It's finally February! It might feel like it's taken forever to get here but you're in for a treat with the releases we have coming this month.
We've got classic reissues from The Pale Fountains, Brand Nubian and Neural Milk Hotel, new albums from Inhaler, Young Fathers, Sweet Baboo and The Brian Jonestown Massacre as well as the debut album from The Waeve, also known as Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall. It's a veritable smorgasbord of new stuff!
The Waeve - The Waeve
Due 3rd February 2023
The Waeve - composed of Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall – release their eponymous debut album on Transgressive Records. Produced by The Waeve and James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Florence & The Machine, Foals, Haim) and recorded in London earlier this year, ‘The Waeve’ is a collection of 10 new tracks from songwriters Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall. Joining creative forces in The WAEVE gave the duo the opportunity to push past their instrumental comfort zones. Many tracks feature Graham on saxophone, one of the first instruments he played as a young musician back in the 80s. First single ‘Can I Call You’ starts as a ballad then morphs into a krautrock-style motorik number with a sprawling Coxon guitar solo. ‘All Along’ features Graham on cittern, a medieval folk lute. Rose plays piano and an ARP 2000 modular synth. The heavy weather all over ‘The Waeve’ recalls the blustery folk rock of Sandy Denny or John & Beverly Martyn, while tracks such as ‘Kill Me Again‘ and ‘Over and Over’ recall the 70s rock of Kevin Ayers or Van der Graaf Generator, almost industrial in places.
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The Pale Fountains - From Across The Kitchen Table
Due 3rd February 2023
The Pale Fountains were formed in Liverpool in 1980 by Mick (as he was then known) Head with Chris McCaffery on bass, Thomas Whelan on drums, trumpeter Andy Diagram and guitarist Ken Moss. Signing with Virgin in late 1982, this was the first time the music world became aware of the work of singer-songwriter Michael Head. 1985's . . . From Across The Kitchen Table was produced by Ian Broudie, soon to form and redefine sugar-pop with The Lightning Seeds. The album is more unified than its predecessor as it was recorded over a shorter period of time. Lead single Jean's Not Happening is one of the great lost indie gems of the 80s, complete with a powerful string arrangement. The closing song, September Sting, is a joyous slice of scouse-a-billy that points the way clearly to later groups such as The Las. Near four decades later, Michael Head is adored by his hardcore following and the wider world freshly discovers him as each of his new releases achieves widescale acclaim, whether it be his subsequent band, Shack, or his current outfit, the Red Elastic Band. But The Pale Fountains was where it all began. This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1985 Virgin Records UK release with printed inner and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.
3rd February also sees the reissue of the band's debut album 'Pacific Street'
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Brand Nubian - In God We Trust
Due3rd February 2023
It was released on February 2, 1993 and is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. Lead MC Grand Puba left the group to pursue a solo career in 1991, following the release of their revered debut One for All. DJ Alamo also left to work with Puba, leaving MC's Sadat X and Lord Jamar, who enlisted DJ Sincere to join the group. It was a safe bet that In God We Trust wouldn't have attempted any new jack swing crossovers or tie-dyed imagery. Though the makeover is drastic, it is convincing, with Lord Jamar and Sadat X stepping up with some of the era's fiercest, most intense rhymes and lyrics that were extremely militant reflecting the group's identity adhering to the philosophy of the Nation of Gods and Earths. The album produced two singles, Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down and Love Me or Leave Me Alone which both charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy
Due 3rd February 2023
Young Fathers - Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and G. Hastings - announce details of their brand new album Heavy Heavy. Set for release on February 3rd 2023 via Ninja Tune, it’s the group’s fourth album and their first since 2018’s album Cocoa Sugar. The 10-track project signals a renewed back-to-basics approach, just the three of them in their basement studio, some equipment and microphones: everything always plugged in, everything always in reach.
Alongside the announcement ‘Heavy Heavy’, Young Fathers will make their much anticipated return to stages across the UK and Europe beginning February 2023 - known for their electrifying performances, their shows are a blur of ritualistic frenzy, marking them as one of the most must-see acts operating today. The tour will include shows at the Roundhouse in London, Elysee Montmartre in Paris, Paradiso in Amsterdam, O2 Academy in Leeds and Glasgow, Olympia in Dublin, Astra in Berlin, Albert Hall in Manchester, Trix in Antwerp, Mojo Club in Hamburg and more (full dates below)
To mark news of the album and the tour, Young Fathers today release a brand new single, “I Saw”. It’s the second track to be released from the album (following standalone single “Geronimo” in July) and brims with everything fans have come to love from a group known for their multi-genre versatility - kinetic rhythms, controlled chaos and unbridled soul. Accompanied by a video created by 23 year old Austrian-Nigerian artist and filmmaker David Uzochukwu, the track demonstrates the ambitious ideas that lay at the heart of this highly-anticipated record.
