Indierock | Alternative CD 257 Items

Acclaimed saxophonist, producer and composer Yasuaki Shimizu will release Kiren, his unreleased album from 1984, on the Palto Flats record label on February 25, 2022. Liner notes by music historian Chee Shimizu, and credits in both Japanese and English.

By the early 1980s Yasuaki Shimizu had established himself on the Japanese new wave scene, producing many important experimental pop records and releasing several albums as the bandleader of Mariah. Following the release of his widely regarded solo classic Kakashi, from 1982, and the otherworldly Utakata No Hibi, by Mariah in 1983, he went into the studio the following year with frequent collaborators, producer Aki Ikuta and Morio Watanabe (bassist of Mariah), to record a mystifying collection of experimental dance music. Utilizing cutting-edge technology and studio trickery, Kiren showcases Shimizu's trademark playfulness, marrying richly layered production techniques to off-kilter, sometimes traditional sounding rhythms and melodies. Portending his work with the Saxophonettes as well as forecasting trends in techno, new wave, and futuristic rhythmic music, this formerly lost album represents an important period of Shimizu's artistic expression, an artist at his peak, while successfully exploring the intersections of fusion, synthpop, new wave, and jazz.

As Chee Shimizu (no relation) writes in the liner notes, Kiren, and his concurrent release Latin were “born out of a free environment of collaboration that existed between Yasuaki and Aki Ikuta ... (exemplifying) his most energetic works.” In listening to Kiren, we might share with Yasuaki Shimizu the joy and excitement of experimentalism and movement that went into the making of this album, now released for the first time many years later.

When Von Spar made their ciritcally acclaimed entrance in the pop circuit in 2003 (e.g. coverstory in Spex Magazine) they were regarded as the German answer to the Post-Punk/No-Wave-renaissance. But their debut was more a clever parody about eighties-style-hipster-bands. Three years later and wiser the supergroup (with members of Urlaub in Polen, Oliver Twist, Aggro Cologne) returns with an uncompromising album that gets ahead of all expectations and will surprise their audience and critics who will be shocked. This is not a band following the latest trend. Detached from the usual style issues Von Spar have exorsized the Zeitgeist and overtaken the discourse. There is no scheme. Anything goes. Their new musical language is inspired by seventies Krautrock taking lines of flight to Fluxus art, Minimal Music and early TripHop. Apart from ringtone-compatible hits Von Spar reanimate the classical album-format. The two 20-minute long songs combine the spirit of exploration from Can and Kraftwerk with the conceptual aesthetics of Steve Reich and John Cage and techniques of dark, psychedelic multi-layering by Neurosis and Bohren & Der Club of Gore. All references are permantly ruptured, adopted and newly interweaved. With two new members the five-headed pack recorded in the legendary Electric Avenue Studio, Hamburg, with producer Tobias Levin (Tocotronic, Blumfeld, Kante). Their new labelbase Tomlab offers the congenial platform for this unusual journey. The new album of Von Spar reclaims music as a truthful place for concentration and collective energy from which newness enters the world.

This is their sixth album.

Tropicalia infused fifth album by Vinyl Williams After collaging hundreds of paintings together in a string of new artwork, Williams combined over 25 paintings to create the album art for Azure; attempting to equally represent the complexly organic & decadent music apparent on the record. The first single “LA Egypt” is a wild harmonious odyssey, that will impact international radio & streaming services in April & May. Azure marks a point of higher equilibrium for songwriter Lionel Williams, employing far more restraint & rapidity than his earlier releases, as well as a concentration of unifying paradoxical qualities. The last record, Opal (2018) received critical acclaim by Pitchfork (7.6) and was listed on NME’s best of 2018 list (93/200) - Larry Fitzmaurice hailed that “…there’s never been any doubt that Williams is an adept musician, but his newfound skills as a songwriter and arranger push this album into the realm of pure pleasure.” Vinyl Williams’ earlier releases are cult favorites for their incessant bliss & driving rhythms, such as Brunei (2016) & Trance Zen Dental Spa (2015 - collaboration with Chaz Bear of Toro Y Moi) Williams is equally known for his interactive video worlds, 360º videos, web art, and downloadable environments, inhabited by hyper dimensional palaces you might find in an ultimate future. He’s created virtual music videos for Tears For Fears, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Spaceface, Morgan Delt, & several other artists. Vinyl Williams’ live show is a spectacle of pearlescent sights & sounds, with all of Williams’ work combined & sync’d together in rapturous hyper-dimensional moments

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series)

Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!

