MARCH 31, 2015
(WEEK #13)
1.
AERO FLYNN-“AERO FLYNN” (3/31) (Josh Scott is revered in the Eau
Claire, Wisconsin music scene, which yielded Bon Iver, Volcano Choir, and Field
Report. Produced by Scott and Justin Vernon, this album features members of Bon
Iver, Field Report, S. Carey, Solid Gold, and more. Dk/Pi is the first single
to be released from Aero Flynn, and has been deemed extremely promising by
Stereogum, and a blissful return for the enigmatic songwriter by Consequence of
Sound. First 250 copies pressed on CLEAR VINYL (Ooh La La Records).
2.
DANIEL AVERY-“NEW ENERGY” (COLLECTED REMIXES)
(3/31)
3.
BOXED IN-“BOXED IN” (3/31)
4.
PETER BRODERICK + GABRIEL SALOMAN-“S/T”
COLLABORATION (3/31) (***In 2013
Beacon Sound invited PETER BRODERICK (EFTERKLANG, collarborator with NILS FRAHM
and MACHINEFABRIEK) and GABRIEL SALOMAN (YELLOW SWANS) to collaborate on a
musical project. The two artists met for the first time at the Beacon Sound
Weekender on the Pacific Coast in October of 2013, and immediately afterwards
went into Type Foundry studio with engineer JASON POWERS to record basic tracks
together. They each then transformed those tracks into their own pieces and the
result is a compelling reflecton of each artist's personality and musical
trajectory. Broderick's side brings together elements of modern compostion, electronic
music, dub and vocal-oriented songwriting, while Saloman's side is an epic
18-minute journey that builds into a gorgeous crescendo before gliding away on
plaintive cries of a violin.)
5.
CAMOUFLAGE-“GREYSCALE” (3/31)
6.
DEATH
CAB FOR CUTIE-“KINTSUGI” (3/31)
7.
DYN-“DYN” (3/31)
8.
EMERSON LAKE & PALMER-“ONCE UPON A
TIME IN SOUTH AFRICA” [4-CD LIVE BOX SET] (3/31)
9.
ERRORS-“LEASE
OF LIFE” (3/23)
10. FOREIGN
FIELDS-“WHAT I KEPT IN HIDING” [EP] (3/31)
11. FORT
ROMEAU-“INSIDES” (3/31)
12. GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR-“ASUNDER,
SWEET AND OTHER DISTRESS” (3/31)
13. GLEN
HANSARD-“IT WAS TRIUMPH WE ONCE PROPOSED… SONGS OF JASON MOLINA” [EP]
(3/31) (Upon the passing of Jason Molina, Glen
Hansard gathered friends Jeff Panall, Jennie Benford and Dan and Rob Sullivan,
who had recorded and toured with Jason for years in Songs:Ohia and were the
core musicians on the Magnolia Electric Co. album. For one afternoon, in a
recording studio, they all forgot about the pain and plowed through a number of
their favorite Molina originals, serving as both therapy and tribute to their
fallen friend. All proceeds go to the estate of Jason Molina. Covering five
Songs:Ohia tracks. Artwork by Jason Molina. PLEASE PLAY LOUDLY.)
14. NICK
HOPPNER-“FOLK” (3/30)
15. HUNDRED
WATERS-“THE MOON RANG LIKE A BELL: REMIXED” (3/30)
16. JONATHAN
JEREMIAH-“OH DESIRE” (3/31)
17. JLIN-“DARK
ENERGY” (3/30)
18. KING
KHAN & THE BBQ SHOW-“BAD NEWS BOYS” (3/31)
19. LIEUTENANT-“IF
I KILL THIS THING WE’RE ALL GOING TO EAT FOR A WEEK” (3/31) (Lieutenant // If I Kill This Thing We re All Going To
Eat For A Week will be released on March 10th via Dine Alone Records. This is
the debut solo release from Nate Mendel, bassist for Foo Fighters and member of
both The Fire Theft and Sunny Day Real Estate. The album was produced by Toshi
Kasai (Melvins, Big Business) and features a guest appearance from Page
Hamilton (Helmet). )
20. LOWER DENS-“ESCAPE FROM EVIL”
(3/31) (On Escape From Evil,
Lower Dens’ Jana Hunter emerges: cerebral and hot-blooded, rash and
incorruptible, and, crucially, possessing of a loud, clear voice. Hunter
stepping up and taking center stage has emboldened every other aspect of the
band. Escape From Evil is a cinematic, tonally rich work. The sounds are clean
and warm. The pulse of the album is strong. Escape from Evil marks the
follow-up to 2012’s Nootropics.)
