New Release Round-Up 12-06-19

Camila Cabello - Romance - Epic
Camila Cabello​'s highly-anticipated sophomore album, Romance, is out this week on Epic Records. and features the singles "Liar", "Shameless", "Cry for Me", "Easy" and "Living Proof". 

Liam Payne - LP1 - Republic
Platinum-selling Liam Payne has sold more than 18 million singles in just two years as a solo artist since leaving One Direction. His global smash hit debut single ‘Strip That Down’ featuring Quavo sold a huge 11.5 million copies worldwide and has been streamed over 1.8 billion times, while latest single ‘Polaroid’ sold two million copies. Liam has been streamed a staggering total of 2.7 billion times, making him the most successful solo artist of any current One Direction member.

The Who - WHO - Interscope Records
`WHO' will be released this week on Interscope Records. It is the first studio album in over 13 years, produced by Pete Townsend and Dave Sardy (Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz), featuring artwork by Sir Peter Blake (The Beatles' Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band). One of the top three greatest rock legacies in music history, The Who have sold over 100 million records worldwide including 9 US & 10 UK top ten albums and 14 UK top ten singles.

Sufjan Stevens & Timo Andres - The Decalogue - Asthmatic Kitty
The title of "The Decalogue" has a touch of the grandiose: it means "The Ten Commandments." Yet this score, composed by Sufjan Stevens for a dance work choreographed by Justin Peck that premiered with the New York City Ballet in May of 2017, is quiet and experimental. Stevens's piano score, as played and recorded by Timo Andres, sounds like etudes in the Romantic-modernist tradition, as if prompted by Debussy. With "The Decalogue," now released digitally, and on vinyl and CD, Sufjan is making-gently, without ostentation-new departures.

John Hiatt - Only The Song Survives [15 LP Box Set] - New West Records
Only The Song Survives is the definitive collection of John Hiatt's musical output spanning two decades of releases on New West Records. The vast box set includes eleven albums, spread across fifteen long play records, all pressed on high quality 180g vinyl. Four releases - Crossing Muddy Waters (2000), The Tiki Bar Is Open (2001), Beneath This Gruff Exterior (2003) and Master Of Disaster (2005) - have been remastered for vinyl and pressed on wax for the very first time. The box set's 48-page book is autographed by John Hiatt and features rare photos, testimonials, essays and insights from many of Hiatt's co-conspirators throughout his career - from Ry Cooder, Steve Earle, Sonny Landreth, Patterson Hood, Luther Dickinson, Rodney Crowell, James McMurtry and more.

UPCOMING RELEASES

Eminem - The Slim Shady LP: 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition - Aftermath
The 20th Anniversary of The Slim Shady LP is set to release on 3LP 180 gram vinyl and 2CD on 13th December, 2019 in an updated Expanded Edition including bonus tracks, rarities, a capella’s, freestyles, and instrumentals. Originally released on 23rd February, 1999 The Slim Shady LP turned Eminem from an underground rapper into a high-profile celebrity. The album featured production from Dr. Dre, the Bass Brothers, and Eminem himself. The Slim Shady LP is his first album with a major label after his first album Infinite was released on an independent label in 1996. The majority of the album’s lyrical content is written from the perspective of the rapper’s alter ego Slim Shady, whom the rapper created on the Slim Shady EP (1997). The Slim Shady LP went on to be certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide.

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Various Artists - Peaky Blinders Original Music From The TV Series - UME
Peaky Blinders is a British crime drama television series primarily set in Birmingham, England following aftermath of World War I. Starring Cillian Murphy as ‘Tommy Shelby’ – the gang’s leader, the show follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family. The fictional gang is loosely based on the Peaky Blinders, a real urban youth gang who were active in the city from the 1890’s and early twentieth century. The show is known for its dark and dramatic soundtrack. The soundtrack is a window into the mind of Tommy – a tortured ex-soldier with a sensitive side who appears to be suffering from PTSD after fighting in the trenches during World War One. This 2CD & 3LP set will feature music and key clips of dialogue from all 5 series the show, the 5th series aired late 2019 to critical acclaim. The album will feature Nick Cave’s title opening track Red Right Hand and PJ Harvey’s cover recorded exclusively for the show. Other artist’s music featured on the show and set to appear on this release are The White Stripes, Laura Marling, Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood, Radiohead, The Last Shadow Puppets, Queens of the Stone Age, David Bowie, Foals, Black Sabbath, Idles, Joy Division and Ricard Hawley who has covered Bob Dylan’s “Ballad Of A Thin Man”. The 2CD version will also include; a 32-page book with images from the show and behind the scenes, Notes from Guardian journalist Phil Harrison, quotes from the cast and The Chap magazine talks with Alison McCosh – Peaky Blinders’ Costume Designer. Series 1-5 original scores created specifically for the show will also feature on both formats.

