Wait, it’s July already? Damn. That was fast. I’d say time flies when you’re having fun, but I don’t know anybody who’s really having any. But even if the world is a dumpster fire being towed straight to hell by a clown car, at least we’ve got some decent music to hear while we plunge into the abyss. Here are more of my favourite albums from 2024’s first half, listed in alphabetical order. Will any of them make the cut six months from now? Who knows? Hell, who knows if any of us will be here six months from now. So carpe those diems, bitches. Enjoy.
Senyawa
Vajranala
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Vajranala sees the Indonesian experimental duo of vocalist Rully Shabara and multi-instrumentalist Wukir Suryadi explore how, over centuries, the natural world has shaped our society, the knowledge systems from which power derives, and why that still resonates today. It’s an exercise in understanding the root of the power (knowledge) discussed in their 2021 release Alkisah.
When it comes to ‘power’, says Senyawa vocalist Shabara, “people will normally think of someone political, but I don’t think that’s the case. The origin of power goes deeper than that.” It’s the shamans, he says, who were the first possessors of power: “If you’re in a village, if you’re considered to have the knowledge to connect people with the realm of the gods, then you will have power before the leader. It’s very fundamental to explore this.” Further to this, Vajranala is a collection of multidisciplinary works that reinterpret the mythology of the land where the Brojonalan Temple (aka Pawon Temple) stands. The work is also accompanied by an installation in the form of a stone relief that is placed on the ground where it was created, serving as an artefact for the future.”
Nadine Shah
Filthy Underneath
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nadine Shah worries that too much time might have elapsed between her last album — 2020’s universally acclaimed Kitchen Sink — and its extraordinary successor Filthy Underneath.
Attention spans seem to be ever shrinking and, besides, what gives her the right to think she can sashay back into action and imagine anyone will care? Three years might seem like a prolonged absence to some, but it’s also a period of time in which the apparatus that holds your world in place can be dismantled and reassembled so you can keep living, keep creating. And the more Nadine tells you about the last three years — losing her mother to cancer at the height of lockdown; the suicide attempt that ended her marriage (but not, thankfully, her life); the subsequent period in rehab that slowly endowed her with the tools to outwit the pernicious voices that overwhelmed her — the more incredible it is that she has returned as soon as she has done. Back with a new label, Filthy Underneath chronicles a period of unprecedented turbulence in Shah’s life. And yet, the experience of listening to it is oddly life-affirming — a parade of ghosts spanning the entirety of Nadine’s 37 years, moving with balletic beauty to the music that Nadine and collaborator and producer Ben Hillier have created. For Nadine, this renewed emphasis on placing melody and movement front and centre of the album originated in a period when, ironically, songwriting couldn’t be further from her thoughts.”
Shannon & The Clams
The Moon Is In The Wrong Place
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Moon Is In the Wrong Place is unlike anything else Shannon & The Clams have released. Produced by longtime collaborator Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, the album finds the band evolving in both emotional scope and production, taking their sound from black and white to cascading Technicolor.
It is a triumph sparked by tragedy. In August 2022, singer and frontwoman Shannon Shaw’s world was turned inside out: With mere weeks to go until their wedding, the singer’s fiancé Joe Haener died in a horrific car accident. It was a devastating loss that hit Shannon & The Clams — who were all incredibly close with Haener — with cataclysmic force. From the shock and trauma of that tragedy comes Shannon & The Clams’ latest album, a powerful exploration of loss, time, love, and resilience that stands as the beloved garage band’s most ambitious, emotionally searing recording. The Moon Is In The Wrong Place shows the group ascending to new creative highs, while still weaving in the classic garage-rock and girl-group sounds that have long been a hallmark of their work. This time around, they venture to deeper, farther-out musical locations than before and bring a new sophistication and intricacy to their arrangements, while Shaw’s powerful voice veers between sweetness and snarl — sometimes within the space of a single lyric.”
