Vinyl:

Antony & the Johnsons – Aeon 7”
New single from ‘The Crying Light’. Includes the earnest and impassioned cover of Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.”

Assjack – Assjack
Death-metal band founded and fronted by Hank III.

Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band
Using bright melodies, defiantly major-key chord structures, natural imagery mixed with the occasional blazing insight and tender observation, The Ruminant Band marks a further crystallization of singer/songwriter Eric Johnson’s own melodic instincts and overall vision.

Guided By Voices – Under the Bushes, Under the Stars 2xLP+MP3
The last GBV album with the original lineup of Pollard-Sprout-Mitchell-Fennell. Beautiful original gatefold packaging. Double HQ-180 vinyl includes download code.

Gus Gus – 24 / 7
Sixth album from the Icelandic electronic/dance collective.

Jimi Hendrix – Live at Woodstock
2XHQ-180gram LPs.

Julian Plenty – Julian Plenty is Skyscraper
Solo album from Paul Banks — lead singer of Interpol. This varied album runs the gamut from folk-tinged acoustic songs to orchestral guitar anthems.

Jay Reatard – Watch Me Fall LP+MP3
Vinyl now, CD due August 18.

Sian Alice Group – Troubled, Shaken, Etc.
You get your minimalist trances, electronic experimentation, techno thump, jazz motifs and Eastern music tropes. A complete listening experience.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll 7″
Picture disc with remix b-side.

Yim Yames – Tribute To LP+CD
A few days after George Harrison passed away in 2001, Yim Yames (aka Jim James, lead singer for My Morning Jacket), was moved to record this six-song EP of Harrison covers.

CDs:

Anchor & Braille – Felt
Anticipated debut album by Anberlin front man Stephen Christian with some help from friend Aaron March (Copeland).

Antony & the Johnsons – Aeon EP

Assjack – Assjack

Amanda Blank – I Love You
Blank is a member of a loose collective of musicians that includes Spank Rock, Santigold, and Diplo. She takes the influences of 90’s R&B, ‘80s dance, indie, new wave and Brit pop and weaves them into her own double Dutch.

Catie Curtis – Hello Stranger
A veteran artist with a 15-year career, Curtis has recorded nine solo albums. Hello Stranger features Curtis in the company of a select group of Nashville all-stars on re-workings of some fan favorites.

Miles Davis + Sonny Rollins – Classic Prestige Sessions 1951-1956
In the early 1950s, Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins developed a friendship and working relationship that produced some of the best and most important jazz of the decade. Prestige Records proudly presents this all-new compilation that showcases some of their stellar work together.

Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band

Greymachine – Disconnected
Greymachine is a collaborative effort between Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Godflesh, Napalm Death, et al), Dave Cochrane (Head of David, God, Ice), Diarmuid Dalton (Jesu, Godflesh) and Aaron Turner (Isis, House of Low Culture).

Gus Gus – 24 / 7
Sixth album from the Icelandic electronic/dance collective.

Herbaliser Band – Session 2
Contains live favorites, from the underground beats and breaks of their 1997 album ‘Blow Your Headphones’ to the more lush, soulful grooves of  ‘Same As It Never Was’. Limited double-disc version combines both releases.

Kool Keith – Lost Masters 3XCD
44 tracks- three CDs for the price of one!

Lightning Dust – Infinite Light
Infinite Light finds duo Amber Webber and Joshua Wells (both of Black Mountain) calling upon the powers of classic pop arrangements and making the most of five days with a Steinway Grand piano.

Medeski, Martin & Wood - Radiolarians III
‘The Radiolarians’ series, designed to challenge the traditional format of touring after a record’s release, has found Medeski Martin & Wood thriving and making some of their most creative and innovative music in years.

Modest Mouse – No One’s First and You’re Next
A collection of B-sides from the ‘We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank’ and ‘Good News for People Who Love Bad News’ sessions.

John Patitucci – Remembrance
Featuring Joe Lovano and Brian Blade.

Julian Plenty – Julian Plenty is Skyscraper

Seasick Steve – Doghouse Music
It has sold over 200,000 copies in the UK alone, hitting the number 1 spot in the Independent Charts three times in 18 months. Seasick Steve has been “breaking through” for 45 years.

Sian Alice Group – Troubled, Shaken, Etc.
You get your minimalist trances, electronic experimentation, techno thump, jazz motifs and Eastern music tropes. A complete listening experience.

The Smiths – CD Singles Box Set 12xCD
A clamshell cardboard box containing the first ten UK-issued Smiths singles in original picture sleeves, featuring the original track listings, apart from the first single “Hand In Glove,” which appears in its mega-rare negative sleeve. Two singles are exclusive to this box set: The rare Francois Kevorkian-mixed New York 12” version of “This Charming Man” (1983), and the German import-only 12” version of “Barbarism Begins At Home” (1985). Limited edition (10,000).

Solillaquists of Sound – No More Heroes
Orlando based hip-hop quartet Solillaquists Of Sound have accomplished the rare feat of creating work that’s hip-shakingly gratifying to the casual listener and groundbreaking, imaginative and rewarding to those looking for something more. For fans of Sage Francis, The Roots and Digable Planets.

Robin Trower – What Lies Beneath
New studio album from the guitar hero. The package includes a day-by-day diary of the creation and recording of the CD.

Various Artists – An Anthology of Chinese Experimental Music 1992-2008 4xCD
Sub Rosa presents a four CD anthology of experimental music (1992-2008) from Mainland China and from countries within the Chinese area of influence, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Featuring 48 diverse artists, this collection is designed as a journey through what is currently happening underground in these regions, tapping a seemingly endless wellspring of new, hidden talent. It also looks at the recent past and the key role of pioneers like Wang Fan, Dajuin Yao, and also Hong Kong-based Li Chin Sung aka Dickson Dee who, for almost two decades, has been spreading the word about experimental music in Mainland China.

