New Releases & Staff Picks - 6/20/25

STAFF PICKS
 DARIO - Max Knouse, Tropical Fuck Storm and U.S. Girls
 ASH - Edna Martinez Presents Picó comp
 JAKE - Matmos, Jeremiah Chiu, and Gilla Band
 KIMBER - Cafe Tacvba reissue
MARY - Life Aquatic soundtrack
 ZACH - Suzzallo and U.S. Girls
DREW - Tropical Fuck Storm

U.S. GIRLS - Scratch It LP (4AD)  
When Meg Remy, the visionary behind U.S. Girls, got an offer to play a festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas in early 2024, she enlisted Nashville-based friend Dillon Watson (Savoy Motel, Jack Name) to assemble a one-time band for the occasion. The show went so well that she decided to ride that energy right back to where the impromptu band initially rehearsed, in Music City, kickstarting the journey toward Scratch It. In ten days, Remy and her band — Watson on guitar, Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, Loretta Lynn) on bass, Domo Donoho on drums, Jo Schornikow and Tina Norwood on keys and harmonica legend Charlie McCoy (Elvis, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison) — recorded Scratch It live. Closeness and ease emanate from this core band with Remy’s singular voice sparkling on top of every tune.

HOTLINE TNT - Raspberry Moon CD/LP (Third Man)
Following the release of their triumphant breakthrough album Cartwheel in 2023 on Third Man Records, which gained widespread critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork (8.4/10 Best New Music) and Stereogum (Top 10 Albums of 2023), NYC's Hotline TNT are back with their best album yet, Raspberry Moon. The first single Julia's War has been road-tested across a recent sold out US tour, as well as at UK festivals including Green Man, and we can attest that it's a ginormous singalong anthem and one which marks The Next Phase of New American Shoegaze (- Third Man Records). - Hotline TNT have toured relentlessly, including US-wide tours with Wednesday and Snail Mail, enduring seemingly endless lineup shifts to become a linchpin of several interconnecting DIY scenes. Whilst Cartwheel was largely conceived by the band's frontman Will Anderson (previously of cult indie group Weed), Raspberry Moon is very much a full-band effort, which is evident in the album's all-consuming, rip-roaring sound!

SUZZALLO - Quiet Year CD/LP (Suzzallo)
Suzzallo (pronounced Süe-zahh-Lōw) is a new Seattle based rock band fronted by Rocky Votolato. After the devastating loss of his child in a tragic car accident, Votolato created an entire new world inside of aggressive rock songs that transmute extreme grief into something healing and beautiful. Suzzallo's debut album The Quiet Year is an explosive eulogy filled with cathartic alt-rock anthems that bring the energy of the 90's back to life. This a return to form for Votolato, who Rolling Stone once lauded as having a  nuanced command of the folk idiom, but who started out playing in heavier bands gaining an underground cult following in the PNW punk and hardcore scene for his early work in Waxwing. Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie / The Postal Service) is featured on several songs, lending his incredible talents to the album with beautifully placed back-up vocals, electric guitar, bass 6, and piano. With Rudy Gajadhar joining on drums (ex-Waxwing), Steve Bonnell on bass (ex-Schoolyard Heroes) and teaming up with legendary producer John Goodmanson, Suzzallo recently finished recording their debut album at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, WA - due out in the spring of 2025.

VOLCANO - Volcano LP (Don Giovanni Records)
Lost album from supergroup Volcano fronted by Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) with Bud Gaugh and Miguel Happoldt (Sublime) and Jon Poutney (The Ziggens). Recorded in 2003. Re-mastered by Bob Weston.