Final Velvet Underground album featuring founding member and songwriter Lou Reed

Hybrid Stereo SACD

After The Velvet Underground cut three albums for the jazz-oriented Verve label that earned them lots of notoriety but negligible sales, the group signed with industry powerhouse Atlantic Records in 1970.

Label head Ahmet Ertegun supposedly asked Lou Reed to avoid sex and drugs in his songs, and instead focus on making an album "loaded with hits." Loaded was the result. It was the group's swan song, with Reed leaving the group shortly before its release. With John Cale long gone from the band, Doug Yule highly prominent (he sings lead on four of the ten tracks), and Maureen Tucker absent on maternity leave, this is hardly a purist's Velvet Underground album. Still, AllMusic gives the album 5 Stars and Pitchfork calls it a "perfect rock 'n' roll record — 40 minutes long, five songs to a side, and not a single wasted note."

Loaded is the sort of proper album that feels like a greatest hits collection, with each track thoroughly inhabiting and mastering a dominant rock archetype. Although the songs "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll" distinguished the band as a "seminal proto-punk" act, "The trifecta of 'Who Loves the Sun,' 'Sweet Jane' and 'Rock & Roll' is among the best three-song openings on any rock and roll record," wrote Paste contributor Jeff Gonick

Cheap Price Compilation CD of rare, unreleased, forthcoming, and brilliant tracks from the Agitated Label,and friends.. Like a massive bag of pick and mix to have a party with.. features Straight Arrows, Kelley Stoltz, Carlton Melton, oldboy, Headland, Laurel Canyon, Catatonic Suns, Last of Easy Riders, Icarus Line, Blamers, and much more besides.. 500 CD ...cheap...and tasty.. some tracks first time on CD, some exclusive to this release.. its fun! But whats that?..its not just a single CD label comp, its been double bagged with a extra CD, put together as a collection of “Radio Shows” by good friends of Agitated, The Hawk and Kbcd radio!!! Heres what they had to say about Disc 2!!!! “cd2: The Agitated Radio Show on Kbcd Radio - The Hawk presents a chemical hit of underground medicine all the way from Nixon County... "a repeat of CD1?" you may unreasonably ask - no, friends, it most certainly isn't.” Only 500/.. grab it on RSD 24..

Expo 70, held in Osaka, was a pivotal event for the Japanese people and their relationship with the rest of the world, demonstrating both the nation’s ongoing economic recovery from World War Two and the creative spirit of Japanese society and its artists. A series of performances, billed as “Night Events” were held at the Expo; the most radical of these was "Beam Penetration and Mad Computer, plus the Minimal Sound of Motorcycles”, but its anti-establishment feel and general madness took the Expo organizers by surprise and it was cancelled after only one night, despite being scheduled for a longer run. An air of myth developed around the event, but a recording of the event has been discovered and this release is the result. This release comprises a CD, a 10-inch record with fold-out sleeve and large obi, plus fascinating notes in Japanese and English by Kenichi Yasuda, an expert on Japanese rock music, and Koji Kawasaki, a renowned researcher of Japanese electronic music, as well as rare photos.

Expo 70, held in Osaka, was a pivotal event for the Japanese people and their relationship with the rest of the world, demonstrating both the nation’s ongoing economic recovery from World War Two and the creative spirit of Japanese society and its artists. A series of performances, billed as “Night Events” were held at the Expo; the most radical of these was "Beam Penetration and Mad Computer, plus the Minimal Sound of Motorcycles”, but its anti-establishment feel and general madness took the Expo organizers by surprise and it was cancelled after only one night, despite being scheduled for a longer run. An air of myth developed around the event, but a recording of the event has been discovered and this release is the result. This release comprises a CD, a 10-inch record with fold-out sleeve and large obi, plus fascinating notes in Japanese and English by Kenichi Yasuda, an expert on Japanese rock music, and Koji Kawasaki, a renowned researcher of Japanese electronic music, as well as rare photos. *Special Edition includes a Cd-r of a interview program with the producers of "Beam Penetration" in 1970. At the end of the program, the Flower Travellin' Band appeared with motorcycles and performed in the studio. Also includes insert with English translation of the interview.

