Frankly, I wasn’t going to include the Lorde album. It’s not that I don’t like her, or any of the songs I’ve heard / videos I’ve seen — they seem decent enough. I just figured that everybody already knows everything they need to know about it. Of course, you could say the same about the Bruce Springsteen Tracks II box, and I’m including that. So what the hell; what’s good for The Boss is fit for a Lorde. Here are your plays of the week:
Lorde
Virgin
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Lorde’s new album Virgin marks the New Zealander’s first full-length body of work in four years and promises a bold evolution in her sound and storytelling. The album was preceded by several singles including What Was That, co-produced by Lorde, Jim-E Stack and Dan Nigro. The track has been praised for its raw energy and emotional immediacy, offering a glimpse into the sonic world of Virgin. The video for What Was That, shot on location in New York — including a surprise performance in Washington Square Park — captures the intimate, spontaneous spirit of this new chapter. Man of the Year offers another electrifying look into Virgin. The new record promises a bold sonic evolution, balancing maximalist production with the artist’s signature lyrical intimacy.”
Motörhead
The Manticore Tapes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In 1976 the seminal lineup of Motörhead was solidified a year after the band’s initial inception. The ‘three amigos’ era of Motörhead; Lemmy (bass and vocals), Fast Eddie Clarke (guitar) and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor (drums) joined forces and began their extraordinary journey to the top of the hard rock elite. In August 1976 the band set up at Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s legendary Manticore Studio in Fulham to rehearse and showcase the new lineup. While they were there they recorded together for the very first time and now 49 years later, the long lost tape has been discovered, dusted off and restored in all its raw glory, to celebrate the bands 50th anniversary.”
Buck Owens And His Buckaroos
Adios, Farewell, Goodbye, Good Luck, So Long: On Stage 1964-1974
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “There is no doubt Buck Owens And His Buckaroos were one of the biggest acts in the world from 1964–1974. Not only were they topping the music charts, they were filling concert halls worldwide. They were such a popular concert draw that many performances were recorded and released only in the corresponding foreign market. Unfortunately, much of that material never saw the light of day outside the country in which it was released. Until now. Adios, Farwell, Goodbye, Good Luck, So Long: On Stage 1964–1974 is the first comprehensive look at this revolutionary time in music. Featuring 78 tracks, the collection sports the recently discovered The Exciting Sounds Of Buck Owens And His Buckaroos Live From Richmond, Virginia, 1964, plus tracks from the international releases Buck Owens’ Show In Japan, Live In New Zealand, and Buck Owens’ Show “Live” At The Sydney Opera House, as well as the U.S. Top 10 albums The Buck Owens Show–Big In Vegas and Live At The Nugget. What makes this chorological journey even more essential is the addition of 20 performances available for the first time anywhere: Sets from Macys’ 7th Avenue store in 1967, the 1973 Buck Owens Golf Tournament Dinner, and a 1973 Toys For Tots benefit at the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium.”
Pig Pen
Mental Madness
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The plan was to start a band that was all longtime friends. The idea was to embrace the scene they grew up in. The conspirators are as follows: Matty Matheson (singer), who grew up in the Niagara hardcore scene (with his late ’90s band Hanging Hearts), and who has gone on to become a chef, restaurateur and actor in The Bear; Wade MacNeil (guitarist), an active member of Alexisonfire and Doom’s Children; the Romano brothers, Daniel (guitarist) and Ian (drummer), rock ’n’ roll veterans from Daniel Romano’s Outfit; and Tommy Major (bassist) of Young Guv, Tommy And The Commies and Daniel Romano’s Outfit. “It was during the pandemic and we were all back home,” says Matheson. The conversations began — to make something heavy, noisy and touched on the classic 80’s hardcore we all love so much. Everyone showed up with a bunch of riffs, scraps of lyrics, talked influences and principles, bounced ideas back and forth, then got chinese food. “We wrote 10 songs in one day,” says Matheson, “and the next day we recorded them.”
