New Releases & Staff Picks - 1/16/25

STAFF PICKS
 DARIO - Courtney Marie Andrews and Jana Horn 
ASH - Alt J reissue 
 JAKE - Archy Marshall 
KIMBER - Langhorne Slim 
MARY - Courtney Marie Andrews and Sturgill Simpson reissue 
ZACH - Sleaford Mods 
DREW - A$AP Rocky 
TY- Jana Horn 

COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS - Valentine CD/LP (Loose Future)
Courtney Marie Andrews has long been celebrated as an artist who challenges herself, and who finds new interplays of Folk and Americana. Also a vivid poet and accomplished painter, she brings a multidisciplinary richness to her work that shines throughout her 9th studio album, Valentine. Valentine is Andrews's most sonically explorative record - she plays flute, high strung guitars, myriad synths, and draws heavy inspiration from her art outside of music. Co-produced with Jerry Bernhardt and recorded almost entirely to tape, the album features complete in-studio performances that prize raw performance rather than perfection. Andrews's voice is gorgeous and acrobatic always, but on Valentine it finds a new depth, an assertiveness that brings new dimension to it's biggest anthems and it's softest moments.

SLEAFORD MODS - Demise Of Planet X CD/LP (Rough Trade) 
The Demise of Planet X is Andrew Fearn and Jason Williamson's most expansive and ambitious release to date as Sleaford Mods. Boasting the duo's most varied and expressive musical approach so far, it charts, critiques and satirizes our times, while offering a universal cry of anger and release of energy that pushes against the encroaching cultural darkness.

CAVETOWN - Running With Scissors CD/LP (Futures Music Group)  
Cavetown returns with his fourth album, Running With Scissors, a record that pairs his signature lo-fi intimacy with fuller, more expansive indie rock arrangements. Threaded with gentle acoustic textures, shimmering melodies, and moments of raw catharsis, the album captures both the comfort and turbulence of growing into yourself.

LANGHORNE SLIM - Dreamin' Kind CD/LP (Dualtone) 
Leave it to Langhorne Slim - a pioneer of raw, rule-breaking Americana for more than two decades - to reach far beyond the genre he helped inspire.The Dreamin' Kind finds the Nashville transplant strapping on an electric guitar and embracing his longtime love of larger-than-life rock & roll. With it's chugging power chords, 1970s-sized riffs, and richly layered arrangements, The Dreamin' Kind is fueled not only by sheer amplification, but by the soul-baring songwriting that's become Slim's calling card, too. The result is the more explorative and expansive album of Slim's career: a record made for rock clubs, campfires, and garages alike, produced by Greta Van Fleet's Sam Kiszka, and anchored by a lifelong desire to break down new walls.

JANA HORN - Jana Horn CD/LP (No Quarter)  
The 3rd album from Jana Horn was written in New York and recorded in the Texas desert. Horn went to Sonic Ranch studio with her trio (Jade Guterman - bass / Adam Jones - drums) to record her self-titled record, comprised of 10 sonic landscapes which don't quite sound like they're from anywhere. Past comparisons to Yo La Tengo and Phil Elverum are still apt on ‘Love and All in bet,’ while spare post-punk rhythms drive ‘Designer’ and ‘Don't Think.’ In 2023 The New Yorker stated: Horn's work aligns with a fraternity of the lonely that cuts across genres: traces of Young Marble Giants, Syd Barrett, and Broadcast all waft through her songs.

ARCHY MARSHALL - New Place 2 Drown (Instrumentals) LP (True Panther Sounds)   For the 10th anniversary of the original album, Archy Marshall (a.k.a. KING KRULE) will release a brand-new instrumental edition of the cult favorite A New Place 2 Drown. Upon it's original release in 2015, the album accompanied a wider collaborative art exhibition between Archy and his brother Jack Marshall. A New Place 2 Down mines the deep creative connection between the two brothers, drawing from Jack's visual art discipline and Archy's musical work under the moniker King Krule to create something inimitable and entirely unique as a result.

A$AP ROCKY - Don't Be Dumb LP (Rhino)  
Double black and white vinyl LP pressing. The wait is finally be over. More than seven years since Rocky’s last offering, 2018’s Testing A$AP Rocky releases his next masterpiece Don’t Be Dumb album featuring artwork from the legendary director Tim Burton.

