Thrill Jockey Vinyl, CD & Tape 180 Items

Tortoise has spent nearly 30 years making music that defies description. While the Chicago-based instrumental quintet has nodded to dub, rock, jazz, electronica, and minimalism throughout its revered and influential discography, the resulting sounds have always been distinctly, even stubbornly, their own. There is a always the pervasive element of group play, or ensemble?mindedness, as opposed to emphasis on a virtuoso soloist or frontman, despite the fact Tortoise is composed of members who could each easily have taken center stage in another group. In their debut, Tortoise is composed of Douglas McCombs, John Herndon, Dan Bitney, John McEntire, and Bundy K. Brown. This self-titled, incorporates many musical styles and influences, but no one style alone is sufficient to fully describe the distinct sound they craft. This unique blending of styles caused them to be recognized as the leaders of a new musical movement. Tortoise utilize the recording studio, not only to put their music to wax, but in a way that their recording process becomes a compostional tool described at times as the "sixth member", thus creating a boundless parameter in which to create and manipulate music. Tortoise's self-titled debut was originally released in 1994. This re-issue is re-mastered by Roger Seibel at SAE Mastering, in jacket with art insert, both designed by Sam Prekop as well as a free download card. 2022 version is available on limited edition white with hi-melt black vinyl

Tortoise has spent nearly 30 years making music that defies description. While the Chicago-based instrumental quintet has nodded to dub, rock, jazz, electronica and minimalism throughout its revered and influential discography, the resulting sounds have always been distinctly, even stubbornly, their own. One of the throughlines that create that distinctive sound is what might be called a pervasive element of group play, or ensemble-mindedness, as opposed to emphasis on a virtuoso soloist or frontman. Rhythms, Resolutions and Clusters follows in this line as Tortoise turned their iconic early songs over to their friends to play with. The remixes by other legends including Bundy K. Brown, Steve Albini, Jim O'Rourke, Brad Wood (Liz Phair), Casey Rice, Mike Watt (Minute Men), and Rick Brown (75 Dollar Bill) create a sense of community, and unlimited creativity. It's been out of print since 1995. Tortoise...have spent the past 25 years and seven albums fusing dub, jazz, prog, and indie into an instantly recognizable and much-loved trademark sound. - Pitchfork As with the best of Tortoise, these tracks can be enjoyed on many levels, but when listened to carefully, they reveal seemingly infinite sonic treasures. - Pitchfork

Ride the Skies is the 2nd album by Lightning Bolt, and this rerelease makes it available to fans for the first time since it's original release. Compared to their first album it's cleaner, tighter, recorded in studio rather than live. Which is not to say this is boring or sanitized in any way, Lightning Bolt never fail to make magic, filling a space with loud, raw sound. Sounds of synth or guitar turn out to be bass, and riffs become patterns, become a beat in the background, become a wall of noise, become a clear sound above it all. Lightning Bolt are known for the sound that truly comes into it's own in this album. Outside of their 7 acclaimed albums, they're known for frequent & exhilirating live shows, and this reputation has created a market for their older titles. Ride the Skies is rereleased with deluxe packaging featuring jacket art that was designed by Brian Chippendale for the original release but has never been realized until now. Recent Thrill Jockey Lightning Bolt re-releases seem to move as quickly as the Brians playing live, as old and new fans jump at the rare opportunity to finally get an old favorite in a shiny new jacket."

