VIET CONG - Cassette (12" EP)

While we're waiting for the fully-fledged full-length debut (which we're especially eagerly anticipating if the advance 'rough mix' of "Bunker Buster" is any indication of what's in store), this vinyl-only reissue of Viet Cong's 2013 cassette-only EP is a fine introduction to the band's paisley-stained post-punk, while inevitably also serving to sate those who still wonder what a third Women record might have sounded like.

"Viet Cong is a new project made up of four distinct voices. Matt Flegel and Scott Munro (respective former members of beloved Calgary band Women, and Chad VanGaalen's band) spent much of 2013 in their basement studio with a mess of old and run-down equipment to build a set of fresh material. Joined by bandmates Daniel Christiansen and Michael Wallace, the band completed work on a debut cassette. What emerged from the studio was a mixture of sharply-angled rhythmic workouts and euphoric '60s garage pop melodies, balanced with a penchant for drone-y, VU-styled downer moments." - Mexican Summer

VA - Country Funk II: 1967-1974

Featuring an undeniable pair of bookending cuts (Billy Swan's "Don't Be Cruel" and Willis Alan Ramsey's "Northeast Texas Women," respectively), a couple of killer mid-comp covers (Jackie DeShannon singing "The Weight," as well as Dillard and Clark doing "Don't Let Me Down") and the appreciated inclusion of J.J. Cale's "Cajun Moon," this second volume of one of Light In The Attic's more intruiging series satistifies on its own, yet leaves plenty of room for future installments further down the line.

"On July 15th, esteemed record excavators Light In The Attic released Country Funk II: 1967-1974, the second compilation of a genre that's unlikely, completely fictional and utterly fantastic. It's the brainchild of Los Angeles digger Zach Cowie, 33, a man who makes his living through curation, film supervision and DJ gigs—basically a professional record geek. Bringing together country songs with sick breakbeats, twangy, groovin' rock covers and all sorts of genre crossovers, Country Funk II unearths the most head-knocking moments from Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, Kenny Rogers and a whole mess of far less famous people. In turn, it may be the year's most masterful compilation, working both as a stellar DJ set and a collection of underappreciated gems." - Rolling Stone

VA - Eccentric Soul: The Way Out Label

We recently received a call from a customer looking to track down a song their toddler was groovin' to in the shop. Well, after some detective work we determined it was the fantastic "Demanding Man" by The Sensations from this wonderful collection of Cleveland soul. There are many other danceable groovers on here, as well as some deeper soul, like the fabulous "I've Got Everything I Need" by The Soul Notes. 

"Fueled by the financial drippings of number runners and boosted by Hall-of-Fame running back Jim Brown, Cleveland, Ohio's Way Out Records offered asylum for a rising crop of rogue soul men, rust-belt vocal ensembles, and trial-by-fire producers. Helmed by a friendly consortium of hustlers, police officers, and gridiron giants, pet project beget obsession as Motown arrangers, gospel choirs, and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra were all beckoned to the wrong side of the tracks to mint masterpieces for the Sensations, Volcanic Eruption, the Exceptional Three, and Bobby Wade, all beneath the mindful gaze of a wall-mounted shotgun. Reaching their peak in the late '60s, Eccentric Soul: The Way Out Label gathers the brightest moments from the quirky operation's eleven year bid." - Numero Group

DONNIE & JOE EMERSON - Still Dreamin' Wild: The Lost Recordings 1979-81

The archival sequel to Light In The Attic's original reissue of the Emerson brothers' lone private press effort, Still Dreamin' Wild manages to be both more cleanly produced and arguably slightly stranger than its predecessor (and certainly more synth-laced); consider it the Tusk to Dreamin' Wild's Rumours.

