Discovery is the recording project of Rostam Batmanglij and Wes Miles, friends who began recording together in the summer of 2005. One year later they had committed themselves to their respective bands, Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot, but nonetheless continued to record together when they both found themselves in the same city. The project is many things: it’s partly an attempt to realize Wes’s concept of a band where everyone plays synthesizers, and of Rostam’s concept for an album where handclaps keep the backbeat instead of snares drums. It’s an embrace and also a commentary on the pop music of the past decade, of booming 808 bass and jittery sixteenth note high-hats. Elements of european electronic dance music skittering in double-time over steady R&B. If soul music is secularized, sexualized gospel, Discovery is an attempt to see if soul music can survive being plasticized, roboticized, quantized, chopped, and finally, screwed. The album features Rostam and Wes each singing half the songs and guest vocals from Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) and Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors).

Scottish seven piece Broken Records announce the re-
lease of their debut album Until The Earth Begins To
Part on 4AD Records. The group, who formed in Edin-
burgh at the end of 2006, have already been tipped for
greatness by publications as diverse as NME, Q and The
Word. A series of three singles released in 2008 led NME
to call them “an incredible proposition – set to go stellar
as soon as they decide on a lucky label to sign to."

The album features ten tracks and was recorded in Mon-
now Valley studio in Monmouth with producer Ian
Caple.

With Travels With Myself And Another, Future of the Left have raised the bar again and produced a record that is both melodically brutal and uncompromising in it’s lyrical bite. Take ‘Yin / Post-Yin’ with it’s verse “Excuse my manner / I’m having such a bad day / I woke this morning with expectations of gaining nothing / I’ve learned to trust my instincts.”

The first MP3 for the album is “Arming Eritrea”:

http://www.futureoftheleft.com/widget/armingerirtrea.mp3

Produced by Richard Jackson who also worked on the band’s debut album, Travels With Myself And Another features recent single ‘The Hope That House Built’ with it’s marching Queens Of The Stone Age-style riff and ‘Drink Nike,’ which was  played for  audiences here when the band supported Against Me on their recent US tour (the track is also featured on the live album Last Night I Saved Her From Vampires.)  Lead-off track ‘Arming Eritrea’ sets the tone for the album. It lulls the listener in to a false sense of security before exploding through the speakers with a bloodthirsty roar of fuzzy bass and distorted guitar lines. The album’s centrepiece, the synth-heavy ‘You Need Satan More Than He Needs You’ meanwhile finds Future Of The Left at their savage best as keyboards bounce off hypnotic drumming and funky basslines to create a devilish masterpiece that looks set to captivate fans and newcomers alike.

British Sea Power have written and recorded a new soundtrack for the 1934 film Man Of Aran. The film is being re-released on DVD with the new BSP soundtrack. The BSP Man Of Aran package includes two discs - the re-scored Man Of Aran film on DVD, plus the soundtrack by itself on CD.
 
“It’s a wonderful film,” says BSP guitarist Noble. “The images vary between huge drama and a brilliant kind of ridiculousness - check out the amazing foot-wide bobbled berets that the fishermen wear. It’s a great look, like a 1930s Irish version of Jack White or Kraftwerk. It’s a film that’s also relevant to the current era – a time when the idea of living a simpler life is in the air. The film shows something I'd like to think I could do, but know I never will.”
 
Man Of Aran is a powerful and provocative dramatized documentary from the late American filmmaker Robert J Flaherty. In a series of startling black-and-white sequences the film presents daily life on the inhospitable Aran islands on the west coast of Ireland. The film was both celebrated and controversial on its release.
 
The film was created from half a million feet of film shot by Flaherty while living closely with the islanders. But Man Of Aran isn’t a straightforward documentary. The ‘family’ at the centre of the film weren’t related, rather a group of islanders cast as the family unit by Flaherty. The fishing expedition for basking sharks which forms the film’s dramatic heart was based around methods that hadn’t been employed on the Aran Islands for decades. Blending reality and staged elements, Flaherty arrived at a compelling document that captures the elemental power of the island’s past and present. The film won the Grand Prix at the 1935 Venice Film Festival and the eminent film critic Pauline Kael described it as, "The greatest film tribute to man's struggle against a hostile nature."
 
The package includes three versions;
- Studio Version in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo.
- Original Edinburgh Film Festival live performance in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo.
- Bonus Soundtrack in 2.0 Stereo

Further Complications is Jarvis Cocker’s second solo album, following the critically acclaimed 2006 Jarvis.

