Hey, 19. We can’t dance together. We can’t talk at all. But we can listen to new albums from Pete Doherty, Ezra Furman, Goldie, Hooveriii and more. That should help make tonight a wonderful thing. Skate a little lower and read on:
AAA Gripper
We Invented Work For The Common Good
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “AAA Gripper have seemingly dropped out of nowhere but the story goes back. The idea was conjured in the summer of 2023 at the first Wrong Speed Records festival in the town of Glastonbury. Inspired by a weekend of radical sounds and fine company a decision was made: ‘Let’s try something’. Recording hours and hours of bass and drums in deep Somerset then editing it down to a sharp and concise 32 minutes. From Can’s Lost Tapes box to No Means No’s 0+2=1 via 1,000 song structure decisions. Wild guitar strafe and precise hyper vocal added. Nine tight tunes magically appeared. The band raised a glass of tea. The band were born. ‘Something’ had worked.”
Sun Ra Bullock
Plays The Organ Electric Vol. II
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This is the third solo keyboard album by Sun Ra Bullock, and the second with all sounds emanating from the Yamaha Electone A-55 N organ. While Sun Ra Bullock Plays the Organ Electric Vol. I focused on drones ands loops, Vol. II was meant to explore the possibilities of the onboard drum computer. Inspired by 90’s club music as well as by virtuoso solo entertainers such as Omar El Shariyi, Abdel Halim Hafez, Hany Mehana or Yichak Banjaw, first sessions were held in spring ’24 using the organ as the only sound source and a variety of FX pedals for real time treatment. These led to a dozen of long, depressing and very slow riddims. Gradually winding up the tempo wheel, more sessions resulted in over 40 sketches and basic rhythm structures, of which roughly a quarter were selected for overdubs and cleaned up for further development. In the process, new ways to make the organ behave in weird ways had opened up, which lead to new sketches, and the emergence of a more optimistic, joyful tone. Over time and a fair bit of carving out, this beast began to take shape.”
Peter Doherty
Felt Better Alive
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A buoyant spirit permeates Peter Doherty’s fifth solo album Felt Better Alive, a gorgeous collection of poetic vignettes, both acoustic and orchestral, indie-folk and country, poignant and outright comic. Peter’s not only a survivor but a creative powerhouse, with more projects, plans and reasons to stay alive than he’s ever had. And in 2025, the year he turns 46, with Felt Better Alive, brings us some of the most deft, bouncy and charming songs of his always melodic life.”
Dusty Rose Gang
A-One From Day One
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hailing from the southwest side of Detroit, Dusty Rose Gang make music that sounds like a celebratory summer evening with friends on the beach. The band’s feel-good rock ’n’ roll rests its laurels alongside many of the city’s musical heavyweights, bringing a swagger and heft present in the MC5 and The Stooges, while balancing the tones and attitude found in prime-era Black Sabbath, Queen and Jimi Hendrix. It should be no surprise that the band’s songwriter, Dusty Rose, haunted the same high school halls as the MC5, as much of the attitude, poise and spirit can be found on the band’s A-One From Day One long player debut for the legendary Riding Easy Records. The songs shimmer and shake, shredding through solo after solo, while packing just enough hazy ’70s influence to make it sound like Dusty Rose Gang has been here all along. This is Detroit rock ’n’ roll made by lifers for lifers, the no-bullshit real deal that the Motor City has been breathing since long before KISS penned Detroit Rock City.”
Friendship
Caveman Wakes Up
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “An album for sleeping and waking, walking and driving, hunting and fishing, for loitering outside a roadhouse on the haunted tundra. Okay in elevators, not great for dinner. On Caveman Wakes Up, Friendship’s second album for Merge Records, the band’s historically capacious definition of country music grows wider still. Shambolic guitars are offset by flute pads, bleary poetry is set against a Motown rhythm section, a song about Jerry Garcia and First Lady Betty Ford fades out with a drum solo, like if Talk Talk came from a dingy Philadelphia basement and was fronted by James Tate. Songwriter Dan Wriggins’ ragged baritone cuts through eleven murky, swirling country-rock songs with profound lyrical substance and sincerity. Like an alarm clock incorporated into the edge of a dream, Caveman Wakes Up belongs equally to the conscious and subconscious mind, fraught with background, steeped in reference and experimentation, delivered casually and as a dire warning, dedicated, above all, to music’s creative soul.”
Ezra Furman
Goodbye Small Head
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hi, my name is Ezra Furman. This is the press release for my new record. Goodbye Small Head is the name of this record. It has 12 songs, 12 variations on the experience of completely losing control, whether by weakness, illness, mysticism, BDSM, drugs, heartbreak or just living in a sick society with one’s eyes open. These songs are vivid with overwhelm. They’re not about someone going off the rails, they are inside that person’s heart. The songwriting here is a revision to William Wordsworth’s famous proclamation that ‘Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.’ I can agree with that, except for the tranquillity part. This poetry, my poetry, arrived in the midst of the storm. It was written as I teetered toward the edge. (I did the edits once I was safe again.) The band and I had had a run of records that were very communal, very first person plural. We, us, ours. I was trying to exist in and create a shared space with my audience, make anthems for taking care of one another in dark times. But there does come a time when a woman is left alone in a room to unravel. And you need music for those times too.”
Goldie
Goldie Presents: Rufige Kru – Alpha Omega
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Rufige Kru is the iconic alias of drum and bass legend Goldie. One of the most revered names in breakbeat science, Rufige Kru rewired the dancefloor for the time back in 1992 with the hardcore classic Darkrider, and the project produced other pivotal hardcore moments like Ghosts Of My Life and Terminator (still considered one of the key moments in the evolution of drum and bass). Alpha Omega is the first album released under the moniker since 2009, with the project now featuring longtime collaborator Submotive alongside Goldie.”
Hooveriii
Manhunter
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After four albums of extra-dimensional exploration, Hooveriii delivered Manhunter with the controls set directly for the heart of the cosmic groove. Expertly synthesizing their influences and still managing to bring even more to the party, from spiky post punk to beautiful new age excursions and mammoth ’70s arena rock hooks, Manhunter delivers not only their best album yet but an instant classic for all the psych-heads, stoners and dimensionauts.”
José James
1978: Revenge Of The Dragon
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “José James just can’t leave the ’70s alone. Or maybe it’s the other way around. The singer, songwriter, bandleader, and producer was born in 1978, after all, but over his past 17 years of fundamentally forward-looking, blessedly mercurial music, he keeps getting pulled back in. His 2013 breakthrough No Beginning No End revisited the hooky, funky, jazz-streaked songcraft of the time through a modern crate-digger’s ears. On 2020’s No Beginning No End 2 — James’ debut on his own Rainbow Blonde Records — he went back through the portal with a small army of fellow celebrated eclecticists. Just last year, there was the album 1978, a richly layered love letter to said year that felt deep, luxe, and cool. In loving contrast to its predecessor, James’ new LP, 1978: Revenge Of The Dragon plays hot, like a Friday night out at the Mudd Club in its prime.”