Various Artists – Up All Night: 20 Heavy Nuggets from the Golden Age of Hard Rock
Anyone who thinks the hippie era was all about peace, love and flowers will have a rude awakening when they hear this blistering collection of frenetic proto-psych-metal.

Wildbirds & Peacedrums – The Snake
Sweden’s extraordinary drums and vocals duo return with a fierce follow up.

Yim Yames – Tribute To
A few days after George Harrison passed away in 2001, Yim Yames (aka Jim James, lead singer for My Morning Jacket), was moved to record this six-song EP of Harrison covers.

DVDs:

Elvis Presley – The Ed Sullivan Shows: The Performances
Along with the King’s groundbreaking September 9, 1956 debut on the program, this compilation includes his October 28, 1956 guest spot and the infamous final appearance on January 6, 1957 in which he was filmed only above the waist.

Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords Season 2
All 10 episodes from Season Two. Five hours total.

Vinyl:

10 Ft. Ganja Plant – Bush Rock
The band’s first studio recording in five years, Bush Rock includes vocals by Kyle McDonald of Slightly Stoopid. A well-rounded reggae/dub excursion that features both heavy dub tracks and silky sweet songs.

Deceh – Deceh
Deceh is a fine drone quartet utilizing traditional ethnic drone instruments as well as vintage analog synthesizers.

Green Day – Warning
Latest vinyl reissue of Green Day’s back catalog.

Holy Modal Rounders – Good Taste is Timeless
From the Greenwich Village acid-folkies — a 1971 cult classic.

Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart 12″
Newly remastered with a 12″ bonus remix.

Al Kooper & Mike Bloomfield – Super Session
This historic 1968 summit meeting features three of the era’s greatest musical talents: blues guitar hero extraordinaire Mike Bloomfield, multi-talented keyboard visionary Al Kooper and Buffalo Springfield/CSNY founder Stephen Stills.

Morphine – Yes
HQ-180 audiophile vinyl reissue of Morphine’s third album, originally released in 1995.

Opeth – Orchid 2xLP
Opeth – Morningrise 2xLP
Opeth – My Arms, Your Hearse 2xLP
Three double HQ-180 reissues in deluxe gatefold sleeves: a transparent purple vinyl re-issue of Orchid, the acclaimed 1994 debut album a grey vinyl re-issue of Morningrise, Opeth’s 1996 sophomore album; and a light blue vinyl re-issue of My Arms Your Hearse, Opeth’s third album.

Pisces – A Lovely Sight LP+7”
Recorded in 1969, “A Lovely Sight” combines homespun psych and secondhand studio trickery, resulting in a diverse, haunted rock headspace few coastal bands ever flew through. First 1000 copies include bonus 7”.

M. Ward – End of Amnesia 2xLP
The second studio effort by M. Ward, End of Amnesia made many Best of 2001 lists and received considerable critical praise. This release is now available for the first time in a 2×12″ vinyl edition.

CDs:

10 Ft. Ganja Plant – Bush Rock

24-Carat Black – Gone: The Promises of Yesterday
An amazing musical discovery — the lost second album from 24 Carat Black, recorded right after the band’s legendary debut for Stax Records, but unissued for over 30 years! All the righteous styles of the group’s famous Ghetto Misfortune’s Wealth classic are fully in place here and, if anything, the record has an even headier feel overall — really complicated sounds that are often deeply spiritual, but still have that snaking, bassline-driven, slow funk quality that we love in the group! The tunes each feel like mini-symphonies in soul and although the themes center more around love than politics, they’re done in a way that goes way past any sexy soul cliches of the time. Numero have done a wonderful job excavating this work, remastering the tapes for great sound, and telling the full story of the group and their too-short career.

Amadou & Mariam – The Magic Couple
“It was their collaboration with Manu Chao on 2005’s Dimanche à Bamako that propelled Amadou & Mariam to star status outside the Francophone African diaspora. But by that time they had already released three albums recorded outside Africa, the highlights of which are collected on this splendid compilation.” — Independent.co.uk

Band of Skulls – Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
Their debut offers a taste of their driving guitar force, and sun-kissed, wall of sound harmonies. Produced, recorded, and mixed by Ian Davenport (Supergrass, Badly Drawn Boy).

Blur – Midlife: A Beginner’s Guide to Blur
25-track “best of” culled from their seven studio albums. Includes the out of print single, “Popscene.”

Fabolous – Loso’s Way

Features – Some Kind of Salvation
After garnering a rare 4.5-star rating from Paste Magazine on their last album and touring with the likes of The Raconteurs, The Walkmen and Kings of Leon, cult favorites the Features return with their sophomore album Some Kind Of Salvation.

LTJ Bukem – FabricLive 46
The album was released as part of the FabricLive Mix Series. The London nightclub Fabric has released monthly compilation albums mixed by popular DJs since November 2001.

Merzbow – 13 Japanese Birds V.7
Seventh volume in Merzbow’s 13-month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien’s Catalogue D’Oiseaux.

Pastor Troy – Love Me Hate Me
New album from the Atlanta rapper.

Dudley Perkins – Holy Smokes
Hailing from Oxnard, California, Dudley Perkins (rap moniker Declaime) gained critical acclaim for collaborating with fellow Oxnardian heavyweight, Madlib. His raw commentary is known for being deeply rooted in funk.

John Zorn – O O
Adventurous instrumentals from John Zorn and his band, exploring surf music, exotica, easy listening, world music and more. Includes a 40-page booklet.

VINYL:

Bad Religion – Stranger Than Fiction
Collectible red vinyl reissue of the Southern California-based band’s Atlantic Records 1994 debut album (and eighth of their career). Mastered from the original analog tapes, featuring guest riffs from the MC5’s Wayne Kramer.

Bikini Kill – New Radio 7”
Re-issue featuring feminist punk anthem “Rebel Girl” and produced by Joan Jett. Still relevant.