"Still Dreamin’ Wild: The Lost Recordings 1979-81 presents that secondary stage of reissue culture, culling demos in the years after the younger Emerson graduated high school and began traveling to Los Angeles in the hopes of realizing his teenage dreams. Older brother Joe was already turning his attentions to the family farm, his presence only heard on two of the album’s twelve tracks. Donnie’s polymath musical skills are on full display, from drums to poly-Moog synth, and his ability to mimic the more popular hits on the radio of the day remains uncanny." - Pitchfork

SLINT - Spiderland (remastered CD/LP with outtakes/demos + DVD)

If you passed on the pricy limited-edition Record Store Day box set but were pining to watch the enclosed Breadcrumb Trail documentary, now's your chance to check it out, bundled with a brand-new remastering of the original record as well as a download card with 14 tracks' worth of never-before-heard rehearsal and demo material.

"A foreword by collaborator Will Oldham, 14 previously unreleased outtakes and demos, and a documentary detail the creation of the album and the career arc of Slint in general. Spiderland itself remains a wasteland, a bleak, undead sulk of spindling guitar and hollow percussion. Seven-minute conclusion 'Good Morning, Captain' constitutes a main talking point, Brian McMahan's bizarre, spoken-word fairy tale wrapping around an oppressive death march. And yet, when you page through the booklet you'll see smiling faces, kids having fun recording in the studio. It's as if this reissue wants to prove Slint was human, not just a faceless menace that cut a record lost to time and circumstance, worthy of celebration and also fitting neatly in a box." - Austin Chronicle

VA - Hello Everyone: Popsike Sparks From Denmark Street 1968-70

We’ve been utterly charmed by this new offering from Cherry Red's psych imprint Grapefruit, a compilation of songs from the short-lived UK label Spark. It’s a psych-pop whirlwind that jumps from early glam (The Baby's "Heartbreaker") to a pair of trippy Donovan covers by the eternally electric actor/singer Eartha Kitt.

"The best of Spark's impressive roster is now collected on CD for the first time on Hello Everyone: Popsike Sparks From Denmark Street 1968-70, which assembles highly-prized, highly-priced 45s from pre-Rare Bird band Fruit Machine, Gene Latter, post-Sorrows outfit The Eggy, The New Generation (subsequently to become the Sutherland Brothers), the Dennis Wheatley-inspired Icarus and both sides of the magnificent and astonishingly rare single by Sir Ching I (only one stock copy known to exist).  Also included are exquisite Brit popsike singles from Timothy Blue, Just William, both sides of the superb John Carter/Russ Alquist collaboration 'The Laughing Man'/'Midsummer Dreaming' and two sensational offerings from Eartha Kitt during her brief and unlikely immersion in late-Sixties hippy-chick chic." - Cherry Red

MAX RICHTER - Retrospective (4CD)

The success of Max Richter's Recomposition of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, our best-selling classical release of the past five years by a significant margin, has resulted in this repackaging of four of his earlier releases in a stunning box set by Deutsche Grammophon. A beautiful hybrid of ambient, classical and electronic styles.

"Whether it be the Haruki Murakami readings and subtle piano arrangements with the broken synapse electronics flickering in the background on parts of 2006's Songs From Before or the more mechanical effusions that emit a dystopian glow from 2008's 24 Postcards In Full Colour, there is a restless energy percolating beneath the elegance and the elegiac. 2010’s Infra closes out the set, an album that fuses the electronic, the orchestral and the ethereal like no other piece this reviewer’s heard before or since.

By corralling all of Richter's fine works of this period together, Retrospective firmly underscores the belief that music can transcend all boundaries. From the soaring wonders of On The Nature Of Daylight right through to the mournful violin that sees out Infra 8, Richter beckons for the listener to close their eyes and jump into the nebulous abyss of their own imagination. That ability is truly magical." - TheMusic.com.au

THE SUPERBS - The Best Of The Superbs

Kent Records has released a few soul group harmony compilations in the past, including the solid Soul In Harmony release from last December. Here, the label's focus is on just one group, LA's Superbs, who play a pleasing hybrid of doo-wop and early soul styles that should appeal to fans of both genres. A particular highlight is the finale of 'The Big Hurt,' when a mind-blowing falsetto appears out of nowhere, putting an exclamation point on the agony of waiting for the final argument that ends a relationship.

