October 13, 2022
We've got a proper autumn going on this week, and a slew of new records that just feel right for the season, starting with a powerful new album from PLAINS, the duo of Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield and Texas songwriter Jess Williamson, both of whom have navigated a life in song that's given us some soul-baring cosmic country, and who now trade songs here on the wide-open 'I Walked With You A Ways', in the house on pink vinyl. SKULLCRUSHER sounds like the name of a band playing at 2 AM at Mickey's on Thursday night, but it is actually the nom de song of LA musician Helen Ballentine, who makes a sensational full-length debut on 'Quiet The Room', a record of hushed but vaguely troubled folk that calls to mind classic Elliott Smith. A compelling mix of acoustic instruments and electronic washes make a neat bed for the confessional vocals of A.O. GERBER on 'Meet Me At The Gloaming', and we have the strongest album yet from indie-folk group WILD PINK, who land close to the exalted transcendence of Midlake or the War on Drugs on 'ILYSM'.
How will the year 2022 be remembered? Not too much in the headlines lately, so likely it will be the year that RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS released two epic length albums in the same year. 'Return Of The Dream Canteen' is here, full of the funky monks unabashed love of the jam. We've got limited color vinyl on this one, some very limited **AUTOGRAPHED CDs** plus a slew of cool promo items to give away with purchase. UK pop summoners THE 1975 return with another strong one on 'Being Funny In A Foreign Language', plus we have new releases from ASHE and SON LITTLE.
Colombian musician LUCRECIA DALT has given us quite a body of work over the years, but nothing as thrillingly complete as her great new album '¡Ay!', which lands this week on red wax. Dalt has always had one of the closest eyes for detail in the avant-pop realm, drawing out uncanny textures from the slightest plucks and pulses, and on this record she opens up the scope even wider, crafting a record that feels tropical and deeply underwater for its full duration. The one and only BRIAN ENO has a new album this week called 'FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE' (maybe his keyboard is broken?) and it is the first album he sings on in close to twenty years. The songs here ebb and drift like a slowly dissipating sand dune; a great listen for early morning or late at night. The almighty CAN continue their rare live document series with 'Live In Cuxhaven 1976', jammed full of extended improvs and jams. In addition to making college kids dress like vacation dads for several years, MAC DEMARCO released some pitch-perfect slacker guitar pop; especially '2', which gets a 10 year anniversary edition with added material.
Little needs to be said at this point about THE STOOGES' orgiastic psych-punk classic 'Fun House', TELEVISION's majestic guitar symphony 'Marquee Moon', or the cryptic ambient-pop perfection of DAVID BOWIE's 'Heroes'. If you don't have these, you need em, and they are back in print this week! Perhaps something should be said about THE PROMISE RING's sophomore album 'Nothing Feels Good', which I personally had not listened to this century until this week, after absolutely rinsing it throughout the fall and winter of 1997. At the time, this was the most aesthetically and methodically-sound "emo" being put to tape, aside from maybe Braid and Joan of Arc, and it sounds absolutely prophetic now, all jagged, chiming guitars and booming, spartan production.
Aussie jazz-funk unit SURPRISE CHEF continue to take cues from the legendary names of the genre (Donald Byrd, Harvey Mason, Alphonse Mouzon) while adding a modern flair on 'Education & Recreation' on red wax. Dallas fusion kings SNARKY PUPPY deliver a massive new album called 'Empire Central', and we've got a reissue of a Memphis rap classic from PROJECT PAT, and a new record from MYKKI BLANCO called 'Stay Close To Music'.
Embrace the spooky season with a reissue of the first album from LA deathrockers 45 GRAVE, 'Sleep In Safety'; a new color vinyl edition of JOHN CARPENTER's synth score for 'Firestarter'; emotive sludge meets pummeling riffs on CONJURER's 'Pathos'; and ethereal darkwave classic 'A Chaos of Desire' by classic Projekt Records group BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL gets a needed reissue.
An added emphasis in recent years on the history of Black American Dance music has kept the mythical name of DREXCIYA in the popular parlance, but their discography can seem intimidatingly impenetrable to the uninitiated. The ultimate gateway to the near-anonymous Detroit duo's soundworld is their 1999 album 'Neptune's Lair', a symphony of bubbling funk and electro, techno and jazz that wrote the blueprint for the next twenty years of underground dance, and that now gets a fresh vinyl edition with entirely new cover artwork commissioned from a new Detroit artist. Philadelphians at the periphery of jazz, techno and noise DJ Haram and Moor Mother unite as 700 BLISS with 'Nothing To Declare' on the Hyperdub label, and we've got new vinyl releases from veterans ORBITAL and PANTHA DU PRINCE.
