For the Record
Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline (Ltd. Ed. White Vinyl)
Andy Shauf is becoming one of the most important songwriters of his generation. His songs are tuneful vignettes of small moments and big hearts. On his latest, The Neon Skyline, Shauf intertwines stories of a group of friends who frequent a local dive bar, and through them, makes poignant observations about human nature with a novelist's detail and melancholic humor. The songwriting is down to earth, yet sophisticated and inventively melodic. The Neon Skyline is a creative leap for this already acclaimed artist.
Son Little - Aloha (Ltd. Ed. Pineapple Vinyl)
"Letting go can be a scary prospect," says Son Little. "But there's beauty in it, too. Everything you leave behind opens up space for something new in your life." That was certainly the case with his new album, aloha, his third studio album. Recorded at Paris's iconic Studio Ferber, the entire project was an exercise in letting go, in ceding control, in surrendering to fate. While SON LITTLE (the stage name of songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Livingston) still plays nearly every instrument on the album himself, he put his songs in the hands of an outside producer for the first time here, collaborating with French studio wizard Renaud Letang (Feist, Manu Chao) to create his boldest, most self-assured statement yet. Equal parts vintage and modern, the collection blends classic soul, old-school R&B, and adventurous indie sensibilities into a timeless swirl fueled by gritty instrumental virtuosity and raw, raspy vocals. It's an ambitious work of vision and reflection, to be sure, but more than that, it's an ecstatic testament to the freedom that comes from torching the map and trusting the currents of life to carry you where you belong.
Green Day - Father of All (Ltd. Ed. Pink Vinyl)
2020 release, the thirteenth album from the five-time Grammy Award-winning rock trio. The album's full title is Father of All Motherf***ers. Formed in 1986 in Berkeley, CA, Green Day is one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, with more than 70 million records sold worldwide and 10 billion cumulative audio/visual streams.
Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman (Ltd. Ed. Blue Vinyl)
The timeless qualities of traditional tunes can carry us across oceans and eons, linking us not only to the past but to each other as well. It was under the banner of those eternal connections that the trio of Bonny Light Horseman came together. From festival fields and a German art hub to a snowy upstate studio and everywhere in between, the astral folk outfit-comprised of Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats, The Shins), and Josh Kaufman (The National, Bob Weir)-is mixing the ancient, mystical medium of transatlantic traditional folk music with a contemporary, collective brush. The resulting album, Bonny Light Horseman, is an elusive kind of sonic event: a bottled blend of lightning and synergy that will excite fans of multiple genres, eras, and ages. The album features fellow 37d03d artists-in-residence Michael Lewis (bass, saxophone) and JT Bates (drums) as well as Justin Vernon, Aaron Dessner, Kate Stables, Lisa Hannigan, The Staves, Christian Lee Hutson, and more. Leaving the 2018 37d03d Berlin event with roughly 60-percent of a record, the band reconvened at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, NY, in January 2019 to finish, bringing Lewis and Bates as well as engineer Bella Blasko along with them.
Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight: The Best Of (Ltd. Ed. Pink Vinyl)
Celebrate the life and music of '80s rock legend Eddie Money with this collection of blockbuster hits that encapsulates the very best of his storied career. Includes the unforgettable '80s classics "Take Me Home Tonight," "Baby Hold On," "Two Tickets To Paradise," and so many more plus exclusive acoustic versions.
Marcus King - El Dorado (180G)
"Written by King and Auerbach with songwriters like Pat McLaughlin, Paul Overstreet, and Ronnie Bowman. El Dorado also finds King backed up not by his eponymous Marcus King Band (as he was on his last effort, 2018’s Carolina Confessions), but by Auerbach’s roster of studio heavyweights, including keys payer Bobby Wood, drummer Gene Chrisman, and bassist Dave Roe."
G. Love - The Juice (Ltd. Ed. Hot Pink Vinyl)
Recorded in Nashville with a slew of special guests including Robert Randolph, Marcus King, and Roosevelt Collier, ‘The Juice’ is indeed diploma-worthy. Co-produced and co-written with GRAMMY-winning icon Keb Mo’, it’s an electrifying collection, one that tips its cap to more than a century of blues greats even as it offers its own distinctly modern pop spin on the genre, mixing programmed beats and hip-hop grooves with blistering guitar and sacred steel. G. Love’s lyrics are both personal and political here, artfully balancing his appreciation for the simple joys in life with his obligation to speak out for justice and equality, and his performances are suitably riotous and rousing to match, with infectious call-and-response hooks and funky sing-along choruses at every turn. Easy as it is to succumb to cynicism these days, the songs on ‘The Juice’ refuse, insisting instead on hope and determination in the face of doubt and despair.