Sheer Mag
Playing Favorites
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sheer Mag have labored to carve out a discernibly singular position within the canon of contemporary rock: Toggling with ease between the refined flourishes of a “connoisseur’s band” and the ecstatic colloquialism of populist songwriting — yet displaying no strict loyalty to either camp — their sound, while oft-referenced, is unmistakably and immediately recognizable as theirs alone.
On Playing Favorites, Sheer Mag’s third full-length and first with Third Man Records, the band capitalize on a decade’s worth of devotion to their own collective spirit — a spirit refined in both the sweaty trenches of punk warehouses and the larger-than-life glamour of concert halls — emerging with a dense work of gripping emotions, massive hooks, and masterfully constructed power-pop anthems. This is the record the Philadelphian rock ’n’ roll four-piece has always been destined to make.”
Shellac
To All Trains
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “THE BAND: It’s still: Steve Albini ◊ Guitar. Todd Trainer ◊ Drums. Bob Weston ◊ Bass.
This is Shellac’s sixth studio LP. Recording and mixing took place at Electrical Audio in Chicago over a bunch of long weekends in November, 2017; October, 2019; September, 2021; and March, 2022. The record was mas-tered by Bob and Steve at Chicago Mastering Service. Audio quality is paramount, as always, with Shellac. The LPs are being manufactured by Green Vinyl Records using an injection molding process. This new process uses 100% recyclable PET (like soda bottles) and is environmentally friendly, containing no PVC or phthalates. The process also uses 79% less CO2 than conventional hydraulic PVC vinyl presses. The records weigh 180 grams.”
Sleater-Kinney
Little Rope
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “There is about grief the necessary aftertaste of dreaming. In the wake of sudden loss — a moment, a person, a way of being brought violently to an end — the thing lost is gone but not its outline, a strange unstable place in which festers all manner of strange unstable thinking. The rules of reality temporarily subside, and mourning makes of the world a negative space.
Plunged without warning into that space, Sleater-Kinney return with Little Rope, one of the finest, most delicately layered records in the band’s nearly 30-year career. To call the album flawless feels like an insult to its intent — it careens headfirst into flaw, into brokenness, a meditation on what living in a world of perpetual crisis has done to us, and what we do to the world in return. On the surface, the album’s 10 songs veer from spare to anthemic, catchy to deliberately hard-turning. But beneath that are perhaps the most complex and subtle arrangements of any Sleater-Kinney record, and a lyrical and emotional compass pointed firmly in the direction of something both liberating and terrifying: the sense that only way to gain control is to let it go.”
The Smile
Wall Of Eyes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Smile’s new album Wall Of Eyes is the followup to the band’s 2022 debut LP A Light For Attracting Attention, which received critical acclaim from far and wide.
The new album, which was recorded between Oxford and Abbey Road studio, is produced and mixed by previous collaborator Sam Petts-Davies and features string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra. The Smile played a series of brilliantly received live shows in the U.S. and Mexico in June and July of this year and released Bending Hectic from the new album in June, having initially debuted the song at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2022. The band also shared the title track from the album, accompanied by a music video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The Smile are an English rock band featuring Radiohead members Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, bass, keys) and Jonny Greenwood (guitar, bass, keys), with Tom Skinner (drums).”
Sonic Youth
Walls Have Ears
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Culled from three 1985 gigs in the U.K. during a transitional and transcendent time in the band’s story, Sonic Youth’s Walls Have Ears appeared as an unauthrozed two-LP set in 1986. It was not just a live album, but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité on par with side B of Master Dik. Withdrawn as quickly as it appeared, it’s now issued for the first time officially under the band’s auspices.
The ’85 shows were the second time the band appeared on British soil, picking up on a newfound high profile in the press after their 1983 London debut supporting SPK and Danielle Dax. That particular gig, while admittedly a technically challenged, volumatically room-clearing one for the band, nonetheless wowed music scribes in attendance. This anarchic set cast the New Yorkers in a bit of an exotic light, with Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground. An art-punk band from N.Y.C. sporting casual attitudes and tees featuring Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and Prince made some good copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. For Brits, Sonic Youth repped an all-new avenue apart from the usual 4AD / Rough Trade / Some Bizarre hold on the scene, and were embraced.”
