New Releases & Staff Picks - 7/11/25

STAFF PICKS
DARIO - Willie Colón and Rubén Blades reissue
ASH - Lee Scratch Perry 
JAKE - Fuubutsushi and Gelli Haha
KIMBER - Sun City Girls 
MARY - Wet Leg and Television 
ZACH - Anthony Green, 81355, and Wet Leg 
DREW - Beta Band reissue

WET LEG - Moisturizer LP/CD/CASS (Domino)  
Moisturizer is the bold, second album from Wet Leg, the Isle of Wight five-piece founded by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. Joined by Ellis Durand, Henry Holmes, and Joshua Mobaraki, Wet Leg has spent the past few years on the road, evolving into a feral, electrifying live force. This new record captures that energy, delivering a sound that's tighter, bolder, and more self-assured, yet still brimming with the same quick wit and raw, unrefined energy. Isolated in a remote house in the countryside, moisturizer was written in a creative frenzy, diving into themes of obsession and all-consuming love. While their 2022 debut earned Grammy wins and chart-topping success, moisturizer brings the bite: brash guitars, heavy beats, and a fearless devotion to feeling everything-all at once.

MAC MILLER - I Love Life Thank You LP (Rostrum Records)
First-ever vinyl pressing of Mac Miller's fan-favorite 2011 mixtape I Love Life, Thank You, featuring the viral track ‘Love Lost,’ and appearances by Talib Kweli and Bun B. Originally released to celebrate Mac reaching one-million Twitter followers, the mixtape showcases his charismatic early sound and includes production from Clams Casino and 9th Wonder.

BARRY CAN'T SWIM - Loner CD/LP (Ninja Tune)
Following a meteoric rise over the past couple of years, 2025 will see Barry Can’t Swim cement his place at the upper echelons of dance music with the release of sophomore album Loner. The album title sums up the philosophy which Barry went into the album making process with. Despite his gregarious presence on and off the stage, Barry himself has always been an incredibly thoughtful and introverted person. It’s only now, after the last several years of pushing himself, that he’s been able to embrace this side of his personality and present it to the world.

81355 - Bad Dogs LP (Joyful Noise Records) 
Though they may not have intended to do so, Indianapolis hip-hop trinity known as 81355 (pronounced BLESS) rang out as revolutionaries with their 2021 debut record This Time I'll be of Use. When Oreo Jones, Sirius, and Sedcairn come together, genre evaporates into enthralling poeticism and sonic hypnosis. Their sophomore LP Bad Dogs acts as an expansive continuation of their signature sound: an angelic, gritty, enthralling urban hymnal for the disillusioned. Produced by Sedcairn, Bad Dogs cracks deeper into this ethos by initiating a more collaborative approach to it's creation. For the first time, the project's live band recorded all together in the studio, with Sharlene Birdsong on bass, Dimitri Morris on guitar, and Pat Okerson on drums. As one of the tightest live bands in Indy-who have toured with Dehd and opened for The Flaming Lips, Vampire Weekend, Chvrches, and more-this addition makes Bad Dogs the most dynamic and fully realized 81355 release to date.

HALF JAPANESE - Adventure LP (Fire Records)  
Legendary indie travelers Half Japanese return with their new album Adventure. The prolific outsider combo, helmed by the ever-optimistic Jad Fair, delivers a heartwarming set of upbeat sonnets celebrating the power of love, affection, and maturity.

BETA BAND - Three E.P.'S LP (Because Music)
2025 reissue of The Beta Band's iconic The Three E.P.’s on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl (2 LP) with printed inner sleeves. “The band were pivotal for me in terms of my own musical journey, in that they represented a gateway back into indie guitar music, which I'd basically given up since becoming obsessed with rave and acid house. Everyone should have the Beta Band albums and EPs in their collection. It still kind of annoys me - in fact, it bugs the shit out of me - that most of them don’t.” - Irvine Welsh. Virgin Music Group; Because Music; Alternative; Catalog.

