Vibes - You God It [2009]

It’s not every day friends get together and decide to swim upstream, but sometimes a great notion deserves great emotion – and legitimate forward motion. Then: shit happens. And then later: Vibes. LA’s most recent sub-underground non-rock quartet are a confusing composite electric dream of DIY funk, stream-of-consciousness garage soul, and groping group groove. Their live shows to date have functioned like moveable parties; the audience is either just crashin’ the thing or looking for someone they know. Regardless, You God It is the band’s first recorded statement, a six song EP featuring the bulk of their live staples, from the dizzy jangle-anthem “Honeycomb” to the slinky pow-wow dance “Spirit Soul” through to the swaggering woodblocks ballad “Shake It Off.” Love is all around, take a look. Tracked live at Bored Fortress then mixed by Ged Gengras with boss organ overdubs by Cameron Stallones, Pro-dubbed tapes in hand-numbered J-cards with full-color collage art by Amanda. Edition of 100.

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Sonic Youth - Sensational Fix [2009]

The iconic postpunk band Sonic Youth is best known for blurring musical genres and transcending the boundaries of rock guitar. Its members--Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley--have also, over the course of 27 years since they first started playing together, more quietly engaged in multidisciplinary solo efforts and collaborations with visual artists, filmmakers, designers and other musicians. What we're doing is always inventing itself. I have no terminology for it," according to Moore. This comprehensive 784-page volume--which includes two 7-inch records with unpublished songs by each member, album covers, band portraits and documentary photos, many of which have never been published before--is a must for fans and anyone seeking to connect the dots between New York's various cultural scenes. It features writings by band members and contributions by a host of other luminaries, including Richard Hell, Mike Kelley, Jutta Koether, Alan Licht, Lydia Lunch and John Miller."

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Fucked Up - Year of the Rat 12" [2009]

Tracklist:

A. Year of the Rat

B. First Born

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Elvis Perkins In Dearland - Elvis Perkins In Dearland [2009]

XL Recordings is pleased to announce the forthcoming release from Elvis Perkins in Dearland. The album, self-titled, will be released on March 10, 2009. This album is the debut album for the band and at the same time is the follow up to Perkins' first release, the critically acclaimed Ash Wednesday.Elvis Perkins in Dearland's new eponymous album feels very much like the second line to his exquisitely melancholic and much-hailed solo debut Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday gained Elvis a dedicated and reverent following for its nuanced meditations on death and grief — many moments on that first record felt as if the listener had tip-toed into the intimate confines of a private elegy, enveloped in that wondrous, old-soul quality of Elvis' voice.There are still plenty of private moments on Elvis Perkins in Dearland, but Elvis is now joined by a talented trio of friends that toured with him in support of Ash Wednesday. Along with Elvis on guitar and lead vocals, Elvis Perkins in Dearland is Brigham Brough (upright bass, saxophone, vocals), Wyndham Boylan-Garnett (pump organ, guitar, harmonium, trombone, vocals), and Nick Kinsey (drums, percussion, banjo, clarinet, vocals). Many of the new songs on Elvis Perkins in Dearland were honed on the road by the four bandmates, whose natural ease with one another allowed them to constantly experiment with arrangements on the fly.Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Chris Shaw (Public Enemy, Bob Dylan, Ween) and Elvis Perkins In Dearland, the album was recorded in Upstate New York in the latter part of 2008. Shaw recorded and mixed the album as well."On this new record we wanted to capture the spirit of our performances," drummer Nick Kinsey said. "The challenge was to get down that spontaneity." Perkins says, "This album is faster and younger than Ash Wednesday. Being in a studio with three other creatives instead of just one was a new thing for me. It takes four times as long to decide everything... but in the end, this kind of interplay made for much good."

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