Omar Souleyman
Erbil
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Erbil, the fifth studio album from international dabke singer par excellence Omar Souleyman, pays homage to the city in Iraq that offered him solace and embraced during recent uneasy times.
The move to Erbil came rich with new experiences and friendships best celebrated in joyous songs dedicated to a new chapter of life. Erbil‘s eight tracks see the Syrian wedding singer-turned-global electronic music icon reteaming with his longtime keyboard player Hasan Jamo alo for an ever-ambitious and forward-thinking techno-meets-Dabke sound. Beyond his move to Erbil, the past several years have seen Souleyman receive a GQ Middle East Man Of The Year award in 2022, stage massive live performances in Saudi Arabia, United Emirates and the wider Middle East, and return to the U.S. after a six-year break, with performances in L.A. and N.Y.C., all while touring throughout Europe and the rest of the world.”
States Of Nature
Brighter Than Before
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Brighter Than Before, the new full-length album from Oakland’s States of Nature, features 10 songs that blend elements of post-hardcore, psych, garage, and straight up rock ’n’ roll.
The first single New Foundations may have an uplifting dance punk vibe to it, but lyrically it is on the darker side. As the band say: “Lyrically, the song takes a bleak look at the world around us. Raised in a post-9/11 world, the song observes the way paranoia shapes decision-making that is harmful and destructive. This directly ties to what’s happening today homelessness and the housing crisis in California. There are policy decisions happening at state and local levels that intentionally make it harder to build new housing, also pushed by positions the public holds around conservation of city aesthetics and a complete misunderstanding of why people are on the streets in the first place.”
Swamp Dogg
Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Not a lot of people talk about the true origins of bluegrass music, but it came from Black people,” Swamp Dogg says. “The banjo, the washtub, all that stuff started with African Americans. We were playing it before it even had a name. I’m trying to touch on every kind of music I grew up loving and listening to. This is my way of letting people know that I’m not just a soul singer or whatever they think I am. I’m so much more.”
Blackgrass, Swamp Dogg’s remarkable 2024 album, is no history lesson, though. Produced by Ryan Olson (Bon Iver, Poliça) and recorded with an all-star band including Noam Pikelny, Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas, Chris Scruggs, Billy Contreras and Kenny Vaughan, the collection is a riotous blend of past and present, mixing the sacred and the profane in typical Swamp Dogg fashion as it blurs the lines between folk, roots, country, blues, and soul. The tracklist is an eclectic one — brand-new originals and vintage Swamp Dogg classics sit side by side with reimaginings of ’70s R&B hits and timeless ’50s pop tunes — but the performances are thoroughly cohesive, filtering everything through a progressive Appalachian lens that nods to tradition without ever being bound by it. Special guests like Margo Price, Jenny Lewis, Justin Vernon and The Cactus Blossoms all add to the excitement, but it’s the 81-year-old Swamp Dogg’s delivery — sly and playful and full of genuine joy and ache — that steals the show. The result is a record that’s as reverent as it is raunchy, a collection that challenges conventional notions of genre and race while at the same time celebrating the music that helped make Swamp Dogg the beloved iconoclast he’s known as today.”
Linda Thompson
Proxy Music
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Revered British singer-songwriter Linda Thompson’s latest project — the aptly named Proxy Music — features artists who were handpicked by Linda and her son (and album co-producer) Teddy Thompson to record a new set of her tunes by proxy.
Thompson has limited singing capabilities now due to a rare vocal condition known as spasmodic dysphonia. So Proxy Music — here first album in more than 10 years — impressively showcases her songwriting range and prowess. Tracks like Darling This Will Never Do and Mudlark hold a timeless quality, while Those Damn Roches and John Grant (sung by John Grant himself) boast very modern sensibilities. Proxy Music contains performances from longtime friends and admirers like Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Eliza Carthy, The Proclaimers, Dori Freeman and Grant, along with many talented Thompsons, including her children Teddy and Kami, and her ex-husband Richard Thompson playing guitar on several tracks. “Music in my family,” Thompson shares. “It’s like glue. It binds us.”
