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Hamish Hawk

A Firmer Hand - Launch Show Ticket Bundle

    “Writing this album, I opened up my closet, and a skeleton came out.” In a café just around the corner from his Edinburgh flat, Hamish Hawk is contemplating his extraordinary new record, A Firmer Hand. “The thing that links all of the songs is a sense of the unsaid, whether out of guilt, shame, repression, embarrassment, coyness, whatever it might have been. I realised: I am going to say these things, and not all of them are going to make me look good. The album made so many demands, and I just gave myself over to it.”

    At this stage, where only a handful of close associates have heard the finished album, Hawk is still unsure of what the reaction might be from fans, critics, even family. He jokes that A Firmer Hand is the first of his records that his parents might not enjoy. “But the fact that it makes me nervous tells me it was the right thing to do.”

    It takes only a couple of listens to be sure that it was a risk worth taking. And just a couple more to determine that A Firmer Hand is the best and boldest record Hamish Hawk has delivered to date. “It’s a bit of a coming of age record,” he says. And a record for the ages.

    Alex Kassian

    E2–E4 (With Mad Professor Remix)

    Alex Kassian's extended rendition of E2–E4 promises a 12-minute electronic odyssey, tailor-made for diverse dancefloors from it’s spiritual home Ibiza and beyond. On the flip side, Mad Professor embarks on a club-oriented version excursion, a rare gem in its own right. This reimagining breathes new life into the classic, offering fresh perspectives for music aficionados everywhere. Hot tip for release of the Summer!

    The Dream Machine

    Small Time Monsters

      ‘Small Time Monsters’, the second full-length album from The Dream Machine, is set to be released this April on Run On Records/ Modern Sky.

      If 2022’s critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Thank God! It’s The Dream Machine…’ was their first and most wild child, then ‘Small Time Monsters’ is its refined younger sibling. The psychedelia, euphoric choruses, flashes of surf guitar and B-movie references are all there, amongst the familiar reflections of life in their beloved and faded seaside town of New Brighton, but this time the wilder elements are controlled, the songs packed into three-minute pocket symphonies.

      Lead single Frankenstein is an anthem for the sugar-rush generation, an infectious, rattling earworm that recalls everything from haunted rockabilly to the sun-drenched melodies of Blossoms. Elsewhere on the album, the pulsating surf-stomp of ‘Cindy’s Eyes’, a small-town story of unrequited love, has a chorus to fill the most cavernous arena.

      Produced by The Coral’s James Skelly, the album was partially recorded at The Dream Machine’s rehearsal space, then stitched together in Skelly’s
      Kempston Street Studios. There’s a refined, more literary quality to singer and primary songwriter Zak McDonnell’s lyrics; explorations of everyday life, teenage doom, B-movie monsters, family turmoil, and coming-of-age tales in the familiar backdrop of life in modern Britain. ‘Small Time Monsters’ is the sound of a band breaking free from the small town into the big world.


      Orlando Weeks

      Loja

        Orlando Weeks’ forthcoming new album ‘LOJA’ (Portuguese for ‘store’) was written in both London and Lisbon. Recording began in earnest in January 2023 at the beautiful Chale Abbey Studios with longtime live collaborator Sergio Maschetzko as producer, supported by co-producer and engineer David Granshaw. In its latter stages, Nathan Jerkins (BULLION) contributed additional production and mixing.

        Lead single ‘Dig’, featuring Rhian Teasdale (Wet Leg), is 3 minutes of half argument, long worn-out promises being remade and road weary offences being retaken.

        The record features a number of other key collaborators including Katy J Pearson, Tony Njoku, Oliver Hamilton (Caroline) and Alejandro Aranda (Scary Pool Party).

        The core musical contributions come from long standing live collaborators Sami El-Enany, Luca Caruso, William Doyle and Alexander Painter.
        A love letter to his new home, lyrically ‘Loja’ toys with both the fantastical and stark realism. There are sleeping giants in Track 2's 'Best Night' and the final song on the album, ‘Beautiful Place’, tells the story of a beach death.

        The novelty of a new city afforded Weeks the opportunity to romanticise his present and reevaluate his past.

        The first live performances in over a year will be at Copeland Gallery this June. During a 4 day/night residency, Weeks will preview music from 'Loja' alongside an exhibition of the prints and drawings that are the accompanying visual aspect of the album.


        Fat Dog

        WOOF.

          Fat Dog are the most exciting breakthrough band of the past few years, conjurers of the sort of frenzied and wild live shows not seen in the capital for years and now the creators of ‘WOOF’., a brilliant and mind-bending debut album. A thrilling blend of electro-punk, rock’n’roll snarling, techno soundscapes, industrial-pop and rave euphoria, ‘WOOF’. is music for letting go to or, in the words of frontman Joe Love, “screaming-into-a-pillow music”.


          Various Artists

          Down To The Sea & Back: Volume Tres. The Continuing Journey Of The Balearic Beat - Compiled By Balearic Mike & Kelvin Andrews

            After a 10-year hiatus, Balearic Mike and Kelvin Andrews return to continue the journey of the Balearic Beat with another edition of their distinguished Down To The Sea And Back compilation series, presenting a formidable new set of rare and obscure records.

            With Vols. 1 and 2, the well loved duo showed us that not only are they serious collectors but chroniclers of a scene, assembling lost gems and unheard marvels into Balearic mythology. Reaping, along the way, accolades such as Piccadilly Records’ Compilation of the Year, and featured on Lauren Laverne’s BBC6 Music show. For Vol. Tres, Mike and Kelvin team up with Copenhagen-based Music For Dreams label – themselves no strangers to the Balearic archives. The compilation features 16 tracks, every selection accompanied by an essential background story in the liner notes of the gatefold vinyl and CD booklet.

            As fellow comrade and beloved friend Luke Una puts it: “From Greek acid folk, Balearic bossa, outsider pop and electronic chug, to cosmic machine soul, majestic songs, odd numbers, proto-techno new wave to dubbed out 5am technoid, bass buggin deepness and ethereal outer-space Detroit via San Francisco. This album is a story. A story from the heart, with over three decades digging and grafting in the trenches. In a world of faux, pastiche, counterfeit and aggrorhythm fakes, it oozes a wholesome intuitive authenticity. Majestic songs, odd numbers, cosmic dreaming and late night astral travelling as we all hold on together.” 

