New Releases: October 2017

Round-up of October's most interesting new releases featuring albums by St. Vincent, Fever Ray, Destroyer, Wolf Parade, Cults, Bully and the collaboration between Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile, as well as singles by Jane Weaver, Breeders, U.S. Girls and Morrissey:

Albums

Masseduction

ST. VINCENT - Masseduction
FEVER RAY - Plunge
DESTROYER - ken
WOLF PARADE - Cry, Cry, Cry
BULLY - Losing
COURTNEY BARNETT AND KURT VILE - Lotta Sea Lice
CULTS - Offering
STARS - There Is No Love in Fluorescent Light
BECK - Colors
DANIELE LUPPI AND PARQUET COURTS - Milano
A. SAVAGE - Thawing Dawn
JULIEN BAKER - Turn Out the Lights
MARGO PRICE - All American Made
DERADOORIAN - Eternal Recurrence
DUCKTAILS - Jersey Devil
FLAT WORMS - Flat Worms
MELKBELLY - Nothing Valley
MAKTHAVERSKAN - III
WEAVES - Wide Open
ALEX LAHEY - I Love You Like A Brother
THE WEATHER STATION - The Weather Station
WILD ONES - Mirror Touch
FOUR TET - New Energy
DAPHNI - Joli Mai
JESSIE WARE - Glasshouse
KING KRULE - The OOZ
WEEZER - Pacific Daydream
WU-TANG - The Saga Continues
MARNIE - Strange Words And Weird Wars
HOLOGRAM TEEN - Between The Funk and The Fear
REPTALIENS - FM-2030
YUMI ZOUMA - Willowbank
MARTIN CARR - New Shapes of Life
KELE OKEREKE - Fatherland
MARK KOZELEK WITH BEN BOYE AND JIM WHITE - Mark Kozelek With Ben Boye And Jim White
MICHAEL HEAD AND THE RED ELASTIC BAND - Adios Senor Pussycat
LIAM GALLAGHER - As You Were
MARILYN MANSON - Heaven Upside Down
KELELA - Take Me Apart
ZOMBIE ZOMBIE - Livity
JOHN MAUS - Screen Memories
BAXTER DURY - Prince of Tears
WILD BILLY CHILDISH AND CTMF - Brand New Cage
KING KHAN AND THE GRIS GRIS - Murderburgers
GOAT - Fuzzed in Europe

Singles & EPs

The Architect EP

JANE WEAVER - The Architect EP
THE BREEDERS - Wait in the Car
U.S. GIRLS - Mad As Hell
FEVER RAY - To the Moon and Back
MORRISSEY - Spent The Day In Bed
WILD BEASTS - Punk Drunk and Trembling EP
CCFX - CCFX EP
LUNA - California Blue / Rock Yr Baby
LUNA / CHEVAL SOMBRE - Lonesome Cowboy Bill
DARTO / WAND - Hush / Follow Up
FONTAINES - Hurricane Laughter / Winter In The Sun
HMLTD - Satan, Luella and I / Kinkaku-ji
BEACH SLANG - We Were Babies and We Were Dirtbags (Quiet Slang)
PHENOMENAL HANDCLAP BAND - Traveler's Prayer / Stepped Into The Light
KID CONGO AND THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS - Spider Baby / Apple In The Razor Blade
MOUSE ON MARS - Synaptics EP
COLDCUT x ON-U SOUND - Kajra
FLOATING POINTS - Ratio
FATIMA AL QADIRI - Shaneera EP
CARLA DAL FORNO - The Garden

In the spirit of Halloween, check out the strange video for Fever Ray's comeback single "To The Moon And Back":

Listening Habits: 08-09.2017

The period between the ending of summer and the beginning of autumn is usually associated with a melancholic mood, but with so much great new music coming our way in these last couple of months we didn't really have any reason to feel sad.

2017 is shaping up to be one of the better years in a decade where there is a lot of uncertainty regarding where music as an art form is heading to, what is its value for people and how the industry that relies on it will adopt to the rapidly changing technological environment.

Even though record sales are down and the physical format seems more and more like a relic of the previous century, the flow of great music from both new and old acts is still strong and there is plenty of evidence of that in our latest list of recommended new albums and tracks. Although it feels sometimes that there are no new ideas or fresh musical movements any more, the mixing and matching of different styles from the past and the co-existence on the scene of brand new artists and seasoned veterans produces interesting results that show there is still life in our post-rock 'n' roll, digital world.

The triumphant return of LCD Soundsystem after seven years with the ambitious "American Dream", a record on par with their best efforts from the past decade, claims the top of our latest New Albums list, followed closely by the passionate, politically charged "Holiday Destination", the excellent third effort by Nadine Shah, a record inspired by the refugee crisis and the paranoid reactions against everyone who is seen as a "foreigner".