Richard Thompson
Ship To Shore
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “To be moving is better than to be standing still,” Richard Thompson says, and he should know. The influential singer-songwriter and virtuosic guitarist has been on a singular musical journey for over a half century, from his days in the ’60s as a pioneer of British folk-rock with Fairport Convention, to his seminal ’70s duo work with Linda Thompson, to the exploratory, deeply emotional music of the solo career that has been his primary concern ever since.
In 2018 Thompson released his 19th solo album, the critically acclaimed 13 Rivers, and now, five years later, he has followed it up with his latest communication Ship To Shore. The time taken between these efforts is something like an eternity for the prolific artist, but there was a reason: “Covid kind of halted everything for two-and-a-half years,” he explains. But once Thompson began writing again, new songs came in a burst of inspiration. And much like a ship to shore himself, the artist was instinctively drawn to his own musical roots, employing them in the service of fashioning a deep and diverse 12-track collection that pulls from various styles, genres and eras, but remains unmistakably Thompson. “I liked the idea of having a strong base to work from and reaching out from there,” he says. “And I think of my base as being British traditional music, but there’s also Scottish music, there’s Irish music. There’s jazz and country and classical. As far as I’m concerned, once you establish your base you can reach out anywhere. It’ll still be you ringing through, wherever you decide to go musically.”
Vampire Weekend
Only God Was Above Us
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Only God Was Above Us is the fifth studio album — and first in five years — from Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson. Inspired and haunted by 20th-century New York City, the album was recorded all over the world, from Manhattan to Los Angeles to London and Tokyo. Only God Was Above Us was primarily produced by Koenig and longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid, and was mixed by Dave Fridmann.
The beginnings of Only God Was Above Us stretch back to 2019 and 2020, when Koenig wrote the bulk of the lyrics. The 10-track opus is the product of nearly five years spent refining, reworking and gradually shaping those lyrical and melodic structures to take Vampire Weekend to a new creative peak. The album is direct yet complex, showing the band at once at its grittiest, and also at its most beautiful and melodic. Only God Was Above Us is nothing short of a definitive statement — one that begins on a playfully profane and confrontational note, and runs a gauntlet of emotions, experiences, characters and stories, before ending on an unambiguous note of acceptance… and quite literally hope.”
Various Artists
Hearts & Minds & Crooked Beats: Songs Of The Clash
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “People can change anything they want to, and that means anything in the world,” said Joe Strummer.
Benefiting the International Rescue Committee, the compilation Hearts & Minds & Crooked Beats invites bands and visual artists to create work inspired by The Clash and celebrating their music and human rights message. The album features tracks from The Dandy Warhols, Teke::Teke, Mirah, Smokey Brights, Sean Barna, The Gotobeds, Big League, Labasheeda, Julia Massey of Warren Dunes, and The Rust and The Fury.”
Various Artists
The Power Of The Heart: A Tribute To Lou Reed
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Power Of The Heart: A Tribute To Lou Reed is a star-studded album celebrates the pioneering singer-songwriter’s enduring influence — as well as the timeless appeal of his songs — through performances by some of Lou Reed’s closest friends and musical peers.
The lineup includes Keith Richards, Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, The Afghan Whigs, Bobby Rush, Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen, Mary Gauthier and Automatic. Blending generation-defining hits like I’m Waiting for the Man, Walk On The Wild Side and Perfect Day with lesser-known gems, the collection spans the artist’s five-decade-long career, from his earliest days with The Velvet Underground to his groundbreaking solo work.”
Alan Vega
Insurrection
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Insurrection is a previously unreleased album by Brooklyn-born master of minimalism Alan Vega. The 11 songs on Insurrection showcase the unparalleled vision and uncompromising force from one of the most influential artists of all time.