Idiology was originally released in 2001 and is now finally back on vinyl. This re-issue is pressed on white color vinyl and presented in a die cut jacket with artworked inner sleeve and free download card. From their beginnings in 1992, Cologne native Jan St. Werner and Dusseldorfer Andi Toma have consistently challenged electronic music's paradigm in often surprising and always intriguing ways. Idiology is the duo's seventh album and is no exception to this rule, as Mouse on Mars surround themselves with strings, woodwinds, brass and the band's own heavily modified fleet of machines in the St. Martin's Tonstudio. Fans should once again brace themselves for the inevitable shock of the new as Germany's most irreverent audio renegades have created the perfect soundtrack for a highly sinister dance party. Kicking off with "Actionist Respoke", the album's first single, Mouse on Mars officially declare their independence from glitchtronica's shoegazing legions. Longtime collaborator Dodo Nkishi lends a uniquely warped vocal sensibility to the track which already features Mouse on Mars's darkest grooves to date. The rest of the album continues to thicken the group's sonic stew. Tracks such as "Presence" and "Catching Butterflies With Hands" have their populist intentions undermined by Werner and Toma's meddling hands, while the duo reprise their flirtation with the orchestral as heard on the opening tracks from 2000's Niun Niggung. At the other end of the spectrum, "Introduce" is a truly evil slice of twisted lympho-zoid hip-hop. Idiology takes no prisoners in its dual-pronged assault on the conventions of modern music. Only with the loungy closing number, "Fantastic Analysis" (a term Werner and Toma invented to describe their working process), do Mouse on Mars let the arrangements breathe a long sigh of relief, the calm after the storm. To enable these stylistic achievements Mouse on Mars enlist the help of partners in crime such as: Nkishi, the multi-talented Harald "Sack" Ziegler, house icon Matthew Herbert on piano, violinist Matty Arouse, in addition to fellow programming wizards Adam "Vert" Butler and F.X. Randomiz. The latter two toured with Mouse on Mars in 2000 as they successfully triumphed over audiences around the globe.

The Sea and Cake's sixth album One Bedroom is back on vinyl. Pressed on white color vinyl and packaged in a high gloss jacket with a free download coupon. The Sea and Cake's sixth album, One Bedroom, is elegant pop. Membrane-like layers of electronic tones, delicate synthesizers surround intricately woven guitars. Melodic bass lines punctuate these restrained and complex sounds. Songs are propelled by imaginative percussion lines and shaped by spare warm vocals. Prekop's lyrical style is poetic as opposed to narrative. Paradoxically, the resulting album of delicate precisely constructed songs sounds effortless. One Bedroom is a beautiful collection of creatively constructed and singular pop songs.

Thrill Jockey 20th Anniversary LP repress / Tortoise's self-titled debut incorporates many musical styles and influences and combines them into one very distince sound. So distinct that sometime after the release of this record they became recognized as the leaders of a new musical movement. Tortoise exploits the recording studio, in that they utilize the recording process as a compostional tool or "sixth member", thus creating a boundless parameter in which to create music. Recorded at Idful Studios by John McEntire.

Radical Connector was originally released in 2004 and is now fnally back on vinyl. This re-issue is pressed on mixed splatter color vinyl and presented in a high gloss jacket with free download card.

“Though reference points like Daft Punk and Prince have rightly been thrown around, Radical Connector is in fact a strange album that doesn’t sound like much else.” - Pitchfork

Mouse on Mars is recognised as one of Germany’s most defning and versatile electronic music projects. With their
anarchic mixture of sound that oscillates between uncontrollable chaos and meticulously arranged structures,
Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma have forged a unique musical language, which is readily decomposed by the
unpredictability of its myriad mutations. Free from schools of thought, genre conventions, and from the constraints
of the music establishment, they have worked under the Mouse on Mars alias for 24 years, mapping their own
idiosyncratic trajectory through a no man’s land between pop, art, club music, and the avant-garde. - Jan Rohlf

“Sexy robot vocals slip and slide all over juicy squeals, raindrop plops, and jungle-thick beats.”
- Entertainment Weekly
“Stirring songs drift out of its frantic aural mishmashes, fnding a controlled center amid all the dizzy spin.”
- AV Club
“Mouse on Mars have a gift for making electronic bleeps and buzzes sound like tangible objects that bounce,
bend and collide in physical space.” - Rolling Stone

Over the past decade, Tortoise have produced some of the most innovative and influential albums in all of music.

An absolute classic of an album reissued for our 30th Anniversary! This Beauty features the masterful guitar work by Parker who is joined by percussionist Chad Taylor, bassist Chris Lopes, and pianist Sam Barsheshet. Deluxe reissues on Clear with High Melt Gold and splashes of Brown on virgin vinyl in an uncoated stock jacket with free download coupon. Jeff Parker has been a cornerstone of the rock, jazz, and experimental music communities for the past three decades. As the guitarist for groundbreaking groups Tortoise, Isotope 217, Chicago Underground, as a sideman for artists like Joshua Redman, Fred Anderson, and Joey DeFrancesco, and as a solo artist, Parker's work engages in a deep understanding of a constellation of styles while defying boundaries at every turn.