Trailer Bride's 1996 self-titled record is a long-lost relic of the blooming Chapel Hill, North Carolina music scene of the '90s. Superchunk, Polvo, Archers of Loaf and other indie rock darlings were leading the town's indie rock movement while Southern Culture on the Skids were pushing the alt-country genre forward. Then comes Trailer Bride who combined both of those worlds with a gothic, lo-fi sound that centers around Melissa Swingle's atmospheric vocals and cryptic lyrics. Swingle started Trailer Bride following the demise of her band Pussy Teeth and would later go on to form the indie rock duo The Moaners with Laura King (Bat Fangs, Speed Stick), but the dark, southern sound that defines Trailer Bride's debut record provides a mystifying listening experience a quarter-century later. No Depression said it best in their 1997 review: "They're impossible to describe, but whatever you wanna call it, they sound really good." The album is available for the first time ever on vinyl for Record Store Day Black Friday 2022. This 25th anniversary edition is pressed on cloudy orange vinyl and remastered for vinyl. Limited to 1,500 copies worldwide.

Hole Erth, Chaz Bear's eighth full-length studio record as Toro y Moi, is the genre shapeshifter's most unexpected and bold move to date, with Bear diving headlong into rap-rock, Soundcloud rap and Y2K emo. The album blitzes anthemic pop-punk next to autotuned, melancholic rap - two genres that inform one another now more than ever before _ and packs in the most features ever on a Toro y Moi album. A sense of nostalgia sneaks its way into almost every Toro y Moi release, but angst is an emotion that Bear has never intentionally explored the way he does here. Tracks like "Tuesday'' channel a specific, yet forever-relatable sense of adolescent unease. A distorted guitar riff leads into a repeating chorus that conjures misunderstood teenagers singing aloud, maybe too loud, while riding bikes through American suburbs. This foreboding can also be heard on "HOV," though not without poking some fun with lines like "Romance is so cold / My advice? To bring a coat." Bear has the energy, but is acutely aware that his energy isn't forever. At a time when the internet is blending multiple genres into one at an increasingly rapid pace, Bear accomplishes the rare feat of keeping up with the contemporary alternative listener. Constantly changing, evolving and experimenting is the heart of Toro y Moi, and on Hole Erth Bear challenges but also reclaims himself, embracing the myriad sounds and eras that formed him, while crashing new worlds together.

Fear Inoculum is the long awaited new album from TOOL, and the band’s first new album in 13 years. The album will be available digitally, and in a special Limited Edition physical package that includes a CD in a tri-fold Soft Pack Video Brochure featuring a 4” HD rechargeable screen with exclusive video footage, a USB charging cable, a 2 watt speaker and a 36 page insert book and MP3 download card.

Tool members include drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor and vocalist Maynard James Keenan.

From the ballad Talk No More to the lightness of Smile, an invitation to smile through a declaration of love, the tracks in the album are wonderful snapshots that strike a chord. The title track talks about the desire of a father for his children to explore the opportunities that life offers with enthusiasm, The Hole crystalizes an inner moment of crisis and in Back To The Sun, written during the worst moment of the Pandemic, the loss of loved ones is the central theme. Coexisting with sounds from the previous decades, the 90’s pop scene strongly influences the album. From the new wave in Telematic Love to Me, Myselfie & I which ironizes on one of our most frequent daily habits, to the punk theme in Syd & Nancy and Drum Machine, which is “an encounter between the traditional British scene and Rancid”

10 new songs with Tiger Lou. You will instantly hear that it"s Tiger Lou on Rasmus Kellerman vocals, the driven drums of Pontus Levahn and the charismatic typical Tiger Lou electric guitars. Tiger Lou fans, you get what you want!