Speaking about the title, the band write that Heavy Heavy could be a mood, or it could describe the smoothed granite of bass that supports the sound… or it could be a nod to the natural progression of boys to grown men and the inevitable toll of living, a joyous burden, relationships, family, the natural momentum of a group that has been around long enough to witness massive changes.
“You let the demons out and deal with it,” reckons Kayus of the album. “Make sense of it after.”
For Young Fathers, there’s no dress code required. Dancing, not moshing. Hips jerking, feet slipping, brain firing in Catherine Wheel sparks of joy and empathy. Underground but never dark. Still young, after some years, even as the heavy, heavy weight of the world seems to grow day by day.
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Sweet Baboo - The Wreckage
Due 10th February 2023
The singular voice of sensitive storytelling, occasionally surreal singer-songwriter, Sweet Baboo, also known as multi-instrumentalist musical polymath Stephen Black, returns to the cut, thrust and cacophony of the music world by announcing the release of his seventh studio album, The Wreckage.
Cradling an uncomplicated guitar, a man in trousers of artful proportion pours tender tales into your ear. Plucking nylon strings as he sings of waitresses who gaze through checked café windows, weathered fishermen who cast lines under blue-grey skies, and beloved, untameable dogs who stretch their long legs too far from home, is the enigmatic Sweet Baboo: musician as mirage, great beautifier of the mundane; each of his songs an ode to the tragedy and the comedy and the magnificence of life’s minutiae, momentarily appreciated before the world goes spinning on.
Despite several years of contributing to the recorded and live pursuits of other musicians (among them Gruff Rhys and Cate Le Bon) — as well as the release of two albums with Paul Jones under the duo’s acid-ambient piano and clarinet project Group Listening —The Wreckage is Stephen Black’s first output as Sweet Baboo since 2017.
Determined to reconcentrate his energies on his solo music and beholden only to himself, Black took a sledgehammer to the Sweet Baboo foundations; picked through the bricks; turned them over in his hands and mind, and mortared them back together in an unwieldier, more sculptural shape. Resultantly, The Wreckage is a work of quiet idiosyncrasy; surreal and sidelong observations unassumingly wrapped in the mist of a viscous voice and lush, otherworldly instrumentation.
Black took to StudiOwz, Clarbeston, Pembrokeshire, with a band of well-established collaborators (Paul Jones of Group Listening on various keys; Jodie Marie and Georgia Ruth on additional vocals; Davey Newington of Boy Azooga on drums and percussion, Huw Evans, aka H. Hawkline, on bass and electric guitar; Black’s dog Herbie on woofs). Georgia Ruth contributed the lyrics to cinematic ballad ‘The Waitress’, which undulates like waves in a Spring tide, and Evans gifted the album ‘Good Luck’ — bouncy riffs and xylophones bending around the magical potential of if condensed within a lottery ticket. The record was recorded, mixed, and arranged (jointly with the band) by the multiple-Mercury-award-nominated Jimmy Robertson, noted for his work with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Anna Calvi, and Late of the Pier.
Check out Stephen Taylor's review of The Wreckage here
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The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Future Is Your Past
Due 10th February 2023
Recorded in Berlin & remotely between 2020 & 2021, the band returns with their 20th full-length studio album. The album was recorded in Berlin By Anton Newcombe , joining him in the studio for this album were Hakon Adalsteinsson (guitar), & Uri Rennert (drums). The band in 2022 have been touring and completed a 34 date tour in North America with Mercury Rev and the Magic Castles which was very successful , with 3 festival appearances in the summer of 2022 in Angers , France , Graz , Austria & Switzerland which were also successful. With this the band went on tour in Europe which started in September 2022 with many sold out shows. A new tour is coming up in the UK in January 2023 & going into Europe in February. Available on 180g clear Vinyl LP with a pack of 6 colour pencils so you can colour in your own album cover.