Billy Childish – Archive From 1959: The Billy Childish Story 3xLP
This 51-track collection offers a look at the more rock & roll aspects of Childish’s career.

Discovery – LP LP+MP3
Now available on vinyl.

DJ Premier – Instrumental World Vol. 39 3XLP
Here, he has compiled 40 DJ Premier produced instrumentals. Hits from the likes of Gangstarr, Nas, Big L, Jay-Z, Lord Finnesse, Notorious B.I.G and many more. Perfect for DJs!

I Roy – Original Deejay At King Tubby’s
A collection of some of his greatest works to date. I Roy (born Roy Reid) worked as an accountant for the government in the mid-60s, during this time he saw DJing as more of a hobby. Due to the rise in popularity of DJs in the late-60s he established and operated Turbo Sonic Sound. He then started to take the business more seriously and went on to record a string of hits with various producers of the time. Bunny Lee, one of Jamaica’s finest producers, produced some of I Roy’s most popular tracks, which we have right here on one big album. All tracks recorded and mixed at King Tubby’s Studio.

Magnolia Electric Co. – Josephine
Magnolia Electric Co.’s fifth full-length, Josephine, is a concept album that pays tribute to the life and spirit of fallen bassist Evan Farrell. It contains some of the strongest songs Jason Molina has written. He’s approached the universal loneliness before, but never in such a focused, directed manner.

Modest Mouse – Perpetual Motion Machine 7”
Limited edition — b/w “History Sticks To Your Feet.”

Fats Navarro – Fats Blows
Trumpeter Fats Navarro is largely considered one of the lost geniuses of the bop movement.

Chuck Regan / Brian Fallon – Gospel Songs split 7”
Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music has a new full-length solo album coming out in August. This track, “Gospe”, is from that yet-to-be-titled release. The B-side features “Tin Pan Alley”, the first solo song released by Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem.

Sun Ra - Live in Paris at The “Gibus”

Young Widows / My Disco – Young Widows Split Series: Volume 4 7”
Young Widows have assembled an all-killer-no-filler split single series featuring new, unreleased Young Widows jams, split up over four separate 7″ singles, accompanied by a handful of their favorite friends and artists on the flip side. All songs by all artists are new and exclusive to this series and are limited to a one-time pressing of 2,000 copies. The artwork of the four releases fits together to form one large, beautiful puzzled image. This split features Young Widows and My Disco.

CDs:

The (Beat) Farmers - Fulmination
The Farmers are back, with a pure, honest, fulminating source of rock & roll swashbuckle. Turn it up and shake a kidney stone loose! These guys have more lives than a cat. They sound like Bo Diddley, CCR, Joe South, and The Yardbirds shoved into a food processor, stuffed into a shotgun shell, and blasted into a beer keg at 3AM in Faron Young’s rumpus room.

13th Floor Elevators – Psychedelic Circus
15-song collection represents the best of the live recordings made in Texas and California in 1966 and 1967, when the Elevators were at their peak.

Cheap Trick – The Latest
The Latest continues Cheap Trick’s reign as power-pop progenitors as they celebrate their 35th anniversary.

Billy Childish – Archive From 1959: The Billy Childish Story 2xCD
This 51-track collection offers a look at the more rock & roll of Childish’s career.

Bo Diddley – Ride On/The Chess Masters, Volume 3 2XCD
All 54 tracks on these two CDs were recorded over a 13-month period from 1960-61 in Bo’s basement studio and delivered to Chess.

Eyedea & Abilities – By The Throat
With biting guitars, fuzzy keyboards, melodic choruses, and some of their most intricate turntable work to date.

Fiery Furnaces – I’m Going Away
Their eighth album and first studio record since 2007’s Widow City. “The Fiery Furnaces make music that defies explication, categorization, and most standards of comprehension.” –The NY Times

Bill Frisell - Disfarmer
The late Michael Disfarmer was an odd, curmudgeonly character in the rural community of Heber Springs, Arkansas, who, despite his anti-social character, chose to record the stark images of his fellow townspeople, during the 1940’s and 50’s, in cheap black-and-white photographic portraits. Decades after the photographer’s passing, a cache of work made by this solitary and oft-reviled man was rediscovered, and he has come to be regarded as an important outsider artist. Among the many drawn to his plain yet deeply evocative pictures was Chuck Helm, Director of the Performing Arts at the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, who introduced guitarist and composer Bill Frisell to Disfarmer’s oeuvre on the hunch that Frisell might be inspired by it.

Various Artists – Galactic Zoo Dossier Magazine+CD
“The world’s greatest psychedelic underground hand drawn pro-zine.” Interviews with Vashti Bunyan, Djin Aquarian (YaHoWha13), Peter Walker, Mani Neumeier and more. Also includes features on Del Shannon, Eddie Hazel, George-Edwards Group, Kim Fowley, PLUS a CD compilation of totally unreleased magical sounds by YaHoWha13, Vashti Bunyan, Peter Walker, Monster Magnet, Christina Carter and others.

Government Issue – Punk Remains The Same
Five-track EP of new material, in keeping with the D.C. hardcore tradition they pioneered.

Ian Hunter – Man Overboard
In parts raw and expressive, and in others wise and controlled, “Man Overboard” showcases the talents that have made Ian Hunter such a defining example of great and authentic rock and roll.

Incubus – Monuments And Melodies
New single-disc “best of” collection featuring 13 bests, plus 2 new tracks.

Nick Lowe – Brentford Trilogy 3xCD
Gathers three albums — The Impossible Bird, Dig My Mood, and The Convincer — into an inexpensive limited edition boxed set.

Magnolia Electric Co. - Josephine

Delbert McClinton – Honky Tonkin’ All Night
The venerable Delbert McClinton is a legend among Texas roots music aficionados, not only for his amazing longevity, but for his ability to combine country, blues, soul, and rock & roll as if there were no distinctions between any of them in the best time-honored Texas tradition. A formidable harmonica player long before he recorded as a singer, McClinton’s career began in the late ’50s, yet it took him nearly two decades to evolve into a bona fide solo artist.