While there were many great bands and performances at last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival, there were only a few genuine stars in the classic sense of the word. Jarvis Cocker didn’t headline the fest, but he was definitely the biggest star; whether stalking the stage, engaging in witty banter, or breaking down into whiteboy James Brown convulsions, the former Pulp leader entertained like a bizarro Vegas vet.

The trip to the Chicago fest didn’t only result in an amazing set. While visiting the Windy City, Jarvis and his band holed up in Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio to test out a couple new songs. They liked the sound, so the crew returned in January to record Further Complications, due out May 19 on Rough Trade.

Though Jarvis claims he hasn’t “gone rock,” hard-nosed studio rat Albini seems like a fitting choice for the album, considering the increasingly roughed-up tunes Cocker has been peddling since parting with Pulp. Do expect some songs he debuted on tour last year, like the incredible soul number “You’re In My Eyes (Discosong)”, “Angela”, and the title track.

Jarvis is taking his show on the road in the U.S. this summer.

‘Em Are I  by Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard is Jeff’s fifth full-length for Rough Trade, and represents the first time that all of the greatest elements of his previous recordings have formed a fully cohesive and amazing whole!  With his comic/tragic lyrics straight from the heart, and guitar style ranging from finger-picked roots to outer-space swoops, Jeffrey Lewis has worked on and off in between tours to spin an 11-song production that seems to reflect a love of the last 40 years of popular music, all filtered through Jeff’s unmistakable idiosyncratic muse.

Mostly tracked on classic analogue tape at Brooklyn’s Emandee Studios with engineer and co-producer Mark Ospovat, Jeff’s usual band of drummer Dave Beauchamp and bassist/brother Jack Lewis are joined at various times by friends and acquaintances including French indie-heroes Herman Dune, American banjo troubadour Emily Lacy, and the album even features a lead guitar cameo from Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis.

If 12 Crass Songs displayed Jeff’s growing talent as an imaginative studio producer when applied to covering other people’s songs, as opposed to his celebrated roots as a stripped-down lo-fi song- smith, ‘Em Are I  is the perfect marriage of the two and as with 12 Crass Songs, the new album features another beautiful sleeve package, designed and illustrated by Jeffrey himself. 

We got a very limited number of copies of this collaboration between Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice. Once the buy button for these is gone, the records are gone so order away.

Limit 1 per customer

Limited to 500 copies, imported from the uk. Get them before they're gone!

This 7" will be shipped May 5th.

ORDER NOW AND RECEIVE AN INSTANT STREAM OF THE ENTIRE ALBUM
Look in the "my streams" section of your account to get it.

Peaches has always trafficked in subversion. On her fourth full-length, I Feel Cream, what she subverts—time and again—are preconceived notions of who Peaches is and what she does. Having held the attention of international audiences for a decade, now she reveals new dimensions of her artistry. These twelve new songs feature vocal performances of startling vulnerability and cool sophistication. A minimalist, nothing-is-wasted economy of sound that throws every lyric and groove into sharp relief. And a fresh take on Peaches’ fiercely independent approach to writing and production, with assistance from colleagues as formidable and inspired as the artist herself.

ORDER NOW AND GET A FULL INSTANT STREAM OF THE ALBUM
Look in the "My Downloads" section of you account after you order.

The second album from The Horrors and their first for XL, Primary Colours finds the band exploring a few new sounds and genres, stretching out their skills.

The 2xLP version is printed on heavyweight vinyl and housed in a gatefold jacket with a free MP3 download code

LP-version comes with MP3 download coupon.

Two years ago, Annie Clark’s recorded debut as St. Vincent, Marry Me, gave immediate notice that a dizzying new talent had emerged from the flatlands of Texas. Critics from all points of the cultural compass—from Pitchfork to Spin to the New York Times Magazine—were entranced by the album’s precocious arrangements and elegant lyrics, and the steadily growing crowds at St. Vincent’s live shows were astonished by Clark’s gargantuan musical chops and her magnetic stage presence. No small number of St. Vincent fans took the title of Marry Me literally, had their hearts duly broken, and wouldn’t have had it any other way. The record was heralded as a remarkably successful entrance and Clark capped a year of international touring by winning the Plug Awards’ Female Artist of the Year.
 
Actor, St. Vincent’s beguiling, sophisticated new record, takes that debut’s ambition as its starting point and never looks back. The arrangements are more masterful, the songwriting grander, the performances ever more confident and inspired. Clark developed an idiosyncratic writing process for ‘Actor’, immersing herself in some of her favorite films—Badlands, Pierrot le Fou, The Wizard of Oz, Stardust Memories, Sleeping Beauty—and beginning each song as a secret film score, then slowly giving it independence as its structure and lyrics came fully into focus. The resulting eleven tracks are as cinematic as pop songs can be, but the movie is a private one, revealing its storyline in hushed, cunning couplets and cascades of scathing guitar.
 