            Pixey

            Million Dollar Baby

              ‘Million Dollar Baby’ is Pixey’s most accomplished and ambitious pop project to date, written between her bedroom in Liverpool and studios in London over the course of a year and a half. Self-produced by Pixey herself, alongside Tom McFarland (Jungle, Olivia Dean, Alfie Templeman) and Rich Turvey (Rachel Chinouriri, Blossoms, The Coral), the record follows her journey of self-discovery as an artist and shedding the illusions surrounding it. Combining her love for 90s breakbeats with her pop prowess and skill as a producer, ‘Million Dollar Baby’ samples and interpolates some of her favourite tracks to not only bridge the gap between old sounds and new, but to craft an entirely new sound altogether.

              “This album is more than just music to me,” she says, “it’s the final form of years of trying to prove myself. I’ve always felt as if I’m so close to something but never quite there. This is the story the album tells; navigating the perception of myself through the male gaze, whilst also trying to take some power back and form my truest identity. The sentiment of the album is this: the path to fulfilment isn’t a performance for others but instead, is a journey of becoming your authentic self.”

              Across her career to date, Pixey has picked up acclaim from The Times, The Sunday Times Culture, Notion, The Forty Five, NME, The Independent, DIY, Dork, The Line Of Best Fit, CLASH and more. She has also received swathes of tastemaker support across national radio at the likes of BBC Radio 1, where she has received a plethora of accolades including Best New Pop, Poppest Record, Future Bop, two Tune Of The Week nods and over 100 plays and 20M impressions across her entire catalogue.


              Various Artists

              Sounds From The Flightpath Estate (GLS017)

                LAST REMAINING COPIES!!

                The Flightpath Estate in association with the Golden Lion have compiled a double vinyl album.

                'Sounds From the Flightpath Estate'

                9 exclusive tracks plus a previously unavailable Two Lone Swordsmen track. An exclusive cover of 'Smokebelch' by Andy Bell plus one-off recordings by Hardway Bros, Timothy J. Fairplay, Justin Robertson, Richard Sen, Sons Of Slough, Rude Audio, 10:40 and a world renowned Belfast based DJ and producer.

                The Flightpath Estate is a Facebook group dedicated to the music, art and work of Andrew Weatherall. It began life in 2013 and has become a virtual home to his fans, friends and family. It is also the host of the Weatherdrive - thousands of hours of recordings of Andrew Weatherall’s DJ sets, mixes and radio shows.

                'Sounds From The Flightpath Estate' is a compilation celebrating people and places, the outlook, aesthetic and music Andrew Weatherall was known for, and the sense of community and love of music centered around The Golden Lion.

                The sounds are forward thinking, created with a deep understanding of the music of the past but future facing, dance floor oriented and made with love.

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                Limited edition double black vinyl, 500 copies only. Gatefold jacket with notes.

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                Mastered by Andrew Liles

                Sleeve art by Personality Crisis

                Labels by Walter Russ



                STAFF COMMENTS

                Matt says: The first full length compilation to arrive from the creative hub / musical ashram that is The Golden Lion in Todmorden. Working with Andrew Weatherall’s friends, family and collaborators (plus two large online communities), the compilation even includes an unreleased Two Lone Swordman track and will likely be one of the most sought after releases on this incredibly strong and prolific label.

                The Lovely Eggs

                Eggsistentialism

                  “Eggsistentialism” sees The Lovely Eggs return after a 4 year break since their Number One Independent Selling Album “I am Moron”. During that time they have made their own TV show Eggs TV (featuring Ian McKaye, Stewart Lee, Katie Puckrik, Maxine Peake, David Shrigley and more), dueted with Iggy Pop, played a load of sold-out gigs and festivals and fought a campaign to save Lancaster Music Co-op (a community rehearsal rooms and recording studio where they live).

                  Recorded at home in Lancaster, with production advice from Dave Fridmann, the album was mixed at Tarbox Road Studios, NY with Dave Fridmann and the band.

                  As the title suggests, “Eggsistentialism” explores a much more personal, introspective, and reflective side to The Lovely Eggs world and sees the Eggs explore new sounds and experiment in unventured musical territories.

                  “The new album is really a reflection on what has been happening to us these last couple of years, stewing up in Eggland in our own juices,” explains Holly. “It’s about loss and strength. On this album you’ll hear us at our lowest and most vulnerable. Daily life is hard. Realising everything you grew up with and loved is never coming back, alongside the responsibilities of caring for others is sometimes hard to take. The album is about life and death. Eggsistentialism. It’s about dragging yourself through all the shit to get to the other side.”

                  “It’s a bit of a ‘wilderness years’ album,” continues Holly. “We haven’t released a new record since 2020 and in the meantime, we’ve been here fighting shit and trying to defend a right to a lifestyle that we’ve enjoyed here in this town for the last 30+ years as working musicians who refuse to get a “normal” job and tow the line. It’s about believing in something and not letting go. But that unwillingness to give in ultimately takes its toll. It does start to destroy you and the album is kind of a documentation of that destruction and collapse as well as the strength we’ve got to get through it all. Ultimately, this is a hopeful record about survival.”

                  Various Artists

                  Everyone's Getting Involved: A Stop Making Sense Tribute Album

                    Spanning the tracklist of the original album, the fresh, exciting, and utterly surprising reinterpretations create new content for longtime Talking Heads fans and introduce a new generation to the magic of the music. The brilliant selection of artists recontextualizes 'Stop Making Sense' in popular music and culture, with a focus on generational and stylistic breadth.

                    Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan

                    Your Community Hub

                      Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan's new album, Your Community Hub, compellingly continues his sonic exploration of the New Towns movement. The issues the councillors, planners, and architects set out to solve still resound and echo throughout society.

                      For the latest instalment in this unique project, Gordon Chapman-Fox turns his laser eye to focus on Community and the Community Centres that populated Warrington and Runcorn in order to provide all the facilities people needed within a five minute walk from their home. These planning ideas predated the current discussions of fifteen minute cities by fifty years.

                      Those 50 years have seen a decline in our community centres and services: handy access to a GP or dentist, Post Offices, youth clubs, local shops, banking and much more. Successive governments have undermined and eroded those basic services. The decline in community services has also been matched with a decline in community and shared experiences with a knock-on effect on the population's health and well-being. The disastrous austerity policies imposed over the last 15 years have exacerbated this long, slow reduction in available spaces for people to meet and communicate, with seemingly no recognition of the societal impact that causes. Short-termism at the expense of the community and how we live our lives.

                      Margaret Thatcher's statement that "there is no such thing as society" has been taken as a mission statement by successive Conservative governments who have aimed to remove as much support and communality from the citizens as possible. It continues now, the wrong-headed idea that everyone can be left to fend for themselves.

                      Chapman-Fox's latest album decries the cruelty of where we find ourselves in 2024 and his quiet incandescence about the loss of optimism for what communities should be and could be. It's his most powerful work, and as always, it will deeply resonate with those who tune in to his unique vision and unparalleled productions.

