New Releases & Staff Picks - 12/12/25

STAFF PICKS
 DARIO - Adam Green Reissue
ASH - Snoop Dogg Reissue
 JAKE - This is Lorelei
KIMBER - This is Lorelei
MARY - Aesop Rock
ZACH - Nightmares on Wax
DREW - Health
TY- 90 Day Men 

J DILLA - Donuts Audiophile Edition LP [Reissue/2006] (Stones Throw)  
We're celebrating 20 years of J Dilla's Donuts with a brand new Anniversary Audiophile Edition. The Donuts Audiophile Edition is lacquer cut at Bernie Grundman and manufactured at Fidelity Record Pressing - 2LP 180g vinyl at 45rpm. Deluxe art printed Stoughton jacket. When J Dilla, aka Detroit’s James Yancey, made Donuts, he was 31 years old and widely celebrated as a producer of rare talent, having worked with Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, and De La Soul, among many others. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of obscure jazz, funk, and soul, and, as a talented drummer in his own right, he brought a rare sense of groove to the samples he chopped up on his trusty Akai MPC.

NIGHTMARES ON WAX - Echo45 Sound System  (Warp Records)  
Double gold colored vinyl LP pressing. Growing up in the sound system culture of Leeds in England, George spent a fiver, courtesy of his mum, on a battered old speaker box he named Echo45. That box led him to Kevin Harper, a founding member of Nightmares on Wax, a chance meeting that would change the course of his life. With the latest music Echo45 Sound System, Nightmares On Wax takes that lineage a step further-a mixtape that feels like both a celebration and a declaration. It's a living, sound system journey inspired by the original Echo45 speaker box that merges soul, roots, hip-hop, dub, and electronic textures with a fearless spirit. Featuring a carefully curated ensemble of collaborators-including Yasiin Bey, Greentea Peng, Sadie Walker, Liam Bailey, and more-the record doesn't just reflect where Nightmares on Wax has been. While deeply rooted in his origins, sound system culture, and pirate radio, it boldly announces where he's going.

AESOP ROCK - I Heard It's A Mess There Too CD/LP (Rhymesayers)  
For Aesop Rock, the phrase I heard it's a mess there too started out as a lyric, but it didn't take long for that line to get it's hooks into him. It felt familiar, like a line he'd said a thousand times in recent years while checking in with friends across different cities, swapping stories about where each other are, and what's going on there. The more he sat with the phrase, the more it started to feel like the center of something bigger. I Heard It's A Mess There Too lives at the intersection of two personal urges for Aesop: the need to venture out and document your surroundings, and the desire to stay connected-especially when things feel uncertain. Musically, Aesop Rock explores some new territory on the album. I'd been building tracks the same way for many years, he says, but I made a conscious shift in my process here. I tried out some new tools and attempted to make my beats cleaner, more minimal. The drums are more stripped back, the bass lines are allowed to just sit, without layering ten things on top. I didn't want the beat and the vocals competing for attention-I just wanted enough to get a wave rolling and not much more, just setting a mood I could move to. These twelve songs mark different stops along that path of tinkering and looking for something new.

THIS IS LORELEI - Holo Boy LP (Double Double Whammy)  
Nate Amos has always charted his own path. Whether it’s the candid charm of This Is Lorelei or the idiosyncratic chic of Water From Your Eyes, the New York City-based singer-songwriter has a knack for contorting the familiar into something new. But guitar pop isn’t the only thing he’s refashioned in his own image. After the breakout indie success of Box for Buddy, Box for Star, his quasi-debut album as This Is Lorelei, Amos rethought the typical album format altogether. The result is This Is Lorelei’s sort-of-second sort-of-album, Holo Boy—neither a retrospective compilation, nor a traditionally new LP, but an undeniable reaffirmation of Amos’ past and present talents.

HEALTH - Conflict DLC CD/LP (Loma Vista) 
HEALTH's latest album is a statement of urgency and clarity. Music that is heavy, unflinching, and emotionally direct. For the past two decades, the band has cultivated a unique and unparalleled sound that blurs the boundaries between industrial, rock, electronic, and metal, shaping a style that refuses easy categorization. On this new record the band push that tension further, stripping away metaphor and artifice to deliver something raw, vulnerable, and honest.