Portugal The Man – Satanic Satanist

Dave Seaman – This Is Audio Therapy, Volume Two
Double-disc label retrospective curated and mixed by Dave Seaman.

Ricky Skaggs – Don’t Cheat In Our Hometown
Reissue with bonus DVD.

Jordin Sparks – Battlefield
I have nothing to say about this. Sorry.

Powell St. John – On My Way To Houston
A little history: St. John performed with Janis Joplin and Lanny Wiggins in a band called The Waller Creek Boys. He also formed the blues-rock band Mother Earth. His songs have been covered by Doug Sahm, Janis Joplin, Boz Scaggs and Roky Ericson. On My Way To Houston is his new album.

Starlight Mints – Change Remains
Starlight Mints are a group of beautiful pop mutants: five singular musical minds whose love for archetypal pop music and AM radio has provided, over the course of three previous acclaimed albums, a rock-solid foundation for a whole bunch of inspired uniqueness, all baked in the Oklahoma sun.

Sugar Ray – Music For Cougars
First studio album in six years — special guest artists include Rivers Cuomo, Josh Freese and others.

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs – Under The Covers: Volume 2
Under The Covers: Volume 2 finds Sweet and Hoffs moving forward through rock’s back pages to take on a other another decade: the ’70s. From the power-pop of The Raspberries and Big Star to the soft-rock of Carly Simon and Bread, and from the classic-rock of John Lennon and Derek and the Dominos, to the prog-rock of Yes.

Kurt Vonnegut & Dave Soldier - Ice-9 Ballads
Kurt Vonnegut’s two extended musical works with composer Dave Soldier, both featuring Vonnegut’s own acting and narration. For the title track, “Ice-9 Ballads,” the team created nine songs adapted from his novel A Cat’s Cradle for orchestra and singers, and with Vonnegut as the narrator. The second, “A Soldier’s Story,” is a radio opera based on the death of Private Eddie Slovik in World War II, shot for cowardice. It features Vonnegut as the General and radio legend Phil Schaap as the radio announcer. Both are performed by conductor Richard Auldon Clark and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra. The final work, “East St. Louis, 1968″ features Clark on viola, Soldier on electronics & harmonica, recreating a walk by a young violist through the streets.

DVDs:

Neil Hamburger – Western Music & Variety
Features live performances of songs from Sings Country Winners.

New Lost City Ramblers – Always Been A Rambler
A treasure trove of recently-produced and rare archival footage, photos, and music, this film includes performances and interviews by The New Lost City Ramblers, Maybelle and Sara Carter, David Grisman, Pete Seeger, Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson, and many other masters of old time music. Contains rarely seen and never before seen bonus footage, including 24 minutes (8 more songs) of a rarely-seen 1969 color film of the NLCR, plus never-before-seen 1959 footage of the NLCR with Tom Paley (two more songs).

Anita O’Day - Life of a Jazz Singer
Known for her inventive scatting as well as her touching balladeering, O’Day recorded several dozen classic albums, mostly for the Verve label in the 1950s. Ms. O’Day was often as flamboyant visually as she was innovative vocally. A survivor of both heroin and alcohol addiction, she was also the author of one of the great jazz memoirs, “Hard Times, High Times” and the subject of this full length documentary film.

It’s been three years since Soviet-American songstress Regina Spektor first enchanted us with the soul-pop perfection of Begin to Hope and proved herself a storyteller with a keen sense of detail and drama, a confident singer with a broad vocal range — from high and pure to low and sensual — and a poet with a unique use of words and an alluring inflection, not as if English were her second language, but as if she’s established a whole new charming style of speaking.

The follow-up and Spektor’s fifth studio album doesn’t quite attain the catchy ease of its predecessor, but far (Sire Records) carries its own abundance of appeal.

In the bouncy opening track, “The Calculation,” Spektor playfully ponders the mathematical equation of love and the surprising fury of its burn while in “Folding Chair,” she enjoys a casual day at the beach with her sweetheart and daydreams of domestic bliss (“Let’s get a silver bullet trailer, and have a baby boy / I’ll safety pin his clothes all cool and you’ll graffiti up his toys”). “The Wallet” shows her way of making the mundane seem remarkable with a touching ballad about finding someone’s lost wallet, and she combines quiet, abstract contemplation with grandiose stretches of piano and rhythmic flourishes in the melancholy yet somehow uplifting “Eet.” (Video after the jump)

Spektor hasn’t lost her knack for taking life’s darknesses lightly, bringing wit and irony to far’s much-discussed humor-free first single, “Laughing With,” where she points out all those times when people aren’t laughing at God (in a hospital, in a war, when they’re starving or freezing or so very poor, etc.). “But God can be funny,” Spektor implores, “At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke / Or when the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head you think that they’re about to choke … God can be funny / When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way / And when presented like a genie / Who does magic like Houdini / Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus / God can be so hilarious / Ha ha / Ha ha.”

But she excels most when she gets quirkiest, like in “Machine,” the electro-fied sinister satire on technology and the future-present we live in, or in “Two Birds,” a Eno-esque pop ditty that uses two birds on a wire as a metaphor for trust, with moments of utter beauty interrupted by warm bursts of fat tuba. Those bursts are incorporated into the rhythm of the subsequent club-worthy dance number, “Dance Anthem of the 80’s,” and are paired with programmed beat-boxing and Spektor’s cadenced delivery and unorthodox enunciation.

The NYC-based songwriter collaborated in with four separate producers to craft far, but Spektor’s own vision is never tainted, and the album’s weaknesses are those moments when she gets earnest and slow and sad, and while she does it well and with heartfelt sincerity, it makes the album’s ups and downs more than a little jarring.

“Laughing With”

“Eet”

I think it is safe to say that we are all “RIOT”ed out.

