If you want to read about new albums by Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige, Brooks & Dunn, Shawn Mendes and Linkin Park, you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m not interested in any of them. Here are the LPs I’m looking forward to instead:
Andrew Gabbard
Ramble & Rave On!
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ramble & Rave On!, Andrew Gabbard’s third solo LP, sounds like the kind of weathered tattoo you’d see etched on a barfly’s forearm as he slams another drink in a dive. Like its title, the record feels like something that’s always been around; a trusty mixtape that everyone can agree on. Ramble & Rave On! is Andrew’s most personal album yet. It finds him journeying between his worlds as a decades-long touring and studio musician for The Black Keys, as a songwriter with his head in the stars, and as the man in his home with the people he holds dearest and with the studio where he brings it all together.”
George Harrison
Living In The Material World 50th Anniversary Edition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Living In The Material World is George Harrison’s highly praised second solo album of original music following The Beatles’ 1970 dissolution. With lyrics underscoring his enduring exploration of spiritual themes, the album resonated deeply with audiences and has become recognized amongst fans and critics alike as one of most poignant works of his solo career. Just five weeks after its May 1973 release, both the LP and its single Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) held the top spots simultaneously on the U.S. albums and singles charts. Lovingly overseen by Dhani and Olivia Harrison, Living In The Material World has been completely remixed from the original tapes for a stunning suite of 50th-anniversary releases. Helmed by triple Grammy-winning engineer Paul Hicks, the new mix elevates the album with a sonic upgrade, delivering a sound that’s brighter, richer, and more dynamic than ever before. It also contains 12 previously unreleased recordings, a 60-page booklet with extensive sleeve notes, photography and artwork from the Harrison archive and more.”
Jagged Baptist Club
Physical Surveillance
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The debut album from L.A.’s Jagged Baptist Club is a bundle of energy, attitude band tunes. The band describe themselves as like Blur and Public Image Ltd trying to cover The Rapture and Happy Mondays while Division of Laura Lee and The Vines throw tomatoes at them. The album, Physical Surveillance, is about letting old habits, old realties and old selves die. It’s about moving forward, growing upwards and trying to focus on the present and look towards the future. It’s about realizing that you can become a better version of yourself and that it’s okay to close the book on your past, in way that doesn’t erase the past but at least puts it under glass. It’s also just really fun to listen to. Enigmatic frontman Blake Stokes explained: “ I just imagined Shaun Ryder writing the screenplay for a Crank movie, just a collection of wild scenes and surreal images, again keeping it simple. See you in the pit, let’s get to shoving.”
Michael Kiwanuka
Small Changes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Small Changes is the eagerly anticipated followup to Michael Kiwanuka’s eponymous third LP, the Mercury-winning, Grammy-nominated Kiwanuka. Small Changes was produced alongside Danger Mouse and Inflo, the team behind Kiwanuka and its equally acclaimed predecessor Love & Hate. The new record was recorded between London and Los Angeles. The core trio made up of Kiwanuka and his trusty co-producers expanded into a wish-list ensemble that featured legendary bassist Pino Palladino (D’Angelo, John Mayer) and Jimmy Jam (Janet Jackson, Prince). It marks a welcome return for one of Britain’s most talented of songwriters, most recognisable of vocalists, and most virtuosic of guitarists.”
Ava Mendoza
The Circular Train
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ava Mendoza has never made an album quite as personal as her second solo full-length, The Circular Train. Through her decades of collaborations with Nels Cline, Carla Bozulich, William Parker, Fred Frith, Matana Roberts and Mick Barr — plus years leading her power trio Unnatural Ways and playing in Bill Orcutt’s quartet — the guitarist’s name has become synonymous with virtuoso technique, raw passion, and visceral resonance, a player pushing the edges of the guitar’s possibilities. Along the way, from 2007 to 2023, Mendoza was writing these slow-burning, incandescent songs. The Circular Train is comprised solely of her single-tracked guitar playing and, on two songs, her corporeal singing. Sometimes she sounds like a one-woman Sonic Youth with guttural and poised vocals that equally evoke Patti Smith and blues greats like Jessie Mae Hemphill.”
Poppy
Negative Spaces
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Negative Spaces continues the sonic adventurism of this spring’s diamond-radiant industrial anthem New Way Out, with Poppy and producer Jordan Fish (ex-Bring Me The Horizon). It’s the thrilling sound of an ever-evolving artist redefining their legacy one song at a time, with a welcome understanding that there’s still so much inspiration to be found in the margins yet to be explored, deep within the negative spaces.”