                      As ever, beautifully packaged and designed by Gordon, the album artwork features photographs from the archive of the architect Peter Garvin, which was kindly provided by his son Richard Garvin. The photographs show Peter's work on the Castlefield Community Centre, a sleek modernist structure clad in white ceramic tiles.


                      St. Vincent

                      All Born Screaming

                        Annie Clark made her recorded debut as St. Vincent in 2007 with Marry Me, quickly becoming regarded as one of the most innovative and fascinating presences in modern music. Her subsequent albums would include Actor (2009), Strange Mercy (2011), her self-titled fourth album and winner of the 2014 GRAMMY for Best Alternative Album. In 2017, her fifth album MASSEDUCTION would break St. Vincent into the U.S. and UK top 10s and win two more GRAMMYs (Best Rock Song for its title track, and Best Recording Package). 2021’s Daddy’s Home found St. Vincent channeling the hungover glamor and gritty sepia-toned soundtrack of 1970s downtown NYC to an ecstatic reception, ultimately winning her a second Best Alternative Album GRAMMY.

                        Following a 2021-2022 global tour that reaffirmed St. Vincent’s status as one of live music's preeminent forces with headline appearances at the likes of the Hollywood Bowl and Radio City Music Hall, Clark would begin work on album number seven: Her first fully self-produced album (having co-produced every one of her previous efforts), All Born Screaming is St. Vincent at her most primal. Featuring Clark leading “a curated group of rippers” through the brawny “Broken Man,” the mordant catwalk sashay through the deafening assault of self-loathing that is “Big Time Nothing,” the sublime, elegiac earworm “Sweetest Fruit," All Born Screaming is equal parts spiritual desolation and rapturous acceptance. “If you’re born screaming, that’s a great sign,” says Clark, “because it means you’re breathing. You’re alive. My god. It’s joyous. And then it’s also a protest. We’re all born in protest in a certain way. It’s terrifying to be alive, it’s ecstatic to be alive. It’s everything.” 

                        Various Artists

                        This Town (Music From The Original BBC Series)

                          From creator Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, SAS Rogue Heroes) comes new drama This Town. A 6-part series set in 1981 Birmingham, which follows a bands formation amid the violence and social tensions of the time. The music from the Original BBC Series brings together the show’s genre-wide mix of timeless classics, brand new music, and iconic hits of the era. It features an eclectic, world-class mix of artists paying tribute to this hugely formative period and includes original covers from Self Esteem, Ray Laurél, Mercury-nominated breakthrough Olivia Dean, GRAMMY-winning powerhouse Gregory Porter, BRITs Rising Star nominee Sekou and Academy Award nominee Celeste. Additionally, the songs played by Fuck The Factory - the band at the heart of This Town - have been created by trailblazing producer Dan Carey (Fontaines D.C, Wet Leg) in collaboration with singer-songwriter ESKA and musician, novelist and poet Kae Tempest in work that adds another chapter to the story.

                          Fat White Family

                          Forgiveness Is Yours

                            Fat White Family are back with the most sophisticated, vital and flamboyant creation of their career.

                            The cult south-London band’s resplendent fourth album Forgiveness Is Yours, like everything they’ve done, has pushed them to the limits not only of their creative talent, but of their health, their sanity, their very existence.

                            STAFF COMMENTS

                            Barry says: Another blistering outing from Fat White Family, their first since 2019's brilliant Serfs Up! We get a little more sleazy lounge groove this time around, and a little more synthesiser pulses among the instantly recognisable postpunk march and taut art-rock rhythms, but it's the same FWF at heart. Ace.

                            Beth Gibbons

                            Lives Outgrown

                              Beth Gibbons releases her debut solo album Lives Outgrown on Friday the 17th of May 2024. Featuring 10 beautiful new songs recorded over a period of 10 years, the album was produced by James Ford & Beth Gibbons with additional production by Lee Harris (Talk Talk).

                              Lives Outgrown is, by some measure, Beth’s most personal work to date, the result of a period of sustained reflection and change — “lots of goodbyes,” in Beth’s words. Farewells to family, to friends, even to her former self. These are songs from the mid-course of life, when looking ahead no longer yields what it used to, and looking back has a sudden, sharper focus.

                              Jane Weaver

                              Love In Constant Spectacle

                                Recalibrating her singular journey in the British musical landscape with her most open-hearted, direct and intimate collection of material yet. Love In Constant Spectacle evokes spectacular imagery and distills the artists’ vision in its purest form, elevating her inimitable sound and poetic vision to new heights.

                                Recapturing the melancholy of her early work whilst propelling it forward, she sketches scenes as we watch new colours, shapes and languages emerge and fill the frame. Love In Constant Spectacle sees her take measured steps towards a vivid, dreamlike record, that offers resolve in the face of life’s inevitability.

                                The foundations of Weaver’s sound are still evident – lush motorik drums, pulsating bass, custom modded synths and exotic fuzz pedals - but the stream is awash with scrabble piece poetry and Letraset lullabies leading to lush escapism, the free abandon that you’d associate with free jazz and the avant-garde. But, as determined and visionary as Weaver might be, Love In Constant Spectacle wasn’t executed without assistance. Here we find a long mooted unison with Jane’s first ever producer, John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding), who has shared Weaver’s process in the surrounds of Rockfield Studios and Geoff Barrow’s Invada studio.

                                Love In Constant Spectacle is otherworldly, it is both intimate yet distant, a surrealist interpretation of the foundations that make us human – the stories and landscapes it paints are habitats of their own. A voyage into undisclosed pastures, it’s a heartfelt manifesto from an artist that continues to boundlessly evolve with each chapter in her career.

                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                Barry says: We're big fans of Jane & co. here at Piccadilly, and 'Love In Constant Spectacle' takes everything we've known and loved from previous releases; her rich melodic thread and progressive instrumental leanings, and injects the pieces with perfectly extracted DNA from jazz, 60's psychedelic pop and art-rock.

                                Portishead

                                Roseland NYC Live - 25th Anniversary Edition

                                  25th Anniversary Edition of the pioneering Bristol trio’s album, Roseland NYC Live; recorded and filmed at New York’s Roseland Ballroom with a 28-piece orchestra in 1997, and released in 1998.

                                  The live album and concert film combined have sold over 1 million copies to date, and features performances of the most acclaimed tracks, ‘Glory Box’, ‘Sour Times’, and ‘Roads’, from their debut and sophomore albums, Dummy and Portishead.