ANTHONY GREEN - So Long Avalon LP (Born Losers Records)
So Long, Avalon is a reworking of Anthony Green's 2008 debut solo album Avalon. It revisits the original songs with new ideas and approaches, shaped by 20 years of live performances, to capture the life they’ve taken on over time.   

SUN CITY GIRLS - Famous Asthma / Tibetan Jazz 666 LP (Three Lobed Rec.)
Throughout the 1980s the inimitable Sun City Girls self-released over twenty full-length cassettes . Each of these cassettes were universes unto themselves, each a slice of the one of a kind SCG universe. Three Lobed is honored to help bring some these long out of print titles to vinyl for the first time ever over a series of 2xLP releases. Remastered from original sources and packed within heavy gatefolds filled with never-before-seen vintage photos, these titles give fans - long time, long suffering, intrigued by the legend - the first real chance to hear these titles in over thirty years. Presented here are "Famous Asthma" which was originally released in 1987 as Cloaven Cassette #12 and "Tibetan Jazz 666" which was originally released in 1988 as Cloaven Cassette #17. From a one-time edition of 1000 copies on heavy black vinyl.

SUN CITY GIRLS - Extra-Sensory Defection / Graverobbing In The Defection LP (Three Lobed Rec.) 
Presented here are "Extra-Sensory Defection" which was originally released in 1989 as Cloaven Cassette #22 and "Graverobbing in the Future" which was originally released in 1989 as Cloaven Cassette #20. From a one-time edition of 1000 copies on heavy black vinyl.

PORCHES - Scrap & Love Songs Revisited LP (Miscellaneous Record)  
[Olive Green Vinyl.] Porches' 2011 EP, Scrap and Love Songs Revisited, on vinyl for the first time ever. Only available on Bandcamp until now.

PORCHES - Summer Of Ten + Je T'aime - LP (Miscellaneous Record)  
[Hot Pink Vinyl.] Porches' first two EPs on vinyl for the first time ever. Originally released in 2011, only available on Bandcamp until now.

CARS - The Cars LP [Reissue/1978] (Rhino)
[Rhino Hi-Fidelity Reissue] 180 Gram Vinyl, cut from original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Coherent Audio, pressed at Optimal Media with a heavyweight gatefold jacket. Limited Edition.

TELEVISON - Marque Moon LP [Reissue/1977] (Rhino)
[Rhino Hi-Fidelity Reissue] 180 Gram Vinyl, cut from original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Coherent Audio, pressed at Optimal Media with a heavyweight gatefold jacket. Limited Edition.

TOXHARDS - Your Neighborhood LP (Hopeless Records)  
Mid-westerners turned residents of the smog-filled Hellscape of the Los Angeles San Fernando Valley, The Toxhards' genre bending music ranges from existential doom-bops to rip-roaring anthems about hog gods & has garnered tens of millions of streams and views - plus millions more views for their entertaining bits & skits.  Known for their entertaining and rousing live performances, featuring: 8-foot-tall inflatable pig suits, T-Shirt tosses, AirDropping unreleased songs, Passing out cups of coffee, Instrument swapping & The occasional extended jam (or two [or three {or four}]). The Toxhards have something to tell you. For fans of: Ween, White Reaper, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong...

MONO & WORLD'S END GIRLFRIEND - Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain LP (Temporary Residence)   Just before recording their epic disasterpiece, You Are There in late 2005, MONO began collaborating with fellow Tokyo native and modern electronic composer, world's end girlfriend. The result was a five-part suite of neoclassical grace and luminescence that defies easy categorization. As dark as the bottom of the ocean, and nearly as otherworldly, Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain finds MONO inhabiting an illuminated world previously only hinted at in their most orchestral compositions.

EKKSTACY - Forever LP (Ekkstacy)  
Vancouver native EKKSTACY returns with Forever, his most raw and emotionally charged project to date. Written during a quiet stretch back home, the album captures the sound of an artist breaking patterns and rewriting his future in real time. Trading in the post-punk haze of earlier releases for a grittier, more visceral emo-punk edge, Forever channels influences like Japandroids and Remo Drive, while still delivering the melodic vulnerability fans first fell in love with. The album includes standout tracks she will be missed, seventeen, and the cathartic forever. Unlike his last album, there are no features, no guest appearances, no gimmicks. It's just Ekkstacy fully in possession of himself, harvesting all of the intangibles that made him such an exciting talent to begin with.

