Rough Trade HHV Records 163 Items

Still sealed. Stuffed corners.

Princess Nokia – aka New York rapper Destiny Frasqueri – has been releasing music via Youtube and Soundcloud since she was in High School, and slowly bubbling up on the internet, garnering a rabid fanbase. Last year, with the self-release of her 1992 mixtape, she catapulted herself to the next level, solidifying her position as one to watch. Since its release, she’s toured the world over, selling out various venues across the globe in mere days, and racked up literally millions of views/listens on her tracks. She is not only a brilliant rapper & lyricist but a feminist icon who is unapologetically herself, and aligns equally with the values of punk rock and riot grrl, ‘90s R&B, and the best of forward-thinking hip-hop. This is powerful, passionate, outspoken, vibrant modern music with deep roots in both NYC and rap history.
1992 Deluxe will be released via Rough Trade and is her first ever physical album; boasting 8 additional brand new songs - her first music since 2016. This expanded version includes the original 1992 tracks fully remastered and comes with a beautiful gatefold package.

Returning with their first full length record for Rough Trade, it will be fascinating to find out what Sleaford Mods made of 2016.

The title here refers to cuisine in a pub the pair visited that consisted of "half a scotch egg, cup of chips, pickle and a mini pork pie" - a menu that sums up the useless state of England, as viewed through the lens of lead ranter Jason Williamson.

Featuring all new songs recorded with Steve Mackey (Pulp), this is sure to be one of 2017's most-anticipated releases.

This is a live album containing nine Emiliana Torrini songs from her catalog along with two brand new songs. “Nightfall,” written by Kid Koala and Torrini and “When We Dance” written by Jespers, Proesmans, and Torrini. The latter reflects the musical chemistry the three musicians developed during the process of rehearsal and performance for the Colorist concerts.

The group created a new world out of the music, and while Torrini admitted that she could barely recognise many of her own songs in the rearrangements, the collaboration – from emails and Skype calls to rehearsals, sound-checks, and finally, the live concerts – came together organically and beautifully, with Torrini’s talent elevating the Colorist ensemble’s creativity, and the group helping her rediscover the joy and the power within her own songs in this new light.

Using the word ‘mature’ to describe a band’s new album is often a euphemism for a record devoid of the ideas or spirit that made them interesting in the first place. Bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg has labelled Warpaint’s third album exactly that, but there’s no need to panic: these LA ladies have broken with tradition and made a ‘mature’ album that doesn’t mean they’ve bypassed fun.

Where the Californian quartet’s previous records (2010’s ‘The Fool’, 2014’s ‘Warpaint’) have focused heavily on building an intense mood, ‘Heads Up’ instantly feels more spontaneous and relaxed. Its glittering peak, ‘New Song’, was born out of the band larking around and singing about playing a, well, new song. It’s easily their best tune to date; a huge slab of euphoric pop that begs you to hit the repeat button. The title track shares a similar nagging energy, but manifests it in a Cure-style bassline and Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman’s gleaming post-punk guitars.
In interviews, the group have said they wanted to make the album more representative of the excitement of their live shows. To do so, they’ve brought their dancier influences to the fore, stripping away a lot of the hazy, brooding atmospherics they used to cloak their songs in and ending up with a sound that’s 10 times more immediate. ‘So Good’ bounces along on Lindberg’s elastic bassline and the minimal ‘By Your Side’ is an ode to female friendship that has them singing “Got my girls, I’m not alone” to drummer Stella Mozgawa’s twitchy, hip-hop-inspired beat.

Like their self-titled album’s ‘Biggy’, ‘Heads Up’ also makes reference to an iconic hip-hop star. ‘Dre’ doesn’t sound overtly like its namesake – it’s too languid and lacking even the slightest vigour – but it apes the genre he works in with a foundation of processed beats and synths, and guitars that are chopped up to sound like they’ve been sampled. It’s symptomatic of the album as a whole – more adventurous and free-spirited than the ‘Warpaint’ of before, but retaining the laid-back DNA at their core. For once, Warpaint sound like they’re having fun – and it suits them. - NME 4/5

Universal Themes is the follow-up to Sun Kil Moon's 2014 album Benji, which unexpectedly became one of the most critically acclaimed albums of that year. Like that album, Universal Themes is extremely autobiographical, with songwriter Mark Kozelek spinning yarns about friends, family, his childhood, and other life experiences, with frequent references to boxing, music, films, television, and food. Lyrically, Universal Themes isn't as heavily fixated on death as Benji; instead, there are more songs like "Ben's My Friend," wherein Kozelek sings about his experiences traveling and playing shows. Opener "The Possum" does both, intertwining a story about an old dying possum with an anecdote about hanging out with Justin Broadrick before witnessing an incredible concert by his band Godflesh. "Little Rascals" and "Garden of Lavender" reference previous Kozelek songs by name, as well as fans' reactions to his lyrics, such as a heckler who asks if he really hates Nels Cline (he doesn't; his name just happened to rhyme). The album doesn't contain any references to Kozelek's notorious one-sided media feud with the War on Drugs, but it does include "Cry Me a River Williamsburg Sleeve Tattoo Blues" (complete with text message notification sounds), which starts out from the point of view of a jaded fan who complains that Kozelek won't play his old material, before going into several grim short stories about early deaths and tortures, in order to drive home the first-world-problems message. There's also plenty of lighter, more joyous recollections, such as Kozelek's memory of receiving his first guitar, and a multitude of stories about the best times of his life spent with family and friends. Most of the album's eight songs hover around nine or ten minutes in length, and there are stretches of spoken monologue rather than singing. Musically, Kozelek plays almost all of the instruments himself, other than drums from Steve Shelley and guest appearances by bassist Alex Schwartz and keyboards by Chris Connolly on one track each. A few of the songs rock out more aggressively than any of Kozelek's previous work, and he practically barks out "With a Sort of Grace I Walked to the Bathroom to Cry." As with all Sun Kil Moon albums, Kozelek produced the album himself, and his arrangements remain inventive and gorgeous; the lengthy songs are layered, multi-part suites that frequently switch tempos, drifting off into ethereal passages or graceful tarantellas before snapping back to the driving rhythm framing the story at hand. Like Benji, Universal Themes is a challenging listen, and some might view it as Kozelek's most indulgent album yet. But his brilliant musicianship and guitar playing combined with his fascinating storytelling skills ensure that his music is as poignant and life-affirming as ever, and the album is yet another success in his remarkable catalog. - Paul Simpson at allmusic.com

Cover has one corner bend.

Original inner sleeve. 2021 reissue.

Japanese pressing with obi.

close to NM. embossed cover

Small sticker on cover.
Record is close to NM.

Black/Red vinyl and cover are close to NM. Limited edition. 2021 reissue.

Red vinyl.

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case. All booklets included.

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case. All booklets included.

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case. All booklets included.

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case. All booklets included.