"One R&B hit with 'Baby, Baby All The Time' is a poor return for the 25 singles The Superbs had on the Doré label between 1964 and 1987, and does not reflect the importance the group had on the Los Angeles soul harmony scene. Their enduring popularity and the high esteem in which they are held by soul music lovers in the USA is a truer indication of their impact. The Low Rider scene in LA in particular looks on them as demigods. They had their own instantly recognisable sound, a feature that can be attributed to only a handful of soul groups. It's the ballad side of their work that appeals to soul harmony collectors. Although their sound can be quite sweet, the subtle early Gene Page arrangements and clever song selection makes their music appealing to all soul fans." - Ace Records

DJANGO DJANGO - LateNightTales

Eclectic without sacrificing form and flow, Django Django deliver a LateNightTales mix that effortlessly flits from jazz-funk to contemporary bass tracks to sunshine psych to yacht rock and back again, while also introducing us to the stunning "Poor Moon," what must be the most entrancing Blind Owl-sung Canned Heat song we'd never heard.

"At one end of the Django spectrum there's James Last, the terminally unhip Teuton, whose 'Inner City Blues' shows you can never underestimate the Germans, while at the far reaches of the mix, they manage to sneak in Ramadanman ('Bass Drums') and Hudson Mohawke and Lunice collaboration TNGHT's 'Bugg'n.' You can hear the echoes of influences in some of the selections, like The Beach Boys whose peerless 'Surf's Up' makes a welcome appearance halfway through, while Seals & Crofts' 'Get Closer' show what sun-drenched pop can sound like when it's done well.

And because it's Late Night Tales there's a sparkling cover version of 'Porpoise Song,' the theme from The Monkees daffily brilliant Head, an admirably lysergic termination to this waltz through pop's nooks and cranberries. "You should never be afraid to make a fool of yourself for art," Dave Maclean once said. Let's raise a dram to Scotland's favourite fools on the hill." - LateNightTales

VA - Mod Jazz And Then Some! / VA - Paul Murphy Presents The Return Of Jazz Club

Two new jazz sets from Ace Records' Kent and BGP imprints, with the former expanding upon the the Mod Jazz series' focus on the early-'60s intersection of jazzy R&B and bluesy jazz, while the latter features the sort of latin jazz and hard bop cuts that once filled the dancefloor during Paul Murphy's mid-'80s proto-rare groove/acid jazz DJing heyday in London.

"You probably know the Mod Jazz drill by now: 24 cuts that have the feel of a smoky early-'60s basement about them, with plenty of jazz attitude, a touch of the blues (as Bobby 'Blue' Bland might have sung) and a pinch of latin spice. It's the sort of music that makes you want to don a midnight blue mohair two-piece with some well-polished Bass Weejuns and take to the dancefloor." - Ace Records

"Culled from the extensive Prestige and Riverside catalogues, The Return Of Jazz Club is mix of all the things good about Paul Murphy's original Jazz Club compilations: distinctive latin jazz from Art Farmer and Billy Taylor, a touch of vocal jazz from Eddie Jefferson and dancefloor-friendly blues-filled gems such as Bennie Green's 'Hi-Yo Silver'." - Ace Records

VA - Too Slow To Disco Vol. 1

This mix of laid-back '70s soft-rock/pop/folk/jazz tracks and artists both familiar (including the Brothers both Doobie and Alessi, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Tony Joe White, Jan Hammer, and the recently-reviewed Ned Doheny, whose signature song "Get It Up For Love" opens the track listing) and new to us (hey there Browning Bryant, Brian Elliot, Don Brown, David Batteau and Robbie Dupree) has us hoping for/looking forward to future installments from upstart label How Do You Are?

