Featured New Releases for
September 27, 2024
HOPECORE
Because Music
Written, produced, and mixed on his own, the singer/songwriter's propulsive fifth album offers cathartic, fiercely independent dance music.
Highway Prayers
Reprise
The progressive bluegrass phenom's fourth album is a sprawling, freewheeling set co-produced by Jon Brion.
Various Artists
Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-1965
Light in the Attic Records
Compiled output from Lou Reed's brief tenure as a record label's staff songwriter shortly before he formed the Velvet Underground.
Distant Call: Collected Demos 2000-2006
Warp
The group's final release brings listeners closer than ever to their music with pared-down versions of some of their best-loved songs.
The Auditorium, Vol. 1
Loma Vista
An inspired and uplifting meeting between two figures crucial to hip-hop for over 30 years.
SOPHIE
Transgressive
Ranging from chart-friendly pop to abstract experiments, the producer's posthumous second album reinforces her irreplaceability.
EELS
Bayonet Records
The Austin, Texas duo enlisted producer John Congleton to reinvigorate their '60s-indebted sound on a (psych/garage) rock-solid 16-track sophomore LP.
How Ghosts Affect Relationships 1990-1993
4AD
Collecting the band's first three 4AD albums and plentiful bonus material, this set documents their inventive, emotive dream-pop brilliance.
White Roses, My God
Sub Pop
In his first solo excursion since the end of his band Low, Sparhawk uses synths, drum machines, and vocoded vocals to explore grief.
Mind of a Country Boy
Capitol Nashville / Snakefarm Records
An assured set of upbeat anthems and ballads rooted in familiar bro-country themes like beer drinking, faith, family, tractors, and hunting blinds.
New Internationale
Brainfeeder
The duo stick to the globally informed, jazz-adjacent neo-psychedelia of their first two albums with winning results.
A Modern Day Distraction
RCA / RCA Victor
The Englishman conjures a hooky and literate, '60s tube amp rock vibe on his cohesive seventh album.
Below a Massive Dark Land
Sub Pop
The singer/songwriter's restless second album delivers songs that roam from candid introspection to communal joy.
Adjust Brightness
Bilal Music
The live wire's first studio album in nine years is a turbulent set of left-field soul, his most electronic work to date.
Three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not
Blue Note
The Texas-born tenor saxophonist's second Blue Note album features a playful yet sophisticated quartet.
Swan Songs: The Singles 1976-1981
Omnivore
Excellent collection of retro-rockers, fun novelty pop, and country ballads from one of the premier stylists of the era.
Nite Owls
New West
The Oklahoma singer and guitarist blends twangy surf and glitter-rock riffs on his evocative fifth album.
Various Artists
Miami Sound 2: More Funk & Soul from Miami, Florida 1967-1974
Soul Jazz
Hits from Betty Wright, Timmy Thomas, and T-Connection mingle with deeper cuts during the soul-jazz label's second trip through the T.K. Disco catalog.
Various Artists
Pour a Little Sugar on It: The Chewy Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum 1966-1971
Grapefruit
Comprehensive genre overview that gathers up titans and nobodies in equal numbers while stretching the boundaries and getting in plenty of "ba-ba-ba's."
Various Artists
Cut Me Deep: A Story of Indie Pop 1985-1989
Cherry Red
Well-curated collection of well-known bands and obscurities alike that lovingly covers one of the most interesting eras of guitar-driven pop music.
Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind
Ghostly International
Wispy is an understatement on a mellow debut LP that augments her EPs' 1960s and '70s influences with help from Matthew E. White and Sam Evian.
Hello Again
Secretly Canadian
In another strong showing, her sixth special taps familiar subjects (health, show biz, family) in stories steeped in absurdity and unexpected twists.
Sad Girl
Ninja Tune
The DJ/producer's second album expresses feelings of isolation, yet it's some of her most escapist material to date.
Breaking the Shell
Red Hook Records
Recorded over two days in a New York church, the combination of guitar, drums, and pipe organ (a first in jazz) offers abundant musical possibilities.
Basic Editions
Drag City
The No Age drummer crafted surreal deconstructions with a synth module used in countless hip-hop productions circa 2000.
Dance, No One's Watching
Partisan / Universal
On the follow-up to their Mercury Prize-winning Where I'm Meant to Be, this quintet was inspired by touring international dance clubs.
Inbetweezer
Stones Throw
The artist's fourth Stones Throw release is an eclectic, psychedelic record about understanding that life is filled with constant change.
Viewfinder
American Dreams
Dense double-LP from this guitarist/composer deftly arranges large group improvisation and a conceptual song cycle into a unified whole.
Hav
Drag City
A post-minimalist drone work from the artist also known as Matchess, inspired by research on the Cult of Hermaphroditus.
Bloom
Ninja Tune
The melodic techno and progressive house producer's Ninja Tune debut is a mature effort demonstrating his artistic growth.
Planetarium
Sunnyside Communications
The guitarist's sprawling triple disc offers thoughtful tone poems, labyrinthine improvisation, and gorgeous melodies played solo and with select others.
Entity
Hide Inside Records
After a seven-year hiatus, the pianist's trio returns with a warts-and-all musical dialogue drenched in warmth, melancholic sensuality, and wry wit.
Live at Adler Planetarium
International Anthem
Recorded at the venerable Chicago venue in 2023, this document reveals the creative, spontaneous musicality of this ever-evolving ensemble.
Halo Moon
Tapete Records
English psychedelic band takes a softer, more blissed-out approach to their hypnotic space blues.
13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips
Polyvinyl
The band explore new sounds without losing any of their righteous fury, brutal honesty, or tenderness.
Verdi: Inno delle nazioni; Quattro Pezzi Sacri
Decca
Rarities from arguably the leading Verdi performers of the day.
Beethoven: Piano Trios, Vol. 3 - Op. 1/1 & 70/1 'Ghost'
BIS
A survey of Beethoven's piano trios continues with high-spirited playing and an intense but clean "Ghost" trio.
Ruth Gipps: Piper of Dreams
Chandos
Delightful works for oboe by a student of Vaughan Williams reveal an individual voice.
Joshua Bell / Matt Haimovitz / Dennis Russell Davies / Dalia Stasevska / International Symphony Orchestra Lviv
Thomas de Hartmann: Rediscovered
PentaTone Classics
Works by an almost-forgotten composer have Eastern and, specifically, Jewish flavors.
Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin
Harmonia Mundi
Second-generation historical performance Die schöne Müllerin impresses with its intimate atmosphere.