Available on limited edition pink vinyl packaged with download code. Radical Connector is classic Mouse on Mars! A super bouncy and bubbly pop delight! Our 30th-anniversary limited repress on a lovely deep pink. From the delicious squeeze beats of "Wipe That Sound" - to the irresistible classic "Send Me Shivers" and the highly addictive and imaginative "Evoke the Object". Radical Connector is an album that was years ahead of its time - Absolutely Essential.

Hypermagic Mountain, Lightning Bolt's 4th album has been unavailable for nearly a decade since it's 2005 release. Back as a double LP including a full drawing by Brian Chippendale as the D side Etching! Recorded at Machines with Magnets and Lightning Bolt's home by Dave Auchenbach. Lightning Bolt play with abandon that is unmatched and remarkably undiluted and this album is just one more example of that raw power and sound.

Pelican and Thrill Jockey are proud to present a deluxe edition of the band’s acclaimed 2005 album: The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, newly remixed, remastered, and featuring special bonus rarities including an early version of “Red Ran Amber,” (previously only available on a split with Mono) and demos of “Autumn Into Summer,” “Last Day of Winter” and “Sirius” The Fire In Our Throats established Pelican as indisputable masters of their craft. Pelican’s ability to alchemize their influences into a sound so wholly original and then expand on that sound into a work of captivating beauty remains a marvel. The album indelibly shifted the paradigm of heavy music and the ripples of that shift can be heard in the countless bands that have risen to prominence since its release. The genre-busting nature of the album’s melodicism and refined dynamics was a harbinger of things to come in a genre whose strict boundaries were rapidly being shattered; a fact recognized and cemented by the album’s critical reception, which engendered everything from an Album of the Year nod from Decibel, to pontifications about Pelican representing a rising wave of intellectualism in metal from the New York Times. Nearly two decades since the album’s release on Hydra Head Records, The Fire In Our Throats has stood as not just one of the band’s most celebrated releases, but as a watershed work of avant-metal. The album arrives with a fresh mix by its original engineer Greg Norman and mastering by Josh Bonati, imbibing the songs with a new ferocity while also granting increased clarity, highlighting the developing interplay between each member The refreshed mix brings an additional punch to the rhythm section of bassist Bryan Herweg and drummer Larry Herweg, bolstering the brightened melodicism and interlocking riffing between guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec. The more articulate presentation of the album showcases the power of each individual player while buttressing Pelican’s distinct sound as a unified force.

Pelican and Thrill Jockey are proud to present a deluxe edition of the band’s acclaimed 2005 album: The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, newly remixed, remastered, and featuring special bonus rarities including an early version of “Red Ran Amber,” (previously only available on a split with Mono) and demos of “Autumn Into Summer,” “Last Day of Winter” and “Sirius” The Fire In Our Throats established Pelican as indisputable masters of their craft. Pelican’s ability to alchemize their influences into a sound so wholly original and then expand on that sound into a work of captivating beauty remains a marvel. The album indelibly shifted the paradigm of heavy music and the ripples of that shift can be heard in the countless bands that have risen to prominence since its release. The genre-busting nature of the album’s melodicism and refined dynamics was a harbinger of things to come in a genre whose strict boundaries were rapidly being shattered; a fact recognized and cemented by the album’s critical reception, which engendered everything from an Album of the Year nod from Decibel, to pontifications about Pelican representing a rising wave of intellectualism in metal from the New York Times. Nearly two decades since the album’s release on Hydra Head Records, The Fire In Our Throats has stood as not just one of the band’s most celebrated releases, but as a watershed work of avant-metal. The album arrives with a fresh mix by its original engineer Greg Norman and mastering by Josh Bonati, imbibing the songs with a new ferocity while also granting increased clarity, highlighting the developing interplay between each member The refreshed mix brings an additional punch to the rhythm section of bassist Bryan Herweg and drummer Larry Herweg, bolstering the brightened melodicism and interlocking riffing between guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec. The more articulate presentation of the album showcases the power of each individual player while buttressing Pelican’s distinct sound as a unified force.