Here is a record to listen to with your eyes closed.  Melodies are transposed and inverted.  The fantasy of Disney is juxtaposed with the sweep of Morricone, David Mamet’s unsettling dramatic form and the alienation of Philip Roth.  Igor Stravinsky scores Roger Corman’s horror flicks.
 
‘The Strangers’ starts off as a deceptively dulcet elegy for a lost love, then suddenly capsizes under a flood of distortion. ‘Actor Out Of Work’ is a devastating sonic kiss-off, complete with slyly poisonous lyrics and steamrolling guitars. The strings and woodwinds at the opening of ‘Marrow’ might be escorting Dorothy to the Emerald City, or straight into the flying monkeys’ clutches. The crackerjack band, including supporting turns by McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake, has the crunch of a tank and the grace of a chamber ensemble.
 
If Marry Me served as the world’s introduction to Annie Clark, Actor may prove to be her coronation.  As the terrifyingly beautiful movie inside Clark’s head flickers across the screen, we can all feel privileged to be in the seats.

7" single for Velvet, with gold foil stamped jacket

With John Peel as an early champion, Glasgow’s Camera Obscura are fondly regarded by many as one of the UK’s finest acts; having built up over the years a dedicated following with must have records and tours throughout Europe, USA, Mexico, Australia and South East Asia. Their last album, Let’s Get Out Of This Country (2006), was to prove pivotal for the band, taking them out of the shadows and to long-deserved new heights. “You might not find heartache as enchanting as this anywhere else,” stated All Music Guide in a familiar glowing review.

Nearly three years on from that release and Camera Obscura released the follow-up, My Maudlin Career; their first for their new label and fourth overall. After his successful touches on their last record, they returned to Sweden to work again with Swedish producer Jari Haapalainen (Ed Harcourt, Peter, Bjorn & John, The Concretes). His wonderful understanding with the band continues to flourish, again fully realizing not just the potential of Tracyanne Campbell’s songs and remarkable voice, but also the ensemble musicianship of the group as a whole.

Speaking for the first time about My Maudlin Career, lead singer Tracyanne Campbell commented, "Some people who have heard it say it's intense and quite dark. I suppose it is in a way. We were even more open and brave when making it than we were with the last record. I've never been so brutal when its come to writing lyrics. I wouldn't even call them lyrics. Just documentation of what was going on with me for a while. I truly believe it's the best we've done so far."

We got a very limited number of this Record Store Day exclusive record in. This is the Rough Trade dbl. LP version of the new Arthur Russell compilation "Love Is Overtaking Me"

This features a more mellow, country-western pop-minded Arthur Russell exploring his more straightforward impulses with his typical sensitivity and beauty.

We have a very limited number of these, so once the buy button disappears, they're gone. Limit 1 per customer

Double LP will be available 4/21/2009

21-year-old Mica Levi is the unassuming five foot one figure creating tunes that somehow perfectly define these sometimes scary, often overwhelming, but always exciting times. She's the most singular artist leading the future-pop frontier, with an instinctual understanding of music only possible from one of those rare lives where rhythms, melodies, discord and noise have underpinned every last waking second. Over the past year Micachu, as she's become known, has released an avidly received mixtape that moulded concrete grime and ruff-neck hip hop to avant-electronics, composed a Nuevo-classical epic for the London Philharmonic Orchestra on the personal request of revered conductor Marc Anthony Turnage, and formed a band, The Shapes, to help channel the mind-boggling waves of creativity that swell from her scruffily curled bonce at the rate that most people breathe. Helmed by her adopted Svengali and seeming long-lost spiritual godfather, Matthew Herbert, Micachu’s debut long-player, is a teeny, but visionary peek at the infinite maelstrom of musical carnage that hurtles through her brain 24-hours-a-day. A mangled outpouring of fidgeting guitars, untameable bass splurges, fragile, swoonsome wails, sabre-toothed electronics and snatched sounds, from rattling bottlenecks to demonic hoovers. While on paper it doesn’t sound a sing-a-long setup, in between the shudders, splurts, stabs, stutters, stops and starts, spills a pure, pristine thread of melodic playfulness that makes Jewellery one of the most fiendishly addictive breakthrough albums of the year. Case and point: Mica’s steadily risen as one of the UK’s most talked-about acts, gracing all the best music rags, broadsheets and even national TV whichever way you look. A reluctant star, Mica isn’t so fussed about the flashing lights and lenses,  no matter who’s listening or not, the music will always play on.

