NEW RELEASES 01.05.20

GHOSTPOET - I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep - LP €22.99 (PIAS) - Limited Crystal Clear Vinyl - The two-time Mercury Prize nominee Ghostpoet (aka Obaro Ejimiwe) follows up 2017’s acclaimed Dark Days and Canapés with a record which couldn’t feel more prescient, a dystopian snapshot of the universal unease and anxiety we feel as we enter into this new decade, an uncertain future distilled across these 10 vital tracks.

RIDE & Pêtr Aleksänder - Clouds In The Mirror (This Is Not A Safe Place reimagined by Pêtr Aleksänder) - LP €22.99 (Wichita) - Limited Clear Vinyl - Ride handed the entirety of their highly acclaimed 6th studio album, This Is Not A Safe Place, to mysterious London act, Pêtr Aleksänder, who stripped the songs back to just the vocals and added their customarily beautiful string arrangements, keys and synth textures beneath them. The results take Ride deep into the neo-classical / ambient territory that a couple of the remixes of their previous album hinted at and will appeal to fans of those musical styles, as well as those who consider themselves a part of the band’s die-hard fanbase. First pressing of the LP is on limited edition clear vinyl + comes with download code

KANYE WEST - Jesus Is King - LP€20.99 (Def Jam) - Jesus Is King - Transparent Blue Vinyl - is the ninth studio album by Kanye West. The richly produced album follows a Christian theme, with West describing it as "an expression of the gospel." The sample of a 1974 tune by Christian soul act Whole Truth on Follow God is neck-snappingly good, the kind of textured punch that, still, only West seems capable of; the effervescent triumph of the On God beat, the result of a Pi’erre Bourne collaboration, is one of the most immediate joys whilst Use This Gospel is a glowing deployment of the stylistic muscle West developed on 2013’s Yeezus.

AMYL & THE SNIFFERS- Live At The Croxton - 7" €7.99 (Rough Trade) - Indies Black Vinyl - Punk animals Amyl and The Sniffers return with their new EP, Live at The Croxton, featuring 3 tracks from their award-winning debut album. Renowned for their chaotic, ball-tearing live show, band members smash through hooks at breakneck pace while “human firework” Amy Taylor lights up the stage - an exhilarating ride that routinely leaves fans covered in blood, sweat and saliva.

AUSTRA - HiRUDiN - LP €23.99 (Domino) - Limited Moss Dark Green Vinyl - Austra aka Katie Austra Stelmanis releases her fourth album. HiRUDiN is about the importance of healing the self, letting go of harmful influences, and finding the power to rebuild through exploring your innermost desires. It reaps the rewards of Austra’s leap into the unknown, in her most introspective yet inventive statement to date.

CAR SEAT HEADREST - Making A Door Less Open - LP €19.99 (Matador) - Limited Pink Vinyl - The first set of brand-new songs since 2016’s Teens Of Denial. Created over the course of four years. It is the result of a fruitful “collaboration” between Car Seat Headrest, led by Will Toledo, and 1 Trait Danger, a CSH electronic side project consisting of drummer Andrew Katz and Toledo’s alternate persona, “Trait.” To realize this, the band recorded the album twice: once live with guitars, drums and bass, and once in a MIDI environment using purely synthesized sounds. During the mixing process, the two approaches were gradually combined using elements of each, with additional overdubs.

JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN - Cover Two - LP €22.99 (Sweet Police) - Limited Red Vinyl - Wildly acclaimed Brooklyn songwriter Joan As Police Woman returns with her new album Cover Two. This is Joan’s second album re-working songs by other artists and again, Joan makes some very interesting choices.

DAMIEN JURADO - What's New, Tomboy? - LP €22.99 (Loose Music) - What’s New, Tomboy? is an album that seeks respite in bare minimums and barren revelations: sometimes frail, sometimes affirming, sometimes wry, and usually a threadbare mix of all those sentiments. It could be considered Damien Jurado’s finest collection of music to date, with songs exuding the inviting warmth of a lone porch light gleaming amidst the disorienting darkness.