Available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years, with new cover design by Tim Rutilli, in limited edition ice age blue LP and on black LP, both with download card included Califone's earliest roots lie in the band Red Red Meat, from whence came Califone's founding members Tim Rutili and Ben Massarella and its longtime producer Brian Deck. The band's first release was a self-titled EP on Flydaddy in 1998, followed later by the full-length debut, Roomsound, in 2001 (later reissued on Thrill Jockey) and eventually the band's Thrill Jockey debut, Quicksand/ Cradlesnakes in 2003. After touring for the release of Roomsound, Califone had little time off to take in the impact of the music they were creating. In three years, they recorded four albums (two instrumental, two song-based including Heron King Blues) and toured heavily in between with Wilco, Modest Mouse, The Sea and Cake and others. After the tour for Heron King Blues in 2004, Califone finally took a breath and came back together in late 2005 to begin recordings. They worked on it in chunks at 4Deuces Studio in Chicago with Brian Deck, in Long Beach and Phoenix with Michael Krassner, and at home in Los Angeles and Chicago until May 2006. The time away and each member's individual work naturally brought new elements into the sound of Califone's music. Both Rutili's and Becker's soundtrack work are more atmospheric, however the challenge of enhancing a scene of film without cluttering it or overwhelming it informed their approach to the new recording. Similarly, the burglary of Califone's equipment during the band's last tour (including guitars, banjo, a 1917 violin, bells and more) altered the sound as they had to find new gear on a tight budget. The instruments are new partners, new sounds that forced them to stretch in new directions. Limitations, obstructions and darkness, and the new possibilities they illuminate; roots and crowns. "In that way", says Rutili, "this album is a conscious and resolved thing. It fully realizes ideas we touched on in the past and where we come from as a band, and takes us into our next phase of life."

Available on vinyl for the first time since it's original CD-only release in 2007. On black or limited edition forest green with gold double LP, in gatefold jacket with download card. Tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake had the closest of relationships, as close as a father and son might have. Their communication was at a higher level musically and emotionally. The music on this album reflects not only their masterful musical skills, but a conversation in music that is exceptionally powerful and unique. For From the River to the Ocean, they assembled a band consisting of fellow Chicagoans to record the most relaxed, perfectly balanced album they made together. It may seem hyperbolic to call From the River to the Ocean Fred Anderson's greatest album, but the empathy and cohesiveness of the ensemble, coupled with the saxophonist's brilliant, searching improvisations, makes it a powerful contender. From the River to the Ocean is an especially varied outing, ranging from Anderson's classic setclosing blues "Strut Time" to the meditative, spiritual, modal track "For Brother Thompson," dedicated to the late trumpeter Malachi Thompson and featuring bassist Harrison Bankhead on brooding piano and Drake chanting in Arabic. The record's title track and the closer, "Sakti/Shiva," find bassist Josh Abrams laying down an astounding bed on guimbri, the threestringed Moroccan acoustic bass familiar to fans of Gnawa music. Another of the album's delights is guitarist Jeff Parker, well known Jazz guitarist as well as member of Tortoise. Here, Parker displays an immense sensitivity and melodic genius, sharing solo spotlight with Bankhead's cello on "From the River to the Ocean" and sculpting a stunning array of shapes on the group's swinging take on Anderson's "Planet E." Underneath it all is Hamid Drake, an intensely creative soul continuing to challenge himself. Drake's growth is not measured in how many different instruments he plays - indeed, he's scaled back his arsenal over the years - but in the depth and musicality of his feeling. On this record he is remarkably light and airy, playing with tremendous delicacy and clarity. Propulsion can be introduced without a pneumatic drill, and Drake instigates an avalanche of rolling forward momentum on the opening moments, inspiring the two basses and guitarist to move, to make something moving, and in turn to further inspire Fred Anderson to some of his most forceful and imaginative playing ever documented. If the individual is a small receptacle of expressivity, a mountain spring if you will, then it is in ideal settings like this one that the springs join forces, turning into streams, then bigger and bigger tributaries, finally swelling into rivers that open into the oceanic creative waterways.