                                  Newly remastered, the tracklist has been expanded to include ‘Undenied’ and ‘Numb’ from the concert film, as well as the full length performance of ‘Western Eyes’, which played in part over the credits of the film.

                                  ‘Sour Times’ and ‘Roads’ are also now the original Roseland versions (previously substituted on the album release with recordings from other performances). All 5 of these tracks will be on CD and vinyl for the first time.

                                  English Teacher

                                  This Could Be Texas

                                    Leeds indie frontrunners English Teacher announce debut LP ‘This Could Be Texas’. Preceded by initial LP reveals ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’, ‘Nearly Daffodils’ and ‘Mastermind Specialism’, which were all A-listed on the BBC 6 Music playlist, English Teacher’s remarkable ascent continues to reach new levels, having completed sold-out debut UK and US headline runs last autumn, following their thrilling debut appearance on Later With...Jools Holland. Announced as Independent Venue Week Artist Ambassador for 2024. Lead singer Lily Fontaine explains, “I want this album to feel like you’ve gone to space, and it turns out its almost identical to Doncaster. It’s about in-betweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths." In several songs, Fontaine reflects on growing up as a mixed-race individual in a place, she says, “where many didn’t have any tolerance towards people who are different” in a post-Brexit landscape.

                                    The debut album by Leeds frontrunners ‘This Could Be Texas’ will be released on 12th April 2023.

                                    Lead singer Lily Fontaine explains, “I want this album to feel like you’ve gone to space, and it turns out its almost identical to Doncaster. It’s about in-betweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths."

                                    STAFF COMMENTS

                                    Barry says: There's some brilliant music coming out of the London art/noise/garage rock scene at the moment and while i'm a big fan of pretty much all of it, there's nothing there that hits my feels quite as much as Leeds' English Teacher. Jagged, energetic instrumentation and moments of placid, drifting ambience abound, this is a startlingly cohesive and wonderfully deep debut.

                                    Fontaines D.C.

                                    Romance

                                      Fontaines D.C. announce details of their highly-anticipated fourth album, Romance. Romance is the band’s first album with producer James Ford and is without doubt their most assured, inventive and sonically adventurous record yet. It’s set to build on the success of the Dublin-made, now London-based band’s acclaimed 2022 album Skinty Fia, which reached number 1 in the UK and Irish album charts and saw the band receiving a host of accolades including “International Group of the Year” at the 2023 BRIT Awards.

                                      Heralding Fontaines D.C.’s latest creative (r)evolution is the explosive lead single “Starburster”. Inspired by a panic attack lead singer Grian Chatten suffered in London’s St Pancras station, the song is punctuated by sharp feral intakes of breath. Its propulsive beat and unrelenting lyrics establish self-destruction as fantasy before a brief moment of sobering clarity when the drums fall away and Chatten moves from spitting, almost-rap into an almost-psalm, his baritone rich and dreamy. It’s accompanied by a cinematic music video from director Aube Perrie (Megan Thee Stallion, Harry Styles, The Hives) that captures the song’s cathartic intensity to brilliant effect.

                                      Romance is Fontaines D.C.s most ambitious, expansive record yet, its 11 tracks constellating ideas that have been percolating among Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O’Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan (bass), and Tom Coll (drums) since they released Skinty Fia in 2022. These ideas crystalised while touring the U.S. and Mexico with Arctic Monkeys as the five band members shared music and found a throughline with artists that deftly build out their own sprawling creative worlds: the attitude and aesthetic sheen of artists like Shygirl and Sega Bodega, the bolshy sonic palettes of hip hop and heavy metal, Mos Def, A$AP Ferg, OutKast and Korn. They had time apart to build more singular visions for what future music could be: O’Connell went to Spain’s Castile-La Mancha and later became a new father, while Chatten spent time in LA, and Deegan in Paris. They laid deeper roots in London. Each member spent time pushing their boundaries – experimental riffs, chord progressions, and far-flung lyrical references without intentions for a record. After wrapping up the US arena tour in Autumn 2023, they spent a month writing together again, three weeks of pre-production in a North London studio, and a month in a chateau close to Paris, sleeping among studio equipment, completely immersed.

                                      Of the album’s title, Conor Deegan says, “We’ve always had this sense of idealism and romance. Each album gets further away from observing that through the lens of Ireland, as directly as (Mercury Prize-nominated debut) Dogrel. The second album (the GRAMMY-nominated A Hero’s Death) is about that detachment, and the third (Skinty Fia) is about Irishness dislocated in the diaspora. Now we look to where and what else there is to be romantic about.”

                                      Expounding on the theme, Chatten recalls Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s anime Akira, where the embers of love develop despite a maelstrom of technological degradation and political corruption around its characters. “I’m fascinated by that - falling in love at the end of the world,” he says. “The album is about protecting that tiny flame. The bigger armageddon looms, the more precious it becomes,” while O’Connell adds “This record is about deciding what’s fantasy – the tangible world, or where you go in your mind. What represents reality more? That feels almost spiritual for us.”

                                      The sonic evolution of the band, who bared their teeth in early records with antagonistic punk sensibilities, is an ascent into grungier breaks, dystopian electronica, hip-hop percussion, and dreamy Slowdive-esque textures that may surprise fans. The shoegaze touchpoints first pressed on Skinty Fia unfold on Romance like a purpling bruise. But any “retro aesthetic”, as Chatten describes it, is left behind. Reflecting on the impending release, Chatten says, “We say things on this record we’ve wanted to say for a long time. I never feel like it's over, but it’s nice to feel lighter.” The fantasy is felt for better or worse, and Fontaines D.C. welcome either end of oblivion.

                                      Porij

                                      Teething

                                        The arrival of Teething invites you to take a leap beyond seeing dance music as a genre, built from this type of kick or that type of snare, and instead as its own dimension: a place you can escape to. It pays homage to the language of sounds on the dancefloor which have encouraged generations to feel, not to think. While, lyrically, the record delves into the tangle of lived experience, musically, it will free you from it.

                                        Since the beginning, Porij had self-produced, self-mixed and entirely self-made their music, and even after having signed to [PIAS], the record was still incubated in their bedrooms where they would sit together for hours giving colour, shape and texture to this new world. It was only then that they enlisted legendary producer David Wrench, famed for his work with era-defining artists including Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs and The XX. His mentorship allowed Teething to transform their music from a live-angled proposition to something folded in the arms of pop.

                                        Vocalist and keyboardist Scout Moore (Egg), bassist James Middleton, guitarist Jacob Maguire and drummer Nathan Carroll are armed with hard-won experience, strengthened bonds and a renewed sense of passion. Their debut album Teething is both a coming-of-age story and a bottling of the particular magic that is unmistakably – and definitively – Porij.