LEROI CONROY - Tiger's Tale LP (Colemine Records)
Steeped in equal parts golden age hip-hop sensibilities and lost 60s and 70s film scores, the debut LP from Leroi Conroy weighs in heavy and has been years in the making. The first two tracks from the album were released in 2017 as a 45, which were sampled in the years that followed by DJ Premier, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Macklemore, Phantogram, and more. But after it's release, Terry Cole aka Leroi Conroy spent much of his time growing his indie soul label Colemine Records and producing records for others (Okonski, Parlor Greens, Wesley Bright, Black Market Brass, Kendra Morris, Rudy de Anda, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Andrew Gabbard) as opposed to his own. Now, eight years after many of the rhythm tracks were put to tape on the trusted Tascam 388, Leroi Conroy's debut LP, A Tiger's Tale, will be released. The album is a mix of triumphant instrumental scores alongside absolutely grim, dark, and at times dissonant moody tracks.

DOM SALVADOR & ADRIAN YOUNGE -  JID024 LP (Jazz Is Dead) 
Jazz Is Dead continues it's journey of honoring musical legends with Dom Salvador JID024, an album that revisits and revitalizes the pioneering spirit of one of Brazil's most influential musicians. Dom Salvador, the trailblazer who fused samba with jazz, funk, and soul in the late '60s and early '70s, is the cornerstone of a movement that shaped the sound of Black Brazilian music. Now, in collaboration with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, he returns to that foundation in a wholly new way.

SWELL SEASON - Forward LP (Masterkey Sounds)  
The Swell Season is back. After reconvening for a limited number of sold-out shows, including Radio City Music Hall in New York, the duo returns with new music. A studio session that started out as an effort to create a couple of new songs for tour, ended up yielding a full-length album, fittingly titled Forward their first full length album in 16 years after the huge global success of their Oscar winning turn in the film Once. It's story and accompanying soundtrack also went on to become an award-winning musical around the world. The album consists of 8 tracks written by Glen Hansard and Markeeta Irglovaě, who take turns singing the lead. Building on the foundation of and with respect to their shared history, they move forward as two equals, supporting and lifting each other up.

NATALIA LAFOURCADE - Cancionera LP (Sony)
[Double vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket.] Cancionera is a musical and visual manifesto born from Natalia Lafourcade’s desire to explore the duality of her artistic self and to transform music into a space of wonder. Recorded in full takes, live and entirely on analog tape, the album was produced by Natalia Lafourcade alongside Adan Jodorowsky. The songs move between original compositions and two reinterpretations of traditional Mexican repertoire, creating a continuous dialogue between the intimate and the collective, the ancient and the contemporary.

VARIOUS  - Phoenician Scheme O.S.T. LP (ABKCO) The Phoenician Scheme: Original Soundtrack on colored vinyl, features the soundtrack to Wes Anderson’s newest film released earlier this year.

SUNDAYS - Static & Silence LP [Reissue/1997] (Geffen Records)  
Originally released in the U.S. on September 23, 1997, Static & Silence is the third and final studio album from the beloved '90s alternative dream pop band. The album features the singles ‘Summertime and Cry,’  as well as fan favorites ‘Monochrome,’  ‘When I'm Thinking About You,’  and many others. Remastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering, the album is pressed on standard black vinyl with matte finish cover and poly-lined printed sleeve featuring the original album lyrics.