The Veils are Finn Andrews, (vocals, guitar, piano, New Zealand) Sophia Burn, (bass, New Zealand) Dan Raishbrook (guitar, odd noise, England) and Henning Dietz (drums, Germany). Sun Gangs is their third album, and without a doubt their finest to date.

By turns epic, desolate, wildly romantic and anguished, Sun Gangs is a bold and distinctive record described by Finn as “a very modern mixture of prayers, love letters and personal record keeping”. Produced by Graham Sutton (Jarvis Cocker / British Sea Power / Bark Psychosis) it is their most ambitious record yet ranging from the yearning elegy of ‘Sit Down By The Fire’, to the charred, mantis-like groove of ‘Killed By The Boom’ - this is a record unlike many we are likely to hear this year.

So many stories, words, tones and ideas punctuate its gradually unfolding landscape as that incomparable voice cries and hollers. “’Sit Down By The Fire’ is about watching something collapse, and it being quite pretty to look at,” offers Finn. “’Killed By The Boom’ is possibly about The Wire’s Omar Little. ‘It Hits Deep’ is about being a man, in a bar alone, on a tropical island resort, as the light gets dim and the world goes fuzzy. ‘Larkspur’ is somewhere else entirely.”

“I really wanted to write something that hangs together in perhaps a not so obvious way; not just some collection of singles but a real voyage into something, something strange and unspecific but totally emotionally consuming. It’s also kinda just a break-up record in many ways.”

Finn’s father Barry Andrews was a founding member of the highly influential group XTC in the late 1970s, later going on to tour with the likes of Robert Fripp & Brian Eno, Iggy Pop & David Bowie.

In younger days in Auckland, thousands of miles away from his father, Finn sang at a folk club up a volcano, and sidelined a desire to paint when he began hearing musicians like Tom Waits, Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen, Roy Orbison & Bob Dylan - contemplating that there was perhaps more to life than the bleeping Eighties electronica and early days of New Wave which had surrounded his first London foray.

In Sun Gangs The Veils have brought Finn’s early influences full circle, and created a record that truly lives up to the huge promise and talent that they have always exhibited.

It Hugs Back are a four piece from Kent, England.  They mesh dreamlike soundscapes and experimental guitar feedback into sublimely melodic pop-perfect indie tunes, making the comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and Yo La Tengo wholly justified.

It Hugs Back spent 2008 releasing charmingly artworked 7” singles in the UK. Their most recent single, "Work Day" was given plenty of spins there by influential people like Radio 1’s Steve Lamacq and Rob Da Bank and 6 Music’s Gideon Coe. They also spent much of 2008 perfecting their beautifully crafted debut album Inside Your Guitar at The Record Room, the bands homemade recording studio.

Inside Your Guitar is an impressive debut of gently haunting melodies, tuned in and turned-up fuzzy guitar and infectious summer hits that recall classic albums like Pet Sounds and the heady hazy days of early 90’s Lemonheads at their peak.

Kicks features more sassy, infectiously catchy songs about Glasgow and girls in the main, but also references Mongolian warlords, bears, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Baader-Meinhof  and Scientology.  Most of the songs on Kicks are anecdotes about ex, current, future and fictional girlfriends.

The album was recorded at Edwyn Collins’ West Heath Yard studio in London and it was produced by Bernard Butler.  Kicks is the sound of a group careering head first, inspired by where they come from and what they can potentially do, into further adventures in sound and visions.  Inspiration was taken from everything from Scary Monsters/Golden Years-era Bowie and his work with Brian Eno & Tony Visconti to Jay-Z through to Hall & Oates, the chops of Hot Chocolate and even the folk licks of Richard Thompson.  Sonically Kicks is a rock record, but 1990s' intention was to make it sound slightly alien, too.

The album’s a non-stop assault of pop gems.  “59” eulogises the 59 bus in Pollokshields, which comes approximately once per lifetime and goes from Narnia to Brigadoon via Pollokshields.  As Michael, who sings it, explains "It’s the only bus you want to get on in Pollokshields, even if it’s going in the wrong direction.  The song’s about me taking this bus and checking out the girls… with gammy eyes."