Plastic Section
Revenge
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Step into the seedy underworld of Revenge, the new album by Australian trio Plastic Section. Blurring the lines between pulp noir and the raw energy of ’50s rockabilly, the record is a whirlwind of weird rockabilly, untamed rock ’n’ roll, and raw rhythm and blues. Each track is a gritty vignette: from the frantic swagger of Insane to the menacing groove of Revenge and the frenetic drive of Hell Highway Truckin’. It’s music made for midnight chases and back-alley showdowns. Sue’s primal drum beats, Pip’s dirty basslines, and Ben’s razor-sharp riffs and snarling vocals create a soundscape as unpredictable as the stories it tells. Recorded at A Secret Location Sound Recorders in Fairfield, Melbourne, and mastered by Mikey Young, Revenge doesn’t just demand your attention — it seizes it with a knife-edge grin.”
Adrian Quesada
Boleros Psicodélicos II
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated Adrian Quesada continues where he left off, carrying forth a mission to celebrate, preserve and reinvent the baroque, eccentric sounds of Latin American balada music from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Texas producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and Black Pumas co-founder’s Boleros Psicodélicos II is a sequel to 2022’s acclaimed Boleros Psicodélicos, and the start of something sprawling, fresh and far more expansive. Like the first album — which reached cult status and resonated with a global audience of vinyl enthusiasts begging for more — Boleros Psicodélicos II is a deeply personal but profoundly communal album that combines brand new, original music, with reimagined renditions of classic baladas. Boleros Psicodélicos II honors a specific moment in time, while introducing a wider world of listeners to a vital and enduring subgenre, in all of its romantic glory.
Robert Randolph
Preacher Kids
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Preacher Kids marks Robert Randolph’s Sun Records debut and his first studio album in five years. Produced by Shooter Jennings, the record fuses his gospel-fueled Sacred Steel roots with raw Southern rock, swampy blues, and a jam-heavy spirit that comes alive on stage. Backed by a brand-new band — including guitarist Tash Neal, bassist and vocalist Jay White and drummer Willie Barthel — Randolph has crafted a sound that’s both reverent and rebellious. Randolph’s resume reads like a masterclass in genre cross-pollination — collaborations with everyone from Eric Clapton and Santana to Dave Matthews Band, Norah Jones, Elton John and Beyoncé, plus performances on the Elvis movie soundtrack. But it’s onstage where Randolph’s ecstatic style and Sacred Steel roots shine brightest.”
Slow Dawn
Sonic Death Flow
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Once again emerging from Canadian shadows with unrelenting intensity, Slow Dawn are back with their latest full-length assault, Sonic Death Flow — an album that warps the mind and shatters the senses. Following their 2022 release, Into The Machine Haus, the trio dive deeper into the abyss, delivering a relentless fusion of dark, gothic psychedelia, anarchic punk energy, and uncompromising sonic destruction. Sonic Death Flow marks a shift in the band’s creative process, driven by major life changes — most notably, the relocation of some band members from Ottawa to Montreal. According to the band, this upheaval “flipped the writing process on its head,” forcing them to adapt and evolve. The result? A record that is paradoxically tighter yet more chaotic than ever. As D.R. DiLauro (drums) and Iceman (bass) locked in with impressive precision, guitarist and vocalist Dan Druff embraced the madness. Musically, Sonic Death Flow is a full-throttle, mind-melting trip — a collision of motorik rhythms, Japanese space-punk, and psychotic guitar noise that defies musical convention.”
