Edition 2 of this new weekly feature, perhaps you missed it first time round though.. It's a place for me to highlight 3 upcoming releases listed on the website in the week or so since the last one of these, with the benefit that the pre order prices should be the best around - because everyone needs a copy of these!
If you have arrived at this feature through the website and not via the email - make sure to sign up to the newsletter! Along with a link to each new weekly post, you get a reminder of what is due for release this Friday, some selected back in stocks to perhaps prompt an impulse purchase.. and the main part - 10% off your next order, be that in store or online. That does indeed apply to the already low priced records below.. so taking your first punt does even less damage to your pocket.
See below for the past weeks podium:
Nirvada soul, sure to go down well here.
I did want this feature all to be my own words, as it's a personal recommendation, but i will have to borrow some from the label on this occasion as they've thrown together a pretty perfect set .. 'Sophisticated, suave, and masterfully composed, the album is a sonic love letter to late 60s and early 70s soul, nodding to the giants of the genre and bowing to its unsung heroes'. To pick up on the 'masterfully composed' part, the band have of course crafted some lush tunes, but key to elevating it all are some of the arrangements involved. Fans of The Ironsides album of the year contender 'Changing Light' (released back in May) should have their ears pricked, as responsible for the strings and brass on this release is Lou King - who orchestrated The Ironsides release.
The band themselves are Mark Sexton (guitar, vocals), Alexander Korostinsky (bass), Daniel Weiss (drums), and Christopher Sexton (piano). Friends since childhood, the chemistry is evident, and the sound is smooth. Big name to note on production is Kelly Finnigan of the Monophonics - we can be assured that the fingerprints found across this record come from capable hands.
Some quick 'if you likes' to mention before moving on: The Moments, Baby Huey, The Delfonics, Curtis Mayfield.
2nd in the list last week came a reissue, so i think this is the part for the 'not new music' record. Nonetheless, it's a good to know record, being made available again - for what is the first time in a little while.
Devotion... what an album. Their best if you ask me. Released back in 2007, it really has stood the test of time. I think the first 3 Beach House records all have in fairness, much more so than what followed, but for me, this is the standout. It's caught in the middle of the super stripped back DIY self titled release, and the beginning of deeper ventures into the studio on the following album 'Teen Dream'. The sweet spot. It's a perfect album artwork to music match, light an old looking candle kind of thing.
Beach House often get classed under genres such as 'dream pop' or 'shoegaze' nowadays, but there was something classic about this record. Think Alice In Wonderland-esque lyricism set to a collage of not just music of 60's influence, but 50's also, like nursery rhymes set to drum machines. Well worth a listen.
Unintentionally, you may have noticed, the format is pretty identical to last week, new music with vocals, followed by an essential album being made available again, and to finish, something new thats predominantly instrumental - BALTHVS. I feel like instrumental groove based bands with names that no one is sure how to pronounce has become its own genre now, so to address the elephant in the room, yes it's one for the Khruangbin fans.
It can be hard to discern between bands in this area, as differences can be in the subtleties. Natives of Bogota, Columbia, the sound of BALTHVS does have latin influence to hear, though this is more of a venture across genres compared to their chilled out first record, with traces of Deep House, Turkish Music, Vaporwave, Trip-Hop and Disco to be found. This genre hopping approach is what makes it stand out from other releases in this area, you couldn't really pin it all down to one 'landscape'. From the space, to the desert, and everything in between. Cause & Effect is well worth considering.