Archive for the Pop Category
Neon Judgement “Cockerill-Sombre” (Dark Entries)
The Neon Judgement hail from the small town of Leuven near Brussels, Belgium and gave birth to the New Beat and EBM scenes worldwide with the release of their first two cassettes ‘Suffering’ (1981) and ‘TV Treated’ (1982). Always a consistent duo of Dirk Da Davo (synthesizers, vocals) and TB […]
Cate Le Bon “Rock Pool” (Drag City)
Beguiling Welsh musician Cate Le Bon released her new album, Crab Day, earlier this year, and she’s following it up with a 4-song EP in January made up of leftover songs from that writing period. “Rock Pool is the killed darlings from the Crab Day sessions brought back to life […]
Modern Art “Underwater Kites” (Lion Productions)
First time reissue of Modern Art’s 1982 debut cassette album includes three previously unissued tracks from the album session. Welcome to the darkly enchanting minimal synth-pop and psych-tinged world of The Modern Art. As an introduction to the world of Coil and Current 93 collaborator Gary Ramon and his orbiting […]
The Avalanches “Since I Left You” (Modular)
Playful, twisted, psychedelic, sampledelic, delirious and infectious, it’s the sound of six men who spent most of adolescence rummaging through bargain bins in Melbourne’s record shops, constructing their own post-modern disco-pop amalgam from rubbish ’50s rejects and saccharine ’60s pap. “Our records make sense in their own world,” says Robbie […]
Monopol “Weltweit” (Medical)
Medical Records collaborates with their good friends Anna Logue across the pond in Germany to present the long out of print Neu Deutsche Welle cult classic album Weltweit by Monopol. Released in 1982, Weltweit was the sole output of the band. It has appropriately become quite rare and difficult to […]
Lower Plenty “Sister Sister” (Bedroom Suck)
Lower Plenty’s third album, Sister Sister, is another low-key, seemingly off-the-cuff pleasure that straddles the line between easygoing indie folk and experimental lo-fi pop. With Dick Diver’s Al Montfort and Jensen Tjhung of Deaf Wish on vocals and guitar along with Sarah Heyward on vocals and percussion, the band has […]
The xx “I See You” (Young Turks)
I See You is marked by a tonal shift to something close to pure, crisp pop structure, adorned by unusual crescendos that echo a dextrous DJ inching their dancer toward climax without ever quite lifting the house lights. It’s lyric sheet moves from the danger and hopelessness of love to […]
Erasmo Carlos “Erasmo Carlos E Os Tremendoes” (Light In The Attic)
Erasmo Carlos has no counterpart in the universe of Anglophone pop music that could begin to hint at his relevance, popularity and his complex relationship with the only Brazilian pop star more universally recognized than himself, Roberto Carlos. He may be a beloved pop star and household name in Brazil, […]
Erasmo Carlos “Carlos, ERASMO” (Light In The Attic)
Erasmo Carlos has no counterpart in the universe of Anglophone pop music that could begin to hint at his relevance, popularity and his complex relationship with the only Brazilian pop star more universally recognized than himself, Roberto Carlos. He may be a beloved pop star and household name in Brazil, […]
The Space Lady “Greatest Hits” (Night School)
Transcendentally beautiful, The Space Lady’s music is returning to Earth. Transmitting messages of peace and harmony, The Space Lady began her odyssey on the streets of Boston in the late 70s, then San Francisco ten years later, playing versions of contemporary pop music with an accordion and dressed flamboyantly. Following […]
Horse “For Twisted Minds Only” (Rise Above)
Horse was formed in South London during the late sixties. They created occult influenced progressive hard rock that was ahead of its time. Guitarist Rod Roach had briefly played in an incarnation of British psych-rock legends Andromeda before forming Horse with other key member, vocalist Adrian Hawkins. Alongside bassist Colin […]
Sloan “One Chord To Another” (Murderecords)
Reissued on vinyl for the first time since 1998! Following the bungled American release of Twice Removed, it seemed unlikely that Sloan would survive, let alone record an album as wonderful as One Chord to Another. On the group’s previous album, Sloan had refashioned itself as a power pop band, […]
