October 28, 2021

NEW THIS WEEK AT THE SHOP:

 

 

What does the quintessential scrappy underdog band turned Grammy Winner do to follow up their most feted-album to date? THE WAR ON DRUGS don't change the formula much on their very good new album 'I Don't Live Here Anymore', which opens up immediately into the soaring grandeur that's made their last few records so memorable, letting the songs linger and develop with even more patience. Limited blue vinyl is here for this one, and we have one signed test pressing to give away, drawn from the list of names of you who pick up a copy this weekend. Representing the rock proletariat from the opposite coast, a spine-tingling new record from psych rocker TY SEGALL is in, mixing sleek synthery in with his singed riffs. A nice surprise this week is the unearthed New Zealand gem 'Radar of Small Dogs' from the brief band STEPHEN, fronted by David Kilgour of The Clean. Only released as a small-run CD in the 90s, these songs now land on LP for the first time, a trap-door into an unseen world of Kiwi jangle pop perfection. Baltimore art-rock duo WYE OAK put the world on notice with their 2011 album 'Civilian', which sounds even more revelatory in the wake of their more recent successes. This one is back now in an expanded edition with a second LP on unreleased material called 'Cut All The Wires'

 

 

'New Adventures In Hi-Fi' is perhaps the most contemplative (and overlooked) album in the long catalog of indie institution R.E.M., celebrating 25 years this week with a new vinyl edition. PINK FLOYD's 'A Momentary Lapse Of Reason' gets a new mix and expanded updates in a new 2LP release, and we have a nice audiophile vinyl edition of OLD 97s classic 'Fight Songs', and an expanded anniversary edition of DAWES' 'North Hills'.

 

 

Critically underappreciated Chicago jazz vocalist KELLEE PATTERSON's sophomore album from 1976 is back in print, and it is a complex, funky, and entrancing session. As a sideman, organist BILLY PRESTON helped build the scaffolding for the American funk revolution of the early 70s, and added to his fame with performance credits on The Beatles 'Get Back'. His iconic 1970 album 'Encouraging Words' gets a reissue this week. American poet NIKKI GIOVANNI is a cultural institution, a kind of bridge between the radical styles of Langston Hughes and Angela Davis, and her debut album, the 1971 LP 'Truth Is On Its Way', set an early standard for a crossover between poetry, gospel, and soul music. Comedian DAVE CHAPPELLE has made headlines for very unfortunate (you might say, just plain stupid) reasons lately, but his piece from last summer, '8:46', which reflects upon the memory of George Floyd and the struggle to get him justice, remains an enduring statement. Rather than the mess he is pulling now, we can only hope he is more remembered for moments of clarity like the one on this record, all proceeds of which are being donated to his high school alma mater, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC.

 

 

The mighty Texas post-pop savants KHRUANGBIN released the stems from their latest masterful album to a long roster of remixes for some limited EPs that lived for about a day each on the shelves here this summer. No fear! All have been compiled (plus more) on a new LP 'Mordechai Remixes'. More pop delights in this week come from SAM EVIAN and DINNER, plus we have the latest LP by the new project CAKE POP, a venture involving Dylan Brady from 100 Gecs, who I do not understand and never will.

 

 

Like a more amped up Caetano Veloso, Brazilian guitarist and songwriter SEU JORGE set the scene for a new century of MPB with 'Carolina', which gets a limited clear vinyl repress this week. For a second time, esteemed leftfield producer QUANTIC teams up with Colombian vocalist NIDIA GONGORA, for an album of jazzy, electronic pop thats too enjoyable to waste time trying to describe what its doing. The Folkways label rescues lost recordings from fabled Bahamian guitarist and singer JOSEPH SPENCE, whose unusual, raw style can take some adjusting to but ultimately achieves maximum results. Danish jazz duo BREMER and McCOY deliver a second record of nocturnal instrumentals somewhere akin to the more meditative parts of the last Badbadnotgood album, or the work of Andrew Wasylyk.

 

 

'Joy', the 2009 album from the largely unknown regional bluegrass band PHISH, gets repressed for the first time ever this week. This pressing on bright swirl vinyl is limited and will go fast, so stop by for one quick unless you are out of town to see them in Las Vegas. BELA FLECK and a cast of luminaries converge on 'My Bluegrass Heart', now in stock on vinyl, plus we have a stunning new one from MARISSA NADLER, and a new LP reissue of an early CD-r rarity from one of a kind crooner JOSEPHINE FOSTER.

