Wreckmeister Harmonies – You’ve always Meant So Much To Me
£17.99 - Limited LP with download
this project, led & composed by chicago’s jr robinson, joins together some of the most revered musicians in the black metal & experimental music worlds.
jef whitehead aka wrest (leviathan), mark solotroff (anatomy of habit), jaime fennelly (mind over mirrors), sanford parker (twilight, nachtmystium), bruce lamont (yakuza), & fred lonberg-holm all feature. the album features incredible artwork from uk artist simon fowler (sunn o))), boris, earth, wolves in the throne room, ensemble pearl). this lp-only release is pressed on virgin vinyl & presented in a super deluxe old-style tip-on gatefold jacket.
Digable Planets – Blowout Comb
£24.99 - x 2 heavy LP limited reissue
‘blowout comb’ (1994) excelled at pushing great grooves over sunny-day party jams, even when the crew was providing deft social commentary.
this is intelligent, alternative hip hop that sounded like party music, its lyrics are dense with wit, social commentary & politics, its beats are infectious & its spirit undeniable. the instrumentation includes sax, vibraphone & flute. its samples – gathered from global cratedigging trips while touring the first album around the world – include grant green, eddie harris, shuggie otis & jazz-funk pioneer roy ayers. the productions, all crafted by the group themselves, were laid-back & clearly superior to much hip-hop of the time.
Frank Zappa – Over-nite Sensation
£14.99 - 180g LP
a watershed album, the point where his post-’60s aesthetic was truly established.
Whereas the Flo & Eddie years were dominated by rambling, off-color comedy routines, ‘Over-Nite Sensation‘ tightened up the song structures & tucked sexual & social humour into melodic, technically accomplished heavy guitar rock with jazzy chord changes & funky rhythms.
Janes Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking Reissue
£14.99 - 180g LP
In 1988 Jane’s Addiction officially arrived with ‘Nothing’s Shocking’ their first major-label studio album, riff heavy & full of wild stories of the stranger side of LA.
the album has since been included in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” & features key tracks ‘Ocean Size’, ‘Jane Says’ & one of alt-rock’s greatest anthems ‘Mountain Song’. Acclaimed for their hybrid of rock music filled with metal, folk, punk & jazz Jane’s Addiction, They’ve also garnered Grammy nominations & spearheaded the movement of modern American festival culture by launching & headlining Lollapalooza. Even during dormant periods, their classic songs are ever present on rock radio and their influence resounds through countless acts.
Royal Trux – 3 Track E.P.
£6.99 - 12" limited
Following the loud & fevered reaction to ‘Accelerator’ in April 1998, Royal Trux decided to release an EP to coincide with their hotly anticipated European tour.
Swiftly, three songs came together & ‘3-Song EP’ was born. Having re-issued ‘Accelerator’ at the tail end of 2012, it seemed only right to do the same with ‘3-Song EP’. The songs were a funky bunch – ‘Deafer Than Blind’ was a sweet ‘n’ sour ballad built off a drum loop, ‘Run, Shaker Life’ was a Richie Havens cover with spiritual overtones, later to become a favourite live opener. ‘The United States Vs One 1974 Cadillac El Dorodo Sedan’ was a proggy group jam that featured an extensive libretto & comprised one of the longest Royal Trux songs yet.
Boards Of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest
£20.99 - Double Gatefold LP and Download code
the hype that built up this album’s release caused a tidal wave of feverish excitement amongst music geeks & journos alike & it seems not 1 person has a bad word to say about it – & rightly so.
one of Warp Records’ most revered acts during the early-2000s golden era of IDM, the cryptic Scottish duo return after an 8 year hiatus. they still create library music-influenced ambience but this is a much darker, post-apocalyptic affair – although thankfully there’s plenty of colour & warmth throughout. “their most cinematic & vast-sounding album yet” 4/5 – guardian, “giving all the analogue synth jockeys like Oneohtrix Point Never & Emeralds a run for their money with some epic, layered work-outs dripping in their trademark cloying melodies, but also heavy in drones & some of their best drum programming yet” – the quietus.
Black Sabbath – 13
£19.99 - limited gatefold LP
With their new album ’13′ – BLACK SABBATH – the band that defined heavy metal picks up immediately where they left off with 8 sprawling songs (five of them are over eight minutes) that possess every ounce of the maniacal vitality of the Grammy-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees’ trailblazing work in the ’70s.
Songs such as ‘End of the Beginning’, ‘Loner’, ‘Dear Father’ & ‘Age of Reason’ reinforce 13’s testament to the enduring relevance of BLACK SABBATH’s long-running reign. if you suspect this lot have run their course or have nothing exciting left to offer, think again – this album rocks hard & it rocks damn good!
Beady Eye – Be
£22.99 - Limited 2 LP with download card
the former oasis singer, liam gallagher, & his band of merry men return with their sophomore effort, produced by the awesome dave sitek (tv on the radio).
“Working with Sitek just opened something up in us. He’s without a doubt the best producer I’ve ever worked with, a real outlaw – he doesn’t give a f*ck, no rules. It feels like a really special record for us.” the album sees the band experimenting with their epic, studiedly retro sound, augmenting it with samples & tape loops & also sees Gallagher’s vocals completely untreated