                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                        Barry says: A syrup-smooth mix of airy Balearic beats and euphoric house-tinged synth-pop. Texturally varied, but without straying too far from dreamy front-room electronica or drifting dancefloor grooves.

                                        Kathryn Williams & Withered Hand

                                        Willson Williams

                                          ‘Willson Williams’ witnesses the meeting of two likeminded musicians who’ve built their successful, independent careers on inventive folk instrumentation, reflective and sincere lyricism, and not a small amount of self-deprecation. Their modest confessionals, written poetically and over nostalgic and atmospheric melodies, are as relatable as ever, and together they find new ways to unpack their feelings.  

                                          One overarching theme on the album is that of grief, when the writing process saw them both, tragically, in mourning for separate loved ones; Dan for his brother Karl and his friend Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit, and Kathryn for her friend, comedian and BBC Radio 4 presenter Jeremy Hardy. They explain that “the initial premise and starting point for us was discussions and open conversations on bereavement. We’d both recently lost friends who were also in the public eye, and we talked about the strange place between personal loss and the communal grieving of a public figure”. Contrastingly, the music on ‘Willson Williams’ is warm, heartfelt and even cheerful, an opposing nature that is completely in keeping with both their humour and candidness.

                                          Jon Hopkins

                                          RITUAL

                                            By turns devotional, empowering and nurturing, Jon Hopkins’ forthcoming RITUAL is a 41-minute electronic symphony built from cavernous subs, hypnotic drumming and transcendent melodic interplay. Tense, immersive and ultimately triumphant, it is a culmination of themes explored throughout his 22-year career, and acts as the kinetic counterpart to 2021’s Music For Psychedelic Therapy.

                                            A single piece unfolding over eight chapters, RITUAL is personified by depth and contrast. Taking ceremony, spiritual liberation and the hero's journey as inspiration, it taps into an ancient and primal energy.

                                            Featuring long-term collaborators Vylana, 7RAYS, Ishq, Clark, Emma Smith, Daisy Vatalaro and Cherif Hashizume, RITUAL came together within the second half of 2023, but initial seeds were sown in 2022, when Hopkins was commissioned to compose for the stroboscopic Dreamachine experience in London. A project that felt ceremonial from the outset, this shorter piece was the embryo of RITUAL, with Hopkins gaining inspiration from the feeling of intention that is inherent in the Dreamachine space.

                                            RITUAL is both emotionally and sonically heavy, whilst retaining a warm, live feel, where the juxtaposition between softness and intensity forms the core of the whole. So take time, prepare and immerse in RITUAL for 41 minutes of uninterrupted listening: sonic divination of the most potent form.

                                            Open Secret

                                            Open Secret 1

                                            Pyramid Stage Specials, wrong-speed 3rd wave Koln tekkers, Priceless Zouk & totally unknown Stockport Psych all bunch up on this debut record from Manchester’s OPEN SECRET crew - 2 of the city’s most esteemed DJs who joined forces to put on the best underground night anyone’s seen in years… here come 4 of their secret weapons, from an undisclosed Miles Platting location to ur ears.

                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                            Matt says: Ruffy and Boggy join forces to cement some of the psychedelic sounds from their now cult adored mushroom speak easy onto wax. The results are spectacularly lysergic renditions and tweaks of tracks you'd have to jump down the wormhole to discover.

                                            Parsnip

                                            Behold

                                              Green shoots have burst forth from Parsnip, let’s warmly welcome the Australian group’s sophomore album ‘Behold’.

                                              The production is ambitious, with 12-string and acoustic guitars, percussion, piano, saxophone and harmonium all sitting comfortably in these outstanding songs. Drawing comparisons with Dolly Mixture, Sara Goes Pop, Look Blue Go Purple and The Field Mice, Parsnip are an animated ensemble, full of life, emotional complexity and humour. The laughter in the dark is real, but then the sun comes up and we all must meet the day. Even the flowers turn their faces. Behold!

                                              Recorded across three sessions over the last three years, ‘Behold’ is a testament to Parsnip at their most creative, catchy and collaborative. This album showcases the multi-talents of all four members, with spirited performances adding dazzle to the thirteen tracks.

                                              Paris Richens lets the bass playfully roam. Carolyn Hawkins tumbles feeling into the drum rumble. Stella Rennex’s guitar soars alongside her saxophone work, whilst a sprightly keyboard is tenderly attended by Rebecca Liston. Everyone sings amidst this lush canopy.

                                              Patience, environmental cues and internal signals are integral for a garden to flourish. The same can be said of the conditions necessary for ‘Behold’ to emerge. It is an album gleeful in reassessment, changed priorities and anticipation. The roots are deeply anchored to mystery, drinking up a hidden wonderment that lies within. ‘Monument’ is a twist of melody and mania, “For what am I? But a channel of light” they attest amongst the whoops and hollers. ‘The Babble’ sounds like Ray Davies playing Wordle for enlightenment. In fact most of these songs are pointing the way towards growth and understanding. ‘Turn to Love’ is mesmeric and timeless, thoroughly serene and perfectly judged. Parsnip write songs as a form of communion with the intangible in our increasingly delusory world, but there is always a gentle reminder; don’t take anything too seriously! “My head is gonna split in two, fix it with flour and glue” they demand on ultimate bop ‘Papier-Mâché’, this juxtaposition of mature resolve with childlike astonishment packs a more powerful punch.

                                              On ‘Behold’, Parsnip explore both the inner and outer realms of consciousness with quick wits and some seriously quality jangle and jolt. ‘The Light’ is a whip smart workout, sprouting naturally from the propulsive nature of their debut album ‘When the Tree Bears Fruit’ (2019). ‘Placeholder’ is also devastatingly honest and channels The Field Mice as it buries itself like an arrow into your heart. 


                                              Neil Young With Crazy Horse

                                              Fu##kin' Up

                                                A live performance of the "Ragged Glory" album, recorded at a club in Toronto in 2023

                                                “Why do these old songs live so vividly now? They do to me.”

                                                Neil Young with Crazy Horse in all their “Ragged Glory”.

                                                Neil & The Horse have played together for over 50 years and the performances of these songs is a true highlight of that long relationship.

                                                9 songs over 2LPs with the original song titles replaced with selected lyrics. (“Farmer John”, being a cover, retains its original title.)

                                                The album was recorded in 2023, with this line-up:

                                                Billy Talbot – Bass, vocal
                                                Ralph Molina – Drums, vocal
                                                Micah Nelson – Guitar, vocal, piano
                                                Nils Lofgren – Guitar, vocal, piano
                                                Neil Young – Guitar, vocal, harmonica

                                                Neil: “In the spirit it’s offered…made this for the Horse lovers. I can’t stop it. The horse is runnin’. What a ride we have. I don’t want to mess with the vibe. I am so happy to have this to share.”