Bruce Springsteen
Tracks II: The Lost Albums
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Seven previously unheard Bruce Springsteen records will be released for the first time this summer on the long-anticipated Tracks II: The Lost Albums. A set spanning 83 songs, The Lost Albums fill in rich chapters of Springsteen’s expansive career timeline — while offering invaluable insight into his life and work as an artist. “The Lost Albums were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released,” said Springsteen. “I’ve played this music to myself and often close friends for years now. I’m glad you’ll get a chance to finally hear them. I hope you enjoy them.” From the lo-fi exploration of LA Garage Sessions ’83 — serving as a crucial link between Nebraska and Born In The U.S.A. — to the drum loop and synthesizer sounds of Streets of Philadelphia Sessions, The Lost Albums offer unprecedented context into 35 prolific years (1983-2018) of Springsteen’s songwriting and home recording. “The ability to record at home whenever I wanted allowed me to go into a wide variety of different musical directions,” Springsteen explained. Throughout the set, that sonic experimentation takes the form of film soundtrack work (for a movie that was never made) on Faithless, country combos with pedal steel on Somewhere North of Nashville, richly woven border tales on Inyo and orchestra-driven, mid-century noir on Twilight Hours.”
Various Artists
A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “To honor the legacy of Clifton Chenier — aka The King of Zydeco — on what would have been his 100th birthday, producers gathered an all star cast of Louisiana musicians and global household names like The Rolling Stones, Lucinda Williams, Taj Majal, Steve Earle and more to honor Clifton’s influence and his uncanny ability to unite traditionalists, rock ’n’ rollers and Louisiana with the rest of the world. All profits from the sale of this album will be donated to the Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship Fund, created by Valcour Records with the Center for Louisiana Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The fund will offer annual financial assistance to students studying traditional music, specifically Zydeco accordion, at the university.”
Void Sinker
Solaris
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Void Sinker are about to release their third offering of the year and the 10th entry in their catalog, Solaris. It’s also the second EP of an ongoing project, with three mammoth tracks discarded from previous works but ready to be heard to make the earth tremble under your feet. These tracks mark the end of a path made during the year and are also the last tracks recorded with the old equipment before the transition to something better… but there will be time for that. It will be a hot summer with the sun beating down relentlessly on us; prepare yourselves to spend it in the cosmic void.”
Wavves
Spun
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Like Nathan Williams and Wavves’ earliest music, this album first took shape in a small shed behind his parents’ house known as the hideaway. It’s the place where Williams made some of his earliest albums, before he became known for his uncanny ability to write songs that sneered at the world while evoking pathos, sympathy, and a deep understanding of how sometimes we’re our own worst enemies, and that can be okay. Over a decade prior to this, Williams released King Of The Beach, an album that delivered on all of the promise that his first two homespun records captured. It’s an album that also catapulted the band to worldwide acclaim as one of the new darlings of indie rock. It was a cocky collection of pop-punk gems that brought fame so rapidly it also, in part, led to a widely publicized onstage meltdown at Primavera Fest. Wavves recovered, as they always do, and eventually entered the major-label system, where the band released two albums before Williams became disillusioned by the lack of creative agency available to him. Fast-forward to 2024, when an older, wiser, and slightly less stoned Williams reunited with longtime bandmates Stephen Pope, Ross Traver and Alex Gates.”
Frank Zappa
Cheaper Than Cheep
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In the early 1970s, music performance shows like The Midnight Special, Soul Train and In Concert were all the rage, beaming rock, pop and R&B artists directly into people’s homes, offering an unprecedented at-home concert experience. Inspired by these shows, or perhaps because of potentially not receiving offers to perform on them, or even more likely, wanting to control all aspects of the production, Frank Zappa took matters into his own hands, as he often did. On the first day of summer — June 21, 1974 — Zappa and his band, The Mothers of Invention, invited a small audience to the their humble rehearsal hall on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, for what would be an intoxicating, sweat-drenched two-hour-plus performance. A small film crew equipped with multiple cameras captured every riveting musical moment while the audio was recorded by a mobile recording truck. Unfortunately, when Zappa watched the footage he was devastated to learn, that similar to his Roxy project before it, the audio and video weren’t synchronized. Two months later, Zappa would team up with L.A. PBS station KCET and get the sought-after TV special he wanted, later released as The Dub Room Special. As a result, the June concert that he planned to shop to major TV networks was shelved, never to be revisited by Zappa. It languished in The Vault for more than five decades. Until now.”
