Daily Loaf

Brand New lead vocalist and guitarist Jesse Lacey warned us about Daisy (Interscope) earlier this summer:

“I’m a little worried [about the new album]. It’s a pretty exhausting record. It’s quite dense and I think some of the decisions we made don’t always go in the most obvious direction. We were thinking a lot more about what we’d want to play when we were up onstage rather than actually what you’d want to hear on a record.

And 85 seconds into opening track, we learn just how valid his fears may be.

While a gentle hymn bookends the album, the band jerks into chaotic post-hardcore uncharacteristic of even their most raucous prior output. With echoy guitars over a distorted rhythm section, hoarse screams and higher backing vocals ”Vices” sounds more like The Jesus Lizard reinterpreting Fugazi’s “Waiting Room.” I imagine more than a few Brand New fans have wondered if iTunes mislabeled some files or the manufacturing company packaged the wrong disc. Read the rest of this entry »

VINYL:

Beastie Boys – Hello Nasty
Now available on HQ-180 gatefold double vinyl.

Fugazi – End Hits
Fugazi – Steady Diet of Nothing
Remastered reissues, with each containing a bonus download.

Mudhoney – Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge LP+MP3
Mudhoney – Mudhoney LP+MP3
Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff LP+MP3
Reissued on HQ-180 vinyl with MP3 download..

Willie Nelson – Phases and Stages
Nelson’s first “concept album,” the Jerry Wexler-produced (at Muscle Shoals) Phases and Stages, provides both a man and a woman’s viewpoints on a crumbling marriage.

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band – Between My Head and the Sky
Between My Head and the Sky is resplendent with mind-melting blend of styles and sharpening themes while, like its forward-thinking author, plunging into the always-mysterious future.

Pearl Jam – Backspacer
Available on deluxe double vinyl.

Various Artists – Wheedles Groove: Seattle Funk & Soul 1965-1975
On the quality Light in the Attic label.

CDs:

Basement Jaxx – Scars
They have remixed the likes of Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliot, N.E.R.D, Daft Punk, and are back with a new album.

Beastie Boys – Hello Nasty
Digitally remastered. The CD includes a bonus disc of B-sides and rarities including seven never before released tracks. Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s recommended releases as well as a breakdown of other worthy albums available now.

Vinyl:

Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
The band’s third album is a set of songs both heavier and lush than in previous efforts but still full of the Monkeys’ punch and vitality.

Jeff Beck – Beck-Ola
Jeff Beck – Truth
Exact replicas now available on pristine HQ-180 vinyl. Taken from the original analog master tapes.

Chocolate Watch Band – No Way Out
Chocolate Watch Band – Inner Mystique
Hailing from San Jose, Calif., the Watch Band — featuring the pouting, Mick Jagger-influenced lead vocals of Dave Aguilar, the thrilling guitars of Sean Tolby and Mark Loomis, the solid bass of Bill Flores and the thumping drums of Gary Andrijasevich — made all the right scenes in San Jose, including appearances with the Syndicate of Sound and Count Five.

John Fogerty – Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again
Among the special guests are Bruce Springsteen.

Fugazi – 3 Songs 7″
Remastered.

Woody Guthrie – Woody, Cisco And Sonny
Woody Guthrie – Woody The Agitator
Woody Guthrie – Woody’s Roots
Woody Guthrie – Woody’s Greatest Hits
Classic Guthrie vinyl reissues — now available.

Jet – Shaka Rock
bass, drums, guitars and vocals.

Willie Nelson – American Classic

Pearl Jam – The Fixer 7″
Two new tracks from their upcoming album on white vinyl with glow-in-the-dark ink on the label!

Chuck Ragan/Brian Fallon split 7″
They of Hot Water Music and Gaslight Anthem fame, respectively.

Reigning Sound – Love and Curses
New release — now available on vinyl.

The Smiths – The Smiths
The Smiths – Meat Is Murder
The Smiths – Queen is Dead
The Smiths – Strangeways Here We Come
180 gram vinyl reissues. Remastering supervised by Johnny Marr. Read the rest of this entry »