                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                Barry says: Another live document from one of the most storied and legendary figures in the music business. Fu##kin Up shows Young and the band in fine form, with captivating performances (obviously) and a stylistic fluidity that such a well-heeled collaboration fosters.

                                                Black Uhuru

                                                Brutal - 2024 Reissue

                                                  Released in 1986, BRUTAL has never been reissued on vinyl until now. It features a dream cast: Sly & Robbie as BLACK UHURU's leader, Junior Reid on vocals, Tyrone Downie (Roots Radics) on keyboards, all mixed at Lion & Fox by RAS RECORDS fetish engineer Jim Fox.

                                                  In addition to reissuing this album in its original version, we've remastered the original soundtracks for both vinyl and CD to give this legendary album even more sparkle. 

                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                  Matt says: Classic 80s roots featuring Sly & Robbie which has remained unavailable on vinyl till now. The remastering sounds delish and it's another essential set for any reggae collector or selector.

                                                  The Bevis Frond

                                                  Live At The Great American Music Hall (RSD24 EDITION)

                                                    THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                                                    IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.



                                                    The Sound

                                                    Jeopardy - 2024 Reissue

                                                      In November of 1980, post-punk legends The Sound released their debut album Jeopardy, a critically acclaimed yet often overlooked record compared to other releases in the musical soundscape of the early 80s. The Sound, which initially evolved from punk group The Outsiders, is a band that many musicians and many devoted fans alike consider to be one of the most underrated post-punk bands of all time. They sadly never had a huge following relative to their creative output despite being championed by famous Radio DJ John Peel, and Korova label mates Echo and The Bunnymen, as well as touring with The Comsat Angels.

                                                      On April 26, 2024 it will be exactly 25 years since Adrian Borland of The Sound passed away. We are commemorating this by organizing a special event at Poppodium Boerderij together with the Opposite Direction Foundation on this day. With a book presentation, film, concert and exhibition. It was December 5, 1987 that Adrian Borland walked off the stage halfway through the concert of The Sound at De Boerderij. It would later turn out that this had been The Sound's last concert. Adrian then made five more solo albums, but unfortunately his illness always slumbered in the background and on April 26, 1999 he decided to end his life.


                                                      Kamasi Washington

                                                      Fearless Movement

                                                        Washington calls 'Fearless Movement' his dance album. “It’s not literal,” Washington says. “Dance is movement and expression, and in a way it’s the same thing as music - expressing your spirit through your body. That’s what this album is pushing.”

                                                        Dance as an embodied form of expression signals a shift in focus for Washington. Where previous albums dealt with cosmic ideas and existential concepts, 'Fearless Movement' focuses in on the everyday, an exploration of life on earth. This change in scope is due in large part to the birth of Washington’s first child a few years ago.

                                                        “Being a father means the horizon of your life all of a sudden shows up,” says Washington. “My mortality became more apparent to me, but also my immortality - realizing that my daughter is going to live on and see things that I’m never going to see. I had to become comfortable with this, and that affected the music that I was making.”

                                                        The album features Washington’s daughter - who wrote the melody to 'Asha The First' during some of her first experimentations on the piano - as well as a host of collaborators new and old. André 3000 appears on flute, George Clinton lends his voice, as do BJ The Chicago Kid, Inglewood rapper D-Smoke and Taj and Ras Austin of Coast Contra, the twin sons of West Coast legend Ras Kass. Washington further enlisted lifelong friends and collaborators Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Patrice Quinn, Brandon Coleman, DJ Battlecat and more.


                                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                                        Barry says: The inimitable Kamasi Washington returns for another suite of impeccably crafted jazz missives and includes a host of huge names to boot. If you've heard anything Kamasi's done, you'll know that this is an essential purchase. Epic, beautifully crafted and impeccably presented as ever.

                                                        BIG SPECIAL

                                                        POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES

                                                          Words are not to be taken for granted. Especially when they’re being bellowed, full blast, by a broad-shouldered poet with the brimstone fire of a preacher and the honesty and wisdom of a layman, over ground-shaking live beats and between anthemic blasts of melody and rousing riffage.

                                                          Words matter. History matters. People matter. And BIG SPECIAL matter.

                                                          For BIG SPECIAL - Joe Hicklin (vocals) and Callum Moloney (drums) - their sound is one that comes from vital, frustrated young working-class voices that don’t always get heard on the scale they should do. It’s a frustration that comes to the fore through a voice that is at times coarse and raw, but sensitive, desperate and soulful at others. Hicklin's brimstone-fired voice marches from guttural punk barks and serrated spoken word to soaring soul and back again, arriving siphoned from their forebears, crushed under the weight of history, and retooled for a new generation. It’s wrought, raw and angry at a world lacking options, the thinning of the common understanding between the social classes of England, exasperation at repeating cycles, and the feeling that you’re watching your own life unfold from the outside.

                                                          These are songs that channel that voice you hear when you look in the mirror and see your true self – fight songs for a world gone wrong.

                                                          Röyksopp & Robyn

                                                          Do It Again - 2024 Reissue

                                                            Limited edition repress of the 2014 mini album from Royksopp & Robyn 'Do It Again'. Pressed on white and black marble LP

                                                            Fontaines D.C. / Massive Attack / Young Fathers

                                                            Ceasefire

                                                              Fontaines DC, Massive Attack and Young Fathers have announced the pre-order release of an exclusive, limited edition vinyl record in support of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) emergency operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

                                                              *The 12” vinyl only release, features material from Fontaines DC, and Massive Attack/Young Fathers, and a ceasefire sleeve design by 3D of Massive Attack. 

                                                              The reverse sleeve of the 12” features words written on a hospital whiteboard in Gaza by Doctors Without Borders medic Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila – words which went viral on global social media - depicting the desperation of medical professionals and civilians in Gaza. Tragically, Dr Nujaila was killed in a strike a few weeks later.

                                                              "WHOEVER STAYS
                                                              UNTIL THE END
                                                              WILL TELL THE STORY,

                                                              WE DID WHAT WE COULD.
                                                              REMEMBER US"

                                                              Despite repeated deadly attacks on its staff, medics, surgeons, and aid conveys, Doctors Without Borders volunteers continue to offer critical support to the civilians of Gaza.

                                                              Fontaines DC, Massive Attack and Young Fathers have donated their music in full support of the incredible Doctors Without Borders staff working in Gaza today, as a statement for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people living under a brutal military occupation.