 

 

Plenty of essentials for the well-rounded record shelf are back in print this week, starting with the long overdue reissue of ELLIOTT SMITH's absolutely crushing album 'Either/Or'. Early Adrian Sherwood magic overflows on the 1981 album 'Threat To Creation' from CREATION REBEL / NEW AGE STEPPERS. Another 1981 classic from a world away is the trailblazing new wave of the first SUBURBAN LAWNS album. Before he started stacking up synthesizers, Manuel Gottsching and ASH RA TEMPEL turned in their best freeform psych record 'Schwingungen'. 

  

 

As dependable as the tides, the KING GIZZARD band revisits their album 'Paper Mache Dream Balloon' for a new deluxe edition with a lenticular cover and a second LP of instrumental versions. Try as they may, none of the current crop of shambolic indie bands can quite get the recipe down for the explosive, slovenly cool guitar rock doled out by bands like COME in the early 90s. Staffed by musicians like Thalia Zedek and Chris Brokaw, who continue to deliver us great records today, approximately a thousand years on from the release of 'Dont Ask Don't Tell', which remains a bottomless trench of riffs and malaise all these seasons later, with an expanded reissue. More new rock and rockish records are in from ex-Youth of Today band QUICKSAND, ex-LCD Soundsystem band MUSEUM OF LOVE, a freshie from THE RECORD COMPANY, and a physical manifestation of a band that appeared on television's Parks and Recreation from MOUSE RAT. 

 

 

Heavy times! Open up the realm for a new one from MASTODON, which we have here on black vinyl with a few clear vinyl copies arriving next week, plus a free slipmat with your purchase. West coast sludge is in from INTERLOPER, and we welcome the latest from the progressive tech-metal geniuses behind KAYO DOT, who roll out a huge new one called 'Moss Grew on the Swords & Plowshares Alike'. Seems like a drainage problem, maybe! All-time classic 'Dimension Hatross' from Quebecois thrash legends VOIVOD is also back in print.

 

 

Arriving out of nowhere and with little explanation, a newish album from Atlanta dream-trap rhymer FATHER is here, with the hilarious title 'Come Outside, We Not Gone Jump You'. BENNY THE BUTCHER and beatmaster 38 SPESH remake the scene with two volumes of 'Cocaine Cowboys', and we have a pair of BRYSON TILLER albums back in print, 'Anniversary' and 'Trapsoul'.

 

 

Don't let its goofy, childlike cover fool you. A new double 12" set collects some very potent early heat from legendary producer THEO PARRISH. The iconic sidelong track 'Smile' alone makes this one worth purchasing; a masterclass in shifting, organic meter. A vital chapter of the Drexciya story resides in the grooves of 'Elektroworld' from the Stinson/Donald project ELECKTROIDS. Timeless, supple, deep jazzy house abounds on the fantastic 'Decision Time' from Sheffield producer CHARLES WEBSTER, which sounds like it could have come out anytime between 1992 and now. Speaking of timeless, we're thrilled to have a new back to brass tacks record from the legendary NIGHTMARES ON WAX.

 

 

Personally, it's hard to describe the American avant-folk group PELT as anything less than a looming presence that has followed me around for most of my life. From pulling their early CD-rs out of dingy bins in the late 90s, to witnessing their early 00s configurations with the legendary Jack Rose in Philly, to running into members of the group nowadays at the Woodman's checkout (half of the group resides around Wisconsin now); they've kinda just always been there! We have a fantastic new record from the group, 'Reticence / Resistance', featuring long pieces culled from a late 00s French tour, which traverses a vast expanse of ambient folk somewhere on the plain between the Taj Mahal Travellers and the Velvet Underground, tuning up for the Boston Tea Party. Other ambient delights this week include an incredible lost record of synth and guitar from Australia's SINGING DUST, a new pressing from Kenyan master of atmosphere KMRU's 'Logue', and an elegant album of organ instrumentals from MIAUX on 'Black Space, White Cloud'. which ends up being far less scary than its cover would indicate.

USED VINYL ALERT:

BLACK FRIDAY RECORD STORE DAY IS NOVEMBER 26:

Strictly Discs will be the place to be this Post-Thanksgiving-Shopping-Melee-Day, also known as Black Friday.

And that's because certain indie stores across the country will be the place to get special releases created just for you, for giving and getting this holiday season, and they're scheduled for release on Black Friday, November 26, 2021.

Now, this is not Record Store Day, Jr., but it is brought to you by the powers-that-be at Record Store Day. This is a group of special releases you can only find at certain independent record stores nationwide. The magic of these pieces (many uber-limited) is that every one of them is something someone will really LOVE to get, and you'll really ENJOY giving. And you may have the added nice feeling of supporting a local, independently owned (Strictly Discs, Independently Owned since 1988) business during the holidays.

THE LIST HAS BEEN RELEASED & WISHLISTS CAN NOW BE MADE HERE.

The DEADLINE for making or modifying Black Friday Wishlists was Wednesday, September 22 at 10AM.