In 2007, Paramore proved itself as a band not to be reckoned with, putting out single after single, and continually making it to the top of the charts with songs like “Misery Business,” “Crush Crush Crush” and “Decode,” which hit the radio and moved into the homes and iPods of teens all over the world.

If you’re a Paramore fan, I have some good news. The band released a new single, “Ignorance,” on July 6. The song is more of a push towards punk-rock than previous Paramore albums. Frontwoman Hayley Williams recently told a journalist from Entertainment Weekly’s Music Mix blog, “the album is really soley based on friendship and betrayal, losing people you thought would be there forever, and then maybe either finding them again or not finding them again.”

These ideas are more than apparent in “Ignorance.” The new single illustrates a more confident Paramore, perhaps due to their recent flush of fame. Could this tune be aimed at ex-band members or maybe even ex-boyfriends? We may not ever know, but listening to it brings us closer to Hayley, in a way. “Ignorance” is spunky and catchy — watch out, it could get stuck in your head for weeks after listening. The single is available on iTunes or at Paramore’s official website. The new album, Brand New Eyes, will hit stores September 29. You can pre-order it now, also on their website. (Check out the new single performed live after the jump.)

Brought straight to your desktops by Lee at Vinyl Fever.

VINYL:

AA Bondy – American Hearts
Their latest (2008) release, now available on vinyl.

Amon Duul II – Yeti
“Yeti” was the second album by Amon Duul II and is quite a musical achievement. This is a double LP set and contains some of Amon Duul’s most impressive work – delivering their thick, full-fledged, multi-layered sound with dense instrumentation and a certain epic vastness. This is Krautrock in the full depth of its power: huge, towering, dark and completely devoid of any happy optimism, but still bound full of energy. An essential bit of the psych/prog era. Released with the original artwork.

Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Deluxe reissue features the original album remastered and a bonus disc of 12 rarities, live tracks and B-sides.

David Bowie – Man Who Sold The World
David Bowie – Pinups
High-end Simply Vinyl label pressings.

The Clash – The Clash
The Clash – Give ‘Em Enough Rope
The Clash – Combat Rock
High-end Simply Vinyl label pressings.

The Dead Weather – Horehound
The latest musical adventure by Jack White epitomizes the alt-rock ethic: do the music you love, do it yourself, and do it fast. The Dead Weather brings together lead singer Alison Mosshart (half of the London-based lo-fi post-punk duo The Kills), Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Dean Fertita, The Raconteurs’ bassist Jack Lawrence, and White on drums and vocals.

Iggy & The Stooges – More Power
Digitally remastered collection of rare studio recordings from the Raw Power era.

Son Volt – American Central Dust
Now available on vinyl.

CDs:

Beastie Boys – Ill Communication
Deluxe re-issue features eco-friendly packaging with the original album remastered and a bonus disc of 12 rarities, live tracks and B-sides.

David Bowie – VH1 Storytellers
The CD/DVD features Bowie’s original televised performance of eight songs, plus an additional four songs that had been taped, but were not featured during the original air date.

Clutch – Strange Cousins From The West
The first new studio release in over two years — features eleven brand new songs.

CunninLynguists – Strange Journey Volume One
New album from the hip-hop stars features appearances by Slug of Atmosphere, Killer Mike, Khujo of Goodie Mob and Fishscales of Nappy Roots.

Dandy Warhols – Dandy Warhols Are Sound
Think of this CD as the director’s cut of “Welcome To The Monkey House.”

Daughtry – Leave This Town
New album features the single “No Surprise.”

The Dead Weather – Horehound

Chico DeBarge – Addiction: Reality Music
Sultry R&B crooner’s new album is filled with the passion and intensity that encompasses Chico’s sensual delivery and style. “Addiction…” is infused with rich melodic and soulful production and features guest appearances from Joe and Talib Kweli.

Discovery – Discovery
Discovery is the recording project of Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend) and Wes Miles (Ra Ra Riot). Guest vocals from Ezra Koening (Vampire Weekend) and Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors). Elements of European electronic dance music skittering in double time over steady R&B. “Cascades of synths that belong on a My Bloody Valentine record and electronic flurries that sound like a flock of robins chirping incessantly on a spring morning.” – Pitchfork. Did they really write that, fer chrissakes?!!?

Iggy & The Stooges – More Power
Digitally remastered collection of rare studio recordings from the Raw Power era.

Jethro Tull – Living in the Past CD w/DVD
Recorded primarily at Hammersmith Apollo in Nov. 2001, 21 songs total.

Joe - Signature

Ricki Lee Jones – Pirates (Mofi issue)
New numbered, limited edition mini-LP-style packaging! Mobile Fidelity used the Original 1/4″ Analog Tapes to master this classic 1981 Album “Rickie Lee Jones’ Pirates arrives like a cloudburst in the desert of Eighties formula pop music and recycled heavy-metal rock.” So wrote Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone in his five-star review of the eclectic artist’s sophomore record — a 1981 set that continues to defy eras and styles. Accompanied by an all-star lineup that includes trumpeter Randy Brecker, Steely Dan icon Donald Fagen, session pro Victor Feldman, and legendary jazz arranger Ralph Burns, the singer-songwriter achieves a musical nirvana that encompasses post-bop, coffeehouse folk, bohemian pop, romantic soul, beat poetry, and Broadway showtunes. Albums with this kind of stylistic magnitude, close-up intimacy, and emotional intensity come around only once or so every decade. “Rickie Lee Jones is a real punk. She don’t need no haircut.” –Record store employee (co-worker), circa 1982

Judas Priest – Judas Priest: A Touch Of Evil Live
Features renditions of such Priest gems as “Riding On The Wind,” “Beyond The Realms Of Death,” “Dissident Aggressor,” “A Touch Of Evil,” “Eat Me Alive,” and the set-closing “Painkiller.” Also of note are the first live album appearances of standouts from Priest’s critically acclaimed 2008 concept double disc, “Nostradamus (Death And Prophecy)”.

