Britti and Brittany. J Mascis and J. Robbins. Paul and the Party. Slope and Scratch. It truly takes two to make a thing go right next week. See (and hear) for yourself:
Britti
Hello, I’m Britti.
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Singer-songwriter Britti — born Brittany Guerin in Baton Rouge; reborn in and proudly repping New Orleans now — isn’t defined by genre as much as her effervescent spirit, which she will share with the world on Hello, I’m Britti., her aptly titled 11-song debut on Easy Eye Sound. Produced and co-written by Dan Auerbach — lead singer of The Black Keys, founder of Easy Eye Sound, and the Grammy-winning producer behind celebrated releases from Yola, Marcus King, Lana Del Rey, Valerie June, Dr. John and many more — Hello, I’m Britti. is a love letter to the place she calls home, a triumphant ode to fresh starts in the face of heartbreak, and the culmination of a years-long journey even Britti didn’t always know she was taking. The tunes span a range of sounds and emotions, with Britt’s unique vocal style the thread that runs through all of them. It’s a voice you won’t soon forget, and Hello, I’m Britti. is the perfect introduction.”
Brittany Howard
What Now
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “There’s a double meaning to the title of What Now, the revelatory new album from singer-songwriter Brittany Howard. “With the world we’re living in now, it feels like we’re all just trying to hang onto our souls,” says the Nashville-based musician and frontwoman for four-time Grammy-winning Alabama Shakes. “Everything seems to be getting more extreme and everyone keeps wondering, ‘What now? What’s next?’ By the same coin, the only constant on this record is you never know what’s going to happen next: every song is its own aquarium, its own little miniature world built around whatever I was feeling and thinking at the time.” Over the course of its 12 tracks, Howard brings her singular musicality to a shapeshifting sound encompassing everything from psychedelia and dance music to dream-pop and avant-jazz — a fitting backdrop for an album whose lyrics shift from unbridled outpouring to incisive yet radically idealistic commentary on the state of the human condition. At turns galvanizing, cathartic, and wildly soul-expanding, the result is a monumental step forward for one of the most essential artists of our time.”
Kula Shaker
Natural Magick
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kula Shaker’s new album Natural Magick finds the band harnessing the power to cast their most potent spell yet, incorporating blazing psychedelic sermons, raga rave-ups, stardust-coated pop pearls and mood-enhancing mantras. “This chapter in the band’s life is very much driven by live energy and that spiritual connection with the audiences which comes with it. We all agreed that the songs should be no longer than three minutes. There are no epics,” says Crispian Mills. Reformed permanently in 2021 due to the return of keyboard wizard Jay Darlington, reuniting all four members of the band’s classic lineup for the first time since 1999. The band became U.K. chart-toppers with the 1996 debut album K; the ’99 followup Peasants Pigs and Astronauts saw them push the creative envelope prior to their premature dissolution. Having made a welcome return in 2007 with the self-funded Strangefolk, Kula Shaker have built towards the sonic summit. Natural Magick finds the original four members delivering their renewed wild energy that we know and love. A mesmeric 13-track incantation incorporating blazing psychedelic sermons, raga rave-ups, stardust-coated pop pearls and mood-enhancing mantras, it is a technicolor sonic pathway towards a more enlightened state of mind.”
The Last Dinner Party
Prelude To Ecstasy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “At the turn of the year, The Last Dinner Party was little more than a new name being shared amongst those that had caught them live. Great songs, strong aesthetic. Having spent much of 2022 writing those songs, road-testing them, and then taking them into the studio, it wasn’t until April when the band released the instantly more-ish, dark guitar-pop of the single Nothing Matters that seemingly everyone had now formed an opinion on them. It was an introduction that took the online world by storm, and yet behind all the excitement and narrative was a fantastically confident indie-rock song by a band doing it the old-fashioned way, out on the road. Prelude To Ecstasy is both the closing of that introductory chapter and the opening of the next. The Last Dinner Party? Believe the hype.”
J Mascis
What Do We Do Now
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, “J’s week beats your year.” What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. “When I’m writing for the band,” he says, “I’m always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I’m thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it’s just what happened.”
Paul McCartney & Wings
Band On The Run 50th Anniversary Edition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Five decades after its original release, the expanded 50th-anniversary edition of Paul McCartney & Wings’ iconic albm Band On The Run is about to be released. A fixture of all-time greatest album lists for decades, the multiple Grammy-winning No. 1 smash arrived in December 1973. Featuring the immortal title track, worldwide hit Jet, the wistful Bluebird, long-time live staple Let Me Roll It, the multi-faceted Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me) and climactic closer Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five, Band On The Run is undoubtedly Wings’ most successful and celebrated release ever. The set includes Band on the Run (Underdubbed), which presents the album’s nine classic songs for the first time without any orchestral overdubs. “This is Band On The Run in a way you’ve never heard before,” Paul says. “When you are making a song and putting on additional parts, like an extra guitar, that’s an overdub. Well, this version of the album is the opposite, underdubbed.”
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry
King Perry
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Record producer, composer, singer, and pioneer of the dub music genre Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry passed away in August 2021. His influence over popular music since the 1970s is hugely significant, with artists including Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Clash, Beastie Boys, Max Romeo, Junior Murvin and The Orb all enriched by Perry’s legendary touch, innovative studio techniques and production style. Conceived, written and recorded during the pandemic, King Perry was produced by Daniel Boyle, and features guest performances from Greentea Peng, Shaun Ryder, Tricky, Marta, Rose Waite and Fifi Rong. Two tracks were also co-produced with Tricky, who releases Perry’s last recorded performances on his label. The album was born out of a request from Perry that he “wanted to do something new, something different but still with a dub framework.” Poignantly, closing track Goodbye was Perry’s last recorded vocal performance.”
J. Robbins
Basilisk
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Basilisk contains 11 songs records at J. Robbins’ Baltimore-based studio The Magpie Cage, between 2021 and 2022 with the assistance of Brooks Harlan (bass), Darren Zentek (drums), Gordon Withers (cello and guitar), John Haggerty (guitar) and Dave Hadley (pedal steel). J. Robbins has been the singer/guitarist and principal songwriter in several DC-and-Baltimore-area post-punk rock bands since the late 1980s, most notably Jawbox, Burning Airlines, and Channels.”
Slope
Freak Dreams
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Five guys fight the nine to five life. Not attracted to the regular. It’s a 360° funk vision. With their pure and honest hardcore/punk attitude, fused with deep influences in funk and hip-hop, Slope craft a truly unique style that captivates audiences and sets them apart from the crowd.
Their new studio effort Freak Dreams will propel them to even great heights! “Freak Dreams is a mix of all our individual influences and by far our most divers album. On some songs we did a lot of experimental elements that gives the record a different vibe and we couldn’t be more happy with the outcome! The whole process of writing felt like evolving to a new chapter for Slope and we are proud to share it with the world!” Drawing inspiration from the likes of Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine and early Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slope infuses their music with infectious energy, irresistible hooks, and thought-provoking lyrics.”
