New Releases & Staff Picks - 7/24/26

STAFF PICKS
DARIO - Mojave 3 reissues
ASH - Curio Curio
JAKE - Ovlov reissues
KIMBER - Mojave 3 reissues
MARY - Strokes
ZACH - Strokes and Ian Sweet 
DREW - Mojave 3 reissues
PAT-

STROKES - Reality Awaits CD/LP (RCA)
Produced by Rick Rubin, Reality Awaits is the 7th album from The Strokes. Full track list includes nine new songs - Indie Exclusive LP - Single black ice glitter disc in trifold jacket with paper disc sleeve, 12pg booklet, and polybag with logo sticker on exterior.

CHARLI XCX - Music Fashion Film CD/LP (Atlantic)
Limited die-cut sleeve. Includes postcard and poster. Charli XCX trims the spectacle on Music, Fashion, Film, an 11-song album featuring the singles 'Rock Music' and ‘SS26’.

CURIO CURIO - Curio Curio LP (Mr Bongo)
Curió Curió came to flight by chance. Two artists, Rio-born, Austria-based singer and actress Luiza Monteiro and German producer Dustin Braun, had separately reached a fork in their journeys. An opportune encounter soon blossomed into an uplifting, heartfelt Brazilian MPB-groove project shaped by psychedelic disco and studio experimentation. In their own words Curió Curió's sonic vision is not straight disco, not straight samba, not strictly old-school but inspired by all of them, creating something contemporary but still nostalgic.

IAN SWEET - Shiverstruck LP (Polyvinyl Records)
Shiverstruck, the latest album from Ian Sweet, finds songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jilian Medford at her absolute best. Produced and mixed by Ben Allen (Deerhunter, Washed Out, Belle and Sebastian), the record centers a deliberate return to analog instrumentation, with acoustic guitars, piano, strings, and live drums at the forefront. Medford's writing is more confident, direct, and emotionally exposed than ever, with soaring, melodic tracks like Criminal Kissing and Jilian revealing a striking new dimension of Ian Sweet. Ian Sweet's music has amassed millions of streams worldwide and earned praise from FADER, The New York Times, Stereogum, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork, which named Show Me How You Disappear one of the Best Rock Albums of 2021 and profiled Medford as a Rising artist that same year.

MOJAVE 3 - Ask Me Tomorrow CD/LP [Reissue/1995] (4AD)
MOJAVE 3 - Out Of Tune CD/LP [Reissue/1998] (4AD)
MOJAVE 3 - Excuses For Travelers CD/LP [Reissue/2000] (4AD)
MOJAVE 3 - Spoon & Rafter CD/LP [Reissue/2003]  (4AD)
MOJAVE 3 - Puzzles Like You CD/LP [Reissue/2006]  (4AD)
Mojave 3's founding members are vocalist/guitarist Neil Halstead, bassist/vocalist Rachel Goswell, and drummer Ian McCutcheon, members of definitive shoegazers Slowdive. The band broke cover in 1995, when a six-track demo impressed 4AD sufficiently to offer them a deal. Released in October 1995, Ask Me Tomorrow could have easily been the fourth Slowdive album, sounding like an acoustic deconstruction of the group's early recordings, still dreamlike and ethereal but recontextualized by discernible lyrics and a country-folk aesthetic. 4AD reissues all 5 records on CD and LP.

OVLOV - Greatest Hits Vol. II LP [Reissue/2017]   (Exploding In Sound)
Not actually a greatest hits album, despite the name! This LP is a collection of Ovlov's original and beloved EPs, remixed and remastered. The EPs included are: Crazy Motorcycle Jump, What's So Great About The City, and Not The Same Without You.

OVLOV - Tru LP [Reissue/2018]  (Exploding In Sound)
Compared to it's 2013 predecessor, Am, TRU is less late-'80s Dino Jr. , more early-'90s Sebadoh: While Ovlov are still as wonderfully wooly ever, they're unleashing the noise in more purposeful, sculpted spurts and displaying a greater willingness to let their melodies sparkle through the clouds of distortion. Tuneful, feedback-slathered surges like Half Way Fine and Spright feel as comfortable as a beaten-up pair of Chuck Taylors, introducing dramatic dynamic shifts and savvy melodic change-ups to keep you on your toes. You may not always be able to make out Hartlett's lyrics amid the cyclonic fuzz, but the despondence and disillusionment in his voice always cut through loud and clear. And when he can't quite find the right words, he and fellow guitarist Morgan Luzzi unleash that simmering angst through nonverbal means, like the roiling guitar tsunami that brings the hazy-headed Baby Alligator to a cataclysmic close. -Stuart Berman, Pitchfork. Com

X-RAY SPEX - Obsessed With You (Early Years) LP [Reissue/1991]  (Do Yourself In)
A rare collection of early demo recordings pre Germ Free Adolescents. Updated from the original 1991 release with new sleeve notes from Paul Dean & Lora Logic. Obsessed With You [The Early Years] is an official release of the early X-Ray Spex demo recordings which would evolve into the celebrated pioneering 'Germ Free Adolescents' album. Also includes early versions of classic Punk pioneering debut single tracks 'Oh Bondage, Up Yours!' and 'I Am A Cliché’. Recorded in 1977, the majority of these recordings feature original saxophonist Lora Logic and capture the raw instinctive power of the band who seemed to arrive fully formed despite their youth.

