For the Record
August Discover Records of the Month - Joseph - Stay Awake (Ltd. Ed. clear-colored vinyl) // Rainbow Kitten Surprise - How To: Friend, Love, Freefall (Ltd. Ed. purple-colored vinyl)
Joseph returns with seven-track vinyl EP Stay Awake with three new songs - "All, " a demo of "50, 60, 80, " and "Stay Awake" - plus two older songs reimagined and covers of Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and Rolling Stones' "Moonlight Mile." Natalie Schepman who founded Joseph with her two sisters Allison and Meegan Closner, says the EP is "a small collection of songs we put together to help ourselves deal with heaviness. It's a bit of telling it like it is. It's a bit of a 'keep going.'"
August Classic Rock Record of the Month - Yes - 90125 (Blue/Pink/Yellow Vinyl)
The 1983 album was produced by Trevor Horn features the US chart-topper Owner Of A Lonely Heart. This is part of Rhino’s Back To The 80s series and is pressed on tri-coloured vinyl echoing the cover art: pink, yellow and blue.
August Jazz Soul & Blues Record of the Month - Fantastic Negrito - Please Don't Be Dead
There is desperation and urgency in Fantastic Negrito's new album Please Don't Be Dead. The record sees the Devil around the corner, and each song is a plea to make you aware of what's waiting for you. The artist is screaming at you because he knows what comes next. The album art features a real life photograph of Fantastic Negrito waking up from a three week coma. His body is shattered, his eyes are staring past you. They're staring at the darkness that awaits. But with his new album we hear the voice of an artist who put that darkness in the rearview. Now he's asking America to do the same.
August Alternative Record of the Month - Johnny Marr - Call The Comet (Ltd. Ed. purple-colored vinyl)
Call the Comet is the third studio album by British guitarist - and former Smiths member - Johnny Marr. Call The Comet was constructed in sessions at Marr's own Crazy Face Studios in Manchester. "'Call The Comet' is my own magic realism," says Johnny Marr. "It's set in the not-too-distant future and is mostly concerned with the idea of an alternative society. The characters in the songs are searching for a new idealism, although there are some personal songs in there too. It's something that people like me can relate to." Call The Comet is the follow-up to his 2014 album Playland.
August Rock Record of the Month - Drivin N' Cryin - Too Late To Turn Back Now!
The year is 1997. Gas cost $1.19 a gallon, and Drivin N Cryin is a three-piece band comprised of founding members Kevn Kinney on vocals/guitar and Tim Nielsen on bass/mandolin, along with Jeff Sullivan on drums. If you're like me, you probably haven't heard much about their Kosmo Vinyl (The Clash, Sex Pistols, and more) produced (Casino Studio, Atlanta, GA) self-titled album. The record had a short life on radio, with their cover of John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" getting some airplay in Alabama. Why this album went relatively unnoticed is a mystery to me. Maybe it was their return to their hometown, independent roots, after having left Geffen Records, that resulted in the album's release with little momentum. What I do know for certain, though, is that Drivin N Cryin stayed true to their sound and who they are. A little grit, a little roots. Now, 21 years later, the record has a title, new cover art (courtesy of Kosmo Vinyl himself), and momentum. With newly remastered songs, the album still holds true to who they are as a band. It's even being released on vinyl for the first time. A quote from tour manager, Scott Munn, gives insight into the climate surrounding that time. "The band was firing on all cylinders going into the studio, and there was a feeling that *this* was their truest representation and the record they had always wanted to make." Have a listen for yourself, and let me know if you solve that mystery.
August Singer Songwriter Record of the Month - Dawes - Passwords (Ltd. Ed. translucent yellow vinyl)
On the group's sixth album, Passwords, inspiration pulls guitarist/ singer Taylor Goldsmith, drummer Griffin Goldsmith, bassist Wylie Gelber, and keyboardist Lee Pardini into their most universal, topical territory to date. This is a record about the modern world: the relationships that fill it, the politics that divide it, the small victories and big losses that give it shape. Taylor's writing is personal at points - the result of his recent engagement, which lends a sense of gravity and self-reflection to album highlights like "Time Flies Either Way" and "I Can't Love" - but it also zooms out, focusing not on the director himself, but on everything within the lens.
July Record Store Spotlight of the Month - Foreigner - Foreigner 4 (Ltd. Ed. red-colored vinyl)
4 (Foreigner album), also known as Foreigner 4, is the fourth studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released in 1981 on Atlantic Records. Several singles from the album were hits, including "Urgent", "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "Juke Box Hero". - The album was originally titled Silent Partners and later was changed to 4. The album marked the completion of the band's shift to hard rock, begun in Head Games. Both Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood had left before the recording of 4. As a result, all of the songs on the album are compositions by Mick Jones and/or Lou Gramm. McDonald and Greenwood had played saxophone and keyboards, respectively, and so several session musicians were needed to replace their contributions, among them Junior Walker, who played the saxophone solo in the bridge of "Urgent", and a young Thomas Dolby, who would later have a successful solo career.
July Discover Records of the Month - lovelytheband / Greta Van Fleet
Limited white vinyl LP pressing. 2018 EP. Lovelytheband is an indie pop band that formed in 2016 in the city of Los Angeles, California. The band started with Mitchy Collins and long-time collaborator and music producer Christian Medice. The band is led by Collins, former Oh Honey member, guitarist Jordan Greenwald, and drummer Sam Price. Band members Collins, Greenwald, and Price met and formed on a drunken night at a nightclub in West Hollywood. The band started making music and released their hit single "Broken" exclusively with Billboard in April of 2017.