Foxygen “Hang” (Jagjaguwar)
Hang is Foxygen’s third album for Jagjaguwar, and their first proper studio record, recorded in Los Angeles, CA at Electro Vox Studios. Hang features Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips, as well as Brian and Michael D’Addario of the Lemon Twigs as players on the album. Hang also features a […]
Cherry Glazer “Apocalipstick” (Secretly Canadian)
In the few short years since Cherry Glazerr released their debut album, Haxel Princess, on the esteemed Burger Records during 2014, they’ve quite literally become an entirely different band – figurehead Clementine Creevy is the only remaining member from the original line-up that recorded their first album. For Apocalipstick, their […]
Awa Poulu “Poulu Warali” (Awesome Tapes From Africa)
Awa Poulo is a singer of Peulh origin from Dilly commune, Mali, near the border with Mauritania. Largely pastoral and often nomadic, Peulh- (or Fula-)speaking peoples are found from Senegal to Ethiopia but predominate in the Sahel region of West Africa. Awesome Tapes From Africa is proud to release Poulo’s […]
Banks & Steelz “Anything But Words” (Warner)
Banks & Steelz – a musical collaboration between Wu Tang Clan’s RZA and Interpol’s Paul Banks. RZA and Banks first began working on music together in 2013. RZA told Rolling Stone at the time that the idea to collaborate with the Interpol frontman sparked after RZA’s manager asked him who […]
Leonard Cohen “You Want It Darker” (Sony)
2016 release, the 14th studio album from the veteran singer/songwriter. Leonard Cohen, the acclaimed composer of “Hallelujah”, continues to astonish his audience. At age 82, he presents his uncompromising and urgent album, You Want It Darker. Described by early listeners as a “masterpiece” and “classic Cohen,” You Want It Darker, […]
Solange “A Seat At The Table” (Sony)
A Seat At The Table the 2016 album written and performed by Solange Knowles. The album features collaborations with Q-Tip, Kelly Rowland, The Dream, BJ The Chicago Kid, Kelela, Tweet, Moses Sumney, Sampha, Sean Nicholas Savage, Nia Andrews, Devonte Hynes of Houston Texas and Lu of Carolina. A Seat at […]
Various Artists “DFA Compilation #1” (DFA)
The CD release of DFA Records Compilation #1 came out in days of yore, when the iTunes store did not exist, when iPods were more coveted than your phone. The only way to hear the first batch of singles DFA released was to seek out the vinyl and lots of […]
Kate Bush “Before the Dawn” (Concord)
016 live release from the acclaimed British singer/songwriter/performer. Presented as an audacious, multi-media theatrical performance entitled Before The Dawn, the month-long, sold-out, 22-date residency at London’s Hammersmith Apollo was an unqualified triumph. Now, to the delight of Kate Bush fans around the world, comes the audio document of those mesmerizing, […]
Ween “GodWeenSatan Live” (ATO)
Ween celebrated the 2001 reissue of their 1990 album God Ween Satan: The Oneness — commonly accepted as their debut, despite all the indie tapes of the ’80s — by performing the album in its entirety in their hometown of New Hope, Pennsylvania on September 14, 2001. Only 11 years […]
Dean Ween Group “The Deaner Album” (Ato)
2016 release from the former Ween member. The Deaner Album is the debut album from The Dean Ween Group. On The Deaner Album, Dean brings his love of classic guitar rock to 14 original compositions (including four instrumentals) that echo everything from classic rock to cracked country to the quirky […]
Broken Social Scene “Feel Good Lost” (Arts & Crafts)
Feel Good Lost is the debut album by Broken Social Scene. Remastered for the 15th anniversary. One of the most enduring and influential alternative bands of the 00s. Their sophomore record You Forgot It In People largely defined the “indie rock” era and paved the way for Canadian acts like […]
Various Artists “Trainspotting OST” (Rhino)
Trainspotting concerns the adventures of a group of young, nearly criminal, drug-addicted Scottish friends. The novel, written by Irvine Welsh, became one of the most popular books in the British indie scene in the early ’90s and was adapted to film in 1996 by the makers of Shallow Grave. Appropriately, […]