NEW RELEASES WEEK # 41 OCTOBER 7, 2014

OCTOBER 7, 2014 (WEEK #41)

1.    JOHN LUTHER ADAMS-“BECOME OCEAN” (WITH SEATTLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA) (10/2) 

2.    ALLO DARLIN’-“WE COME FROM THE SAME PLACE” (10/7) 

3.    MATIAS AGUAYO-“LEGENDE” (10/6) 

4.    BASS DRUM OF DEATH-“RIP THIS” (10/7) 

5.    BROODS-“EVERGREEN” (10/7) 

6.    VASHTI BUNYAN-“HEARTLEAP” (10/7) (Nine years after Lookaftering, her last album of new material, legendary British singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan returns with a breathtaking new LP. Recorded largely in her home studio, Heartleap is a unique and entrancing collection of ten songs comprising what Vashti is adamant will be her final album. Vashti s third album follows her rediscovery after thirty years in the wilderness, with the 2000 re-release of Just Another Diamond Day and the critical success of 2005 s Lookaftering. Heartleap has a classic sound and is the first album where she herself has been in control of the whole process, from writing and arranging to playing and recording. Crafted predominantly from a studio setup in her Edinburgh home, the record was slowly pieced together, and reveals an artist at her peak, capturing her songs within fluid settings that masterfully marry content and form. Both Just Another Diamond Day and Lookaftering saw Vashti s songs arranged and framed by others. Joe Boyd s production and Robert Kirby s arranging of the former remain timelessly classy, while Max Richter s bold production of the latter was enhanced by contributions from a raft of supporting artists (including Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Vetiver and Adem), all eagerly adding their colors. Vashti is justly proud of Lookaftering, but Heartleap is an equally strong and even more personal record, standing solely on the merits and patient endeavor of its author rather than being buoyed by and filtered through the cachet and collaborative creativity of a powerful supporting cast. Recording her vocals when no one else was around to overhear freed Vashti up to deliver more confident performances. At the same time, the absence of studio deadlines enabled her to work slowly and lovingly in her own time, weaving together tracks out of numerous takes. Predominantly guitar or piano led, with additional instrumentation building throughout, the songs have no underpinning bassline or percussion, giving each instrument and voice the chance to pace itself. It took in total seven years to put together these ten songs. The first was written in 2007, the last just two months before mastering. A hiatus in recording came with the untimely passing of Robert Kirby in 2009. Robert had arranged three songs on Just Another Diamond Day and the pair had just reconnected and planned to work on new arrangements together just weeks before he died. It would be another two years before Vashti took the decision that she must arrange the music herself, with Robert always in mind. The subsequent three years saw her gradually picking the thread back up and working with renewed purpose. Slowly more songs found their way out of her. Seven became ten. The right final mix frustratingly eluded her until the album magically came together in a week in May 2014 when it was balanced and mastered beautifully. Like the deer on the cover painting, Heartleap moves gracefully, enchantingly. Overcoming adversity through sheer willpower, its very existence is a dazzling triumph. ) 

7.    CARIBOU-“OUR LOVE” (10/7) 

8.    ADAM COHEN-“WE GO HOME” (9/23) 

9.    DYLAN IN THE MOVIES-“SWEET REBEL THEE” (10/7) (Bostonian crooner Brian Sullivan, the driving force behind Dylan In The Movies (perhaps a reference to Bob Dylan’s 1967 film Don’t Look Back?), returned this year with his first release since 2006. With help from fellow East Coaster Tanya Donelly, indie favorite Jenny Lewis and others, Sweet Rebel Thee is a deep well of talent.)

10.    EX HEX-“RIPS” (10/7) (MARY TIMONY!!! ***EX HEX is a power trio hailing from Washington, DC, making the music you've been waiting for. Drums, bass, guitar, P90s, searing leads--this is unapologetic rock 'n' roll spat out in the discipline's mother tongue. With WILD FLAG on hiatus, MARY TIMONY (AUTOCLAVE, HELIUM) needed a new outlet, so she retreated to her basement and started writing. To her surprise, the songs came easily and the hooks practically wrote themselves. Mary found LAURA HARRIS (THE AQUARIUM, BENJY FERREE) and they hit it off immediately. Laura is a monster on drums: intuitive, solid, and just a bit rough around the edges. The pair played together for a couple of months in a tiny carpet-lined practice space shared with half a dozen hardcore bands and what appeared to be the better part of a B.C. Rich Mockingbird. In walked BETSY WRIGHT from the wilds of Virginia. She and Mary have similar tendencies, both defaulting to denim and The Voidoids. Betsy is a performer and an ace piano player, and before long, she was slinging a cherry SG as the third member of Ex Hex. The group played a handful of shows and a couple of months later, in the spring of 2014, headed into the studio. Working furiously, they recorded overthe span of two weeks in North Carolina with MITCH EASTER (Let's Active) and in the basement of Mary's home with frequent collaborator JONAH TAKAGI. BOBBY HARLOW (The Go, Conspiracy of Owls) was tapped to mix because of his unique take on making rock records. What results is Ex Hex Rips , twelve songs about underdogs, guys stealing your wallet, schoolyard brawls, and getting bent. The record happens pretty quickly, so don't blink.)

11.   MARIANNE FAITHFULL-“GIVE MY LOVE TO LONDON” (10/7)

12.    FIELD REPORT-“MARIGOLDEN” (10/7)

13. FROM INDIAN LAKES-“ABSENT SOUND” (10/7)

14. GODFLESH-“A WORLD LIT ONLY BY FIRE” (10/7) 

15. HOZIER-“HOZIER” (10/7) 

16. ICEAGE-“PLOWING INTO THE FIELD OF LOVE” (10/7) (Plowing into the Field of Love is the third album from Copenhagen s ICEAGE. It is new, bold and forceful. Channeling the rage and emotion of their tempestuous early releases into finely honed musicianship, Plowing Into The Field of Love features piano, mandolin, viola and organ atop Johan Suurballe-Wieth s razor-sharp guitars and the lolloping, synchronized rhythm section of Jacob Tvilling Pless and Dan Kjær Nielsen. The record has a clear, uncompressed sound, and Elias Bender Rønnenfelt s desperate vocals are out front, nakedly accountable for the words.)

17. THE JUAN MACLEAN-“IN A DREAM” (10/7) 

18. JOHNNY MARR-“PLAYLAND” (10/7) 

19. MINUS THE BEAR-“LOST LOVES” (10/7) 

20. MISS KITTIN & DUBFIRE-“EXIT” [EP] (10/7) 

21. MOTOPONY-“IDLE BEAUTY” [EP] (10/7)

22. O’DEATH-“OUT OF HANDS WE GO” (10/7)

23. PEAKING LIGHTS-“COSMIC LOGIC” (10/7) 

24. SBTRKT-“WONDER WHERE WE LAND” (DELUXE 2-CD) (10/7) 

25. SHAKEY GRAVES-“AND THE WAR CAME” (10/7) 

26. NIKKI SUDDEN-“FRED BEETHOVEN” (10/7)

27. THOSE POOR BASTARDS-“VICIOUS LOSERS” (10/7)

28. THE VASELINES-“V FOR VASELINES” (10/7) 

29. WAMPIRE-“BAZAAR” (10/7)

30. WAX WITCHES-“CENTER OF YOUR UNIVERSE” (10/7) 

31. A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN-“ATOMOS” (10/7)

32. ZOLA JESUS-“TAIGA” (10/7)