Somebody up there likes me. I mean, why else would the powers that be bless me with new albums by two of the greatest bands in the world — Osees and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard — in the same week? Far as I’m concerned, that’s all the new music anybody needs. But it’s not all the new music there is — for those who don’t live by psych-rock alone, there are new (and/or new/old) releases from Bill Wyman, Elvis, Fucked Up, Justin Townes Earle and more. Maybe somebody up there likes you too. Either way, here are your plays of the week:
Destroy Boys
Funeral Soundtrack #4
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Started in Sacramento by Alexia Roditis and Violet Mayugba while still in high school, Destroy Boys released two albums before joining Hopeless Records in 2021 and releasing the acclaimed album Open Mouth, Open Heart. Working with Carlos de la Garza (Bad Religion, Paramore, The Linda Lindas) the new album Funeral Soundtrack #4 embraces everything from garage punk to ’90s college indie-rock. The single Shadow (I’m Breaking Down) reached No. 34 at alternative radio. The new album features Missy Dabice of Mannequin Pussy and Kat Moss of Scowl.”
Justin Townes Earle
All In: Unreleased & Rarities (The New West Years)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Justin Townes Earle released Kids In The Street, his first record on New West Records, in 2017. The album received critical acclaim and further cemented Justin’s legacy as one of the best active songwriters in music. He followed it up with The Saint of Lost Causes in May of 2019. “I was trying to look through the eyes of America,” Earle said. “Because I believe in the idea of America — that everybody’s welcome here and has a right to be here.” Earle was always a champion of the underdog and All In features in depth looks at the hopeful, and the hopeless. Fueled by empathy, baked in the blues, Justin was never without something poignant or humorous to say. Sadly, Justin passed away in 2020 at the age of 38. All In: Unreleased & Rarities (The New West Years) is a fitting tribute to Justin’s legacy. The collection features many never heard before songs, demos, and cover tunes, spanning his time as a New West Records artist.”
Fucked Up
Another Day
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Over the course of 25 years, the Toronto band Fucked Up have altered our time and space through an unlikely combination of having many, many great ideas, and a persistence that sees them through. Damian Abraham writes lyrics and sings, Mike Haliechuk writes lyrics, sings, and plays guitar (primarily), Jonah Falco plays drums, guitar, and sings, Sandy Miranda plays bass and sings, and, though it’s been a decade since he’s been on a record, Josh Zucker has returned to play guitar in a studio (he sings sometimes too). Haliechuk produces the records. Like springtime in the Canadian prairies, Another Day is fleeting but buzzes with activity — it’s Fucked Up’s shortest album ever and arrives the most quickly after a previous album by the band. One Day emerged in the winter of 2023. In a sense, the record’s a meta microcosm of how life tends to function — a series of things happen because we dared to try them, and then they’re done and gone. One day follows another and, if we’re lucky, there will be more days to come.”
Futurebirds
Easy Company
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “I’m movin’ on,” Daniel Womack sings during the first minute of Easy Company, an album that finds Futurebirds — once the best-kept secret of Athens, GA’s music scene, now a beloved act on a national scale— back in the driver’s seat, speeding together toward some new horizon. Momentum. Evolution. Expansion. Those are important traits for a critically-acclaimed group that recently celebrated its 15-year anniversary. “When you’ve been a band for as long as we have, there’s a lot of moving on,” says Thomas Johnson. “We just keep going, because that’s how you keep things fresh. That’s how you keep the spark.” By matching the sharply written songs of three distinct frontmen with a progressive mix of rock ’n’ roll, electrified folk, and cosmic American roots music, Futurebirds have built an audience that’s as wide as the band’s own sound. With Easy Company, their fifth studio album, that sound reaches a new peak.”
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Flight b741
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For their 26th album, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard swap the widescreen concepts of their recent albums for the intimacy of six good friends collaborating on the most bonhomie-laden set they’ve yet committed to wax. For Flight b741, bandleader Stu Mackenzie says King Gizzard “wanted to make something that was primal, instinctual, more from the gut — just people in a room, doing what feels right. We wanted to make something fun.” Tapping into the country-fried ’70s American rock on which they were all raised — along with the ornery garage-rock roots from which their mighty discography sprang — Flight b741 is lightning caught inside a bottle. Across its 10 ragged, glorious barnburners, King Gizzard flesh out rough skeletons of songs with their inspired improvisations, inimitable grooves and a unique pass-the-mic approach to vocals that saw every member of the band raise their voice and sing. “We’re having a lot of fun, but we’re often singing about some pretty heavy shit,” Mackenzie adds, “and probably hitting on some deeper, more universal themes than usual. It’s not a sci-fi record, it’s about life and stuff. But the record is like a really fun weekend with your mates, you know? Like, proper fun.”
