For the Record
Snow Patrol - Final Straw (2xLP)
Final Straw is the third studio album and major-label debut by British rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003. The album is notable for bringing the band their first mainstream success outside of their native countries of Northern Ireland and Scotland. In the 14 months following it's release, a total of five singles were drawn from it. It is the first album to feature lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and the last to feature bassist Mark McClelland.
Alice Merton - Mint (Green Vinyl)
After rising to fame two years ago in 2016 with her explosive debut 1 Million selling single 'No Roots' (Mom + Pop), written about her constant moving homes as a child becoming such as huge debut, it's safe to say it's been a whirl wind for Alice Merton with 124 Million YouTube hits to date. She also gained 6+ Million streams, toured the US supporting the brilliant Vance Joy, championed by Billboard Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine with Performances on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonights Show and James Corden's Late Late Show, Live With Kelly and Ryan, and even a recent 2018 Teen Choice Awards Nomination in 'Best Rock' category. Merton's debut album, Mint, will be released on January 18th and featured "No Roots", "Lash Out" and her newest single "Why So Serious".
Pedro the Lion - Phoenix (Color Vinyl, 180g, 2xLP)
Capping off a fruitful 12-year long solo career, singer/songwriter David Bazan resurrects and reunites with both the moniker and mindset of his profoundly influential indie rock outfit, Pedro the Lion, with the follow up to their 2004 opus, Achilles Heel. The band's new album and Polyvinyl debut, Phoenix, marks a return to form for the beloved group, while mapping out the emotional intricacies and childhood experiences of growing up in Phoenix, AZ - a process that would ultimately shape Bazan's adult life.
Best Vinyl of 2018!
It's that time again when every cultural, entertainment, and music publication look back over the previous year and put together their "End of Year" lists. Some of these lists start populating our feeds and inboxes in early December. We always wait until January to make sure we get all the albums possible for the year. There are seventy titles on this years list!
Aaron Lee Tasjan - Karma For Cheap (Ltd. Ed. red/orange vinyl)
Limited orange colored vinyl LP pressing. Karma for Cheap is Aaron Lee Tasjan's third LP and second for his label New West Records, based in his current hometown of Nashville. The record was co-produced by ALT and Jeff Trott (Stevie Nicks, Liz Phair, Meiko, Joshua Radin) and Gregory Lattimer (Albert Hammond Jr.) and features Aaron Lee's road band - guitarist Brian Wright, bassist Tommy Scifres and drummer Seth Earnest - with whom he's been touring heavily for the last two years. While the stylistic shift from Tasjan's palpably stoned '70s-country-channeling 2015 debut, In the Blazes, to his more sophisticated, introspective and lushly produced 2016 follow-up, Silver Tears, was relatively incremental, Karma's rocked-up Brit-pop-influenced Beatles-Bowie-Badfinger vibes underscore a significant departure.
Charles Bradley - Black Velvet
Vinyl LP pressing, includes digital download. This 10-track album pulls together previously unreleased material from sessions for each of Bradley's three albums, 2011's No Time for Dreaming, 2013's Victim of Love, and 2016's Changes. The songs include a duet with LaRose Jackson called "Luv Jones", an alternate full band take of "Victim of Love", and a trio of covers: Nirvana's "Stay Away", Neil Young's "Heart of Gold", and Rodriguez's "Slip Away". The title track is an Menahan Street Band instrumental for which Bradley never got the chance to record vocals.
Queen - The Game
The Game is the eighth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 30 June 1980. The Game features a different sound than it's predecessor, Jazz (1978). The Game was the first Queen album to use a synthesizer (an Oberheim OB-X). "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Sail Away Sweet Sister", "Coming Soon" and "Save Me" were recorded from June to July 1979. The remaining songs were recorded between February and May 1980. A critical and commercial success, The Game became the only Queen album to reach #1 in the US, and became their best-selling studio album in the US, with four million copies sold to date.