Vega’s wife and collaborator Liz Lamere says of the album, “Insurrection was created in the time period around 1997/’98, after Mutator and prior to Vega’s 1999 release of 2007 and captures the intense energy of N.Y.C. in the ’90s rife with crime, killing, hate, fascism, racism, and moral bankruptcy. You can hear the tortured souls floating through this album.” Fellow Vega collaborator Jared Artaud says, “Insurrection hits hard and shows the power and intensity of Alan Vega’s visionary solo work. It feels like he was trying to break new ground. There’s always a kind of magic that goes into working on Vega’s music. I feel like he was tapped into some other dimension. One hand in the gutter and one hand in the stars.”
Walt Disco
The Warping
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Written on both sides of the Atlantic, from Los Angeles and Austin to Glasgow and London, The Warping is a significant step forward from Glasgow’s Walt Disco, a band who have already seen strong success with their debut album Unlearning.
On The Warping, deft lyricism takes in deeply personal issues and writes them large, transposing feelings of envy, fear, joy and hope out of individual experiences. Yearning for another self is a recurring dream on The Warping, as they explore gender dysphoria and envy with radical honesty, accepting them as two tangled threads in the same experience. The band explain: “With The Warping we explore themes of change, growth and dealing with the complex struggles that feature in anyone’s life. It feels like our most biographical body of work yet, listening to it now is like looking at a snapshot of a moment in time for us as people and as a band. This album is a roadmap of our vulnerabilities in a way, but it feels good to be so honest with our music and lay everything on the table with both our lyrics and arrangements. That acceptance of one’s emotions and honesty with oneself is what we’d hope people can take away from listening to The Warping.”
The Warning
Keep Me Fed
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “On their new album Keep Me Fed, The Warning draw strength and power from a lifetime of sisterhood and music.
They have logged thousands of miles on the road, generated hundreds of millions of streams, and left countless fans in awe. All of this tireless work and dedication have shaped and sharpened their sound with knifepoint precision, arming alternative anthems with universally catchy hooks and an uncompromising hard-rock kick. Between performing alongside Muse, Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Royal Blood, The Pretty Reckless and Three Days Grace, the band ignited the 2023 MTV VMAs. Representative of their cultural impact, Pepsi even notably chose them as the face of Pepsi Black in Mexico. Moreover, they emerged as the rare force who could comfortably appear in Vanity Fair, People, Cosmopolitan and Glamour as well as on Metallica’s star-studded Blacklist compilation — placing their cover of Enter Sandman (with Alessia Cara) shoulder-to-shoulder with contributions from Ghost, St. Vincent, Chris Stapleton, Idles and Weezer.”
Kamasi Washington
Fearless Movement
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “While turning his attention to dance for Fearless Movement, Kamasi Washington resumes his ongoing study of music as a means of connection.
His previous albums The Epic and Heaven And Earth were received by critics and audiences as a reimagination of modern jazz, showcasing Washington’s larger-than-lift compositions full of celestial grandeur and his distinct blend of jazz, Latin, funk, classical, hip-hop and soul. Fearless Movement, however, offers something different: Terrestrial rhythms and collaborations from rappers, musical icons and even Washington’s own daughter. Guests include Thundercat, Taj Austin, Ras Austin, Patrice Quinn, DJ Battlecat, Brandon Coleman, D-Smoke, George Clinton, Bj the Chicago Kid and Andre 3000. Washington calls Fearless Movement his dance album — but “it’s not literal,” he 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.
Waxahatchee
Tigers Blood
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “One of the hardest-working singer-songwriters in the game is named Katie Crutchfield. She was born in Alabama, grew up near Waxahatchee Creek. Skipped town and struck out on her own as Waxahatchee. That was over a decade ago. Crutchfield says she never knew the road would lead here, but after six acclaimed albums, she’s never felt more confident as an artist. While her sound has evolved from lo-fi folk to lush alt-tinged country, her voice has remained the same. Honest and close, poetic with Southern lilting. Much like Carson McCullers’ Mick Kelly, determined in her desires and convictions, ready to tell whoever will listen.