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Ron Sexsmith - The Vivian Line
Due 17th February 2023
Half man, half melody Ron Sexsmith releases a new album entitled The Vivian Line. The Vivian Line is Ron Sexsmith’s 17th album. It features 12 new songs written and performed by Ron. The who, what, where, why and how of the record are best explained by Ron himself: “The Vivian Line is a rural route right near where we live in Stratford (Ontario). Whenever we have to get out of the city we jump on The Vivian Line and it dumps us out onto the highway. I wondered about the name when we first moved there and thought it was intriguing... it sort of represents escaping from our old life in Toronto to this new phase we're in. And it's also like a portal to my old life when I have to get back there. I recorded it (The Vivian Line) with Brad Jones in Nashville. (Brad played bass on 3 of my earlier records "Other Songs", "Whereabouts" and "Blue Boy") and it's a very lush sounding almost baroque pop record. (a distant cousin of "Whereabouts). The songs were mostly inspired by this stage in life that I find myself in and trying to figure it all out.” "A fine collection from a timelesssong craftsman" ★★★★ - MOJO Magazine
Ron will also be playing the Nantwich Roots Festival on 17th May 2023 and you can buy tickets here
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Orbital - Optical Delusion
Due 17th February 2023
Legendary electronic music duo Orbital return in Spring 2023 with new album Optical Delusion, the Hartnoll brothers first studio album since 2018’s Monster’s Exist. Recorded in Orbital’s Brighton studio, Optical Delusion includes contributions from Sleaford Mods, Penelope Isles, Anna B Savage, The Little Pest, Dina Ipavic, Coppe, and perhaps most surprisingly, The Medieval Baebes. For the first single Orbital have joined forces with Sleaford Mods on their fabulous, furious new single “Dirty Rat” Featuring a searing vocal from Jason Williamson over kinetic, driving beats, “Dirty Rat” is Orbital at their most vital, still utterly relevant and pushing forward over 30 years since they broke through with their landmark single “Chime”. Think KLF or Underworld 'Born Slippy’ - ‘Dirty Rat’ is a primal scream which crosses genres and generations.
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Inhaler - Cuts & Bruises
Due 17th February 2023
Inhaler return with their 2nd album Cuts and Bruises in 2023. Cuts and Bruises is the follow-up to Inhaler’s debut It Won’t Always Be Like This which debuted at no.1 in both the UK & Irish Official Charts. It Won’t Always Be Like This became the fastest-selling debut album on vinyl by any band this century and saw Inhaler become the first Irish group to top the Album Charts with a debut in 13 years. 2022 has seen a relentless touring schedule with a run of festival dates, including their first Glastonbury performance, a homecoming gig in Dublin at the city’s Fairview Park alongside support shows with Arctic Monkeys & Kings of Leon. The band once again support Arctic Monkeys in 2023 alongside stadium shows with Harry Styles and Sam Fender.
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Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island (Deluxe Edition)
Due 24th February 2023
Neutral Milk Hotel‘s explosive 1996 debut, On Avery Island, receives the deluxe reissue treatment with a yellow and red vinyl 2xLP press, complete with revised artwork and cut at 45RPM. Jeff Mangum’s songs are cryptic and crazed, his ideas fast and furious, and together they force the home-recording concept out of the basement and into a brave new world, a fuzzy masterpiece of experimental lo-fi recording. Full of rapid-fire wordplay with true and heartfelt experimentation, both ambitious and eclectic, it’s not hard to see why this has been such an influential album. Part of the fabled Elephant 6 collective, Neutral Milk Hotel won over many a music critic with this cult classic. The band are recognized as one of the most influential alternative acts to come out of the mid-90s and sowed the seeds for everything from anti-folk to the likes of Arcade Fire, Caribou and even Franz Ferdinand
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Gruff Rhys - The Almond and The Seahorse (OST)
Due 24th February 2023
Following on from his top 10 album ‘Seeking New Gods’ Gruff Rhys is pleased to announce his forthcoming soundtrack to the film The Almond And The Seahorse via Rough Trade Records. The soundtrack will be released as a foil numbered, limited edition double-LP, on yellow vinyl with a fold out film poster. The 22-track album comprises original songs and instrumental score, all composed by Gruff Rhys. Recorded between 2021-2022 with a host of featured musicians including members of the National of Orchestra Wales, the music features throughout the forthcoming film of the same name, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rebel Wilson and Celyn Jones. Set for release in early 2023, the film tells the story of archaeologist (Rebel Wilson) and an architect (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and their fight to re-imagine a future after a traumatic brain injury leaves them adrift from the people they love. The title of the film itself refers to the nicknames given to the parts of our brains that lay down new memories and hold on to the old ones. Tonally, the soundtrack compliments the movie perfectly: the drama of the subject matter and the human relationships is counterbalanced by the film’s wry humour and lightness of touch, and the varied compositions and styles on Gruff Rhys’ score and compositions reflects that. “The soundtrack for The Almond & The Seahorse was recorded largely in pandemic conditions so it was a matter of recording in bursts of possible activity in various friends’ studios, homes and even scout halls as chance permitted. It’s a varied quilt work as a result. “Gruff notes. “As sonic flagpoles I wanted to signify the film’s location in Liverpool and the Wirral by liberally, but hopefully not too obviously, using the Mellotron synthesizer (as famously used in Strawberry Fields by the Beatles & therefore in my mind it represents that great city sonically) and the Cello as a nod to its use by Gwen’s character in the film.” “I was encouraged by Mike Jones the editor to take things to a more acoustic, emotional and ragged place. That, I hope, roughly explains the trajectory of the recording and how the varied music contained in this record came about. I hope you enjoy this colorful scrapbook of a soundtrack and get a chance to watch the film”.