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The Raconteurs - Help Me Stranger / Somedays (Alternate Version) - Third Man Records
The Raconteurs release a seven inch vinyl pressing of their single Help Me Stranger b/w Somedays (Alternate Version) which is lifted from the alt-rock supergroup's recent album Help Us Stranger.

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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.

New Release Round-Up 11-29-19

Prince - 1999: Remastered - Warner Bros
Considered one of the most iconic and influential double albums in rock history, Prince's 1999 was released at a major turning point in the artist’s career. After years of being relegated to the R&B charts, he experienced his first true crossover moment with the mega-hits “Little Red Corvette,” “1999,” and “Delirious,“ shattering barriers with his revolutionary blend of rock, funk, R&B and new wave pop, and making history by being one of the first black artists to have their videos in heavy rotation on MTV. The songs included on 1999 were just a small sampling of the work that was pouring out of Prince in the intensely prolific period of 1981 and 1982. In addition to his own material, he was also working up tracks that he would give to his protégés Vanity 6 and The Time, and recording dozens of songs that would be stored for possible later use, archiving them in his growing vault of unreleased material. This week, The Prince Estate, in partnership with Warner Records, will reissue 1999 with the timeless album remastered for the very first time, along with 35 previously unreleased tracks from Prince’s legendary vault that showcase the creative flow Prince had tapped into during this era.

The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin: Live at Red Rocks (feat. The Colorado Symphony & André de Riddler) - Warner Bros
On May 26, 2016 The Flaming Lips performed their classic album The Soft Bulletin in its entirety with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. The Flaming Lips (Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, Michael Ivins, Derek Brown, Jake Ingalls, Matt Kirksey and Nicholas Ley) were accompanied by a 69-piece orchestra and 56-strong Chorus. The performance was conducted by the internationally celebrated conductor Andre de Ridder. The Flaming Lips performed the 12-track album in its original sequence with new arrangements for each song that use the orchestra and chorus to great effect. This entire concert was produced by The Flaming Lips, Scott Booker and their long-time collaborator Dave Fridmann. The resulting live album is being released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Soft Bulletin, originally released in 1999. The album was the band’s breakthrough moment and featured the hit singles “Race For The Prize” and “Waitin’ for a Superman”.

Marconi Union - Dead Air - Just Music
Starting with the following year’s Under Wires And Searchlights, they’ve created an explorative body of instrumental work that’s shifted between electronica, dub, minimalism, avant-jazz and ambient music. Along the way they’ve collaborated with the likes of Jah Wobble, remixed Max Richter and Vök and provided soundtracks for art installations and other visual media. They’ve also had their own music remixed by Biosphere and Japan’s Steve Jansen, among others. The new album offers ample evidence of a band in its prime. Marconi Union still sound vital and original, enthused by the possibilities that music has to offer. “We’ve never wanted to repeat ourselves,” states Talbot. “We’ve made ten albums and have been going for 17 years, but it still feels fresh. That’s been so important for us all the way through. We’re looking to do new things all the time” co-founder Richard Talbot says. Indeed, the exquisite Dead Air bears only a passing resemblance to its 2016 forerunner, Ghost Stations. The trio have dispensed with beats, brass and guest musicians this time around, opting instead for a more intimate and textural approach, a constantly evolving soundworld of tones and sensory impressions. Dead Air also bears little resemblance to the trio’s initial vision for it. “The album we set out to make had far more of a rhythmic element,” explains Talbot, “but fairly late in the process, we decided to completely change direction.” This is entirely in keeping with Marconi Union’s guiding methodology. Ideas remain fluid throughout the writing process, until Talbot and bandmates Jamie Crossley and Duncan Meadows ultimately settle on what feels right to them. As such, Dead Air is a sublime testament to their collective instinct.

Start off your shopping season the right way by hitting your favourite record store and picking out some awesome gifts for your loved ones (and yourself).  As well as the fantastic variety of record store goodies we stock all year round there will of course be some special releases exclusive to record stores streeting that day. You can check out the list of those titles right here! And you can also head over to recordstoreday.com for more details. 

This year's list includes:

TENACIOUS D * CARDI B * DR. JOHN * ERIC CLAPTON * JENNY LEWIS * JIMI HENDRIX JOHN WILLIAMS * LEON REDBONE * LIZZO * NICK LOWE * PAUL McCARTNEY * PAUL WESTERBERG/GRANDPABOY * PEARL JAM * SQUEEZE * THE COMET IS KING * BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN * THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS * THE PETER HOLSAPPLE TRIO * THE REGRETTES (WITH DYLAN MINETTE) * THE SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS * TODD RUNDGREN AND MANY MORE...

For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.