Eels (aka Mark Oliver Everett) releases his eleventh album, The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett, on his own E Works label. KEXP's Music Director Don Yates calls it "a solid set of sedate folk-pop with gentle guitars, restrained strings and brass, mostly glacial tempos and reflective, often-morose lyrics." British band Fear of Men launch their debut full-length, Loom, "a promising set of dark dream-pop with an atmospheric sound juxtaposing catchy pop melodies with bleak lyrics of loneliness, boredom and anxiety." The new Neil Young album, recorded at famed Third Man Records, is currently only available on vinyl, and features covers of classics by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Gordon Lightfoot, Bert Jansch, and more.There are quite a few compilations of note this week, including Farewell Transmission: The Music of Jason Molina, the tribute album to the man who recorded under the names Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. The Lefse Records compilation The Space Project has landed, a collection of new music created using actual sounds from space. The soundtrack for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is intriguing -- composed by Hans Zimmer, the songs are performed by "The Magnificent Six" which includes the likes of legendary Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Pharrell, along with Michael Einziger (Incubus), Junkie XL, Andrew Kawczynski and Steve Mazzaro.
In reissues, Cabaret Voltaire make their 1985 four-song EP, Drinking Gasoline, available on CD for the very first time, packaged with a DVD of the rare video compilation, Gasoline in Your Eye. Detroit trio Death release the third volume in their archival collection, aptly titled III, which includes previously unreleased tracks recorded during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1992.
And, then there's DCOnstructed, which is apparently EDM remixes of songs from Disney films.
(V/A) Spiritualized - "Mississippi Space Program" from The Space Project on Lefse
(V/A) Carmen Twillie - "Circle of Life ((From "The Lion King") [Mat Zo Remix])"from DCOnstructed on Universal
The Apache Relay - "Katie Queen of Tennessee"from The Apache Relay on Nomadic Records / Universal Music
Asher Roth - "Last of the Flohicans" feat. Major Myjah from RetroHash on Federal Prism
Black Prairie - "Let It Out"from Fortune on Sugar Hill Records
Cabaret Voltaire - "Sleepwalking"from Drinking Gasoline remastered EP/DVD on Mute
Death - "North St." from Death III on Drag City
Eels - "Shares" from The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett on E Works
Factory Floor - "How You Say" (Gunnar Haslam Remix) from How You Say EP 2 on DFA
Fear of Men - "Alta / Waterfall" from Loom on Kanine
Future feat. Pharrell, Pusha T and Casino - "Move That Dope" from Honest on A1/Freebandz/Epic
Hans Zimmer and the Magnificent Six feat. Pharrell Williams and Johnny Marr - "There He Is" from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 OST on Columbia/Madison Gate
Heterotic - "Rain"from Weird Drift on Planet Mu
Iggy Azalea - "Impossible Is Nothing" from The New Classic on Virgin
Kelis - "Runnin' (Machinedrum Remix)" from Food on Ninja Tune
The Kooks - "Down"from Down EP on Astralwerks
The Menzingers - "I Don't Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore" from Rented World on Epitaph
Modern Rivals - "Pins & Stitches" from Cemetery Dares on self-released
Purling Hiss - "Preface" from Dizzy Polizzy on Drag City
The Seldom Scene - "Wait a Minute" from Long Time...Seldom Scene on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
TEEN - "Not For Long" from The Way And Color on Carpark
Tourist - "I Can't Keep Up (feat. Will Heard)" from Patterns EP on Monday/Method
The Whigs - "Hit Me" from Modern Creation on New West Records
It's a strong week for new albums, including the long-awaited solo debut from Blur frontman (and Gorillaz leader) Damon Albarn. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes the release as "a mostly dark, brooding set of eclectic, beat-driven pop with a stripped-down, dub-influenced sound combining haunt…
Highlights this week include the first new album in 16 years from veteran rockers, The Afghan Whigs. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes their latest, titled Do To the Best, as "a strong return-to-form of brooding, soul-inflected rock with atmospheric guitars and keyboards and occasional string…