Other great records we've listened to in the last couple of months include the latest efforts by Alvvays, Waxahatchee, The National, Broken Social Scene and Japanese Breakfast, the solo project of the very talented Michelle Zauner. The list goes on and the fact that our all-time favorite band, The Fall, is only at number 9, is further evidence of the quality on offer in this latest batch of 2017's new releases:

Top 16 Albums

1.   American Dream - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
2.   Holiday Destination - NADINE SHAH
3.   Antisocialites - ALVVAYS
4.   Out In The Storm - WAXAHATCHEE
5.   Sleep Well Beast - THE NATIONAL
6.   Hug Of Thunder - BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
7.   Soft Sounds From Another Planet - JAPANESE BREAKFAST
8.   Painted Ruins - GRIZZLY BEAR   
9.   New Facts Emerge - THE FALL
10. Exile In The Outer Ring - EMA
11. Everything Now - ARCADE FIRE
12. Fujiya & Miyagi - FUJIYA & MIYAGI13. TFCF - LIARS
14. Villains - QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
15. In*ter a*li*a - AT THE DRIVE-IN
16. The Tourist - CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH

Top 20 Tracks

1.   Tonite - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
2.   Los Ageless - ST. VINCENT
3.   Wait In The Car - THE BREEDERS
4.   Day I Die - THE NATIONAL
5.   Evil - NADINE SHAH
6.   Silver - WAXAHATCHEE
7.   In Undertow - ALVVAYS
8.   Road Head - JAPANESE BREAKFAST
9.   Protest Song - BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
10. Mad As Hell - U.S. GIRLS
11. Cred Woes - LIARS
12. Aryan Nation - EMA
13. Mourning Sound - GRIZZLY BEAR
14. Tinseltown Swimming In Blood - DESTROYER
15. Put Your Money On Me - ARCADE FIRE
16. Serotonin Rushes - FUJIYA & MIYAGI
17. New Facts Emerge - THE FALL
18. Hostage Stamps - AT THE DRIVE-IN
19. The Evil Has Landed - QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
20. The Pilot - CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH

 

New Releases: September 2017

Round-up of the most interesting albums, singles and EPs released in September 2017:

Albums

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - American Dream
THE NATIONAL - Sleep Well Beast
PROTOMARTYR - Relatives in Descent
ALVVAYS - Antisocialites
THE DREAM SYNDICATE - How Did I Find Myself Here
LEE RANALDO - Electric Trim
METZ - Strange Peace
WOLF ALICE - Visions of a Life
TORRES - Three Futures
ZOLA JESUS - Okovi
CHELSEA WOLFE - Hiss Spun
EMILY HAINES & THE SOFT SKELETON - Choir of the Mind
ARIEL PINK - Dedicated to Bobby Jameson
HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER - Hallelujah Anyhow
CHAD VANGAALEN - Light Information
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - The Echo of Pleasure
DEATH FROM ABOVE - Outrage! Is Now
DEERHOOF - Mountain Moves
DEER TICK - Deer Tick Vol. 1
DEER TICK - Deer Tick Vol. 2
FOO FIGHTERS - Concrete and Gold
PERE UBU - 20 Years In a Montana Missle Silo
THE SURFING MAGAZINES - The Surfing Magazines
THE HORRORS - V
MOGWAI - Every Country's Sun
GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR - Luciferian Towers
CHAIN AND THE GANG - Experimental Music
TED LEO - The Hanged Man
LUNA - A Sentimental Education Double Feature
ROSTAM - Half-Light
THE KILLERS - Wonderful Wonderful
TRICKY - ununiform
SUPERFOOD - Bambino
SLOTFACE - Try Not To Freak Out
RODDY WOOMBLE - The Deluder
THE CLIENTELE - Music for the Age of Miracles
WAND - Plum
THE BRONX - V
PROPHETS OF RAGE - Prophets of Rage
HUNDRED WATERS - Communicating
HOT WATER MUSIC - Light It Up
GIRL ONE AND THE GREASE GUNS - Night Of The Living Electrical Appliances
SUSANNE SUNDFOR - Music For People In Trouble
ANGUS AND JULIA STONE - Snow
MOUNT KIMBIE - Love What Survives
DÄLEK - Endangered Philosophies
THE COOL KIDS - Special Edition Grandmaster Deluxe
NOSAJ THING - Parallels
CUT COPY - Haiku from Zero
FISCHERSPOONER - SIR
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK - The Punishment of Luxury
GARY NUMAN - Savage
THE WATERBOYS - Out of All This Blue

Singles & EPs 

St. Vincent

ST. VINCENT - Los Ageless

DESTROYER - Tinseltown Swimming in Blood

HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS - Son of a Lady EP

LUNA - A Place of Greater Safety EP

SWIMMING TAPES - Soft Sea Blue EP

FLOWERS - Say 123

SEAFANG - Solid Gold

UV-TV - Go Away EP

SPARROW PEOPLE - I Thought of You / Baby Foxes

WYE OAK - Spiral / Wave Is Not the Water

YASSASSIN - Vitamin Y

LAZY DAY - Ribbons EP

HVMM - TalkTo Me Like I'm Dead EP

BAD NERVES - Radio Punk

THE LEMON TWIGS - Brothers of Destruction EP

POND - Firein the Water / The Weather (Live at Rough Trade East)

BRIX AND THE EXTRICATED - Moonrise Kingdom

KAMASI WASHINGTON - Harmony of Difference EP

ZOMBY - GASP! EP

DAPHNI - Hey Drum / The Truth

JESSIE WARE - Midnight - Goldie Remixes

DEPECHE MODE - Going Backwards

EVERYTHING IS RECORDED - Mountains of Gold

HAND HABITS - Yr Heart

WOMEN IN LOVE - Shamed

SUZI WU - TeenageWitch EP

St. Vincent - Los Ageless