"To turn your nose up at yacht rock and the Too Slow To Disco compliation would be to miss out on some fantastic songs, from the expert craftsmanship of Ned Doheny to the shimmy and swagger of Browning Bryant. Music trends really are cyclical, and this compendium is proof that you can’t keep good music down forever." - Sabotage Times

VA - Bowie Heard Them Here First

Following up on the soul/girl group focus of the Dusty Springfield edition of the always interesting Heard Them Here First series, this selection of songs covered by David Bowie is an eclectic mix of genres, to be expected given the chameleonic nature of his career. If you thought "Alabama Song" was first performed by the Doors (as I did), pick this up and hear who really recorded it first. The perpetual journey of musical discovery continues...

"The latest release in our Heard Them Here First series traces the career of David Bowie via an eclectic selection of the other writers’ songs he chose to record...As one might expect from the chameleonic Bowie, the featured tracks emanate from a diverse array of musical genres, eras and artists, from Lotte Lenya & the Three Admirals' 1930 recording of Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill’s 'Alabama Song' to the Pixies' spiky 'Cactus' from 1988's Surfer Rosa. Other unlikely bedfellows: Johnny Mathis and Iggy Pop; Bobby Bland and the Velvet Underground; Jacques Brel and Chuck Berry; Martha & the Vandellas and Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, make for a strikingly wide-ranging programme." - Ace Records

K. LEIMER - A Period Of Review: Original Recordings 1975-1983

Whether conjuring up electronic art-rock atmospheres à la Cluster & Eno or sample-laced, funkily abstract workouts in the vein of Material and My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, K. Leimer's output has been impressively constant (he continues to self-release in the same manner in which all these tracks were originally made available, via his Palace Of Lights imprint) but little-known up to now, making this RVNG set (an archival sequel of sorts to the label's 2012 Sensations' Fix collection Music Is Painting In The Air) all the more appreciated.

"The tape-manipulated serenity Leimer experienced with Cluster II was a key revelation. Leimer realized the potential to compose with minimal training and scoured pawnshops for cheap instruments and recording equipment to transpose his wayward musical instincts. Leimer’s sound palette and composition soon refined and heightened with the accessibility of dynamic equipment such as the Micromoog and TEAC multi-track tape machines." - RVNG

LEWIS - L'Amour

Just over two years after Weird Canada's Aaron Levin first posted about this peculiar, gently creepy record, Light In The Attic have finally reissued it, out now on CD with a vinyl edition soon to follow on July 8th. Anyone looking for some whispered new-age L.A. loner synth-folk to file near (but not too near) their Jandek and Arthur Russell records should look no further.

"In 1983, a man named Lewis recorded an album named L'Amour, which was released on the unknown label R.A.W. And that’s about all we know..The ingredients are simple: smooth synthesizers, feather-light piano, ethereal, occasionally inaudible vocals and the gentle plucking of acoustic guitars, but the effects are arresting...L'Amour is a true discovery of the blog age, uncovered in an Edmonton flea-market by collector Jon Murphy, passed on to private press fanatic Aaron Levin, shared on the internet and speculated over by lovers of curious LPs. There’s almost no information about Lewis or the album on the internet...Lewis remains a ghost, a total mystery, but the music will be heard." - Light In The Attic

NED DOHENY - Separate Oceans

While we will have to ask you to keep your shirt on when in our shop, this new Numero single-disc anthology is your best heat-beating alternative, taking from his three '70s studio albums (one of which was Japan-only), and featuring many previously-unheard demos, including a handful of collaborations with Glenn Frey and Don Henley. If you're a fan of the likes of Jackson Browne, Boz Skaggs, Hall & Oates and Todd Rundgren but haven't yet heard Ned Doheny, welcome to the world of your new favourite blue-eyed soul songwriter!