MJ LENDERMAN / WEDNESDAY - Guttering CASS/LP (Julia's War)
In 2021 Douglas Dulgarian of the band They Are Gutting A Body Of Water issued the very first cassette release on his brand new label project Julia's War Recordings. It was a collaborative EP by friends Jake and Karly called Guttering, issued under their pseudonyms MJ Lenderman & Wednesday. Upon it's initial release, Stereogum put it perfectly when they said that Guttering's six self-recorded tracks present some of the best aspects of both artists' work, setting sighing harmonies against dense power chords and occasionally seasoning the mix with some twangy lead guitar. Fast forward to 2025, MJ Lenderman and Wednesday are two of the biggest names in indie rock. Wednesday had a break out 2023 with the release of their excellent Dead Oceans debut Rat Saw God, which landed on a numerous year end lists. In 2024 MJ Lenderman released his Anti debut with Manning Fireworks, which catapulted him into indie stardom. A string of sold out tour dates and an equally impressive list of year end accolades followed the album's release. With both bands garnering rabid fanbases over the last four years, the release of this early collaborative EP demonstrates just how far the two have come, and showcases the magical spark the two had in those early days before the world was watching.

TROPICAL FUCK STORM - Fairyland Codex CD/LP (Fire Records)
Genre-bending Tropical Fuck Storm present their highly anticipated fourth album, Fairyland Codex, on their new label home Fire Records. Recorded with co-producer Michael Beach at the band’s Dodgy Brothers studio in Nagambie, Australia, the songs on Fairyland Codex immerse us in the chaos of a fateful landslide, picking out the characters that litter the impending collapse of society. Acidic, acerbic, anarchic; Tropical Fuck Storm's command of wordplay, undercut by snarling guitars, pulsing rhythms, and explosive salvos, populates a hinterland between light and dark. The vocal interplay between Liddiard and the soaring harmonies of Kitschin and Dunn creates a teetering balancing act that’s intensified by the frantic narratives that evolve from their collective psyche.

ODESZA - Music To Refine To: A Remix Companion To Severance LP (Foreign Family Collective)
Three-time Grammy-nominated duo ODESZA have teamed up with executive producer Ben Stiller to extend the world of his hit Apple TV+ show Severance across a new 7-track EP, entitled Music To Refine To: A Remix Companion to Severance adding their unique signature to the unmistakable sounds of Theodore Shapiro’s Emmy Award-winning compositions.“When Apple reached out to us to remix the Severance score in January we were so ecstatic to play with the themes and atmosphere of the show,” explain ODESZA. “We are huge fans of the series and it was an absolute honor working with the original score by Theodore Shapiro. We hope both you and your innie will enjoy the journey.”

HAIM - I Quit CD/LP (Columbia Records)
The 15-track album was written primarily by HAIM and Rostam Batmanglij, with production by Batmanglij and Danielle Haim. The album radiates the raw energy of seasoned performers whose deep reverence for classic rock shapes songs that are built for live performance. I quit is the first new album since the band's 2020 album Women In Music, Pt. III, which earned them a Brit Award for International Group.

GORILLAZ - Tomorrow Comes Today 12” [Reissue/200] (Parlophone)
Originally released in November 2000, the Tomorrow Comes Today EP returns to celebrate 25 years of Gorillaz. Pressed on 140g colored vinyl for the first time, the EP is housed in a single sleeve featuring the original cover artwork. Side 1 includes the singles ‘Rock The House’ and the title track ‘Tomorrow Comes Today,’ both of which later appeared on Gorillaz' self-titled debut album. Side 2 features a rare English-language version of ‘Latin Simone’ alongside ‘12D3,’ completing the EP. Each vinyl is individually hand pressed, making every copy unique.

FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM - Burning The Fields LP (Jungle Records)
[Double transparent green colored vinyl LP pressing.] Their debut Burning the Fields EP together with their Returning to Gehenna EP, all remastered, not available on vinyl for 20 years. Repackaged limited edition in the a green sleeve, in transparent green vinyl. Plus, a bonus disc - now on vinyl for remixes of 1986 tracks, three 1985 demos and a 1997 aborted reunion demo, also remastered. New sleeve notes and unseen photos by gothic commentator Mick Mercer.

