NEW RELEASES 2014 WEEK # 52 DECEMBER 23, 2014

DECEMBER 23, 2014 (WEEK # 52)

1.    BLUE RODEO-“A MERRIE CHRISTMAS TO YOU” (12/23) 

2.    THE HOUSE OF LOVE-“LIVE AT THE LEXINGTON 11/13/13” (12/23) 

3.    KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD-“I’M IN YOUR MIND FUZZ” (12/9)

4.    LITTLE BOOTS-“BUSINESS PLEASURE” [EP] (12/23) 

NEW RELEASES 2014 WEEK # 51 DECEMBER 16

DECEMBER 16, 2014 (WEEK # 51)

1.    DEVO-“MIRACLE WITNESS HOUR” (LIVE PERFORMANCE FROM THE EAGLE STREET SALOON, CLEVAND 1977) (12/2) 

2.    ENDLESS BUMMER-“VOL. 1” (12/16) (Los Angeles garage/punk band Endless Bummer follow up their debut EP, Ripper Current, with this full-length featuring 13 sonic slabs of wallop guaranteed to please any self-respecting fan of trash rock. Recorded by Ty Segall at his now defunct Sweat Lodge studio. Joined by the Spits' Greg Toumassian.)

3.    GALA DROP-“GALA DROP 2” (12/16) (Golf Channel Recordings presents II, the first full-length recording from Lisbon, Portugal-based Gala Drop in six years, and their first release since 2012's Broda, an acclaim split with Ben Chasny of former tour-mates Six Organs of Admittance. For this release, Gala Drop joined forces with Detroit ex-pat Jerrald "Jerry the Cat" James to pull together the variant strands of the Motor City's aural lineage with the more off-the-cuff Balearic grooves of their native Lisbon in a hypnotic melting pot of sound. From percussion work with Parliament-Funkadelic, to live performances with John Lee Hooker, to collaborations with Derrick May, Theo Parrish, and Moodymann, James' involvement in the great rise of black music through the mid-to-late 20th century cannot be understated. It's as a vocalist that he makes his mark on II, with his dub-smeared murmurs and galvanizing cries pushing Gala Drop even further away from the introspective delay-pedal drone that they started out with nearly a decade previously. Seductive 808s and samplers sit alongside Afonso Simões' drumming, allowing the lighter tissue of the track, shimmering synths and soulful vocals, to weave and wind their way around the foundations -- never more apparent than on the pirouetting Mediterranean disco of the final track, "Samba da Maconha." The track closes an album that shows definite Jamaican reggae and dub influences, while at the same time drawing deeply from the progressive Afrofuturism aesthetic that's come to typify the Lisbon club scene of the past few years. That scene has certainly had an influence on Gala Drop's development, as Simões says: "I was going out to a techno club at the weekend but going to see a garage rock show or some free jazz band in the week. The post-millennium Lisbon has been very fertile musically speaking." It's that eclecticism that's allowed the group freedom to be similarly unhemmed. Their music takes on the bustling heat of the streets of Lisbon but, like the city itself, remains tied to the open seas and panoramic scenery beyond. A song like "Sun Gun" is a perfect example, built around intricate basslines and restless drumming that eventually stretches out into the distance as the track races along, with Gala Drop skipping through their alluringly idiosyncratic world.)

4.    BOO HEWERDINE-“MY NAME IN THE BRACKETS” (12/16)

5.    PROXIMA-“ALPHA” (12/16) 

6.    PSYCHIC TV-“SNAKES” (12/16) (Angry Love Productions is proud to present Snakes, Psychic TV's first full-length LP since 2009's Alien Brain vs. The Skinwalkers. A psychedelic journey from start to finish, Snakes has a wide variety of material that musically touches on various parts of Psychic TV's 35-year history, yet feels extremely cohesive as an album. Singer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge has and will continue to be a press darling for h/er reputation as a "cultural-engineer" and will be promoting the album full-tilt while Psychic TV as a band have and will continue to promote it on the road. This LP will be a limited run of 1,000 copies bearing stunning five-color artwork and will have the trademark "random recycled vinyl" color process, meaning each copy of the vinyl will be completely unique in color.)