Everybody's favorite new band debuts their seminal self-titled album. What an amazing amalgam of 80s Wave, Postmodern Folk, syncopated R&B madness and UK Bass culture. One of those rare albums that virtually nobody has anything to complain about.

Fourth instalment in The Wedding Present's popular 'Marc Riley Sessions' series. The Wedding Present are a band with a history that's inextricably intertwined with the BBC and, in particular, the late DJ John Peel, an early champion of the band. Having received critical acclaim for releases 1 - 3, Marc Riley Sessions Volume 4 goes on to feature nine songs recorded for the award-winning BBC 6 Music show in 2017 and 2018. The first four tracks on the album were recorded with a string quartet and trumpeter and include a remarkable reimagining of 'Bewitched', originally from the band's 1989 album Bizarro.

On Vertigo Days, the first album in seven years for The Notwist, one of Germany’s most iconic independent groups are alive to the possibilities of the moment. Their music has long been open-minded and exploratory, but from its engrossing structure, through its combination of melancholy pop, clangorous electronics, hypnotic Krautrock and driftwork ballads, to its international musical guests, Vertigo Days is both a new step for The Notwist, and a reminder of just how singular they’ve always been. Most importantly, the core trio of Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck are reaching out: as Markus reflects, “we wanted to question the concept of a band by adding other voices and ideas, other languages, and also question or blur the idea of national identity.” It’s been seven years since The Notwist’s last album, Close To The Glass, and in that time the various members of the group have been busy with side projects (Spirit Fest, Hochzeitskapelle, Alien Ensemble, Joasihno), guest appearances, a record label (Alien Transistor), movie scoring, helping organise the Minna Miteru compilation of Japanese indie pop & running a festival (Alien Disko). Those divergent paths feed back into Vertigo Days in surprising ways, from its structure, built from group improvisations, with songs flowing and melting into one another in a collective haze, to its spirit, which feels refreshed and alive. There’s something cinematic about Vertigo Days too, reflective of the group’s time working on soundtracks, and reflected in the rich, moody photographic artwork by Lieko Shiga that adorns the cover. The first sign of this newfound openness was the album’s lead single, “Ship”, where the group were joined by Saya of Japanese pop duo Tenniscoats, her disarmingly hymnal voice sighing over a propulsive, Krautrocking beat. Elsewhere, American multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay sings on “Oh Sweet Fire”, also contributing “a love lyric for these times, imagining two lovers in an uprising hand in hand.” American jazz clarinettist and composer Angel Bat Dawid adds clarinet to the spaced-out dream-pop of “Into The Ice Age”, while Argentinian electronica songwriter Juana Molina gifts some gorgeous singing and electronics to “Al Sur”. Saya also reappears as a member of Japanese brass band Zayaendo, who guest on the album. Throughout, The Notwist also capture the openness of their live performances, too, where they mix and link their songs in unexpected ways. Indeed, what’s most impressive about Vertigo Days is the way it sits together as one long, flowing suite, the album conceptualised as a whole entity – it’s perfect for the long-distance, dedicated listening experience. This is also captured by the album’s lyrics, which Markus states, “feel more like one long poem.” The dimensions of that poem are multi-faceted, something intensified by the geopolitical weirdness of its times: “As the situation changed so dramatically, while we were working on the record, the theme of ‘the impossible can happen anytime,’ more about personal relationships in the beginning, became a global and political story.” But it also works at a level of poetic abstraction, such that each song gestures in multiple directions – the deeply private pans out to the global. The one certainty is that there is no certainty. “It’s maybe mostly about learning and how you never arrive anywhere,” Markus concurs. To sit within uncertainty is brave, but it’s also where we feel most alive, and Vertigo Days is an album that is brimming with life, with enthusiasm and love for music and for community, all wide-eyed and dreaming.

Adam Green and Kimya Dawson originally crossed paths at an open mic night in Mount Kisco, New York in the early 90s. From there they went on to record a surplus of home recordings with various friends under the moniker The Moldy Peaches, and eventually became staples in the NYC anti-folk scene of the late 90's/ early 2000's. After releasing several albums that gained traction in the U.S. and UK, the group broke into the mainstream when their song "Anyone Else But You" appeared in the hit indie film "Juno" (2007).