BENSON BOONE - American Heart CD/LP (Warner Records)
Benson Boone is quickly soaring to global pop stardom on the heels of a breakout year in 2024. His brand new album American Heart builds upon that success and expands his sonic landscape, creating a project that feels both larger-than-life and sincere at it's core.

VARIOUS - Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou O.S.T. LP [Reissue/2004] (Hollywood Records)
[Limited double yellow colored vinyl LP pressing.] Hollywood Records presents The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou original soundtrack. From a melancholic Zombies hit (The Way I Feel Inside’) to Portuguese-language covers of several David Bowie classics, this collection is filled with musical gems.

LUKAS NELSON - American Romance LP (Sony)
Lukas Nelson came of age in the dives and diners of this country and his itinerant life showed him America as few others get to see it. Nelson ponders his relationship this country with all it's joy and heartbreak on American Romance, his first solo album and first under Sony Music Nashville. Recorded by Grammy Award-winning producer Shooter Jennings, it shows the singer-songwriter expanding his sound while doubling down on the fundamentals of his artistry.

NATHAN SALSBURG - Ipsa Corpora LP (No Quarter)
Ipsa Corpora (Actual Bodies) is a 40-minute solo guitar masterwork and Nathan Salsburg's first all-acoustic record since 2018's Third. Salsburg has spent the past few years exploring time and space with his transcendent Landwerk series (comprised of electric guitar and samples of old 78 records), and a collaborative album with Bonnie Prince Billy where the two covered ‘Lungfish' (each track reaching the 20-minute mark). Ipsa Corpora continues these exercises in minimalistic restraint - and may be his most ambitious project to date.

PIERCE THE VEIL - Jaws Of Life (Deluxe Edition) LP (Fearless Records)
[Double vinyl LP pressing including bonus track. Housed in gatefold jacket containing booklet and photo.] Experience The Jaws of Life like never before. Dive deeper into the sonic journey with the Deluxe Edition 2 LP set, housed in a stunning gatefold package, this collector's release features a brand-new colorway of the original cover art, complete with red foil embossing for a bold, tactile finish. Pressed on classic black vinyl, the double LP includes 14 tracks, highlighted by the exclusive bonus song, 'Kiss Me Now.’ Flip through the 36-page booklet packed with never-before-seen photos, offering an intimate look behind the band. This is more than an album - it's a statement piece. A must-have for true fans and vinyl lovers alike

GHOSTFACE KILLAH - Supreme Clientele LP [Reissue/2000] (Sony)
Experience the critically acclaimed album on a black double LP vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. Supreme Clientele features iconic tracks like ‘One,’ ‘Ghost Deini,’ ‘Mighty Healthy,' and ‘Cherchez LaGhost.’

MATMOS - Metallic Life Review LP (Thrill Jockey) 
Metallic Life Review is the sound of two people who have collected field recordings of metal objects from around the world for years of their lives together, collaging their magpie hoard into rhythmic patterns, sometimes writing melodies and basslines, but sometimes just letting sound be sound. Patient gathering yields to ADHD editing. Painstakingly made but blink and you’ll miss it. Is it music or is it noise? It is without a doubt exceptionally beautiful music wrought from metal detritus.

GILLA BAND - Early Years LP [Reissue/2015] (Rough Trade)
Ireland’s favorite Avant-punk quartet has re-issued The Early Years EP, a collection of out of print 7” singles and covers originally released on Rough Trade in 2015. The Cha Cha Cha has now been mastered alongside the rest of the tracks and is ready for the dancefloor once again. Fan fave (and live setlist staple) featured on the collection is an eight-minute cover of post-dubstep mastermind Blawan’s absurdist banger and demented earworm “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage” that, simply put, is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before or since.