Rolling Stones – Bridges To Babylon
Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels
Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge
Latest batch of Rolling Stones remasters.

Twista – Category F
New release features guest appearances from Kanye West, R. Kelly, Busta Rhymes, Lil Boosie, and others. Featured producers on the album include Kanye.

The Wood Brothers – Up Above My Head
Independently released CD of classic cover songs. On “Up Above My Head,” the Woods give reverence to a wide range of genres as filtered through their gentle, slightly lazy, but clearly appreciative groove. From folk songs like “Little Liza Jane” to a unique, old-timey take on the Beatles’ “Fixin’ a Hole,” Oliver and Chris make each track sound like good Wood.

Young MC – Stone Cold Rhymin’
20th Anniversary edition comes with six additional tracks not on the original LP.

Neil Young – After The Gold Rush
Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young – Harvest
Neil Young – Neil Young
Remastered reissues.

DVDs:

Cheap Trick – Every Trick In The Book
The video contains 17 tracks from 1977s “I Want You To Want Me” to two songs from the LP “Busted”.

Michael Jackson – Live in Japan

Rolling Stones – Biggest Bang 4xDVD
The last original studio album that the Stones released was A Bigger Bang back in 2005. Two years later, the band put out a four-disc concert DVD collection which was, essentially, a documentary of several shows from their 2005-2006 A Bigger Bang Tour.

Punknews.org reported this week that Long Island emo-rockers Brand New named and dated their upcoming fourth album. And One Head Can Never Die is scheduled to drop September 22, sandwiched between new albums by Muse (9/14, hopefully the next day in the U.S.) and AFI (9/29).

UPDATE: According to Aversion.com, Brand New renamed their forthcoming album Daisy.

As much as I love and revere Muse, my hopes and expectations are even higher for Brand New. While frontman Jesse Lacey never hesitated to elaborate his deepest, inner-most feelings even dating back to their pop-punk-leaning debut Your Favorite Weapon (2001), the musical progression showcased on the band’s two successive albums dwarfs his still-impressive growth as a lyricist. Deja Entendu (2003) and The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me (2006) find two almost completely different bands, each superior to the last.

With Brand New progressing by leaps and bounds with each release, why does the end now draw near? (VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP)

In a recent interview Lacey discussed his inspiration behind the new album.

I think a lot of the record is about us trying to make decisions about how long the band should go on. When I listened back to it, I realized how many songs are about something coming to a close, or knowing when it’s time to put something away and move on.

Three year gaps preceded both Brand New’s forthcoming and previous efforts. Jesse Lacey, as many emo heroes are wont to do, bares his soul in every song — a time-consuming process. Lacey also claims, “I’ve never made money off a record sale.” After spending nearly a decade recording four albums, he’s clearly pondering the end of this band.  Will And One Head Can Never Die Daisy send Brand New off on a high note?

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.

The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me was as challenging and exhausting an alt-rock record as I’ve heard over the past several years. While quite dynamic compared to their previous output, Devil And God exhibited a brooding darkness so thorough not even its most upbeat moments like the anthemic “The Archers Bows Have Broken” and the poppy “Not The Sun” can escape the melancholy. As a Brand New fan, Jesse Lacey’s anticipation excites me.

“The Archers Bows Have Broken” off The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me (2006)

“Jesus Christ” (live) from The Late Show With David Letterman (2007)

“Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades” off Deja Entendu (2003)

VINYL:

Those Darlins release their self-titled debut today; more after the jump.

Against Me – The Original Cowboy
Album comprised of demos from 2003’s As The Eternal Cowboy.

Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes 12”
Highlights the warm weather standout jam “Summertime Clothes,” accompanied by remixes from Dam-Funk (Stones Throw), Zomby (Hyperdub), and L.D. (Hyperdub).

Broken Records – Until The Earth Begins To Part
Scottish seven-piece releases their debut. They’ve already been tipped for greatness by NME, Q, and The Word. “Epic, swirling, joyfully mysterious music with a warmth and heart.” —The Guardian

Budos Band – Budos Band EP
One of the most exciting of the Daptone label bands is The Budos Band, and they’re whetting our appetite for the upcoming Budos Band III full-length with this vinyl-only EP that gives the trademark horn-driven and bass-heavy Budos funk another slot in your collection. Includes a free MP3 download card.

Cat Power – Covers Record
HQ-180 vinyl reissue.

The Donnas – Greatest Hits Volume 16
A comprehensive album featuring a mix of new songs, never-before-heard B-sides and live recordings, as well as re-recorded classics and previously unreleased tracks.

Dr. Dog / Floating Action – Split 7”
Two bands with endless respect and adoration for one another team up on this limited (2,500) vinyl release. Floating Action takes on the lead off track from Dr. Dog’s album “Fate” with their rendition of “The Breeze”. Dr. Dog (lead by drummer Juston Stens) covers the Floating Action ballad “Don’t Stop (Loving Me Now)” on the flip.

The-Dream – Walking on the Moon 12”
Featuring Kanye West.

Bob Marley – Catch A Fire
Bob Marley – Exodus
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Legend
HQ-180 vinyl reissues.

New Pornographers – Electric Version LP+MP3
HQ-180 vinyl reissue w/ MP3 download.

Lee “Scratch” Perry 12” EPs On-U Sound
Rare, limited remixes.

PiL – Second Edition
Not in the can, but not $50, either!

Yo La Tengo – Electr-o-pura LP+MP3
Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One 2xLP+MP3
HQ-180 vinyl reissues.

CDs:

Against Me – The Original Cowboy
Album comprised of demos from 2003’s As The Eternal Cowboy.

Alchemist – Chemical Warfare
Superproducer Alchemist’s gritty east coast-flavored rhythms have blessed the likes of Mobb Deep, Eminem, Nas, and Snoop Dogg.