Origin Story: 1994-1999 is a collection of songs, unreleased demos, live tracks, and poems from the early years of The Moldy Peaches, and outline the tale of how the band came to be. Liner notes written by Adam and Kimya detail the stories behind each track and rare photos included in the packaging help to illustrate the life and times of the duo when they were young.

Japanese import CD edition. One long song recorded between May 2019 and May 2020.

The garage -psychedelic French duo The Liminanas straddles since 2009 the boundary between psychedelic, shoegaze,garage & French yé-yé up to cool vocals . Quintessentially French but first known at the start in the US before hitting homeland France. 7 studio albums so far, 2 rare tracks compilations, many Eps,some OST, collabs such as L’Epée with Anton Newcombe & Emmanuelle Seigner : time for a first time Best of, and actually more than a Best of : Double Cd , Ltd Triple Vinyl& Digital editions offer 12 exclusive bonus tracks -new songs + rare songs when they called themselves les Bellas, before The Liminanas-.
“Electrified” also includes 23 classics songs , with featurings such as Peter Hook, Anton Newcombe and French pionners Laurent Garnier, Etienne Daho & Pascal Comelade.
Features liner notes written by Iggy Pop, Peter Hook & Keith Streng (Fleshtones) : because it’s only rock’n’roll.

"From Dimension 36D comes comedy music's most ambitious, most ill-advised, most charitable album Ever! Comprised of a collective of the most talented tribute-band artists in Texas and some of the most cacophonic creators of comedy music in the 21st century, "Boobey Road" is the crowning achievement BY boobs FOR boobs!

"Boobey Road" is: Irreverent. Reverent. Smart. Stupid. Funny. Serious. (No, not really... "Serious"... as if!)

The final double-album by The Fab Two-Pair is many things all squished together, bunched up, and cinched tight... and, in the end, it's up to you to decide where "Boobey Road" leads you! But one thing is for sure, we love boobs so much that we donate ALL profits to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation for a cure!

Love us or hate us, laugh or loathe, bounce along or want us bounced, "Boobey Road" is just what it is: an album of parody songs about boobs! No political or sociological agenda, no over-raunchiness to merely shock and offend, just 100% Beatles parody songs about boobs!

Don't take this seriously, because obviously we didn't... except for the excellent contributions by Many ridiculously talented people who also want to eradicate breast cancer once and for all!"

Glass replicated compact disc Jewel case Includes new artwork by Court Jones Lyric booklet Bonus tracks included: Just A Friend, Mucka Blucka, Dream A download code is included.

Good & Evil finds Tally Hall entering a stripped-back, grittier sonic universe. Transcendental melodies guide them through a mind-bending journey of duality. Available for the first time since 2011, this cult classic is now on vinyl containing an all-new poster, CD & tape, along with a companion 7'' single.

The material for «Gemini Twins» was created in the summer of 2022 and finished in 2023. Serge: "I am interested in the themes of Man, his place in the Universe. From primitive times to the era of space exploration, people continue to ask themselves eternal questions: Who am I? Where am I from? Where am I going? The character of 'The Story Of Captain Glosster' is a slightly modified version of Homer’s Odysseus. This is the image of the End of the Wanderings. But Odysseus, after long wanderings, returned to his beloved woman. On the contrary, Captain Glosster found his love as a result of his trips. Found her in Other Worlds. I don’t use science fiction images because that’s how it’s supposed to be according to the laws of the genre. It would be too primitive and not interesting. The composition 'Time Loop' is not a reference to some kind of science fiction. In my composition, the image of the Time Loop is an image of human life. Life is rhythmic, irreversible. Under any given circumstances, we do not have the ability to press «Ctrl+Z». We can only move forward. 'Solstice' is inspired by the feeling of a calm, soft summer day. When all thoughts are stable, there is no anxiety and the world around you looks amazing through the haze of sun rays and summer smells. I tried to convey this state in my track. 'Over the Mountains' could, of course, be an image from science fiction. But not necessarily. This is the feeling of flying over the mountains. Perhaps on another planet. Or maybe not. This is a feeling of triumph from conquering air. 'Fugit Irreparabile Tempus' is my musical reflections on our world and the place of Man in this world.”