TOGETHER PANGEA - Eat Myself LP (Nettwerk Records)  
Los Angeles-based indie rock trio Together Pangea's highly-anticipated sixth studio album Eat Myself follows a long gap since their stellar 2021 effort DYE. Sonically, it's a far cry from the band's earlier garage rock and surf roots. Instead, it offers a sharp distillation of their artistic range, including an emphasis on their heavier, grunge-leaning tendencies. Songs such as ‘Sunkin’ and the title track ‘Eat Myself’ could easily be mistaken for lost relics from Seattle's grunge era of the nineties. Together Pangea also explores new territory: wall-of-sound shoegaze (Little Demon, Molly Said), mid-2000s indie rock (Like Your Father), and infectious synth pop (Burn the Hillside). With Grammy Award-winning producer Mikey Freedom Hart (Taylor Swift, Bleachers, Lana Del Rey) at the helm, Together Pangea are once again making a bold and uncompromising artistic statement with Eat Myself, and show no signs of slowing down.

RICH BRIAN - Where Is My Head? LP (88Rising Music)  
Double crystal clear vinyl LP pressing with gatefold packaging & 20-page lyric and credit booklet. With Where Is My Head?, his first full-length album since 2019, Indonesian-born artist Rich Brian redefines success on his own terms. No longer chasing hits, he turns inward - creating the most vulnerable and honest music of his career. The result is a cohesive, deeply personal body of work that strengthens his bond with an ever-growing fanbase. Brian handled most of the production himself, shaping an analog-forward sound rooted in his self-taught mastery of synthesizers and keyboards. He sings more than ever before, with a newfound confidence and maturity that signals real artistic growth. Where Is My Head? isn't just a return - it's a revelation. Each track answers one central question: how can I make art that truly makes me happy?

ETTA JAMES - At Last (Chess 75 Series) LP [Reissue/1960] (Chess)  
Bring home the sound of America's greatest blues label in high fidelity with the Chess Records 75th Anniversary Series. These audiophile reissues of classic albums and compilations from the Chess discography are remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP). Each disc is packaged in tip-on gatefold sleeves printed on high-grade board.

STURGILL SIMPSON - A Sailor's Guide To Earth LP [Reissue/2016] (Rhino)  
Produced by Simpson, A Sailor's Guide To Earth was written-beginning to end-as a letter to his first child who arrived during the summer of 2014 and features eight original songs as well as a rendition of Nirvana's "In Bloom." Pressed on 180 gram premium-quality vinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing as part of the Rhino Reserve audiophile vinyl series.

JOHN PRINE - Sweet Revenge LP Reissue (Rhino)  
Sweet Revenge is the third album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1973. Prine started veering rock 'n' roll on this 1973 album, and the result was one of the toughest "folk" albums ever recorded. Contains the fan favorite "Dear Abby". Lacquers cut directly from the original analog masters by Matt Lutthans and pressed on 180 gram premium-quality vinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing as part of the Rhino Reserve audiophile vinyl series.

CHUCK BERRY - Berry Is On Top (Chess 75 Series) LP [Reissue/1959] (Chess Records)
It's hard to argue with a title like Berry Is on Top. When Chess Records released Chuck Berry's third LP in 1959, Berry had spent the past four years creating the framework of rock and roll with his swaggering guitar style and irresistible songcraft. The album features not only some of his best work, but anyone's: "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Carol," "Almost Grown" and many more. It's the sweetest of Berrys to add to your vinyl collection! Bring home the sound of America's greatest blues label in high fidelity with the Chess Records 75th Anniversary Series. These audiophile reissues of classic albums and compilations from the Chess discography are remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP). Each disc is packaged in tip-on gatefold sleeves printed on high-grade board.

ALT-J - An Awesome Wave LP [Reissue/2012] (Rhino)  
Alt-J's groundbreaking debut, An Awesome Wave, arrives in a striking [colored] vinyl edition. First unveiled in 2012, the album introduced the band's genre-bending sound through unforgettable tracks like ‘Breezeblocks,’ ‘Tessellate,’ ‘Matilda,’ and ‘Fitzpleasure.’ Celebrated worldwide and topping indie charts, this release cemented Alt-J as one of the most innovative acts of the decades. Now reimagined for vinyl collectors and new listeners alike.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
THE FORMAT - Boycott Heaven CD/LP
DE LA SOUL - Cabin In The Sky CD/LP
JULIAN LAGE - Scenes From Above CD/LP
THE DAMNED - Not Like Everybody Else CD/LP
MEGADETH - Megadeth LP
JACKSON C FRANK - 1975 Mekeel Sessions 12”
NOMEANSNO - Sex Mad LP Reissue
ROCKY VOTOLATO - Makers LP Reissue
ART BLAKEY - Free For All LP Reissue
JOE HENDERSON - Our Thing LP Reissue
LUCINDA WILLIAMS - World’s Gone Wrong CD/LP
SNARKY PUPPY - Somni LP
ESSEX GREEN - Everything Is Green LP Reissue
XIU XIU - Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu Vol 1 LP