EELS - Souljacker LP [Reissue/2001] (PIAS)   
Eels' 2001 album Souljacker is a snarling, swaggering beast - part gutter-blues, part twisted lullaby. Produced by John Parish (PJ Harvey), it finds Mark Oliver Everett (E) trading the orchestral warmth of Daisies of the Galaxy for something sharper-edged, with jagged guitars, eerie loops, and lyrics that walk the line between menace and melancholy. From the unhinged stomp of Dog Faced Boy to the cinematic sweep of Fresh Feeling, Souljacker is restless and unpredictable, channeling Tom Waits' grit, Beck's eccentricity, and the underbelly of American storytelling. This red vinyl reissue brings the album's dark heart back into the light.

JEREMIAH CHIU & HONER,MARTA SOFIA - Different Rooms LP (International Anthem)  
Different Rooms sees the return of LA electronic duo Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer (collectively recorded for Beyonce, Makaya McCraven, Ariana Grande) on their second LP, following the lauded 2022 Recordings from the Åland Islands and 2024’s collaboration with Ariel Kalma. Standout track "Long and Short Delays" features dense synthesis work from Chiu and layered string arrangements from Honer, expertly mixed into a swirl of a sonic experience.

ENVY - All The Footprints You've Ever Left & The Fear LP [REISSUE/2001] (Temporary Residence)
Originally released in 2001 on respected Japanese punk label H.G. Fact, All the Footprints You've Ever Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead introduced Envy to Americans when it was licensed for limited release in 2003 on Dim Mak Records. Their original pressing sold out almost immediately, and the album fell to the fate of fetching increasingly obscene prices on eBay and Discogs. Temporary Residence Ltd. Reissued Envy's back catalog in 2008, which sparked an even larger and broader interest in the band. At the heart of that historic back catalog is All the Footprints You've Ever Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead - widely regarded as an innovative high-water mark for hardcore. Along with it's follow-up, A Dead Sinking Story, it is justifiably viewed as an essential post-hardcore classic whose monumental footsteps created unending ripples.

GROGANS - Stagger LP (Unfd)  
The 5th album from Australian rock band, The Grogans. "Stagger explores yet another side to our music. It’s in no way a concept album, in fact it’s almost the opposite. Some of these don’t necessarily fit together side by side in theory but that’s the beauty of this album. Stagger came from this idea that it was a jagged and stylistically different album track to track.” - The Grogans

MAX KNOUSE  - Chimpmunk'd Away LP (Jealous Butcher)
Max Knouse’s voice feels like laughter that follows a well-loved joke. Only afterward, it dawns on you that you don’t fully understand the punchline. Or for that matter the set up. In fact, you’re not even sure what language the joke was told in. What to make of such a laugh—inexplicable, delightful, surprising, seemingly nonsensical? And what to make his voice, at once comforting, beguiling, and just beyond the bounds, like a blues moan or a Mingus lick or some ancient guttural holler? It’s the kind of haunt that lingers long after the record fades, echoing back in your imagination, laden with cryptic possibilities and occulted meanings.   

JAMES MCMURTRY - Black Dog And The Wandering Boy LP (New West)
When his father died in 2021, James McMurtry went through his effects and discovered a rough pencil sketch of himself as a child. “I knew it was of me, but I didn’t realize who drew it. I had to ask my stepmom, and she said it looked like Ken Kesey’s work back in the ‘60s.” The Merry Pranksters—Kesey’s roving band of hippie activists and creators—stopped by often to visit Larry McMurtry, his wife Faye, and his very young son James. He held on to that drawing as he worked on a new album, The Black Dog & the Wandering Boy, his eleventh. It’s a collection of rough-hewn story-songs and richly drawn characters sketches that have elements of Americana—rolling guitars, barroom harmonies, traces of banjo and harmonica—but sound too sly and smart for such a generalized category. Funny and sad often in the same breath, it adds a new chapter to a long career that has enjoyed a recent resurgence as younger songwriters like Sarah Jarosz (who plays on the new album) and Jason Isbell (who took McMurtry on tour) cite him as a formative influence.