ARCA - @@@@@ LP  (XL Recordings)  
A limited edition first ever pressing of Arca’s iconic @@@@@ mixtape, the scorching of earth that preceded the launch of her KICK series. Delivering 62 minutes of quantum states, this is some of her most delicate and astonishing work to date - hard, soft, emotional, brutal, sincere and playful. Presented on double vinyl with an etched D-side.

90 DAY MEN - (It (Is) It) Critical Band LP (Numero)  
Atmospheric post-rock from turn of the century Chicago. 90 Day Men's debut for Southern Records surfs no wave's spiky shorelines for eight hypnotizing tracks. This expanded 25th anniversary edition includes an unreleased album tracked at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio, with notes from engineer Greg Norman and a fresh Heba Kadry master. Let's meet at Jinx.

KAHIL EL'ZABAR - Let The Spirit Out Live at “mu” London LP (Spiritmuse)  
Spiritmuse Records and Kahil El’Zabar present Let The Spirit Out, Live at “mu” London, a unique concept of recording new material purposefully in a live audience environment, to capture the feeling of connectedness in the ancient ritual of communion through music. Spiritual jazz master Kahil El’Zabar created new material for this album, in a powerful message to the world today, speaking about release, freedom, revelation and empowerment to Let the Spirit Out. 

ROOTS - The Roots Come Alive Too: DYWM30 Live at Blue Note NYC!  LP (Empire) 
In 1995 The Roots burst onto the scene with their seminal debut album, Do You Want More?!!!?! that garnered critical acclaim and cemented them as a powerhouse group fusing elements of various genres with their signature live instrumentation. Thirty years later in March of 2025, The Roots played a three day, six show residency at the legendary Blue Note Jazz club in New York City where they celebrated their debut by playing it in full - performing many tracks that hadn't been performed live in decades. The performance also brought out special guest appearances from long-time collaborators, Ursula Rucker, Dice Raw and Rahzel, Godfather of Noise.

PINK FLOYD - Wish You Were Here 3xLP [Reissue/1975] (Sony Legacy)  
Wish You Were Here 50 gives fans an exciting new perspective into one of Pink Floyd’s most iconic and best-loved records. The 50th anniversary edition features the original album plus two discs of studio rarities including previously unreleased alternate versions and demos presenting Pink Floyd's eighth studio album in a brand-new way that demands repeat listening. This 3-LP 50th anniversary edition is pressed on 180g black vinyl.

POGUES - Rum Sodomy & The Lash (40th Anniversary Edition) LP [Reissue/1985] (Rhino) 
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band from London, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The band reformed in late 2001, and has been playing regularly ever since, most notably on the US East Coast around St Patrick's Day and across the UK and Ireland every December. The group has yet to record any new music and, according to Spider Stacy on Pogues. Com, has no inclination to do so.

MALAPHOR - Frogs In The Pot B/W In The Waves 7” (Related Records)
Brendan Casey - Piano, Guitar, Vox, Bass
Patrick Webb - Drums
Spencer Owings - Guitar, Vox
Cody Putman - Sax
Recorded & Mixed by Spencer Owings

SNOOP DOGG - Tha Doggfather  LP [Reissue/1996] (Death Row)  
The definitive sound of a rap legend's evolution. Originally released in 1996, Tha Doggfather is Snoop's defiant, Double Platinum sophomore album. With production helmed by Daz Dillinger, this album delivers an essential dose of laid-back G-Funk, including the classic tracks Doggfather and Vapors. It's the sound of an untouchable icon cementing his legacy amidst chaos. Available now on vinyl for the first time in 5 years.

GARY NUMAN - Telekon  LP [Reissue/1980] (Beggars Banquet)  
In early 2025, a visit to Gary’s personal archive allowed for a deep dig, and amongst all the treasures, unreleased Telekon material was found. We are thrilled to include four unreleased tracks on this expanded 45th anniversary edition of Telekon. “Like A B-Film” is a completely unreleased, not quite finished track from the album’s sessions. The other three tracks are previously unreleased early versions of “Please Push No More”, “Aircrash Bureau” and “I’m An Agent”. Pressed onto double rainbow sparkle black vinyl, the album has been remastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road and includes revised artwork by Michael Speed at Beggars, who has frequently collaborated with Gary on his Beggars reissues. The vinyl edition also includes a replica of the original 1980 12-page Telekon tour booklet.

FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM - Dawnrazor LP [Reissue/1987] (Beggars Banquet)
Formed in 1984, Fields of the Nephilim is the creation of vocalist and front man Carl McCoy. Highly influential, especially in the world of goth, but also within the metal and electronic genres, their legacy endures to this day. You can hear their influence on bands like Swans, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, Wolves in The Throne Room, Behemoth and more. Dawnrazor is the band’s debut album, originally released in 1987. Beggars Banquet are happy to announce a reissue of this title, out December 12th, remastered and available on CD + colored vinyl.

JIM LEGXACY  - Black British Music LP (XL)  
Critical to UK music in 2025, Jim’s prolific output forever tells an important story. Always ahead of the game, his songwriting holds a mirror up to the Black British experience in which himself and his peers are reflected. He stands proudly but humbly at the helm of a movement; a new generation of storytellers and pioneers carving a path out of the comfort of the underground, always pushing upwards. Creating space for complexity, sensitivity, and experimentation, black british music (2025) not only reshapes expectations of what UK music can sound like, but what it can stand for.

ADAM GREEN - Gemstones LP [Reissue/2005] (Rough Trade) As intrinsic to the Manhattan soul as the rumble of the subway, the grime of the Lower East Side or the ornate baroque glamour of the midtown blocks housing Ghostbusters’ ghouls, Adam Green’s music is as timeless as New York itself. Echoing through the depths of its dark lore, yet still relevant on sidewalks washed clean by gentrification, the singer-songwriter’s music not only invokes his hometown, but it captures the unique confusion and connection of life within a city: the awkwardness and the adventure, the love affairs and the loneliness, the society and the separation. His 2005 solo album Gemstones, a sort of musical reply to Bright Lights, Big City, is firmly rooted in the Big Apple, its rockabilly rhythms rattle with the L-Train, its melodies hit like a fresh cross street gust, but whether you’ve visited New York or not its brisk, affecting songs will resonate with anyone who knows what it is like to be alone amongst the crowd.

GANG OF FOUR - Shrinkwrapped LP [Reissue/1995] (Gill King) 
Shrinkwrapped, the 6th studio album by Gang of Four, celebrates it's 30th anniversary in 2025 with it's first ever release on vinyl. The album was written by Andy Gill and Jon King and produced by Andy. Some of the 11 tracks feature on the soundtrack to the movie, Delinquent, by Peter Hall. It includes the Gang of Four live favourite 'I Parade Myself' and the single ‘Tattoo.' The album was considered a return to form by Gang of Four.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Oh. What. Fun. OST  LP (Mutant)  
Featuring an incredible music selection of original Christmas songs written and recorded exclusively for the film from the likes of Gwen Stefani, Fleet Foxes, Weyes Blood, Jeff Tweedy. Sharon Van Etten as well as a beautiful cover of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' by St. Vincent. This is the perfect holiday record for those looking for something a little different this year.

PAROV STELAR - Artifact  LP (Etage Noir)  
Artifact marks a new chapter in Parov Stelar's creative career. For the album, the Austrian drew inspiration from fragments of memory, parallel worlds, and the fleeting nature of the moment. The tracks range between sweeping pop and electronic concepts, late-Romantic grandeur, and cinematic power. Musically, this results in a very open and emotional language: electronic sounds merge with classical orchestration, strings, piano, and expansive soundscapes unfold alongside pulsating beats and grand melodies. It's a sound that relies less on hooks and more on atmosphere, on musical associations rather than linearity - and culminates in hits such as Rebel Love, and Falling Into Time. Despite it's conceptual breadth, Artifact is a very personal work. It's not just about the songs, but also about what lies behind them - about attitude and honesty, perhaps even a certain risk, because such grandeur takes courage.

SAM FENDER - People Watching LP (Capitol)  
Off the back of a huge 2025 which saw Sam Fender sell out shows at London Stadium, 3 x St James' Park - Newcastle, alongside a Mercury Music Prize nomination and the fastest selling British album of the year comes, People Watching (Deluxe). The deluxe includes 8 additional songs inclusive of "Rein Me In (with Olivia Dean)" and the new single "Talk to You (featuring Elton John)." 2 LP set on silver vinyl.