New Release Round-Up 03-27-20
Pearl Jam release their much-anticipated eleventh studio album, Gigaton. It marks the band's first studio album since 2013. "Making this record was a long journey," explains Mike McCready. "It was emotionally dark and confusing at times, but also an exciting and experimental road map to musical redemption." 2020 officially marks 30 years of Pearl Jam performing live, with over 85 million albums sold worldwide and a 2017 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Kanye West - JESUS IS KING - Def Jam
JESUS IS KING is the ninth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on October 25, 2019, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. The album follows a Christian theme, with West describing it as "an expression of the gospel."
Lilly Hiatt felt lost. She’d just returned home from the better part of a year on tour in support of her acclaimed third album, Trinity Lane, and, stripped of the daily rituals and direction of life on the road, she found herself alone with her thoughts for the first time in what felt like ages. So Hiatt did what’s always come most natural to her in times of questioning and uncertainty: she picked up a guitar. Over the course of the ensuing winter, she wrote new music that grappled with her sense of self and place in the world, reckoning with issues that had been bubbling beneath the surface of her subconscious in some cases for years. The result is Walking Proof, Hiatt’s fourth and most probing collection to date. The record walks the line between Hiatt’s rough, rock and roll exterior and her tender, country roots. Lilly Hiatt’s not feeling so lost these days, and with Walking Proof, she’s crafted a roadmap to share with the rest of us.
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Tesla visited the iconic Abbey Road Studios for a one-night musical event, performing songs from their legendary arsenal including "Love Song" and "What You Give" along with their classic covers of "Signs" and "We Can Work It Out." Additionally, for the first time ever, the band performed the track "California Love Song," from their latest studio album, Shock. The performance was recorded and filmed in 4K HD, bringing forth Tesla's live album, Five Man London Jam.
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Brian Fallon - Local Honey - Lesser Known Records
The lead singer of beloved heartland-punk band The Gaslight Anthem, Brian Fallon steps away from that sound and into a stripped-down Americana space on his third solo album, Local Honey. Produced by Grammy-award winning producer Peter Katis (The National, Frightened Rabbit, Death Cab for Cutie), the album showcases Fallon's songwriting in small vignettes, from a loving devotional for his daughter to a vengeful murder ballad.
Cavetown's major-label debut album, Sleepyhead, out this week, on Sire Records. Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Skinner himself in the bedroom of his new London apartment (some things never change), the 11-song collection is set to prove to the world why he’s become not just a cornerstone of the bedroom pop community, but a torchbearer for the next generation of his genre. By focusing less on the more imperceptible aspects of his productions, Skinner’s distilled his energy on Sleepyhead into what really moves fans: the songs themselves, occasionally lighthearted, largely poignant – but always authentically him. The album is awash in ambient indie-rock nuance, creaking acoustic guitars and Skinner’s poetic lyricism, all steadied by his tranquil melodies and reassuring timbre. Some 250 million Spotify plays and 1.15 million YouTube subscribers after launching Cavetown, he’s a radically different person than he was just a few years ago. “Basically every aspect of my life has changed since putting out Lemon Boy,” he admits. “Often when change happens, it’s so slow that you don’t notice it. The speed at which it’s happened has made me appreciate everything.”
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Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, Jessie Reyez unveils her debut album Before Love Came To Kill Us. The album includes the RIAA Gold-certified single "Imported" with 6LACK and capitalizes on the release of the acclaimed Kiddo and Being Human in Public EPs which have garnered more than 750 million combined global streams to date. The Toronto-born, Colombian-bred powerhouse has racked up award nominations and wins including Juno Awards (Breakthrough Artist winner), MTV Video Music Awards, BET Awards, iHeart Radio Music Awards and more. She's also flexed her songwriting prowess on records for other artists including Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa's "One Kiss", Calvin Harris & Sam Smith "Promises", Normani's "Slow Down" and more. Her list of collaborators include Eminem, Daniel Caesar, 6LACK, Kehlani, Karol G, Tainy, Pink $weats and more.
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Half Waif Nandi Rose is on her own again, and three songs into her forthcoming album The Caretaker, the singer, songwriter and producer declares her fearlessness: "Baby don't worry about me, I don't worry about you." Here, on "Ordinary Talk," Rose meditates on the heaviness of ordinary moments, the constellation of tears and chores and self-doubt and small talk that comprise being a person, accompanied by her most cinematic, pulsing arrangements to date. It's an apt introduction to The Caretaker, an ax-lbum that negotiates the space between working alone and with others, between isolation and connection. The result is her boldest work yet. Over the course of eleven songs, Rose creates the lush world of a humid summer night, dreaming of and reaching for a season in which she is her "best self."
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The film, 'Viva The Underdogs' features over a decade of behind the scenes personal footage, coupled with unprecedented access to the bands most explosive live tours and world's biggest music festivals. The film gives an incredibly honest and candid look at Parkway Drive's journey; the good-times, battles, triumphs, and sacrifices. "Viva The Underdogs" the album features 14 tracks; 11 of their biggest songs recorded live at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany, as well as three of their most popular tracks re-imagined, recorded in German and one with a feature from German Rap artist, Casper.
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UPCOMING RELEASES
"It was in winter 18/19 - I flew to Montreal to meet with Tim Kingsbury, Richard Reed Parry, Craig Silvey and Teddy Impakt at Le Studio Du Arcade Fire. It was a fine time with a dream team in a city I love. Winter in beautiful Quebec. Les semaines les plus froides de ma vie. I had a bunch of demos that were inspired by migration stories I had heard from friends or read in newspapers while on tour in Europe and North America. I remember being struck by the similarities of the stories I heard from both continents and how really only the names of the powerful and the powerless had changed - thinking, "Is this the future? Is this our future?" Some time went by, the stories wove together and I remember them now closer to characters in a dream of how people could treat each other than any kind of front-page news realism. I think music subconsciously - whether writing or listening - is a filter for me - helping to process all the bad news into something new to build from - some records to me are like self-fulfilling prophecies - visualizing change to wish something into being - those records inspired this one." - M. Ward
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Multi-Platinum-selling country star Sam Hunt announces his eagerly-awaited sophomore album SOUTHSIDE, releasing April 3 on MCA Nashville. The album will feature his current Top 5-and-climbing radio hit “Kinfolks,” the introspective ballad “Sinning With You,” and more from the award-winning artist. SOUTHSIDE will be the first full album since Hunt’s critically acclaimed, GRAMMY-nominated, Triple Platinum-selling debut, Montevallo.
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Recorded in 1982, not long after she moved to Paris, Fodder On My Wings was one of Nina Simone's favorite albums. In addition to having written the music and lyrics for all but one of the album's 13 songs, the back cover proudly states that she 'arranged, conducted and conceived' all of them. Originally recorded for a small French label and only sporadically available since its initial release, Fodder On My Wings is a lesser known but important part of Nina's musical history. The album contains deeply personal songs, including 'I Sing Just To Know That I'm Alive' and 'I Was Just A Stupid Dog To Them', as well a searing lyrical improvisation about the death of her father on 'Alone Again, Naturally'. Recorded at a time when Nina was feeling rejuvenated by her surroundings and the African musicians she met in Paris, Fodder On My Wings is an essential Nina Simone album that is making a long overdue reappearance.
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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section.
