Record Store Day may yet be three weeks away, but you'll find a ton of great new music at your favorite record shop today, including the latest from The Black Angels. KEXP listeners have long been fans of this Austin band, and in fact we even had them perform in-studio before the release of their very first album back in 2006 (they even sent us a lovely cow skull as a thank you, and it still hangs inside our front door!). Now, seven years later, The Black Angels return with their fourth LP, Indigo Meadow, which our Music Director Don Yates, calls "another excellent outing of intense psych-rock with rumbling, distortion-drenched guitars, haunting organ, hypnotic vocals and often-dark lyrics." They'll be hitting the road this week to follow up the new album with a North American tour that will take them here to Seattle on May 13.
Other must-buy new albums this week come from British producer/multi-instrumentalist Simon Green, a.k.a. Bonobo, whose fifth album "is an impressive set of warm, atmospheric grooves combining mostly downtempo beats with chopped vocal samples, glitchy textures and a variety of lush instrumentation"; veteran Seattle band Mudhoney, who after 25 years still "sound as feisty and vital as ever" and whose ninth album "is a blistering set of psych-tinged garage-punk with grungy, fuzz-toned guitar riffs, ferocious rhythms, sneering vocals, sardonic lyrics and lethal song hooks" (they just performed songs from the new album live in our studio on Easter!); and the "Screaming Eagle of Soul" Charles Bradley, who at 64-years of age, we'd love to call a veteran himself but who's only just following up his acclaimed 2011 debut with "another excellent set of old-school soul occasionally tinged with some psychedelic touches" and accompaniment once again from the ever-awesome Menahan Street Band.
While you're at it, you'll also want to check out some killer debuts this week, including those from Seattle musician/producer Scot Porter, a.k.a. Vox Mod, whose debut is "a stellar effort that displays his singular driving, synth-heavy, space-bound production style with a knockout cast of contributing vocalists" including Shabazz Palaces' Ishmael Butler and Fresh Espresso's Rik Rude; from LA-based sister duo Bleached, a.k.a. Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, who offer "a promising blend of buzzing Ramones/early Blondie punk-pop and sunny ‘60s girl group melodies"; British group Hookworms, whose name sounds awful but whose debut is "a powerful album of adventurous psych-rock, featuring a dense, often-bracing sound with blistering psych guitars, droning organ, hypnotic, sometimes motorik rhythms, reverbed vocals and emotive lyrics"; and Olympia band Milk Music, whose name sounds delicious but whose LP is "an excellent set of fuzzy, riff-heavy guitar-rock reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr., Husker Du and Neil Young & Crazy Horse, with crunchy, distorted guitar riffs, driving rhythms and impassioned vocals."
Other great new releases this week come from Caveman, the Brooklyn band whose sophomore effort is "an often-gorgeous set of atmospheric indie-pop, with a bigger, more richly detailed sound than their promising 2011 debut"; Seattle noise rockers Kinski, whose sixth album "continues their evolution towards a more visceral, hook-heavy sound with tighter song construction and a greater emphasis on vocals from this formerly instrumental band"; and another local boy, Michael Lerner, whose project Telekinesis is at its best yet with another expertly crafted set of eclectic pop-rock" in an album produced by Spoon’s Jim Eno and containing one of the hookiest songs of the year so far (listen below).
The New Orleans based group Generationals, now a duo, offer their third album, "a solid set of well-crafted pop-rock that finds the band focusing more on mood and texture than the bright pop hooks that previously spiked their sound", while Tampa, FL band Merchandise turn out the lights with "a fine set of dark, sprawling post-punk, featuring five mostly lengthy songs with buzzing guitars and synths, occasional harmonica and sax, drum-machine rhythms, dreamy melodies and Carson Cox’s elegant crooning." Icelandic composer/songwriter Ólafur Arnalds makes his major label debut with the beautiful For Now I Am Winter, featuring vocals for the first time on his records, by Agent Fresco's Arnór Dan. And British Sea Power, from... er... Britain return with another ambitious if esoteric album of energetic rock that they're known for (no surprises here, and that's a good thing!).
Head down to our favorite record store today to find all of these, plus a compilation of previously unreleased songs, b-sides, demos and other rarities from now-defunct LA band Rilo Kiley, the fifth album from Durham, NC-based folk-rock band Hiss Golden Messenger, the latest from Montreal's The Besnard Lakes, and a whole lot more. Be sure to sample some of this week's recommendations, gathered here, before you head out:
Ólafur Arnalds - Only The Winds
The Besnard Lakes - People of the Sticks
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