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Infinity (Tone Poet Series) (LP)
Lee Morgan
This long out-of-print album is finally released again and given the Blue Note Tone Poet treatment - a super high quality LP issue! Lee Morgan with Jackie McLean, Larry Willis, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins performing excellent intricate hard bop. Recommended indeed!
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Polarity (LP)
Hoff Ensemble
Featuring pianist Jan Gunnar Hoff, bassist Anders Jormin & drummer Audun Kleive. Accessible introspective modern trio pieces done with an ECM aesthetic and recorded in Immersive Sound for truly superb audio quality! (Available on LP or Hybrid CD/SACD + Blu-ray Audio)
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Deified (Other)
National Brass Ensemble / Eun
A top brass ensemble featuring some of the finest U.S. orchestral brass players performing compositions by Richard Wagner, R. Strauss, Arturo Sandoval and San Franciscan Jonathan Bingham. A wonderful showcase for brass music lovers! (Available on Hybrid CD/SACD)
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Do It All Next Week (LP)
Uni Boys
Uni Boys are the new band to watch. They are a true power pop group from Los Angeles, California.
They released their latest album "Do It All Next Week" last year on the California based record label, Curation Records, run by Brent Rademaker who played in bands such as Beachwood Sparks and Further. They pull major inspiration from bands like The Quick, The Beat, Milk 'n' Cookies etc..When seeing them perform, you're immediately transported back to 1977 at The Whiskey a Go Go or the Starwood, wasted, high on quaaludes, wearing platforms and sporting feathered hair. Pay attention, they are apart of the great rock'n'roll revival. Catch them around L.A. or in a city near you.
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Desire Pathway (LP)
Screaming Females
Perhaps the greatest touring rock band you could ever hope to experience seeing for less than $20. National heroes, consistently innovating new ways for guitar lines to burrow into your brain and make you a better person. Catch them on tour with The Breeders, because The Breeders get it.
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Still Emotions (LP)
Allen Bleyle
Transcendent fuzz conjured by a song-smith who respects the power of dogs and love.
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"Weird Al" Yankovic
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
In a world where Walk Hard and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping already exist it seemed impossible that this movie could add anything new to the farce biopic equation. But Weird Al has always been smarter than anyone has given him credit for so the level of quality and hilariousness here is a new escalation of the form. Otherwise unavailable on physical media!
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Staying Alive (4K UHD)
Sylvester Stallone
Staying Alive existing on 4K confirms we are living in a successful society and we are fully BACK post-pandemic. We did it!
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Can't Make Any Promises (LP)
Radiator Hospital
Unsung heroes who have already contributed some recent additions to the Greatest Songs Of All Time list are back again, and bringing it.
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Heavy Heavy (LP)
Young Fathers
Brand new 2023 release from this UK ensemble based in Edinburgh Scotland. This is their 4th album and the 2nd on Ninja Tune. It deftly fuses exploratory rock, soul, hip hop, and electronic music into a truly explosive, triumphant, and potent style of their own. While some of their previous albums have leaned more on the hip hop and R&B side of those influences, this one is probably more anthemic, high-energy rock than anything else, reminding me of experimental-minded indie / alternative acts like TV On The Radio, Animal Collective, & Radiohead. One new and unique element for them here is the overt influence of African music, which is certainly felt in some of the grooves and vocal styles. Lots of passionate, emotionally charged vocal performances throughout, showing the influence of the blues & gospel diaspora. The dense arrangements are euphoric, sometimes even channeling the intensity of industrial music. The intelligently poetic, sociopolitical lyrics by vocalists Alloysius Massaquoi & Kayus Bankole are also great, reflecting their experiences as a Liberian born POC & a Scottish-born POC of Nigerian descent, both now living in modern Great Britain. One of the most interesting and powerful albums I’ve heard so far this year.