1000 RABBITS -  Are We Friends Yet? LP (Young )
Five-piece 1000 Rabbits (FKA Rabbitfoot) release their debut EP Are we friends yet?, a six-track release that captures the band’s first two years in motion. Featuring recent singles “Virgin Soil” and “Rubik’s Cube”, the EP arrives via Young as a snapshot of a band defining themselves in real time. Written across living rooms, rehearsal spaces, and stages over the course of two years, Are we friends yet? captures a formative chapter: six tracks shaped by time, space, and the energy of the people in the room. Some tracks date back to their earliest days, others are more recent, but together they form a vivid introduction to the band’s world. Each track has been molded through live performance, evolving night after night.”

DEAD KENNEDYS - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables LP [Reissue/1980] (Goldstate Music)
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables remains as relevant, biting and brilliantly inventive today as on release. What set it apart was it's collision of rage, absurdity, and musicianship. Dead Kennedys emerged fully formed: Jello Biafra as provocateur; East Bay Ray with his surf-noir guitar; Klaus Flouride anchoring the low end with his unique bass playing. Remastered from the original tapes, with the same rawness, urgency, and barely-contained chaos. Few debuts define both a band and an era. Black Vinyl in Single Jacket with Poster

GENE LOVES JEZEBEL - Discover + Glad To Be Alive LP (Beggars Banquet)
Discover is the breakthrough third album by Gene Loves Jezebel. Originally released in 1986, Discover captures Gene Loves Jezebel at a watershed moment, propelling the band to an international audience. This 40th Anniversary expanded edition has been remastered at Abbey Road and expanded across a double LP with updated artwork. The second LP contains Glad To Be Alive, a live recording from a 1986 Nottingham show, pressed to vinyl here for the first time since it's original release.

KURU - Backstage Hologram  LP (Deadair)
IDMV-born rapper and producer kuru is already a veteran among their contemporaries. Spurred by the online renaissance that accompanied the pandemic, they began to foster a cult following while in high school, their Soundcloud releases leading to production work with artists such as Black Kray and Destroy Lonely. Over the past few years, as Kuru began to prioritize their own voice, they prioritized their solo endeavors. Growing up in Maryland, kuru was inspired as much by the work of Future, Hikaru Utada, Yuyoyuppe, and the sounds of Japanese math rock as he was by his native DMV's rap scene.

HOWLIN' WOLF - Howlin' Wolf (Chess Acoustic Sounds Series)  LP [Reissue/1962] (Chess)
Fondly referred to as The Rockin' Chair Album due to the depiction of a rocking chair on it's cover, Howlin' Wolf's self-titled album is rockin' in more ways than one. This record captures the true sound of the electric blues with a compilation of singles previously released between 1957 and 1961. Featuring the talents of Chess mainstays, including Willie Dixon, Hubert Sumlin, Sam Lay, and Jimmy Rogers, the album delivers a powerful sound. Standout tracks include Little Red Rooster, Spoonful, and Back Door Man, among others. Bring home the sound of America's greatest blues label in high fidelity with the Chess Records Acoustic Sounds 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.

MUDDY WATERS - Muddy, Brass And The Blues (Chess Acoustic Sounds) LP [Reissue/1966] (Chess)  
Muddy, Brass & the Blues marks a turning point in Muddy Waters' career. Despite the cover depicting Waters with a guitar, it is his talents as an R&B singer that shine through on this record. He explores a new sound that pairs the classic elements of the blues with brass. The result is a striking take on the blues that feels fresh and daring. Key tracks include Corine, Corina, Black Night, and Sweet Little Angel. Bring home the sound of America's greatest blues label in high fidelity with the Chess Records Acoustic Sounds 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.

COMING NEXT WEEK
DOMI & JD BECK - Who Asked? CD/LP
SUN CITY GIRLS - Cloaven Theatre CD/LP
SUN CITY GIRLS - Palm Leaves CD/LP
SHEARWATER - The New World CD/LP
MASSIVE ATTACK / TOM WAITS - Boots On The Ground 12”
WEEN - 12 Golden Country Greats CD/LP/CASS
ARIANA GRANDE - Petal LP
THIEVERY CORPORATION - Radio Retaliation LP Reissue
GREEN DAY - Nimrods OST LP
TEENAGE BOTTLE ROCKET - They Came From Shadows LP Reissue
GA-20 - Blues Now LP
MONSTER RALLY - Echoes Of The Emerald Sands LP
WILLOW - Thread LP