"Over the last three decades, Doheny's albums have slid in and out of print on LP and CD, budget jobs without any involvement from the self-described 'avatar for casual vulgarity.' Separate Oceans examines Ned Doheny's first ten years adrift in song, pulling together choice album cuts and 11 previously unissued demos. An 8000-word essay is illustrated by images from the archives of noted rock photographers Henry Diltz, Moshe Brahka, Clive Arrowsmith, and Gary Heery, creating the first ever overview of this unheralded marina rocker." - Numero Group

THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS - Dylan's Gospel

Unavailable for the past 10 years with copies of the out-of-print CD selling for hundreds of dollars, it's a joy to see this finally available again. And with Light in the Attic releasing it you're guaranteed a top-notch package; it's a perfect companion piece to their previously released revelatory gospel set from Pastor TL Barrett. Dylan notably found God in the late-70s but, based on the evidence here, it was in him all along. Undoubtedly, my favorite reissue of the year.

"In the summer of 1969, producer Lou Adler gathered twenty-seven of the best backup singers in Los Angeles to cover the music of Bob Dylan during a marathon two-day session. 'Sometimes there were more than twenty-seven voices,' Adler told Rolling Stone in 1969, 'because on several occasions real brothers and sisters stopped by and grabbed a part. It sounds corny, but that was the spirit of the thing. The tape stopped, but they were still singing.' Adler called his gospel choir The Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles, and they made songs like 'Lady Lady Lay,' 'I Shall Be Released' and 'The Mighty Quinn' sound like they were written to be sung in church. 'You can find something spiritual about almost all of his music,' Adler says today. 'It's something that goes beyond just being a pop song, there's always something deeper than that in a Dylan song.'" - Rolling Stone

DYLAN SHEARER - Garagearray

As his response at the end of one of the few interviews we've been able to find with him attests to, Dylan Shearer is, in his own words, a "super obsessive music collector," which made complete sense (and admittedly further endeared him to us) upon reading such confirmation, since Garagearray unshowingly and unaffectedly hones in on a particularly early-'70s UK psych/folk slow/sadsack sweet spot, recalling such heavyweights as Kevin Ayers, Syd Barrett and Bill Fay while totally holding its own and sounding fresh and unique. Highly recommended and fully worthy of the attention of more ears!

"If Dylan Shearer's prior record Porchpuddles felt like the warm embrace of the sunniest of psychedelia, his new release Garagearray is the bittersweet glow of the post-trip comedown. Where Porchpuddles still had one hand gently resting on the leg of psych and garage, Garagearray seems to have bid adieu to the whole affair, instead turning in an album of sad, shy folk rock." - Side One Track One             

MUYEI POWER - Sierra Leone In 1970s USA

When the typically compilation-minded Soundway decides to focus its efforts on a single-group archival release, chances are it's worthy of a listen, and this anthology, putting together five tracks originally released on 45s recorded in California by this Sierra Leone band during the mid-'70s, while short on running time, more than makes up for it with the insistence and infectiousness of each 6-to-7-minute-long workout.

"Fusing elements of electric Congolese and Nigerian music with fast, syncopated, uptempo modernised arrangements of traditional songs, Muyei Power produced a series of unique single-only releases that have been unavailable for 35 years. The rare recordings featured here are a glimpse of a dynamic and powerful band at the very height of its powers. For the early part of the 1970s, the band toured extensively throughout Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire before making a handful of 45s in local TV and radio studios. The recordings featured here, however, come from a period of touring the college circuit in California during late 1975 and early 1976. Orchestre Muyei Power finally split up in 1979, leaving no proper album releases and only a handful of recordings for us to enjoy all these years later. The tracks have been licensed courtesy of ex lead-singer and bandleader Abou Whyte who now lives in New Jersey and performs as a solo artist." - Soundway Records

VA - Let The Music Play: Black America Sings Bacharach & David

One of our favourite Ace compilation series turns to two of American pop's classiest (and quirkiest) co-writers for this set of interpretations that are occasionally familiar (Aretha's stone-cold classic "I Say A Little Prayer," arguably rivalling Dionne Warwick's take on the tune), but more often focuses on outstanding but lesser-known renditions (such as Warwick's aunt Cissy Houston's must-hear version of "This Empty Place").