15 years after the album"s release, City of Echoes is now available in a deluxe 2xLP edition, newly remastered by Josh Bonati and featuring a full LP-worth of bonus material, including original album demos, alternate takes, and pieces originally only available on the rare Pink Mammoth EP. City of Echoes, originally released in 2007 by Hydra Head Records, marked a paradigm shift for Pelican. Coming off the heels of the glacial Australasia and their even more expansive and acclaimed follow-up, The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, their third album is a study in precision. Inspired by their non-stop tour schedule following The Fire"s release, the quartet composed City of Echoes to be a lean powerhouse of non-stop melodic hooks and lurching rhythms that reflected the energy of live performance. With City of Echoes, Pelican defied expectations and set themselves apart from the single-minded thrum of retreading old ground. The more concise pieces trade breadth and rumination for a distinct clarity and a razor"s edge for hook-driven songcraft. Guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec trade crisp riffs that twirl in opposition before thundering together in monoliths. The sheer amount of potent interplay between the two, often borrowing from disparate edges of rock and metal at a whim before completely transforming, is mind-boggling. Bassist Bryan Herweg and rhythm section compatriot/drummer/brother Larry Herweg lock into a wider array of grooves than ever before. Their considered bedrock guide the band"s dynamics into some of the ensemble"s most tender moments as well as their most ferocious. City of Echoes stands as a testament to Pelican"s ability to reconfigure the grandeur and force of their sound without ever repeating themselves.

15 years after the album"s release, City of Echoes is now available in a deluxe 2xLP edition, newly remastered by Josh Bonati and featuring a full LP-worth of bonus material, including original album demos, alternate takes, and pieces originally only available on the rare Pink Mammoth EP. City of Echoes, originally released in 2007 by Hydra Head Records, marked a paradigm shift for Pelican. Coming off the heels of the glacial Australasia and their even more expansive and acclaimed follow-up, The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, their third album is a study in precision. Inspired by their non-stop tour schedule following The Fire"s release, the quartet composed City of Echoes to be a lean powerhouse of non-stop melodic hooks and lurching rhythms that reflected the energy of live performance. With City of Echoes, Pelican defied expectations and set themselves apart from the single-minded thrum of retreading old ground. The more concise pieces trade breadth and rumination for a distinct clarity and a razor"s edge for hook-driven songcraft. Guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec trade crisp riffs that twirl in opposition before thundering together in monoliths. The sheer amount of potent interplay between the two, often borrowing from disparate edges of rock and metal at a whim before completely transforming, is mind-boggling. Bassist Bryan Herweg and rhythm section compatriot/drummer/brother Larry Herweg lock into a wider array of grooves than ever before. Their considered bedrock guide the band"s dynamics into some of the ensemble"s most tender moments as well as their most ferocious. City of Echoes stands as a testament to Pelican"s ability to reconfigure the grandeur and force of their sound without ever repeating themselves.

Lightning Bolt redefined what it means to be DIY. An utterly singular band in every way, unbridled creativity and energy propel them well past most categorical boundaries, the least of which is the boundary between band and audience. Theirs is an immersive experience - a sound so huge it can swallow us all. Earthly Delights is the metal album to Lightning Bolt"s genre-straddling discography, using the signature speed and volume reminiscent of past releases while centering around growling chords and monolithic rhythms commonly found in the foundations of metal. Amorphous songs feature a sort of gravitational pull, dragging listeners in and driving the pounding rhythms of Brian Chippendale into the brain until they are stuck in.Wielding the bass, Brian Gibson strays from his typical high-end runs, cramming thick chords between frantic beats, creating a brutal and grueling churn. Although this record is likely to wear you outwith unrelenting heaviness and elongated mega-jamming, we think fans will find this reissue of Earthly Delights quite- delightful...They are often called one of the loudest rock outfits in existence, both on records and on (or famously, off) the stage. Brian Gibson creates sounds that are unexpected and remarkably varied with his virtuosic bass playing and his inventive approach to the instrument, centered around melody rather than rhythm. The dizzying fury of Brian Chippendale"s drums twist from primal patterns into disorienting break beats as his distorted, and echoing vocals weave more melody into the mayhem. The impact that Lightning Bolt has had on underground music since its inception is immense, and remains pervasive beyond any genre tag that has been attached to them. Earthly Delights is the work of a band unafraid to challenge themselves, unbound by expectations, joyfully defiant, and possessed of the same inventive curiosity which set them apart on day one, and is still unmatched years later.