I might be stupid, but I ain’t no dope: I know that Beyoncé‘s Renaissance is the biggest album coming out next week. Hell, people raised by wolves knows that. But do they — and you — know about some of the other releases landing in the coming days? I didn’t think so. Read and learn, chum. Unless you wanna look some kind of dope.
A Family Curse
A Family Curse
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A Family Curse, as their name suggests, is a family affair — a collaboration between daughter and father Kandle and Neil Osborne (54•40). A Family Curse began a few years ago when Neil and fellow songwriter Danny Michel recorded some instrumental jams together. But due to their busy schedules, the songs were left to collect dust until one lonely Christmas when Neil sent them to Kandle — who brought newfound inspiration with fresh new melody and lyrics. From there, Kandle and Neil decided to complete a whole DIY album where the two played and recorded everything at home. On their overall sound, Kandle says: “Diving into a fantasy world of Americana and fuzz-driven blues rock, this father-daughter duo take you on a journey from robbing banks to getting stranded in the desert and catching fire!”
The Grateful Dead
Lyceum 1972: The Complete Recordings
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Imagine, if you will, being amongst the first to witness the merry band of misfits that had taken over the good ol’ U.S. of A. conquer foreign lands. When The Grateful Dead first unleashed their magic on the cautiously optimistic patrons of Wembley of 4/7/72 and 4/8/72, it was with the idea they would have just these two nights to impress a traditionally reserved London crowd. It turned out to be a smashing success, and they set about locking in four dates at one of London’s most storied venues, the Lyceum Theatre, to wrap up what some consider one of the greatest tours in rock history. Lyceum 1972: The Complete Recordings marks the Dead’s largest vinyl boxed set of all time, a 24-LP collection featuring these storied final four nights in their entirety on 180-gram vinyl for the first time ever. The accompanying book includes a new in-depth look at the shows by Dead scholar Nicholas Meriwether. And that all-important question of sound? Jeffrey Norman’s luscious mixes are finally being heard in their full analog beauty. It all makes for a jolly good time, indeed!”
Little Feat
Waiting For Columbus Super Deluxe Edition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Released in 1978, Little Feat‘s live double album Waiting For Columbus featured memorable performances of songs (Dixie Chicken, Willin’ and Time Loves A Hero) that spanned the group’s fantastic career. To make the album, Little Feat (backed by the Tower of Power horn section) recorded several shows in the U.K. and U.S. during the band’s 1977 summer tour. Three of those performances, which have never been released, are included in this box set marking the album’s 45th anniversary. The unreleased concerts were recorded in Manchester at Manchester City Hall (7/29/77), London at The Rainbow (8/2/77), and Washington D.C. at Lisner Auditorium (8/10/77). When Waiting For Columbus was recorded, the group included: Lowell George (vocals, guitar), Paul Barrere (guitar, vocals), Bill Payne (keyboard, vocals), Richie Hayward (drums, vocals), Sam Clayton (percussion, vocals) and Kenny Gradney (bass).”
of Montreal
Freewave Lucifer f<ck f^ck f>ck
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “If you’re Kevin Barnes, the creative visionary behind of Montreal, Freewave Lucifer f<ck f^ck f>ck happens. Isolation and uncertainty loomed throughout the genesis of the band’s latest studio album. “The experience of just trying to keep my head above water and navigate through the last couple years played a huge role in this record,” says Barnes. These expansive selections contrast markedly with the focused pop of 2020’s Ur Fun, which was crafted for visceral thrills and the concert stage. As it was for countless musicians around the world, the inability to tour eliminated one of the linchpins of Barnes’ creative process. “I didn’t know if we’d ever tour again, so I didn’t consider that side of things.” Denied social interaction and diverse experiences, Barnes delved inward.”
Amanda Shires
Take It Like A Man
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Grammy and Americana Award-winning singer-songwriter and virtuoso violinist Amanda Shires has pushed the reset button, releasing an album that is so unlike anything she has ever recorded before that you would be tempted to think it’s her debut album instead of her seventh. Take It Like A Man is a fearless confessional, showing the world what turning 40 looks like in 10 emotionally raw tracks, and as the title track intimates, not only can she “take it like a man,” but more importantly she can “Take it like Amanda,” as the last line proclaims — the clue to the entire album, and perhaps Shires herself. “I wrote that last line, ‘take it like a man,’” says Shires from her barn/studio located about 30 minutes outside of Nashville. “Then I changed it. I realized you can try and do what they say and take it like a man and show that you can withstand anything. But truly you can only take it like yourself.” The result is a song cycle of ruthlessly candid tunes written as a document about her life as a woman, a wife (to husband Jason Isbell) and a mother during a tumultuous time. “Everything on the record is autobiographical. I didn’t hold anything back. Then, if the details were boring I infused other stories,” she laughs. “Like my granddad said, if your story’s not good enough just make it better.”
Tedeschi Trucks Band
I Am The Moon: III. The Fall
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “I Am The Moon, the fifth studio release by Tedeschi Trucks Band, is the most ambitious and, at the same time, intimate recording that America’s best rock ‘n’ roll big band has ever made: A genuinely epic undertaking in four albums and 24 original songs inspired by classical literature but emotionally driven by the immediate drama, isolation and mourning of the pandemic era. There is the recurring fight for hope too, the reaching across damaged connections — all of that trial and urgency unfolding over a robust tapestry of blues, funk, country, jazz and gospel in collaborative writing, luminous singing and the instant fire of improvisation. At more than two hours of music, the four albums that comprise I Am The Moon – Crescent, Ascension, The Fall and Farewell – are like a full evening of all-new composition and performance with the 12-piece touring phenomenon founded in 2010 by its married leaders, guitarist Derek Trucks and singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi. In its heart and scale, I Am The Moon is also a living, evolving map of the soul: the enduring tale of star-crossed devotion in Layla and Majnun by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, brought forward to present day, through universal experience and faith. I Am The Moon is a record as big as its stories — and the life and love inside.”