And after years of being sober and stable in Kansas City — following years of sacrificing herself to her work and the road — Crutchfield has arrived at her most potent songwriting yet. On her new album Tigers Blood, Crutchfield emerges as a powerhouse. An ethnologist of the self, forever dedicated to revisiting her wins and losses. But now she’s arriving at revelations and she ain’t holding them back. Crutchfield says that she wrote most of the songs on Tigers Blood during a “hot hand spell,” while on tour in 2022. And when it came time to record, Crutchfield returned to trusted producer Brad Cook, who brought her sound to a groundbreaking turning point on 2020’s Saint Cloud.”
Paul Weller
66
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary music, few artists possess the enduring influence and innovative spirit of Paul Weller. A career that began in 1977 now takes in the release of his 17th solo album and his 28th in total. Weller has always demonstrated an unwavering commitment to pushing artistic boundaries while staying true to his roots. 66 promises to be no exception, offering a captivating journey through his continuing musical evolution.
As the title and artwork by Sir Peter Blake (his first for Weller since 1995’s Stanley Road) indicates, Weller’s new album marks the completion of his 66th journey around the sun and was released on the day before his 66th birthday. 66 is quite a reflective and inward-thinking album that pulls back the camera lens and shines a light on the way Weller’s creativity interacts with his wider world. Continually finding new ways to alchemise the miracle of living and the meaning of it all, he draws on fragments of real life, ruminations on spirituality and even childhood memories. There are songs touching on faith, changing circumstances and the fractured realities of life in this turbulent age. But 66 is positive at heart, bursting with the wisdom and perspective accrued by the business of someone who has really lived and loved.”
Wilco
Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hot Sun Cool Shroud features six new tracks from Wilco that have a summertime-after-dark kind of feeling.
“It starts off pretty hot, like heat during the day, has some instrumentals on it that are a little agitated and uncomfortable and ends with a cooling breeze,” Jeff Tweedy. “There are tracks on Hot Sun Cool Shroud that are more aggressive and angular than anything we’ve put out in a while, and a song about love melting you like ice cream into a puddle of sugary soup. All the pieces of summer, including the broody cicadas.”
Wine Lips
Super Mega Ultra
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Wine Lips’ Super Mega Ultra is an absolute beast. Recorded by Simon Larochette at The Sugar Shack in Ontario, the album is jam-packed with 12 ramped-up supersonic ear-scorching auditory delicacies.
SMU is probably Wine Lips’ most ambitious undertaking to date, exploring new thematic territory while firmly maintaining their signature psych-garage-punk-rock panache. The wild ride continues! “It’s tough writing a new record when you’re always on tour,” says Cam Hilborn. “The previous album seemed to be doing really well and at times I felt like I was hitting a wall creatively. Long story short, I think this album turned out great. Simon always brings a good vibe at The Sugar Shack and we were able to try some new ideas and capture the energy without straying too far from our roots. Excited to see where these songs take us in the future.”
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
Whiskey a Go Go, 1968
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The hand-scrawled ad in the L.A. Free Press — an open invitation to Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention’s all-night affair at L.A.’s historic Whisky a Go Go — laid things out in black and white as to what Zappa and the band’s intentions were for that soon-to-be historic evening. It read: “The Mothers of Invention cordially invite you to join them on Tuesday, July 23, 1968 when they will be taking over the Whisky a Go Go for 5 full hours of unprecedented merriment, which will be secretly recorded for an upcoming record album. Dress optional. Starting sometime in the evening. R.S.V.D.T.”
The show was billed on the Whisky marquee as “Mothers Of Invention – Recording Session,” and thus, Zappa had indeed recorded the entire evening’s aural festivities with the intention of releasing an album. That project never quite fully materialized — until now. Whisky a Go Go, 1968, the latest provocative live collection to be released from The Vault, will be released June 21. Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, this extensive collection, some 55-plus years in the making, compiles everything The Mothers of Invention played across their three sets that night, complete and newly remixed.”