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Gorillaz - Cracker Island
Due 24th February 2023
‘Cracker Island’ is the eighth studio album from Gorillaz, an energetic, upbeat, genre-expansive collection of 10 tracks featuring yet another stellar line-up of artist collaborators: Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, Stevie Nicks, Adeleye Omotayo, Bootie Brown and Beck. Recorded in London and LA earlier this year, it is produced by Gorillaz, Remi Kabaka jr. and eight-time Grammy Award-winning producer / multi-instrumentalist / songwriter extraordinaire Greg Kurstin. Title track ‘Cracker Island’ kickstarted the new campaign this summer hitting the charts across the globe with a top 10 video racking up 10M views in 10 days. The virtual band exploded ontoTikTok gaining over 2.1 m followers in the space of a few months where they continue to innovate, taking virtual characters where no character has been before. Format Details:
The Standard vinyl is pressed onto 140 gram black vinyl.
RSD Stores Exclusive LP – Exclusive pressing on neon purple vinyl.
Both variants come packaged in a mat 3mm spined outer sleeve. Vinyl is housed in a printed inner bag with centre holes and matt dispersion varnish. Includes a double sided 12 panel fold out poster on 150g art paper matt with Jamie Hewlett art.
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The Slow Readers Club - Knowledge Freedom Power
Due 24th February 2023
The critically acclaimed The Slow Readers Club will follow their 2020 Top 10 album ‘The Joy of the Return’ with the release of their new record ‘Knowledge Freedom Power’ on February 24th, 2023. The Manchester band launch the album by sharing its lead single and title track. Nothing – not despots, pandemics, self-destruction or the rise of the machines–can keep a good band down. So, When The Slow Readers Club hit the studio in early 2022 with producer Joe Cross (Hurts/Courteeners), they battled dark times with a refreshing optimism. The result is ‘Knowledge Freedom Power’ , a sizzling synth-rock beast of a record akin to White Lies, Muse and modern-day Bloc Party, and a rallying cry of emancipation, both stylistically and socially. It’s a righteous punch of the air, a surge towards the future. Frontman Aaron Starkie says, “The world had got so bleak it felt a little indulgent to paint apocalyptic pictures when they were out in the real world. I thought people would probably want to hear more uplifting things, it was my intention to be a bit more positive. There’s still a lot of melodrama in there and it’s still dystopian in places but there’s more positive shades in this record.” That positivity powers to the fore with the album’s lead single and title track, an instantly addictive hybrid of the band’s new pulsating synth style with their anthemic alt - rock roots. Its streamlined, straight – to – the - point hook highlights the fact that there can be an alternative to a world which is becoming increasingly authoritarian and ignoring the needs of the many in favour of the few. Aaron adds, “Growing up as a council estate kid in Manchester I was very conscious of having a limited horizon and I guess I had a chip on my shoulder and something to prove. It’s that background that inspired both our band name and the album’s title track ‘Knowledge Freedom Power’. It is an exercise in positive slog aneering, a mantra for education as a means of a way out from social and psychological confinement.” As much as the record finds The Slow Readers Club channelling a brighter spirit, there’s no dumbing down of their famously ferocious and insightful lyricism. A beam of hope shines throughout ‘Sacred Song’ : part in the form of a spiritual saviour, but also embracing the power of love as a force for good, something which can also be achieved by the friendship and community spirit infused in ‘Lay Your Troubles On Me’ . Yet a darkness still looms large, whether its within the warmongering satire - and ultimately individual powerlessness – of ‘Seconds Out’ or the steady march of automation over the human workforce on opener ‘Modernise’ ‘Knowledge Freedom Power’ is the band’s sixth album and the latest giant leap in one of the greatest self-made success stories in recent British rock history. Since debuting in 2011 with their eponymous and self - released debut album, they’ve constantly grown in stature leading to sold - out headline gigs including the Manchester Apollo and London’s Scala , shows as guests to Pixies ,Catfish and The Bottlemen and James , as well as festivals stretching from the Neighbourhood Weekender to Mad Cool Madrid. When lockdown kicked in the same week that ‘The Joy Of The Return’ debuted at #9, The Slow Readers Club reacted to the cancellation of their touring plans by creating a darker, more ethereal set of songs, which they recorded via Whats App and Google Drive and by recording one band member at a time in the studio. The result was ‘91 Days in Isolation’ , which they self-released in October 2020 Knowledge Freedom Power’
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Remember these are just some of what's coming this month, you can check out the rest of February's new releases here.
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