7.    VISAGE-“ORCHESTRAL” (12/16) 

NEW RELEASES 2014 WEEK # 50 DECEMBER 9

DECEMBER 9, 2014 (WEEK #50)

1.    CRACKER-“BERKELEY TO BAKERSFIELD” (2-CD) (12/9)

2.    DEUS-“SELECTED SONGS 1994-2014” (2-CD) (12/9) 

3.    JOHN GRANT-“WITH THE BBC PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA: LIVE IN CONCERT” (2-CD IMPORT) (12/9) 

4.    HEM-“THE WORLD IS OUTSIDE” [EP] (12/9) 

5.    THE JAM-“SETTING SONS” (DELUXE EDITION) (2-CD) (12/9)

6.    BAP KENNEDY-“LET’S START AGAIN” (LIMITED DELUXE EDITION WITH BONUS DISC) (12/9) 

7.    MODERN VICES-“MODERN VICES” (12/11) 

8.    NOTS-“WE ARE NOTS” (12/9)

9.    SLEAFORD MODS-“CHUBBED UP” (SINGLES COLLECTION) (12/9) 

10. SMASHING PUMPKINS-“MONUMENTS TO AN ELEGY” (12/9) 

11. TRAGICALLY HIP-“FULLY COMPLETELY” (SUPER DELUXE EDITION) (12/9)

NEW RELEASES 2014 WEEK # 49 DECEMBER 2

DECEMBER 2, 2014 (WEEK # 49)

1.    ANATOMY OF HABIT-“CIPHERS + AXIOMS” (12/2) (***ANATOMY OF HABIT'S Relapse debut Ciphers + Axioms is an intensely terrifying tranced-out post-metal noise-rock masterpiece. Fronted by noise icon MARK SOLOTROFF (BLOODYMINDED), the band is rounded out by an all-star big band featuring legendary drummer JOHN MCENTIRE (TORTOISE, THE SEA AND CAKE, GASTR DEL SOL), WILL LINDSAY (INDIAN, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM), on guitar, THEO KATSAOUNIS (JOAN OF ARC) on percussion and KENNY RASMUSSEN (ex-RADAR EYES) on bass.  Solotoroff leads the band through two 20-plus-minute epic songs of tensely monolithic walls of guitar and percussion with his baritone vocal poetics.  With Ciphers + Axioms Anatomy Of Habit take their place amongst Swans and Neurosis as being one of the most unique and truly gifted post-metal heavy music bands of all time.)

2.    APPLICATION-“APPLIED REMIXES” (12/1) (Application have selected some of their favorite artists to remix their album System Fork (DUST 041CD/LP). Each artist selected their favorite track and were given the freedom to do what they wanted with the track. Application explain: "We went to see Pye Corner Audio in Sheffield, the table was festooned with equipment that looked like it has just been dropped out of a toy box. We immediately liked him. Beneath is so clever with the way he organizes his beats, we had to invite him to be part of this project as we've loved everything he's released. Geiom's approach and ear for detail has always been attractive to us and we really wanted to hear what he'd do with one of these tracks. We knew he would create something different that we wouldn't do ourselves. Scanner has been a good friend over the years and we've been closely following the very different path he's taken, he's always doing something we'd never have thought of, so we had to get him involved. We're big fans of Russell Haswell's work and have always enjoyed watching him work live, it's as if he's trying to put something back together while it's melting! Sometimes we don't understand what Mark Fell is doing but we always enjoy the experience. He drags you further and further into his world and not many artists can do that. These are our reasons.") 

3.    DAPHNI & OWEN PALLETT-“JULIA / TIBERIUS” (SINGLE) (12/2) 

4.    OH SUSANNA & JIM BRYSON-“NAMEDROPPER” (12/2) 

5.    JON HOPKINS-“ASLEEP VERSIONS” [EP] (12/2) 

6.    MOGWAI-“MUSIC INDUSTRY 3. FITNESS INDUSTRY 1.” [EP] (12/2) 

7.    THE PIXIES-“DOOLITTLE 25: B-SIDES, PEEL SESSIONS AND DEMOS” (3-CD) (12/2)

8.    SPC ECO-“THE ART OF POP” (12/4) BFC (FORMERLY SPC ECO)-“THE ART OF POP” (9/16) (Music pioneer Dean Garcia has been very busy since his days in Curve. Over the last few years, he teamed up with his daughter Rose Berlin with the SPC ECO project. This was very well received by the Strangeways Radio community as we welcomed the fresh voice of Rose while enjoying some of the similarities to Curve. Now the father/daughter team has went in a new direction with their brand new band called BOFC. The debut album from BOFC is called Art Of Pop, and it has more of an electronic sound to it. The vocals remind us of a more sultry version of Goldfrapp while the music would fit nicely on the Drive soundtrack. Stand out tracks on the album include Ray Of Sun, Burn It Down, and Hear Me Now.)

9.    TUNE-“IDENTITY” (12/2) 

10. YO LA TENGO-“EXTRA PAINFUL!” (2-CD) (12/2) (Deluxe Reissue of 1993’s classic Painful, in time for the band’s 30th anniversary this December. 2xLP includes bonus 7” + download coupon with 15 extra tracks , in p/s with ephemera, photos, original band-aid sticker, the first YLT Gazette in 14 years, liner notes by Matador’s Gerard Cosloy and the band 2xCD + download coupon which includes the 2 tracks from the “Shaker” 7” as well as the 15 extra bonus tracks in a jewelcase brilliant box and all the artwork in the booklet.)