January 2024
TITLE | ARTIST | LABEL | FORMAT | DATE |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hard To Sell [LP] | Mac Saturn | Saturn Records | Vinyl | 2024-01-26 |
Blue Raspberry [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Crystal Clear LP] | Katy Kirby | ANTI | Vinyl | 2024-01-26 |
Some Of It Was True [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Strawberry Shortcake Splash LP] | The Menzingers | EPITAPH | Vinyl | 2024-01-26 |
Saviors [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Magenta & Black LP] | Green Day | Reprise | Vinyl | 2024-01-19 |
Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Translucent Pink LP] | The Vaccines | Super Easy | Vinyl | 2024-01-12 |
Orquídeas [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Alternative Cover Silver Metallic LP] | Kali Uchis | Geffen | Vinyl | 2024-01-12 |
Bursting out of Detroit Rock City and hailed by The Michigan Daily as "the past, present, and future of rock n' roll," Mac Saturn has grooves at its heart, playing with a buoyant energy that makes dancing a command rather than an option. As drummer-turned-frontman Macc -- who sings everything with the assurance and swagger that’s as much Harry Styles as Mick Jagger -- puts it: “The songs are rock, but they’ve got that other thing going on — that funky, dancey, Motown, whatever you want to call it — that makes them our own thing.”
The six-piece covered a lot of ground on its last year's debut EP Until the Money Runs Out, from the hip-swiveling “Diamonds” and “Mr. Cadillac” to the urgent punch of “Persian Rugs." Since then, they've become known for their electrifying live shows that harken back to the glitz and glam of 70s rock stars. Their own sold-out headlining shows are packed with fans singing along with every word - even to songs that haven't been released yet - and their tours with The Struts and Dirty Honey have only inspired more people to enter Mac Saturn's orbit.
A vibrant and irresistible earworm, "Mint Julep" is the first single off their upcoming debut album, Hard To Sell (releasing January 2024). The album was produced by The Rust Brothers - aka Al Sutton, Marlon Young, Herschel Boone - at Rust Belt Studios (Greta Van Fleet, Electric Six, Mark Foster) and mastered by Bill Skibbe (Jack White, Franz Ferdinand, Wallows).
Blue Raspberry is Katy Kirby’s follow up to her renowned debut album Cool Dry Place, which came out in February 2021. Singer/songwriter Katy Kirby introduced her warm, articulate vocals, perceptive lyrics, and playful adult-alternative style on her debut album as she toured tirelessly supporting bands like Waxahatchee, Andy Shauf, Julia Jacklin and Alex G.
That record was a tried-and-true folk collection, perfectly displaying the chops of a young songwriter and emanating the warm feel of a band in a room; Blue Raspberry, made with the same band and producers (Logan Chung and Alberto Sewald) , hits the gas and enters completely new territory as we see Katy truly step into her own as a songwriting force. She fearlessly leans far into baroque piano pop on tracks like ‘Redemption Arc’ and the title track ‘Blue Raspberry’, and lyrically she explores themes of loss and queer love. Very few are able to capture the same emo- tional, theatrical magic of artists like Fiona Apple, Tom Waits and Joanna Newsom but Katy pulls it off on this record; standout ‘Drop Dead’.
Strawberry Shortcake Splash LP (Indie Exclusive). The Menzingers are an absolute institution. The Philadelphia punk legends' multi-decade reputation as road warriors with an unbeatable catalog is cemented as hard truth-and their seventh album, Some Of It Was True, stands as their most immediate-sounding and energetic record to date. The follow-up to 2019's sensational Hello Exile accomplishes the daunting task of capturing the Menzingers' distinctive live energy in the confines of the studio, resulting in a sound that's both rich, raw, and complementary to the group's increasingly prismatic songwriting approach. More than 15 years in, the Menzingers are still holding their listeners square in the immediate present, and Some Of It Was True documents that power in thrilling fashion.
"We wanted to make a fun record and write songs that we wanted to play live, and that's exactly what we did," co-vocalist/guitarist Greg Barnett says "We've always said that we want every album to sound live, but we never recorded an album live before. This was the first time we committed to that idea. We wanted to sound like how our band sounds onstage." Making the process easier: Grammy-nominated producer Brad Cook (Bon Iver, the War on Drugs, Waxahatchee), who joined the Menzingers in El Paso's legendary Sonic Ranch studios and lent his incredible ear for raw, immediate sound to help the band achieve Some Of It Was True's in-the-room live feel. "The Menzingers are as real as it gets," Cook says on his time in the studio with the band. "I had an absolute blast working with these guys and was moved to tears many times. They are truly dedicated to artistic growth, and to each other, in ways I found both refreshing and beautiful. I am now a lifer."
Green Day is not your savior.
But the spirit of rock n roll might be. And as the greatest punk band alive, they’re the loudest vessel we have… to give it a shot.
Green Day are ready to flip off the famous, stupid and contagious, by putting a mirror to the present tense like only they can, with Saviors — an inspired new studio album to be released in early 2024.
Amazingly, Saviors represents Green Day's 14th studio album, yet somehow this enduring power trio -- Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool & Mike Dirnt -- remain devoted to their defiant craft that has fueled their career-long destruction of every boundary bestowed on the genre, and landed 3 East Bay punks in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
The album was recorded in both London and Los Angeles under the audacious ear and Rock prowess of Green Day's longtime friend & collaborator, GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Rob Cavallo.
Torchbearers for British guitar music, The Vaccines - Justin Young (lead vocals, guitars), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, vocals) and Yoann Intonti (drums) - are back with their sixth studio album Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations. The title comes from a misremembered lyric from Don McClean's "American Pie," a song that for Young fittingly evokes the death of innocence and the American Dream. After he moved to Los Angeles - a city the band has grown up being captivated by - he was forced to wrestle with the disillusionment that comes when expectations, dreams, and reality don't quite meet. Yet, though Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations is an album about reconciling with loss, it's also filled with gratitude for the people and places we once loved.
"Pink carnations symbolise gratitude and tell a person they’ll never be forgotten," says Young. "So whether it's the loss of a lover, or a friend, or even just a dream, the record is a reminder that they’ll live on in whatever capacity the mind allows them to. And it's a reminder to keep on dreaming.”
Produced by Andrew Wells (Halsey, Phoebe Bridgers) with Mixing from Dave Fridmann (Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips), Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations is an immediately anthemic addition to the band's discography. With a mammoth five UK Top 5 albums – including a Number 1 with 2012’s Come of Age – and a fierce live reputation forged through arena-filling headline shows and unforgettable slots at Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds, The Vaccines continue to be a vital band in the British rock canon.
GRAMMY Award-winner Kali Uchis releases her fourth studio album, Orquídeas. Marking Uchis’ striking return to Spanish-language music, the project features a superstar lineup with KAROL G, Peso Pluma, El Alfa, and JT. Inspired by the sensual allure of Colombia’s national flower, the orchid, Orquídeas traverses multiple Latin genres including reggaeton, dembow, bolero and salsa furthering Uchis’ connection to her Colombian roots. Indie Exclusive Silver Metallic LP with alternate cover.