The Saints
(I’m) Stranded Deluxe Edition
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “One of the most revered, reviled and talked about records in all Australian music history, (I’m) Stranded by The Saints finally gets the vinyl box set treatment. This deluxe edition covers all the band’s studio and live recordings from 1976 through 1977 and includes the iconic debut album, remastered for vinyl for the first time in over 40 years; a five-song live performance from Paddington Town Hall Sydney; a full performance from the Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival in London; the This Perfect Day single and the 1-2-3-4 single; the previously unreleased demo mix of the full album; and more. “It’s been an exhausting yet thrilling process being involved in the creation of this box set,” says and co-founder Ed Kuepper. “It’s been 51 years in the making and has possibly turned out even better than I anticipated. It’s by far the most extensive appraisal of the band, both aurally and visually, that has ever been made available and hopefully reveals some things people may not have known about the band.”
St. Vincent
Todos Nacen Gritando
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In a move as unprecedented as it is unexpected, St. Vincent will release Todos Nacen Gritando, a Spanish language version of her wildly acclaimed All Born Screaming album. “The origins of Todos Nacen Gritando can be traced back to some of the most memorable shows I’ve ever played, in Mexico, South America and recently Primavera Barcelona in 2023,” she says. “Though separated by time and geography, and across a diverse range of settings and venues, these crowds were united in their passion — singing every word to every song in perfect English. It was truly inspiring. Eventually, I asked myself: If they can sing along in a second or third language, why can’t I meet them halfway? So I enlisted my best friend and occasional collaborator Alan Del Rio Ortiz to work on translating these lyrics, tweaking here and there for melodic reasons, making every effort to stay true to the song at hand without sacrificing accuracy. After much rewriting and re-singing every vocal track on the album, the result is Todos Nacen Gritando, equal parts labor of love and tribute to the people who inspired it.”
Silverlites
Silverlites
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Silverlites are a veritable supergroup of four renowned songwriters with distinct backgrounds. The quartet includes Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Rich Robinson (Black Crowes), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees and Mad Season) and singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur. “It started in a Nashville hotel room in 2019, where I recorded the initial acoustic guitar tracks, and it features some truly exceptional musicians,” says Martin. “We hope you like the songs, as we spent the pandemic years doing various recording and mixing sessions, and we used a classic songwriting form, which is often forgotten in this day and age. That is, acoustic guitars (with a little electric guitar in there), with superb lead vocals, catchy backing vocals, and a soulful backbeat in the rhythm section. It’s old-school songwriting, just like us.”
Warmduscher
Too Cold To Hold
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Warmduscher were born in 2014 out of a creative collision between members of various prominent bands and this spontaneous formation resulted in a band that was not just a side project, but a musical force that would soon carve its own unique niche. The band includes features Clams Baker Jr., Benjamin Romans Hopcraft, Adam J. Harmer, Marley Mackey, Quinn Whalley and Bleu Ottis Wright. Too Cold To Hold is undoubtedly their best and most ambitious album to date. Taking on board the repetitive and polyrhythmic grooves of gqom (an alluring South African take on house music), adding in a dash of hip hop flavours and even jazz, and then harnessing that to their punk-funk, disco pogo, it’s a spellbinding mix. The album is produced by the band’s Hopcraft alongside Jamie Neville. Too Cold To Hold sees the band stretch out, open up and produce their most dazzlingly eclectic and honest album to date.”
Yellfire
Dear Gods
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dear Gods manages to be simultaneously absurdly crushing and shockingly listenable all at once, likely to inspire multiple listens in a row — a tricky combination that many bands attempt, but few can master with this much precision, especially right out of the gate. This is, of course, a testament to the talent and vehement passion of singer-guitarist Jerome Sauer, guitarist Eric Christiansen, bassist Casey Nolan and drummer Trent McIntyre. When it comes to uncovering joy and catharsis where others might see isolation and noise, the members of Yellfire unanimously point to two things: 1) Playing shows that inspire your friends to emerge and bathe in an onslaught of feedback together, and 2) Making a record your teenage self would have played until you destroyed the CD, or your first car’s shitty speakers — or both. Considering Dear Gods checks both of these boxes, there’s a good chance it might just move you, too.”
Dwight Yoakam
Brighter Days
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Written and recorded over the last three years, Brighter Days features 12 new original songs, as well as three seemingly disparate covers of The Carter Family, Cake and The Byrds — all artfully woven into the same body of work in the unmistakable style that could only be Dwight Yoakam. At once timeless and timely, Yoakam self-produced Brighter Days, infusing a modern appreciation for country music’s history with the trailblazing rock and roll spirit of California. The result is an album that reflects a sense of craftsmanship and immediacy, capturing the quintessential Yoakam cool that has set him apart from his country contemporaries since the beginning of his legendary career. As always, Yoakam’s lyrics throughout the album are both deceptively effortless and profoundly poignant. The album was mixed by world-class engineer Chris Lord-Alge.”
