gets a new pressing today, with a double vinyl edition and a super deluxe box with extra bells, whistles and memorabilia.
Runnin' Down a Dream: A Tribute to Tom Petty is the first release in Lucinda Williams' Lu's Jukebox series, a six-episode series of mostly full-band, HD video performances in-studio. Has to be said, Lucinda finds some really special moments in the Tom Petty catalogue.
Don't blink, don't miss this. Flowered Up's Weekender and the accompanying remixes from the late, great Andrew Weatherall. Last few copies going in stock now, all in custom Heavenly disco bags.
We have a nice pressing of John Lennon's debut solo album Plastic Ono Band. Double vinyl and a deluxe box set too.
Any of you that saw our Gruff Rhys windows will be glad to learn that we have copies of his superb Resist Phony Encores! book. We just took stock of the last few Record Culture magazines too, also Maggot Brain and Wire. All of those here.
Lastly today, the unmistakable voice of the legendary Suicide vocalist Alan Vega. Mutator is an album forgotten about; now rediscovered and finished off to perfection. It really highlights just how imaginative and ahead of his time he was. Mutator is the first in a series of archival releases from the Vault that will come out on Sacred Bones Records. We have a limited Indie LP, pressed on Dark Red vinyl.
A weekly playlist is live now on our website, where you can browse and buy all of these. Click & Collect is in full swing, looking to open the door in the next week or so.
- Drift
Featured in this post:
Field Music - Flat White Moon
Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep It Into Space
Khalab & M'berra Ensemble - M'berra
Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - Rare Dreams: Solar Live 2.27.18
Satomimagae - Hanazono
Toumani Diabaté and London Symphony Orchestra - Kôrôlén
Polly Paulusma - Invisible Music: Folk Songs that Influenced Angela Carter
Alfa Mist - Bring Backs
Smith & Burrows - Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough
Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies
Lucinda Williams - Runnin' Down a Dream: A Tribute to Tom Petty [Lu's Jukebox Vol. 1]
Flowered Up - Weatherall's Weekender
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band [Reissue]
Alan Vega - Mutator
Best New Reissues: The Velvet Underground, Allan Wachs, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Studio One Funk and Bob Dylan.
Records of the Week: Kenny Beats, Fucked Up, Meg Baird, The Arcs, Oozing Wound and The Tubs.
Best New Reissues: Bobby Hutcherson, Grant Green, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Sun Ra, Nigeria 70 and The International Submarine Band.
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