LEE SCRATCH PERRY - Crucial Cuts From The Heart Of The Ark (1973-1978) LP (Shanachie)  
Lee Scratch Perry: a genius? A madman? A mystic man? There can be no doubt that he is one of the most consequential figures in the world of music, creator of countless reggae classics, a mentor to Bob Marley, an architect of dub music, and inspiration to musicians around the world ranging from The Clash to the Beastie Boys. As the music on this album reveals, Lee Perry's Black Ark creations re-arrange the familiar into something new and magical. Lee spent his early days working with legendary producers Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, Joe Gibbs, Clancy Eccles and Prince Buster, and by 1968 he was an independent producer, naming his studio musicians The Upsetters and scoring instrumental hits with innovative rhythms that helped forge the new reggae style. In 1970-1971 he produced what many consider the greatest works by the Wailers; in 1968 one of his Upsetters productions hit #5 on the UK pop chart and more hits followed. That gave him the funds to build his own studio and in 1973 the legendary Black Ark was born. Among the many landmark classics cut at Black Ark are such incisive political commentaries as Max Romeo's War Ina Babylon, and Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves (covered by the Clash).

TIMOTHY OBRIEN - Phenomenology LP (Timothy OBrien)
Phoenix musician Timothy OBrien releases his new album Phenomenology. All pieces written and performed by Timothy OBrien. Recorded and mixed by Joshua Medina, Except 'In a Blue Hue' by Mike Patton. Mastered by Alan Douches. Art by Timothy OBrien

HARVEY SCALES  - Trying To Survive LP (Numero )  
From his early-'60s days as hip shaker Twistin' Harvey to his late-'70s nights on the light up dance floor in search of a "Disco Lady," Harvey Scales survived scrapes with the pop charts, bankrupt record companies, walk outs, sit ins, strikes, price hikes, lay offs, and under table payoffs over a 40 year career. Compiled here for the first time are Scales' Cuca and Magic Touch recordings, 27 slabs of cracker jack R&B, stomping northern soul, divorce-ridden deep soul, feverish funk, and hustling disco spread across 2 LPs and housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket. Bill Dahl's in-depth notes document the entire sordid affair, with dozens of period photos and ephemeral bits illustrating the accompanying 20 page book.

WILLIE COLON / RUBEN BLADES - Metiendo Mano LP [Reissue/1977] (Craft Recordings)  
The first collab album between Willie Colón and Rubén Blades, released in 1977, is a record that catapulted Blades to fame, and changed the history of salsa music with social narratives about the struggles of urban Latinos. Produced by Colón, it features Tite Curet Alonso's Plantación adentro, Pablo Pueblo penned by Blades, and Según el color by Félix Hernandez. Featuring (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes, this 180-gram vinyl reissue is an essential for Fania music lovers.

PLUNKY AND ONENESS OF JUJU - Made Through Ritual LP  (Strut) 
Strut present the first international release in over 30 years by legendary Afro-jazz group Oneness Of Juju with their new album Made Through Ritual on 11th July 2025. In 1975, the late DJ / producer and jazz distributor Jimmy Gray and James “Plunky” Branch joined a musical revolution, founding Black Fire Records and releasing the label’s debut album, the classic African Rhythms by Oneness of Juju. This July, Plunky brings this important musical relationship full circle with Made Through Ritual, produced by Plunky’s son Jamiah “Fire” Branch and Jimmy’s son Jamal Gray. The album takes a novel approach to beat culture. Working from demos created by Jamal using a selection of original jazz samples, Plunky took the tracks, replayed and re-interpreted the arrangements using live musicians. “

COMING NEXT WEEK!
LORD HURON - Cosmic Selector Vol 1 CD/LP
ALEX G - Headlights CD/LP
SUN RA - Sleeping Beauty LP Reissue
NINA HAGEN - Personal Jesus LP
LAURA JANE GRACE - Adventure Club Cd/LP/CASS
CHARLES KYNARD - Woga LP Reissue
SCISSOR SISTERS - S/T LP Reissue
DARON MALAKIAN - Addicted To The Violence CD/LP
BUSH - Beat Loneliness CD/LP
MOM JEANS - Puppy Love LP Reissue
FALL OUT BOY - From Under A Cork Tree LP Reissue
CAROLINE POLACHECK - Desire I Want To Turn Into You Deluxe LP Reissue
BILLY HOLIDAY - God Bless Lady Day LP