21. MALE
GAZE-“MALE GAZE” (3/31)
22. JESSE
MALIN-“NEW YORK BEFORE THE WAR” (3/31)
23. THE
MANHATTAN LOVE SUICIDES-“MORE HEAT! MORE PANIC!” (3/31)
24. SCOTT MATTHEW-“THIS HERE
DEFEAT” (3/31)
25. MISSY
MAZZOLI AND GLEN KOTCHE-“VESPERS FOR A NEW DARK AGE” (3/31) (Vespers For A New Dark Age was commissioned by
Carnegie Hall for the 2014 Ecstatic Music Festival, and first performed at
Carnegie's Zankel Hall on February 22, 2014. The work is a distorted, wild,
blasphemous take on the traditional Vespers prayer service, in which fragments
of poems by Matthew Zapruder replace the customary sacred text. His poems are
beautiful, haunting, and very much of our time; they explore the way we
confront technology, ghosts, death, doubt and God in our "new dark
age". Percussionist Glenn Kotche rattles boundaries of the written score
with his expansive virtuosity and supernatural energy, and the instrumentalists
of my ensemble Victoire, armed with synthesizers, organs, amplified strings and
winds, further bridge the sonic gap between the new and the old, the profane
and the spiritual. Electronic producer Lorna Dune's contribution to this record
cannot be overstated. She helped me shape the sound of nearly every moment,
electronic and acoustic. She also created a sublime remix of my piece A
Thousand Tongues, transforming a work for electronics, cello and voice into
something completely unexpected and entrancing. - Missy Mazzoli)
26. JAMES
VINCENT MCMORROW-“LIVE AT THE THEATER AT ACE HOTEL, LOS ANGELES” (3/31)
27. MERCHANDISE-“(STRANGE
SONGS) IN THE DARK” (3/31) (Back in print and
readily available (for perhaps the first time), we have Merchandise’s debut LP
(Strange Songs) In The Dark. The album, recorded in early 2010, marks a
decisive break from the band’s straightforward early post-punk EP’s, moving
instead toward the more experimental studio-based pop constructions that would
be further explored in the subsequent Children of Desire and Totale Nite
albums. (Strange Songs) was recorded by the core duo of Carson Cox and David
Vassalotti. Despite the lo-fi nature of this home recording, there are tons of
hooks to be found amidst the haze (notably “I Locked the Door” and “Worthless
Apology”). Occasionally veering into abstractions, the album as a whole is a
piece that warrants listening as such. It’s a sad bastard of a record, but one
with plenty of range and ideas. Not rehash but reimagination. Many moments on
(Strange Songs) In The Dark (especially the moody “Foolish” and “In The Dark”)
foreshadow Merchandise’s eventual signing to the 4AD label. Fans of the band’s
later albums will find much to enjoy on this early effort. [[Originally a split
release between DIY punk labels Katorga Works and Drugged Conscience
Records.]])
28. BOB
MOSES-“ALL IN ALL” (3/31)
29. POLAR
BEAR-“SAME AS YOU” (3/31)
30. THE
PRETTY THINGS-“BOUQETS FROM A CLOUDY SKY” [13-CD BOX SET COLLECTION] (3/31)
31. THE
PRODIGY-“THE DAY IS MY ENEMY” (3/31)
32. PRONG-“SONGS
FROM THE BLACK HOLE” (3/31)
33. THE
RIVAL BED-“NIGHT REMAINS” (3/31)
34. BOX
SCAGGS-“A FOOL TO CARE” (3/31)
35. RON
SEXSMITH-“CAROUSEL ONE” (3/31)
36. SIMPLE
MINDS-“SPARKLE IN THE RAIN” [30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION 2-CD
DELUXE EDITION] (3/31)
37. THE
SOFT MOON-“DEEPER” (3/31)
38. THE STAVES-“IF I WAS” (3/31)
39. SUFJAN STEVENS-“CARRIE &LOWELL”
(3/31)
40. TEENAGE
BOTTLEROCKET-“TALES FROM WYOMING” (3/31)
41. THERAPY?-“DISQUIET”
(3/31)
42. TRANSLATOR-“SOMETIMES
PEOPLE FORGET” (3/31)
43. TWIN
PEAKS-“MIND FRAMES” (DEMO RECORD THAT LED TO THE MAKING OF “WILD ONION”
FROM 2014) (3/31)
44. VAN
HALEN-“TOKYO DOME IN CONCERT 2013” (2-CD) (3/31)
45. SCOTT
WEILAND & THE WILDABOUTS-“BLASTER” (3/31)
46. THE
WHITE BIRCH-“THE WEIGHT OF SPRING” (3/31)
47. WILLIAM
ELLIOTT WHITMORE-“RADIUM DEATH” (3/31) (Known
for the sparse, haunting qualities of his mostly solo recordings of what he
refers to as “roots-folk music,” in which his husky voice is often accompanied
by little more than a banjo or acoustic guitar, William Elliott Whitmore sought
to add some new pitches to his bullpen for his new ANTI- release Radium Death.
“I purposefully went into it wanting to make a little bit of a departure,
sonically, using an electric guitar a little bit more and adding more
instrumentation, more full-band type stuff,” says Whitmore. “I wanted to switch
it up a little bit and plug in to see what that felt like.” “I was reading a
lot about the so-called ‘radium girls’ of the early 1900’s, these assembly
lines of women painting watch dials with radium to make them glow in the dark,”
he says, detailing how the workers would lick the tips of their paintbrushes to
get them pointy while dipping them repeatedly into the chemical substance
before it was known to be dangerous. “So, in my mind ‘radium death’ came to
represent something that you’re told is good for you—maybe by a higher
power—but really is killing you. It represents those lies that are told, and
how we can protect ourselves against them.” The songs assembled, while not a
concept album, present a cohesive look into those recurring Whitmore themes of
respect, protection, sustenance and survival. The blazing (even by WEW
standards) opener, “Healing To Do,” pulls no punches, kicking in immediately
with the rhythmic shuffle of a full band, an organ, and Whitmore’s upbeat rasp.
The pace continues with songs like “Trouble in Your Heart,” “1000 Deaths” and
“Don’t Strike Me Down,” preaching patient hope, rebirth, renewal, and revolt
over stomping drums, acoustic strumming and even an electric guitar solo.)