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK - Junk Culture LP (Republic Records)   Half-speed master. OMD's fifth studio album, Junk Culture, was released in 1984 and features the UK hits, ‘Locomotion,’ ‘Talking Loud and Clear,’ and fan-favorite, ‘Tesla Girls.’ Available on 180g vinyl remastered from the original half-inch reels and cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios.

VARIOUS - Soul Jazz Records Presents: Queen Dem LP (Soul Jazz)
Queen Dem brings together a global selection of all powerful, maverick female artists, all creating new musical forms and re-writing the rules of expression to educate, entertain and empower. Featured artists include Yaya Bey, Sudan Archives, Yaeji, COUCOU CHLOE, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Miso Extra, Aunty Rayzor, TeeZandos, Queenie, MC Yallah, Dizzy Fae, Vanessa the Finessa, Nira and Warrior Queen. Queen Dem features multi-talented artists, writing, singing, producing, creating new genres of sound.

VARIOUS - Edna Martinez Presents Picó: Sound System Culture From The Colombian Caribbean LP (Strut)
Berlin-based Colombian DJ, producer, and curator Edna Martinez presents a sonic journey into the electrifying world of Picó—the vibrant and dynamic sound system culture that has defined the streets of Cartagena and Barranquilla for decades. More than just a musical movement, Picó is a way of life, a bold expression of identity, community, and resistance. From its roots in the working-class neighbourhoods of Colombia’s Caribbean coast to its deep connections with Africa and the Caribbean, this compilation captures the pulse of a culture where music is played at full volume, rhythms travel across oceans, and dance is both a form of celebration and storytelling.

CAFE TACVBA - Re LP [Reissue/1994] (Warner)  
This special FOUR disk vinyl release of Re is in celebration of the album's 30th anniversary. This landmark album helped revolutionize the Spanish rock movement, and it cemented the band and its reputation as an unparalleled force in the Latin music and rock scene. Finally available on vinyl release, the track listing is mirrored to the original album release containing twenty (20) songs including the energetic emblem track "La Ingrata," the introspective "El Baile y el Salón" and other successful songs such as "Las Flores" and "El Ciclón."The front cover art will be different from the original cover art as part of the 30th anniversary packaging.

SQUAREPUSHER - Ultravisitor  (Warp)
“Ultravisitor is an immensely thrilling, technically exciting, wildly emotional and challenging record.” –The Quietus (Reissue of the week) An album beloved by fans since its release in March 2004, Ultravisitor is one of the most popular records in Squarepusher’s entire discography. A unique blend of studio and live recordings, it’s an excellent showcase for the diversity of his music: from the frenetic title track to the funky jazz of “Iambic 9 Poetry” to the sunlit bliss of “Tommib Help Buss” and beyond. Following last year’s 20th-anniversary expanded deluxe reissue, the standalone remastered edition is now widely available. Carefully remastered from the original tapes by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering and overseen by Tom Jenkinson—who was never entirely happy with the original release—this edition brings fresh dynamics and details in the tracks.

COMING NEXT WEEK!
LORDE - Virgin CD/LP
GREET DEATH - Die In Love CD/LP
FRANKIE COSMOS - Different Talking CD/LP/CASS
ADRIAN QUESADA - Boleros Psicodelicos CD/LP
WHITE STRIPES - Get Behind Me Satan LP Reissue
DURAND JONES - Flowers CD/LP
BILLY WOODS - Golliwog CD/LP
MUNA - Live At The Greek LP
COIL - Black Antlers CD/LP
JIM O’ROURKE - Shutting Down Here LP
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Lost And Found CD/LP
KAYTRANADA - Timeless LP
 CHAT PILE - This Dungeon Earth LP
LATE NIGHT DRIVE HOME - As I Watch My Life Online LP
LAURA STEVENSON - Late Great LP
PLAYBOI CARTI - Die Lit LP Reissue
CHARLES KYNARD - Woga LP Reissue