Osees
Sorcs 80
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This album was a self imposed ambitious project for us,” says Osees singer-guitarist John Dwyer. “Something to kick in the creative flow. The last few years, having been a challenging time in general, felt like a good time for a pivot. The last two albums were so guitar and keyboard centric, I wanted a weird and fun set of parameters for us to work with. I demo’d everything at home on cassette four-track (harkening back to simpler times) using drum loops, and just had at it ’til I had a pile of ‘songs.’ Tom [Dolas] and I chose one sound each using synths and created a range of three octaves of that sample, then loaded them into Roland SPD-SX samplers and learned the transcribed songs using drum sticks. The idea was to change the way we wrote and to have four people along the front of the stage essentially playing percussion. So no guitar, no keys. As we were recording I kept thinking how the sounds, when paired up, sounded a bit like brass. So, we added a saxophone horn section to round out the horniness of the sound with a bit of reedy bell tones… Sort of a Dexy’s Midnight Runners meets Von LMO meets The Flesh Eaters meets The Screamers kinda punk junk. Poppy and hooky, heavy at times. Sort of vacuous and maybe a bit sci-fi in sound. Boneheaded in riff and heady in lyrics.”
Elvis Presley
Memphis
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Memphis is the definitive and first fully comprehensive collection of Elvis Presley’s hometown recordings. Over 111 tracks, it captures Presley from his earliest sessions at Sun Studio — which occurred 70 years ago this summer — to his final recordings in Graceland’s Jungle Room. Along the way, the Bluff City serves as both home and muse to Presley, playing a pivotal role in the dramatic arc of his artistry as he finds creative rebirth at American Sound in 1969, overcomes personal struggles at Stax in 1973, and brings his most extravagant and spellbinding live show to the Mid-South Coliseum in 1974. Produced by noted Elvis authority Ernst Jørgensen, with rare archival material and new liner notes by Grammy-winning music historian Robert Gordon, Memphis gives fresh insight into the bond between Elvis and his eternal home. With the exception of the Sun recordings, all tracks were newly mixed by four-time Grammy winner Matt Ross-Spang at Southern Grooves in Memphis, with overdubs stripped away, leaving the listener with only what Elvis heard live in the studio. With this intimacy, new revelations abound — from his intuitive chemistry with “The Memphis Boys” at American, to the subtle way he builds his vocal phrasing around his backing singers in the Stax sessions, or the palpable joy he brings to his final sessions in the Jungle Room. Through it all, the listener is standing next to Elvis.”
Bill Wyman
Drive My Car
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “As founding member and rhythm architect of The Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman became a household name, revered by fans and peers alike. With a career spanning over six decades, Wyman steps back into the spotlight with a fresh collection of songs showcasing his passion and talent. Five tracks, including the album’s title track are self-penned, a testament to Bill’s enduring songwriting talent. “It’s not something I do every day, but sometimes I just see a guitar in the corner of the room, pick it up to play around and then something clicks into place,” he explains. Recorded at Wyman’s home studio, Drive My Car features a tight-knit group of long-time collaborators, including guitarist Terry Taylor and drummer Paul Beavis. “A bass player and a drummer are a team, you’re the rhythm section, the foundation of the whole thing,” Bill emphasises. Reflecting on the album’s overall sound, Bill cites JJ Cale as a major influence. “His laidback groove has always appealed to me. Friends I’ve played it to have said things like ‘it really sounds like you’, and that makes me happy. I’ve never tried to be anyone else — I’m Bill, basically.” Drive My Car is a new and energised chapter in Bill’s storied career, a testament to his unwavering passion and the lifelong joy he finds in creating music, which continues to motor on.”
Various Artists
Yo Gabba GabbaLand! Season 1 Soundtrack
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Yo Gabba GabbaLand! is the much-anticipated revival of the Emmy-nominated cultural phenomenon Yo Gabba Gabba!, premiering on Apple TV+. The soundtrack will include appearances by Anderson .Paak, Portugal. The Man, Thundercat, mxmtoon, Local Natives, Lucius, Kurt Vile, Betty Who, Twin Shadow, Ty Segall, The Linda Lindas, Big Daddy Kane, Claud, Cory Wong and Antwaun Stanley, Dayglow, Miyavi, Paul Williams, Prestyn Smith, Reggie Watts, ROMderful, The Drums, and The Interrupters. Co-creators and executive producers Scott Schultz and Christian Jacobs said, “Music has always been the heart and soul of Yo Gabba Gabba!, and Yo Gabba GabbaLand! will be no different. The amazing amount of support and interest from the music community we’ve had all these years later fills us with so much joy — it’s going to be so much fun to pass that energy on to kids, families, and existing Gabba fans… Hope you’re ready to dancey dance.”