"Our Black America Sings series has already turned a soulful spotlight on the compositions of Bob Dylan, Lennon & McCartney and Otis Redding. Now it's the turn of Bacharach and David.

Burt Bacharach's music and the lyrics of Hal David have been appreciated by black American artists for over 50 years. Dionne Warwick was the first to record many of their songs and by doing so made them visible to others as a source of hits or album tracks. The pair had no finer interpreter than Warwick—with the possible exception of her male counterpart Lou Johnson—but all the acts included here demonstrate the quality of their work.

Plans are underway to extend the Black America Sings series, with the next instalment due later this year. In the meantime, here are two dozen of Bacharach and David’s best-known compositions performed by some of the finest soul artists of the 1960s and 70s." - Ace Records

Our “Black America Sings…” series has already turned the soulful spotlight on the compositions of Bob Dylan, Lennon & McCartney and Otis Redding. Now it’s the turn of Bacharach and David.

Burt Bacharach’s music and the lyrics of Hal David have been appreciated by black American artists for over 50 years. Dionne Warwick was the first to record many of their songs and by doing so made them visible to others as a source of hits or album tracks. The pair had no finer interpreter than Warwick– with the possible exception of her male counterpart Lou Johnson – but all the acts included here demonstrate the quality of their work.

- See more at: http://acerecords.co.uk/let-the-music-play-black-america-sings-bacharach-david#sthash.LgkZ7bEu.dpuf

Our “Black America Sings…” series has already turned the soulful spotlight on the compositions of Bob Dylan, Lennon & McCartney and Otis Redding. Now it’s the turn of Bacharach and David.

Burt Bacharach’s music and the lyrics of Hal David have been appreciated by black American artists for over 50 years. Dionne Warwick was the first to record many of their songs and by doing so made them visible to others as a source of hits or album tracks. The pair had no finer interpreter than Warwick– with the possible exception of her male counterpart Lou Johnson – but all the acts included here demonstrate the quality of their work.

- See more at: http://acerecords.co.uk/let-the-music-play-black-america-sings-bacharach-david#sthash.LgkZ7bEu.dpuf

Our “Black America Sings…” series has already turned the soulful spotlight on the compositions of Bob Dylan, Lennon & McCartney and Otis Redding. Now it’s the turn of Bacharach and David.

Burt Bacharach’s music and the lyrics of Hal David have been appreciated by black American artists for over 50 years. Dionne Warwick was the first to record many of their songs and by doing so made them visible to others as a source of hits or album tracks. The pair had no finer interpreter than Warwick– with the possible exception of her male counterpart Lou Johnson – but all the acts included here demonstrate the quality of their work.

- See more at: http://acerecords.co.uk/let-the-music-play-black-america-sings-bacharach-david#sthash.LgkZ7bEu.dpuf

SANDRA RHODES - Where's Your Love Been

A long-overdue reissue of this downhome and laidback funky country classic, perfect for the coming summer (if it ever shows up).

"While Sandra Rhodes made a name for herself singing behind Al Green on his classic Hi Records sides and writing songs including Conway Twitty's #1 single 'The Clown,' her best work missed the public eye (and ear).
 
Where's Your Love Been was Sandra’s 1972 album, recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis and originally released on Fantasy Records. Just as her backing vocals (usually performed with sister Donna and then-husband Charlie Chalmers) appeared on recordings of every genre, Where's Your Love Been moved from country to sweet Memphis soul, the same reason her songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Skeeter Davis to Isaac Hayes. Co-produced by Sandra and Chalmers, the ten tracks on Where’s Your Love Been include originals like the title cut to a cover of The Rolling Stones' 'You Can’t Always Get What You Want.' To make this album's CD debut even more special, seven bonus tracks from the sessions have been unearthed—all previously unissued!" - Omnivore Recordings