All Time Low – Nothing Personal

Blagojevich Blunders
Governor Rod Blagojevich held Illinois hostage for the better part of two months, while his parade of rants, taunts and outrageous phone conversations kept America in a perpetual state of head-scratching. The Blagojevich Odyssey came to a merciful end, but the goofy references to Gandhi and cowboys lives on forever.

Broken Records – Until The Earth Begins To Part
Scottish seven-piece releases their debut. They’ve already been tipped for greatness by NME, Q, and The Word. “Epic, swirling, joyfully mysterious music with a warmth and heart.” —The Guardian

Death By Stereo – Death Is My Only Friend

The Donnas – Greatest Hits Volume 16
A comprehensive album featuring a mix of new songs, never-before-heard B-sides and live recordings, as well as re-recorded classics and previously unreleased tracks.

Drive By Truckers – Live From Austin TX
Recorded during their Brighter Than Creation’s Dark tour, the band line up featured is Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Shonna Tucker, John Neff, Brad Morgan, and Jay Gonzalez.

Chris Garneau – El Radio
There is still a poignant melancholy and bold sincerity that permeates all of Garneau’s music, but those qualities are augmented by a playfulness in his melodies and arrangements. Garneau’s extensive cast of characters unavoidably comment on the social and political forces that pull us unpredictably through time while rollicking to the rhythms of an organ grinder. RIYL: Thao Nguyen, Rufus Wainwright, Elliott Smith, Xiu Xiu.

Barry Goldberg – Barry Goldberg
First time on CD. Produced by BOB DYLAN and JERRY WEXLER. Now, with access to the original multi-track masters, Barry has restored the album as it was originally conceived. The missing vocals from Muscle Shoals are here seeing the light for the very first time. “I was unhappy about this for more than 35 years”, says Barry who often contemplated that if he could do one thing over in his life it would be getting the album out as it was intended to sound. Now, that often elusive second chance has come.

The Jayhawks – Music From The North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology CD/3xCD
Music From The North Country is a brand new compilation that tells The Jayhawk’s story so far. Deluxe double CD+DVD edition gathers together B-sides, rarities, and previously unreleased material. Vinyl Fever has a free 7” to give away with purchase (while supplies last)!

Maxwell – BLACKsummer’s Night CD/CD+DVD
New studio album. Deluxe edition features a DVD containing the “Pretty Wings” video and 20-minute “making of the album” featurette.

MGMT – Time To Pretend EP
MGMT’s first release, previously only available on their early tours. Features last year’s hit ”Time To Pretend” plus five rare tracks.

Minus 5 – Killingsworth
The eighth album from the loose creative collective/serious drinking association helmed by wayfarer and musical enabler Scott McCaughey. Incoherent yarns mostly told after midnight by highway hobos in and around Portland, Oregon?  Surely.

Moss – Tomb Of The Drugged
Born from a sickening lust of horrors, drugs, insane occult visions, and a desire to create the heaviest doom metal anti-music of all time.

Nebula – Heavy Psych

The New Riders Of The Purple Sage – 12/31/77 Winterland San Francisco, CA
Double-disc recording captures The New Riders’ performance that closed out a year filled with invigorating shows as well as the release of their Marin County Line album. The rhythm section of Stephen Love on bass and drummer Patrick Shanahan, both veterans of Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band, assists the band’s core members John Dawson, David Nelson and Buddy Cage.

Paul Oakenfold – Perfecto Vegas

Poison The Well – The Tropic Rot
South Florida-based post-hardcore titans.

Son Volt – American Central Dust
New album carries on the traditions of The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, and Little Feat. True Americana.

Those Darlins – Those Darlins
Those Darlins is a pop group, if they are any one thing, which doesn’t mean anybody with ears can’t hear the country and rock & roll in their sound. After seducing live audiences nationwide supporting acts as various as Dan Auerbach, Boss Hog, Wanda Jackson, Ida Maria and Deer Tick, Those Darlins quickly became the “it” band at this year’s SXSW. We’ve had the vinyl version of this for a few weeks now- it KILLS!

Tiny Vipers – Life On Earth
Seattle disparate.

Various Artists – Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt
Poet gathers a talented assortment of Van Zandt contemporaries and apostles to pay tribute to the man by lovingly reinterpreting his songs. Steve Earle electrifies ”Two Girls” while Billy Joe Shaver tackles ”White Freightliner Blues”. ”Tower Song,” one of the most poignant breakup songs ever written, is revived by Nanci Griffith, and Willie Nelson provides a conversational version of “Marie.”

This week, R&B artist Maxwell releases his fourth studio album and first new effort in eight years years, BLACKsummers’night, on Columbia. The release is available as a two-disc CD/DVD deluxe set that includes 5DAYSofBLACK, a film inspired by the making of the album. Maxwell recently released a series of excerpts from the film that take a rather interesting behind-the-scenes peek at the way he put it together. The featured tracks are “Cold,” (which features long-time Maxwell collaborator, producer/songwriter Hod David), “Pretty Wings,” “Stop the World” and “Help Somebody.” Check out all four previews after the jump; Maxwell plays Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater Thursday, July 30.

Vinyl:

Fugazi – 3 Songs (7″)
Originally recorded in 1989.

Levon Helm – Electric Dirt
Electric Dirt again finds Levon steeped in tradition in his connection to the land and those who live by it, but this record goes deeper and wider, incorporating gospel, blues and soul elements in a bracing collection of originals and carefully chosen outside songs.

Wilco – Wilco (The Album) LP+CD
Wilco’s seventh combines the intimacy of its previous studio disc, Sky Blue Sky, with the experimentation of A Ghost Is Born in a set that boasts strong melodies and often unabashedly pop arrangements. LP includes the album on a CD.

Pete Yorn – Back & Fourth

CDs:

Ace Hood – Ruthless
New release from the Florida rapper features guest appearances from Jasmine Sullivan, The Dream, Ludacris, Rick Ross, Birdman and more.

