Out This Week 7/15

In Stores Now
07/15/2014
Janice Headley

The UK dominates this week of new releases with standout albums from two British duos. The mysterious twosome known as Jungle release their self-titled debut with XL Recordings, which KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes as "an excellent set of retro-futuristic electro-funk with shimmering keyboards, funky guitar lines, rubbery beats, layered falsetto vocals and lyrics detailing the modern inner-city blues." And London duo Slow Club share "their third album, an often-stunning set of sleek and sophisticated indie-pop steeped in ‘60s and ‘70s soul and pop. Beautifully produced by Colin Elliot (who’s best known for his lush production work for Richard Hawley), the album masterfully combines a warm blend of guitars, keyboards, strings and horns with lovelorn lyrics, wistful melodies and Rebecca Taylor’s soaring vocals."

Other highlights this week include the debut from The Acid, a project of British producer Adam Freeland, California producer/composer Steve Nalepa and LA-based Australian vocalist Ry X. Yates describes it as a "promising set of post-dubstep electro-pop with a haunting minimalist sound combining dark, atmospheric synths, sparse acoustic guitars, skeletal house and techno rhythms and Ry X’s intimate vocals." Morrissey is back with his tenth solo release, a "set of densely produced art-pop occasionally flavored with Spanish and Middle Eastern elements." Merge Records band Reigning Sound return with their first album in five years, "a more polished, sophisticated and pop-oriented take on their ‘60s-steeped blend of garage-rock, psych, R&B and folk-rock, adding a few more relaxed rhythms and occasional strings to their elemental garage-soul sound." Hercules & Love Affair are back with "a more aggressive edge along with stronger songs and guest vocalists to a rugged, club-oriented blend of old-school house and techno."

In reissues, 4AD shares two long out-of-print Cocteau Twins albums, Blue Bell Knoll and Heaven or Las Vegas, on heavyweight black vinyl pressings, cut from brand-new HD 96/24 masters. As part of their 25th anniversary, Merge Records shares The Clean's essential collection Anthology on quadruple LP.

And finally, "Weird Al" Yankovic releases his fourteenth album today, which he tells NPR may very well be his last "proper" album.

  • (Various Artists) - mini mix
  • from Britpop at the BBC on Warner Music
  • (Various Artists) Warpaint - "The Chauffer"
  • from Making Patterns Rhyme: A Tribute to Duran Duran on Modern
  • (Various Artists) Bon Iver - "Heavenly Father"
  • from Wish I Was Here Motion Picture Soundtrack on Columbia
  • AraabMuzik - "Summer Time"
  • from For Professional Use Only 2 on self-released
  • The Acid - "Creeper"
  • from Liminal on Mute US
  • Army Navy - "The Mistakes"
  • from The Wilderness Inside on The Fever Zone
  • Betraying the Martyrs - "Where The World Ends"
  • from Phantom on Sumerian Records
  • Big Wreck - "All Is Fair"
  • from Ghosts on Rounder
  • Anna Calvi w/ David Bryne - "I'm The Man, That Will Find You (Connan Mockasin cover)"
  • from Strange Weather EP on Domino Records
  • The Clean - "Tally Ho"
  • from Anthology reissue on Merge Records
  • Cocteau Twins - "Carolyn's Fingers"
  • from Blue Bell Knoll reissue on 4AD Records
  • Cocteau Twins - "Heaven Or Las Vegas"
  • from Heaven or Las Vegas reissue on 4AD Records
  • Conveyor - "Theme I (Edit)"
  • from Prime on Gold Robot
  • Cowboy Jack Clement - "I've Got A Thing About Trains"
  • from For Once and For All on I.R.S. Nashville
  • Fink - "Hard Believer"
  • from Hard Believer on Ninja Tune
  • Hercules & Love Affair - "Think"
  • from The Feast of The Broken Heart on Moshi Moshi
  • John Hiatt - "Terms Of My Surrender"
  • from Terms of My Surrender on New West
  • Honeyblood - "Bud"
  • from Honeyblood on Fat Cat
  • Jungle - "Busy Earnin'"
  • from Jungle on XL
  • Maxwell Kardon / Anand Wilder - "Wedding Day"
  • from Break Line: A Musical by Anand Wilder & Maxwell Kardon on Secretly Canadian
  • Kelis - "Friday Fish Fry"
  • from Friday Fish Fry EP on Ninja Tune
  • Landlady - "The Globe"
  • from Upright Behavior on Hometapes
  • Luluc - "Without A Face"
  • from Passerby on Sub Pop
  • Melted Toys - "Observations"
  • from Melted Toys on Underwater Peoples
  • Morrissey - "World Peace Is None Of Your Business"
  • from World Peace Is None of Your Business on EMI / Harvest
  • Novembers Doom - "Clear"
  • from Bled White on The End
  • Richard Reed Parry - "Interruptions (Heart And Breath Nonet) – II String Peaks"
  • from Music For Heart And Breath on XXX
  • Plastikman - "Ex" (preview)
  • from Ex: Performed Live at the Guggenheim NYC on Mute US
  • The Reigning Sound - "Falling Rain"
  • from Shattered on Merge
  • Slow Club - "Complete Surrender"
  • from Complete Surrender on Wichita
  • TRAAMS - "Giddy"
  • from Cissa EP on Fat Cat
  • The United Nations - "Serious Business"
  • from The Next Four Years on Temporary Residence
  • Woman's Hour - "Conversations"
  • from Conversations on Secretly Canadian
  • Wunder Wunder - "Midnight Hours"
  • from Everything Infinite on Dovecote Records
  • "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Tacky" (parody of Pharrell's "Happy")
  • from Mandatory Fun on RCA Records

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