Sacd

In your face guitar hooks, sing along choruses, and a penchant for writing 90's alt-rock anthems deeply rooted in Boston Garage Punk, Stars Like Ours deliver their eponymous self titled full length release. Stars Like Ours is a 3 piece, 90's influenced, driving rock band with pop sensibility from Boston, MA, who’s influences include: Sugar, The Amps, Superchunk, Dinosaur Jr., and The Breeders. The band consists of Michelle Paulhus (The Decals, The Marvels, The Real Kids, The Dents, and Andrea Gillis Band) on bass and lead vocals, Kristin Holliday (drago, The Blue Bloods, Full Body Anchor, and The Downhauls) on guitar and backing vocals and Rice Edmonston (Darkbuster, Big Wig, Senior Happy, Heidi, Linus, Full Body Anchor, Mill Pond Falls, and Abbie Barrett Band) on drums and backing vocals.

This Sonic Youth concert recorded at Berlin's Columbiahalle in 2009 and presented from the band's live archive.
Originally available only via Nugs.net.
Recorded and mixed by Aaron Mullan.

Smelters from Alberta, Canada are here with their debut full length Burnin’ Dirt. These dudes play straight up 4 chord punk rock that is heavily influenced by the Ramones! 12 fast and catchy punk rock songs that’ll surely have you up and moving!

Everything is alive, slowdive's 5th record, is exactly what the title suggests: an exploration into the shimmering nature of life and the universal touchpoints within it. While there are parts of this record that could sit neatly next to the atmospheric quality of 1995's Pygmalion; everything is alive also manages to break down the boundaries of what's come before it. Spanning psychedelic soundscapes, pulsating 80s electronic elements and John Cale inspired journeys, the album lands immediately as something made for 2023 and beyond. For a genre that is often thought of as divisive, and often warrants introspection, here slowdive show their craft as the masters of it by pushing it outwards, beyond the singular; the end result being a record which feels as emotional and cathartic as it is hopeful.

Second album in less than a year from the prolific William Dorey. Includes the singles ‘Another Day, ‘Behind The Sun’ and ‘Losing My mind’ CD packaging is gatefold with choice of 5 inserts to ‘choose your own cover’. Building on the success of 2018’s ‘Fil

OVERVIEW: In 1999 the band released Ágætis Byrjun (‘A Good Start’), Q magazine deemed Ágætis Byrjun ‘the last great record of the 20th century’. By the end of the year, it had won the inaugural US Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music. This year celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Ágætis Byrjun, the band expand their breakthrough album with demo and archive versions of songs from the album, plus never-before-heard newly unearthed material from the time, rare b-sides and the full 95 minute concert played in Reykjavík on the day the record was released.
PRODUCT SPEC: 4xCD discs containing original album, live album and rarities with a soft back book CD1 | Original Album - as released June 12th 1999 CD2 | Live at Íslenska Óperan
Live at Íslenska Óperan, 1999 - includes previously unreleased tracks
CD3 | Live at Íslenska Óperan & Rarities
Live at Íslenska Óperan plus 3 previously unheard and unreleased tracks
CD4 | Rarities

The fourth album by Sault scored 97/100 at Metacritic and is the most beloved album at HHVs Supreme 100 of 2020 list, chosen by 150 journalists, musicians, label makers and record collectors. Currently repressed and soon back in stock.

Sault returns with a new album featuring Michael Ofo and Little Simz. NINE will be limited to a short press run of 16,000 units, never to be re-issued again!

The second album of Sault follows their debut "5" which came out just three months prior to this one. Heads all over the world were still in awe of "5", when all of a sudden "7" dropped. Now, by the end of 2020, they are four critically acclaimed albums deep into buiding their own legacy.

The first album by Sault started a series of now four albums in two years that scored big time with critics all over the world.

Instead of distorted guitars and thunderous drums, we've used mellotron, glockenspiel, and chimes to highlight Tool's dreamy melodies on ROCKABYE BABY: LULLABY RENDITIONS OF TOOL. These incredibly lush lullaby versions of Tool's best known songs will captivate and engage your baby while they drift off to slumberland.