1990s' vocal harmonies on this album have come into their own and lead vocal duties are shared amongst the group much more so than on Cookies.  Michael sings four songs, Dino sings two and Jackie sings the rest.  “Kickstrasse” features Jackie addressing German 1970s terrorist group Baader-Meinhof, with help from Kate Jackson (of The Long Blondes) on backing vocals.  On “Everybody Please Relax” Jackie threatens to move to Hollywood and become a Scientologist. Michael and Dino hope that he doesn't.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland’s new eponymous album feels very much like the second line to his exquisitely melancholic and much-hailed solo debut Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday gained Elvis a dedicated and reverent following for its nuanced meditations on death and grief—many moments on that first record felt as if the listener had tip-toed into the intimate confines of a private elegy, enveloped in that wondrous, old-soul quality of Elvis’s voice.

There are still plenty of private moments on Elvis Perkins in Dearland, but Elvis is now joined by a talented trio of friends that toured with him in support of Ash Wednesday.  Along with Elvis on guitar and lead vocals, Elvis Perkins in Dearland is Brigham Brough (upright bass, saxophone, vocals), Wyndham Boylan-Garnett (pump organ, guitar, harmonium, trombone, vocals), and Nick Kinsey (drums, percussion, banjo, clarinet, vocals).  Many of the new songs on Elvis Perkins in Dearland were honed on the road by the four bandmates, whose natural ease with one another allowed them to constantly experiment with arrangements on the fly.

Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Chris Shaw (Public Enemy, Bob Dylan, Ween) and Elvis Perkins In Dearland, the album was recorded in Upstate New York in the latter part of 2008.  Shaw recorded and mixed the album as well.

“On this new record we wanted to capture the spirit of our performances,” drummer Nick Kinsey said.  “The challenge was to get down that spontaneity.” Perkins says, “This album is faster and younger than Ash Wednesday.  Being in a studio with three other creatives instead of just one was a new thing for me.  It takes four times as long to decide everything… but in the end, this kind of interplay made for much good.”

From Minnesota via Los Angeles and now based in Chicago, twenty-three year old Anni is an exciting prospect. Having been classically trained since aged three, Anni is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and has been performing as a solo artist for the past few years.
 
Fresh from signing to the label, Anni headed straight to Electrical Audio in Illinois to record Rockwell with Steve Albini and the results show it to have been a wise move. Mostly using tracks from her existing set (‘Machine’, ‘Ecology’, ‘Wheelpusher’), the energy, depth and eccentricities of her live show have all been successfully translated onto record; something she feels she has never achieved previously, making the document she set to make.

Until now, the viola has formed the centerpiece to her music, often finding itself to be the only instrument used, but more come to the fore here. In particular, drums and cello slightly elevate her sound, appearing occasionally to fill in corners. The fact it was all recorded in one day (July 13th 2008) will surprise most but so will the unlikely cover version of Ace of Base’s ‘Living Danger’, a version so sublime you wouldn’t know what it was unless told.

Anni has already extensively toured both Europe and the US (including support slots with The Ting Tings and Electrelane as well as being a member of Carla Bozulich’s band) and has gained herself both a great reputation and hardcore fanbase. She’ll be back on the road in 2009 and dates will be announced soon.

Dark Was The Night will be released on February 17th, 2009. Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National produced the album, and John Carlin, the founder of the Red Hot Organization was the executive producer. A total of 32 exclusive tracks have been recorded for the compilation. It will be available as a double cd/triple vinyl/download and will benefit the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. Red Hot was founded on the premise that even without a cure, AIDS remains a preventable disease – and music is a great vehicle to raise money and awareness for it. This is the 20th year of Red Hot, and this is the 20th release!

Click HERE to see the tracklist.

To Be Still is the follow-up to Alela Diane's critically-acclaimed 2006 debut The Pirate's Gospel. That record brought the Nevada city, CA-reared musician a dedicated following across the globe (especially in Europe, where she recently finished a tour of mid-sized concert halls). Considering that early copies of The Pirate's Gospel were given away to friends in hand-sewn covers just a few years ago, this is not only quite a leap, but a well-deserved one.

To Be Still was created throughout 2007 & 2008. "It began in Portland, OR and was finished in scatters between tours at my dad's home studio in Nevada City, CA," Alela says. "I wanted to record this collection of songs using arrangements which would represent them in their finest form. These songs requested more instrumental filigree than those on The Pirate's Gospel. It was challenging to delicately yet purposefully incorporate instrumentation into songs that I was so used to singing by myself. I was determined to make it work, because I wanted percussion! I wanted to hear the lonesome bow of the violin! I heard many harmonies in my head, and so I set out to capture them."