                                                              Fontaines DC, Massive Attack & Young Fathers will donate 100% of the profits from this promotional venture to Médecins Sans Frontières (UK - charity number: 1026588) emergency operations in Gaza and the West Bank. The total donation is expected to be in excess of £150,000.

                                                              3D (Massive Attack) said: "The hourly scenes of horror in Gaza, with hospitals and schools bombed to dust and innocent civilians, journalists and doctors killed in unspeakable numbers has been made so much worse by more than ten weeks of abject political failure.
                                                              We're in awe of the Doctors Without Borders medics who place their lives on the line to help innocent civilians in Gaza. The ceasefire EP is a tribute to them, and their incredible ongoing work in truly indescribable circumstances. We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine”

                                                              Fontaines DC said: “Fontaines DC join millions across the world in demanding an immediate ceasefire and a permanent end to Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine. Since October, Doctors Without Borders have been on the ground in Gaza, where every human is an IDF target, risking their lives to give vital care to the thousands injured by Israel's indiscriminate attacks on the starving and defenceless. We feel utterly helpless in what we can do at this point however we do hope our small contribution to this record can raise some desperately needed funds for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. Ceasefire Now. Free Palestine”

                                                              Natalie Roberts, MSF Executive Director said: “After more than two months of war, Israel’s unrelenting and indiscriminate strikes on Gaza have caused unprecedented and catastrophic levels of civilian harm. Nowhere is safe. Hospitals that are overflowing with the sick and wounded are coming under fire or being raided by Israeli forces, killing doctors, health workers, colleagues. Our teams continue to do what they can without even the basic guarantees of safety. We desperately want to do more, but for that we need an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
                                                              Huge thanks to Massive Attack, Fontaines DC and Young Fathers for all their support.”

                                                              *Copies have been packed using different combinations of coloured vinyl and sleeves. All orders are selected at random.

                                                              Various Artists

                                                              Lost In Translation (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack) (RSD24 EDITION)

                                                                THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                                                                Lost In Translation (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) was the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's Academy Award winning movie of the same name including Kevin Shields, Air, Death in Vegas, My Bloody Valentine Squarepusher and The Jesus and Mary Chain. This deluxe edition includes a bonus LP curated by original supervisor Brian Reitzell featuring additional tracks included in the film (but not on the original soundtrack) from Peaches, The Chemical Brothers and more as well as the karaoke tracks from the famous scene in the film.

                                                                Overmono & The Streets

                                                                Turn The Page

                                                                  Overmono first performed their version of The Streets’ seminal 'Turn The Page' at the 2022 edition of Lost Village Festival to a rapturous response. Hailed by Rolling Stone UK as a "glitchy techno banger”, it has since grown into a word-of-mouth phenomenon and a pinnacle moment in the duo’s critically acclaimed live show. From their Coachella debut to their viral Boiler Room and more recent sold-out headline show at London’s Roundhouse, the track continues to resonate across continents, solidifying its status as a timeless dancefloor anthem. Now available for pre-order on 12” black vinyl with laser etched lyrics on the b-side.

                                                                  Luke Vibert & Posthuman

                                                                  Unitary Covert Sonic Procedures IV

                                                                  Originally pressed in 2022, as a vinyl-only release, an edition of 100 fluorescent green 12” and sold exclusively at venues in the USA as part of Luke Vibert & Posthuman’s I Love Acid tour, never made available anywhere else. This second edition repress is in randomly assigned cobalt blue, solid orange vinyl, or split red/black with multiple differently coloured labels.

                                                                  On the A side - Luke Vibert is “Still In Love” with acid lines & breakbeats here as a sequel to his classic anthem. “Android Webber” strips it back to pure 303, 808, and JX3P analogue action. On the flip, Posthuman opens with the fierce ravey electro of “Grad” before seeing off the 12” with some signature acid slo-mo chug in “Forever Circles”

                                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                  Matt says: Likely to fly out quicker than double stacked Mitsubishis at a London warehouse party; these Balkan Vinyl limited runs never let up on pure acid house ecstasy.

                                                                  Khruangbin

                                                                  A LA SALA

                                                                    Khruangbin’s fourth studio album, A La Sala (“To the Room” in Spanish), is an exercise in returning in order to go further, and doing so on your own terms. It continues the mystery and sanctity that is the key to how bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson, Jr. and guitarist Mark “Marko” Speer approach music. If 2020’s Mordechai, the last studio LP Khruangbin made without collaborators, was a party record that enhanced the band’s musical reputation far and wide, then A La Sala is the measured morning after. It’s a gorgeously airy record completed only in the company of the group’s longtime engineer Steve Christensen, with minimal overdubs. It’s a window onto the bounties powering Khruangbin’s vision, a reimagining and refueling for the long haul ahead. A La Sala scales Khruangbin down to scale up, a creative strategy with the future in mind.

                                                                    The trio’s collective musical DNA, the years spent constructing it in Houston’s local-meets-global cultural stew, ensures the band continues to sound like no one but itself. A cascade of crisp melodies emanates from Marko’s reverb-heavy electric, dancing gently around Laura Lee’s minimalist almost-dub bass triangles, while DJ’s drums serve as the tightened-up pocket and unwavering dance-floor on which all this movement takes place. Yet there’s a freshness to A La Sala’s instrumental interactivity, less concerned with getting further out than going deeper in, a profound desire to celebrate the world’s external wonders. Where prior albums strived towards music’s polyglot edges, such inquiries now sound like beloved intimacies. Here, Khruangbin’s sonic touch-points — whether spaghetti-western film scores (on “Fifteen Fifty-Three”), West African discos (on “Pon Pón”), G-funk fantasias (“Todavía Viva”), living room dancing moments (the first single, “A Love International”), or even ambient found-sounds (on “Farolim de Felgueiras and throughout the album”) — are ingrained characteristics. This is who they are! Unique and huge (and growing), ambitious and driven.

                                                                    Khruangbin’s aspirations and commitment to playful creativity even extends to A La Sala’s vinyl packages, of which there will be seven distinctive covers and color-sets. Designed by the band using Marko’s multitude of travelog photos, the images are windows from the band’s living room onto a set of daydreams, scenes of impossible skies, external glances that illuminate what is going on inside. Each cover image comes with a matching color vinyl. These too are all about looking out and looking back, in order to better look ahead.



                                                                    STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                    Barry says: The inimitable Khruangbin bring us another slice of beautifully rendered, loungey ambient jazz. Swimming with atmosphere and as perfectly performed as you'd expect from the Texan trio. Beautifully evocative and warmly hazy instrumental business.