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Education & Recreation (LP)
Surprise Chef
Fantastic new release from this instrumental funk quintet from just outside Melbourne, Australia. This is their 3rd album, and their first on US label Big Crown. The lineup is Lachlan Stuckey on guitar, Jethro Curtin on keys, Carl Lindeberg on bass, and Andrew Congues on drums, with new member Hudson Whitlock joining recently to contribute vibraphone, percussion, production, and composition on this record. Features lots of tight yet laid back grooves, with lots of funk! Fairly economic in terms of arrangements, but this helps to give it a nicely syncopated feel and works quite well for their sound overall.
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Ears of the People: Ekonting Songs from Senegal and Gambia (CD)
Various Artists
Brand new 2023 release with over two dozen tracks of traditional music by the Jola (sometimes Diola) people in Gambia and the Casamance region of Senegal. They call themselves Ajamat, which is their word for their specific ethnic group & culture as a people. These are wonderful, slightly raw field recordings with incredible musicians playing and singing folk music on a simple 3-stringed instrument called the Ekonting. It is a predecessor to the banjo, and you can hear the similarity in the timbre and also sometimes in the styles it is played. The music here is used for both high energy dancing and for storytelling purposes. These stories reflect on themes of love, heartache, spirituality, hardships, and more. This is truly beautiful stuff from a people whose music is rarely heard outside of this region in Africa, and we are lucky to have this wonderful collection, lovingly compiled and released on one of the most important US labels to ever exist. Incredible music, highly recommended!
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Living Sky (CD)
Sun Ra Arkestra
Brand new late 2022 album of complex cosmic jazz from the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra, still capably led by the now 99 year old Marshall Allen, who was by Ra’s side in the group for pretty much the entire duration of the influential founder’s life. Fusing Afro-Futurist concepts with bop, afro-latin percussion, modal structures, free jazz, and cutting edge electronic sounds, the band was often one of the most forward-thinking groups during the roughly 40 years that Sun Ra led them, up until his death in 1993. Allen took the reins in 1995, and over the last several decades, their trademark melodies, corresponding complex harmonies, dense arrangements, loping rhythms, group improvisation, and Ra’s ever-present celestial and intergalactic themes are all still present. These cuts are as lovely as ever, with the 19-peice group (wow!) romping through a set featuring 3 compositions by Allen, 2 from Sun Ra, and a couple of standards. Incredible, triumphant work, a fantastic new statement from a legendary band that has always defied easy classification.
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Stellar Legions (LP)
Stellar Legions
Debut album from this modern Belgian quartet from Antwerp. They fuse modern exploratory jazz with elements from psychedelic rock, soul, hip-hop, dub and electronic music. Mostly upbeat jazzy grooves, along with some straight up funky beats courtesy of drummer Klaas De Somer’s propulsive percussive pulses. His playing is anchored by Fré Madou’s bobbing bass, while Bram Weiters adds piano, keys, and synths. Group ringleader Andrew 'Chi' Claes (who is also a researcher & teacher at Antwerp’s Royal Conservatoire & Royal Academy of Fine Arts) plays sax, Electronic Wind Instrument, & synth, and also produced & mixed the album. Recorded in a few different studios and at a couple of live performances, the eight pieces feature an intensity that stems from their heady improvisations, which give it a special energy and a very spontaneous feel. A stellar first release from this crew, each of whom are active members in at least a couple of other groups. RIYL: electric-era Miles Davis, Yussef Kamaal, Makaya McCraven, The Comet Is Coming, Nubya Garcia, Kamasi Washington, & BadBadNotGood.
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Spirit Of France (CD)
Various Artists
Excellent new collection of rare, exploratory music from France in the 1970s and 1980s, featuring a dozen eclectic tracks that incorporate elements from spiritual jazz, earthy afro-latin percussion grooves and tribal drumming, esoteric asian & middle eastern stringed instruments and reeds, progressive rock, psychedelic folk, and hints of electronic / synthesizer music. A couple of tracks have vocals, but most of the pieces here are all instrumental. Lots of incredible work, most of which defies proper classification. A wonderfully compiled selection of original music that still sounds fresh and exciting today.
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