BOSTON MANOR - GLUE - LP€21.99 (Pure Noise Records) - Limited Silver & Black Vinyl - Boston Manor’s third full-length GLUE is the sound of a band questioning the state of the world around them. Inevitably, in a critical examination of the modern world, it comes from a dark place, but one that fuelled the five-piece to create a body of work that elevates their craft further than ever before. Its 13 highly charged songs came out of a process that singer Henry Cox describes as “very chaotic”, but the result is a truly ferocious album - one that both draws and moves on from what they’ve done in the past, incorporating the gloomy atmospherics of 2018’s Welcome To The Neighbourhood with the highly charged yet melodic punk of 2016’s debut Be Nothing.

HAVOK - V- LP €25.99 (Century Media) - Colorado-based thrashers Havok are back! After a whirlwind yet rewarding cycle for 2017’s Conformicide effort, the high-octane outfit have emerged from the studio victorious with their new album.

JETHRO TULL - Stormwatch(Steven Wilson Remix) - LP €27.99 (Rhino) - Jethro Tull released Stormwatch in September 1979, completing a folk-rock trilogy the band started with Songs from the Wood in 1977 and continued the following year with Heavy Horses. Stormwatch was also the final album to feature the classic late-1970s Jethro Tull lineup, which included Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Glascock, John Evan, David (now Dee) Palmer and Barriemore Barlow. Back in November Rhino released Stormwatch (40^th Anniversary Force 10 Edition), a 4CD/Blu-ray deluxe collection. This is the 1LP breakout of the original album Stormwatch, newly remixed by Steven Wilson.

VLADER -Solitude In Madness- LP€21.99 (Nuclear Blast) - Polish death metal metallers VADER release their 16th studio album

WHITESNAKE - Slide It In (35^th Anniversary Remix) - 2LP €31.99 (Rhino) - Limited Red Vinyl - Whitesnake scored its first platinum-selling album in 1984 with Slide It In, a release that has sold more than six million copies worldwide thanks to hard-rocking songs like "Love Ain't No Stranger," "Slow An' Easy" and the title track. Following the release of Slide It In The Ultimate Special Edition in early 2019, Whitesnake are releasing the 35th Anniversary Remix (Disc 3 from the Super Deluxe set), as a 2LP set on 180-Gram red vinyl.

WITCHCRAFT - Black Metal - LP €20.99 (Nuclear Blast) - Limited Black Vinyl - The band’s first new album in four years, ‘Black Metal’, is an entirely acoustic release. From opener, and first single, ‘Elegantly Expressed Depression’ it’s clear that this new facet of the band’s sound allows the rawness and fragility to shine in an entirely new light. The minimalism of Bill Callaghan, the tenderness of Elliot Smith and the air of slight discomfort that could only be Witchcraft combine to make this record a truly unique spectacle, not only in the band’s catalogue, but in the world of guitar music as it stands in 2020.

DUKE ELLINGTON – Money Jungle – LP €36.99 (Blue Note) – 180 Gram Vinyl housed in Deluxe Stoughton Printing “Old Style” Gatefold Tip-On Sleeve – Recorded on 17th September 1962 at Sound Makers Studios, New York City. Ellington’s one and only Blue Note album (originally released on United Artists Records), and one of only two trio records recorded by the master. A one-off summit meeting between three jazz titans. Featuring Ellington on piano, Charles Mingus on bass and Max Roach on drums. Showcases various classic Ellington compositions (Fleurette Africaine, Wig Wise, Solitude) plus a timeless take on Juan Tizol’s Caravan. Produced by Alan Douglas (John McLaughlin, Jimi Hendrix). Featuring liner notes by legendary impressario / Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein.

STONE FOUNDATION FEAT. LAVILLE – The Light In Us -7″ €10.99 (100% Records) – Having spent 2019 touring with Paul Weller and Mavis Staples, Stone Foundation return with the first single from their forthcoming 9th studio album. For this new single the band have teamed up with up and coming soul singer Laville (Acid Jazz Records). The b-side is the road-tested fan favourite Freedom Starts! Both tracks see the band taking another step forward whilst maintaining the classic soul sound that has seen their two most recent albums chart in the UK top 30. Strictly limited to 500 copies worldwid

PRINCE ALLA / JOE GIBS & TE PROFFESSIONALS - Naw Go A Them Burial / Six Foot Six - 7" €7.99 (VP/Joe Gibbs Records)

BARRINGTON LEVY - Praise His Name - 7" €7.99 (VP/Joe Gibbs Records)

GREGORY ISAACS / MIGHTY TWO - Babylon To Rough / I Stand Accused - 7" €7.99 (VP/Joe Gibbs Records)