                                                                    Shabaka

                                                                    Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace

                                                                      After putting down the saxophone, the instrument he has become synonymous with, Shabaka returns with his first full length album under his own name. Expanding off the meditative 2022 EP Afrikan Culture, his new album Perceive its beauty, Acknowledge its Grace is a deeply moving suite of primarily instrumental music. The listening experience is reflective and contemplative, with passages flowering from one musical concept to the next, encouraging deep attention that rewards the listener with throughlines and motifs throughout the record. Shabaka is found playing the flute on this album, and has enlisted key artists such as Andre 3000, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Floating Points, and more to help build this all-encompassing aural landscape.

                                                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                      Barry says: I'm not typically a massive Jazz fan, I say this with some trepidation because the more I say it, the more I hear that I enjoy. While Hutchings has in the past, superbly done exactly the sort of Jazz I don't enjoy, 'Perceive It's Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace' is a beautiful collection of new-age leaning instrumentals and flute-heavy spiritual jazz. With a stellar lineup of guests too (Laraaji, Floating Points, and fellow flautist Andre 3000), you really need to give this masterwork time to develop in the ears.

                                                                      Jessica Pratt

                                                                      Here In The Pitch

                                                                        On her fourth album, west coast artist Jessica Pratt expands the scope of her artistry, placing her sharpest songs to date within an ever-broadening pool of influences including spectral '60s pop, Hollywood psychedelia and bossa nova. Whereas Pratt's 2019 record, Quiet Signs, floated elegantly in the ether, Here in the Pitch is entrenched in more earthen characteristics, as the title suggests, and her craft is emboldened with a newfound gravitas.

                                                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                        Barry says: 'Here In The Pitch' takes Jessica Pratt's established sound (brittle folk and slow country balladry) and widens the net into slow hazy pop and soaring widescreen songwriting. Though she's not moved away from the more minimalistic pieces, there are a lot more moments of both jubilance and fear, it's a beautifully crafted and intensely personal creation.

                                                                        Motorhead

                                                                        Remorse? No! (RSD24 EDITION)

                                                                          THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                                                                          IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.


                                                                          40th anniversary celebration of 1984's classic Motorhead compilation No Remorse. This redux version on limited edition silver colour double vinyl with new sleeve notes, contains an alternative tracklisting to the original, using demos, alt and live versions of the original tracks many of which are available on vinyl for the first time.

                                                                          Sonic Youth

                                                                          Live In Brooklyn 2011

                                                                            The final U.S. show, a triumphant and blistering bookend to the storied career of one of the most influential bands in rock music, featuring a unique and expansive eighty-five minute set list that spans Sonic Youth’s nearly three decade catalog. Mixed from multitrack by longtime live engineer Aaron Mullan and mastered and cut by Carl Saff.

                                                                            On August 12, 2011 Sonic Youth played their final US show on an outdoor stage overlooking the East River at the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn. Fitting that their storied career would bookend with a panoramic view of New York City where it all began 30 years before, having left in their wake one of one of the most powerfully influential careers in rock music.

                                                                            Following incredible sets from Kurt Vile and Wild Flag, the band took the stage. As the sun went down over the city, Sonic Youth ripped through a 17 song set that spanned from deep cuts off their first studio album and highlighting many other albums all the way through to their last, like a band with everything to prove. Or as Brooklyn Vegan’s Andrew Sacher said at the time: “While most bands who are thirty years into their career are either fading away or living off of the nostalgia of their older material, Sonic Youth continue to sound and perform as fresh as ever.”

                                                                            Steve Shelley explains the uniquely career spanning set list of Live in Brooklyn 2011 and how it came to be, as well as the importance of outdoor NYC summer shows in Sonic Youth’s legacy:

                                                                            “This show was a culmination of a run of really special outdoor summertime shows in New York City for us, starting in ’92 with Summerstage in Central Park when we played with Sun Ra. For the Williamsburg Waterfront show I wrote out the set list to present to the band and it was a lot of material we hadn’t played in a while, a lot of deep cuts, so I wasn’t sure if everybody would feel like doing it. After worrying about which songs the band might say yes or no to, I threw those concerns out the window and I just made a list of songs that I thought would be a great set. We practiced the week of the show at our space in Hoboken and put the set together. First we’d try and make sure we had a guitar in the song’s tuning, then we’d try to remember the arrangement and try and put it together, sometimes re-learning bar by bar. In the end I think the whole song list made it through. Even as early as ’86 and ’87 we stopped playing ‘Death Valley 69’ and ‘Brave Men Run’ with any regularity. We’d just get excited about new material coming into the set and songs would get ‘retired’ and wouldn’t get played again for years. So on this particular night in Brooklyn a lot of those retired songs and deep cuts got dusted off and played for this show. It turned out to be a pretty special event with a really special song list.” The band would go on to fulfill a contracted festival run in South America a few months later but, by then, the group’s center was severed beyond repair and the festival appearances didn’t hold the same kind of weight.

                                                                            “The stage was facing the East River from the Williamsburg, Brooklyn waterfront, and I recall the sun going down in the west during our set. It was a pretty magical, if kinda weird day. Fitting, somehow, that our ‘last show’ should be in New York City, our home and where it all began…” Lee Ranaldo

                                                                            The Williamsburg Waterfront show would fondly become referred to as ‘The Last Show’ by fans and band alike, equally for its triumphant high energy performance, its unique and expansive set list and locale.

                                                                            Newly remixed and remastered, Live in Brooklyn 2011 is presented for the first time on 2xLP, 2Xcd, August 18, 2023.

                                                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                                                            Darryl says: The legendary Sonic Youth played an historic gig on the Williamsburg Waterfront overlooking the East River on August 12th 2011. It would prove to be their final U.S. show, and this double vinyl and double CD on Silver Current Records perfectly captures this raw and expansive 85 minute set.

                                                                            Heavy on songs from their early years Sonic Youth powered through these tracks like a band full of teenage energy. The fact that this show was their U.S. swansong after around 30 years together makes this blistering set all the more remarkable.

                                                                            Kicking off with the hypnotic “Brave Men Run (In My Family)”, before exploding into the sensational noise carnage of “Death Valley ‘69”. Sonic Youth continue to rip through the set with 80s classics; “Kotton Krown”, “Kill Yr. Idols”, “Eric’s Trip” and the awesome “Tom Violence” all dispatched with visceral vigour and punky power.

                                                                            Interspersed with three tracks from their last album ‘The Eternal’ along with a brilliantly brutal “Sugar Kane” they finish off proceedings with an apocalyptic version of “Inhuman” complete with feedback and wailing guitars and then it’s all over with the line “… with the power of love anythin’ is possible”.


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