AZ – I Am Legend

Bjork – Voltaic CD; CD+DVD; 2xCD+2xDVD
Voltaic is a multi-media document of what happened after Volta was completed — a journey of a different sort as the ever-evolving singer assembled her live band, made a collection of typically amazing videos and one-step-ahead remixes, and toured the world. She recorded the Voltaic live CD in one take at Olympic Studio in London. It’s a stunning performance, featuring cutting-edge computer technology, an old-school horn section and a female, flag-toting Icelandic choir. Deluxe version includes the Voltaic live CD plus a DVD featuring 21 songs performed on the Volta tour. Super deluxe 2xCD+2xDVD version features live recordings, remixes, videos and more.

Carcass – Wake Up And Smell The Carcass CD+DVD
17 rarities from different eras of the band’s career, including five extras from the Swansong period, Radio One Session tracks and rare EP cuts. The accompanying DVD contains two complete live sets taking in 17 classics from the period 1989-1992. The DVD also comes with the band’s five promo videos.

Matt Duke – Acoustic Kingdom Underground EP
Acoustic Kingdom Underground is the companion piece to Kingdom Underground, and showcases intimate performances of the album’s standout tracks.

Fabolous – Loso’s Way

Levon Helm – Electric Dirt

Jefferson Airplane – Jefferson Airplane: The Woodstock Experience
Lavishly packaged double disc set combines Jefferson Airplane’s 1969 album Volunteers with their entire Woodstock performance.

Janis Joplin - Janis Joplin: The Woodstock Experience
Lavishly packaged double disc set combines Joplin’s 1969 album I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama with her complete Woodstock performance.

Killing Joke – Gathering 2008 Part 1 2xCD
Killing Joke – Gathering 2008 Part 2 2xCD
Killing Joke – Gathering 2008 4xCD
The Gathering 2008 saw the original Killing Joke line up play live in London at two sold out concerts for the first time since 1982. Available as two separate double disc volumes, or as a limited edition collector’s box set.

Cledus T. Judd – Polyrically Uncorrect
The country funnyman is back with his first new project in four years.

Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage

David Lynch – David Lynch Presents Fox Bat Strategy: A Tribute to Dave Jaurequi EP
A long-time pet project of film director David Lynch. Fox Bat Strategy features a cast of musicians who began collaborating with Lynch surrounding the filming of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. The same line-up of players appeared on Fire Walk With Me’s two roadhouse cuts: “The Pink Room” and “Blue Frank” (as well as made cameos in the film itself). In 1994, these same musicians, with an invitation from Lynch, re-entered the studio for experimental collaboration. What emerged were these six tracks. For nearly fifteen years these songs have remained unreleased and unheard.

Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan – In Session
Deluxe reissue of the famed in-concert 1983 jam session – the only known recording of Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan performing together.

Moby – Wait For Me
Wait For Me is a radical departure from Moby’s recent albums. Liberated from the pressures of trying to please himself at the same time as the industry, Moby decided to forego the expensive studios, state-of-the-art equipment, big name guest artists, and phalanxes of graphic designers and image consultants that have characterized some of his previous albums. “There’s something so relaxing about doing everything yourself, and not trying to second-guess the market,” Moby says. “It’s
nice to try to do things for the right reasons — just make a record because you want to make a record.”

Obituary – Darkest Day
New album from the veteran death metal band from Tampa.

Brad Paisley – American Saturday Night

Santana – Santana: The Woodstock Experience
Lavishly packaged double disc set combines Santana’s self-titled 1969 album with his complete Woodstock performance.

Sly & The Family Stone – Stand!
Lavishly packaged double disc set combines Sly & The Family Stone’s 1969 album Stand! with their complete Woodstock performance.

Rod Stewart – A Night on the Town
Rod Stewart – Atlantic Crossing
Deluxe, 2-CD editions with previously unissued bonus material.

Rob Thomas – Cradlesong
Highly anticipated second solo album

Tanya Tucker – My Turn
On her new album, Tanya Tucker takes classic country songs originally recorded by male country
legends and turns the tables, giving classics by George Jones, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty and Eddy Arnold a powerful spin from a woman’s point of view. Guest artists include The Grascals, Jim Lauderdale and bluegrass stars Rhonda and Darrin Vincent.

Twisted Sister – Stay Hungry
Rhino’s 25th Anniversary Edition combines the newly remastered nine-track album with an additional disc featuring 15 previously unreleased outtakes and demos from the original sessions plus a new track.

Various Artists – Reggae Gold 2009

Whitesnake – Slide It In (25th Anniversary edition)
Whitesnake – Slip of the Tongue (20th Anniversary edition)
Includes DVD, 24-page booklets, bonus tracks, rarities.

Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
Wilco’s seventh album combines the intimacy of its previous studio disc, Sky Blue Sky, with the experimentation of A Ghost Is Born in a set that boasts strong melodies and often unabashedly pop arrangements.

Willie Isz – Georgiavania
Acclaimed producer, lyricist and singer Jneiro Jarel teams up with Goodie Mob’s Khujo Goodie.

Wu-Tang – Chamber Music
Chamber Music’s throwback sound features a combination of live instrumentation and new RZA beats shaped in a classic old-school soul type of vibe, reminiscent of the group’s classic 36 Chambers sound but with a completely updated, modern twist. Includes newly recorded verses from every key member of the group, plus affiliates Cappadonna, Killah Priest, Street Life and more.

DVDs:

Rob Thomas – Something To Be Tour: Live At Red Rocks
Featuring 18 hits from his solo career and Matchbox Twenty, this set also includes a special acoustic arrangement of “Smooth” and a cover of the David Bowie classic “Let’s Dance.”

Misc:

GG Allin “Throbblehead”
This ghoulish effigy is a striking representation of GG Allin, circa 1991. The figure, limited to 2000 numbered units, stands at 7 inches tall and is made of a lightweight polyresin. Displayed in a tri-windowed box, this bobblehead GG is accurately sculpted right down to the tattoos, blood, and filth. GG Allin Throbblehead (Bobble head).