A staggering new compilation called 'Ghost Riders' comes our way from France this week, collected by the same crew that brought us 'Sky Girl', easily one of the greatest selector compilations ever done. Where that set traversed many genres in search of a unifying theme, 'Ghost Riders' finds it all within surprisingly narrow parameters; the 17 tracks here all come from largely unknown late 60s American garage rock 45s, they are all gloomy ballads with skulking paces and whispered production, some of them feel actually haunted, and the sum total experience of hearing them all in order is to find yourself walking a lonesome road, far from home, with no desire to know your destination. We've got some more copies of the incredible 'S.O.S.' from NYC peace-punkers STRAW MAN ARMY; a new Habibi Funk release documents little heard Egyptian pop and disco from a singer named MAHA; and one of the nicest roots reggae releases of the year, SOUL REVIVERS' 'On the Grove' (still in stock as well), gets a dub edition called 'Grove Dub'.
Used Vinyl Alert
We start things off this week with a nice drop of Blues LPs from the likes of Albert Collins, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, B.B. King, Elmore James, Luther Allison, Lazy Lester, John Lee Hooker, John Littlejohn, Big Bill Broonzy, & others. Soul is here this week from Earth Wind & Fire, Anita Baker, Ike & Tina Turner, Sly & The Family Stone, Etta James, Lavern Baker, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Terry Callier, & more.
Rock essentials are here from John Prine, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Buckingham Nicks, Frank Zappa, Blue Oyster Cult, Van Halen, The Jam, Steely Dan, Captain Beefheart, Rush, Metallica, AC/DC, and many others.
We continue our steady supply of Jazz with dimes from Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Paul Desmond, Jan Hammer, Deodato, Art Tatum, Irakere, Lou Donaldson, John Coltrane, Jim Hall, Chick Corea, & more.
Country is in from Loretta Lynn (including multiple signed copies of LPs!), Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams Jr. Some interesting seldom-seen experimental LPs are in from Mort Garson, Tomita, & others, and we round things out this week with even more soundtracks & childrens LPs.
Rock essentials are here from John Prine, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Buckingham Nicks, Frank Zappa, Blue Oyster Cult, Van Halen, The Jam, Steely Dan, Captain Beefheart, Rush, Metallica, AC/DC, and many others.
We continue our steady supply of Jazz with dimes from Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Paul Desmond, Jan Hammer, Deodato, Art Tatum, Irakere, Lou Donaldson, John Coltrane, Jim Hall, Chick Corea, & more.
Country is in from Loretta Lynn (including multiple signed copies of LPs!), Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams Jr. Some interesting seldom-seen experimental LPs are in from Mort Garson, Tomita, & others, and we round things out this week with even more soundtracks & childrens LPs.
Black Friday Record Store Day is November 25th
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 25, 2022.
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.
Here is Strictly Discs' plan for the day:
1. We OPEN at 9AM for RSD shopping
2. Line to form westbound on Monroe Street
3. While in line, you will be handed a menu of all RSD/BF titles
4. We will pull your requests & you will check out outside
5. The shop will open for normal browsing at approximately 10 (when the RSD line is gone)
6. RSD titles will be located upstairs
Thank you for helping us to keep this event safe & fun.
WISHLISTS:
WISHLISTS can be made using the link below:
https://recordstoreday.strictlydiscs.com/
The deadline to create or modify a RSD BLACK FRIDAY WISH LIST is Wednesday, September 28th at NOON.
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 25, 2022.
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.
Here is Strictly Discs' plan for the day:
1. We OPEN at 9AM for RSD shopping
2. Line to form westbound on Monroe Street
3. While in line, you will be handed a menu of all RSD/BF titles
4. We will pull your requests & you will check out outside
5. The shop will open for normal browsing at approximately 10 (when the RSD line is gone)
6. RSD titles will be located upstairs
Thank you for helping us to keep this event safe & fun.
WISHLISTS:
WISHLISTS can be made using the link below:
https://recordstoreday.strictlydiscs.com/
The deadline to create or modify a RSD BLACK FRIDAY WISH LIST is Wednesday, September 28th at NOON.
SELL US YOUR CDS & LPS
Yes, we are still buying! Call Ron to schedule (608.213.3610).
Ron, Ryan, Angie, Marty, Evan, Matt, Ed, Eric, Jack, Steve, Mark, Brad, Roger, & Adam
