Notable vinyl releases out this Friday - 21 June (2024)

Scream from New York, NY, the first album by Been Stellar captures an image of ‘20s New York that’s unrelenting and harsh, where tenderness is a finite resource burned up by the machinery of the city and human connection is a luxury product. Released via Dirty Hit, their debut album embodies the spirit of a city that makes and breaks its inhabitants on a daily basis.

In the last decade, Daniel Davies has become a lauded composer of atmospheric,synth-heavy instrumental music-for film and TV scores, alongside JohnCarpenter on the director's Lost Themes albums, and on solo releases like Signalsand Spies. But in his previous musical life, Davies was a rocker, touring all overthe world with heavy bands like Year Long Disaster and Karma to Burn. Aftersetting rock music aside to focus on his soundtrack and instrumental work, themulti-instrumentalist has found himself falling back in love with loud guitarsover the past couple of years.Ghost of the Heart, the first full-length alt-rock album Davies has ever releasedunder his own name, captures the excitement of that rediscovered love. Aftera decade of making music that either had to match a filmed image or create amental one, he sounds liberated by the concrete, reliable logic of verse/chorus/verse. The songs on Ghost of the Heart don't fit neatly into any one subgenre:they're moody, heavy, and a little proggy, but with a strong pop sensibility andlots of melody. The album divulges Davies' affinity for hooky, forward-thinkingbands like Radiohead and Blur, but more than anything, Ghost of the Heart feelsnatural, like he's tapping back into something fundamental about himself as amusician. "My first love is writing rock songs," Davies says. "It just felt like theright time to get back to it."Ghost of the Heart is a special album for Davies. It sees him returning to hisorigins in rock music, but it also couldn't have been made without the lessons ofhis time in the film world. In the truest sense, it's a career-defining work, one thatshowcases everything he's learned in his decades as a musician. It reveals a doorthat, now opened, can take Davies anywhere he wants to go.

Gracie Abrams returns with her sophomore album, "The Secret of Us" released via Interscope Records. This is Gracie's most expansive body of work both sonically and narratively. Coming off the heels of her hugely successful debut "Good Riddance" Gracie shows us how much she has accomplished in one short year. Gracie's growth as a songwriter and vocalist is showcased in her most extroverted album yet, as she continues to work with longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner. A portion of these songs were also written with Gracie's best friend, Audrey Hobert. This album was written with the urgency with which you run home to detail every moment of a night to your friend, with her live experiences over the past year having deeply shaped the identity of this album. 

"What Occurs", is Islands' 10th album. It was recorded, mixed and mastered entirely on Vancouver Island, the birthplace of Islands' songwriter Nick Thorburn and his first record made on the island. The album functions like a collection of short stories, each song telling a different tale: A man steals a billionaire's painting, ("David Geffen's Jackson Pollock"), a woman is terrified of intimacy but great at dancing ("Arachnophobia"), and a lovelorn loser does everything wrong ("Drown A Fish"). 

NIGHTINGALE's sought-after “Nightfall Overture” release, which gathers re-imagined and re-recorded versions of songs from the band’s first four albums, is now remastered by songwriter/frontman/producer Dan Swanö (Opeth, Katatonia, Edge Of Sanity, etc). First released in 2005 to celebrate the band’s 10th Anniversary, this overdue re-issue will be available on Limited Deluxe 2CD Jewelcase with O-Card incl. a 16-track / 73 min. bonus disc with career-spanning live recordings from 2004 up to 2016 (“Rock Hard Live” release) and on 180g vinyl editions. “Nightfall Overture” in its upgraded shape offers a perfect introductory opportunity to (re-) discover NIGHTINGALE’s early and highly versatile body of work. The shadow breathes once more...

"The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) The new collection showcases Mitchell at her most daring across Hejira (1976), Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (1977), Mingus (1979), and the live album Shadows and Light (1980). Renowned audio engineer Bernie Grundman remastered all four releases included in this boxed set from the original flat analog master tapes. The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) will be available on June 21 from Rhino as a 5-CD set, a limited edition (5,000 copies) 6-LP version pressed on 180-gram vinyl, and digitally. The cover art for The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) includes a portion of one of Mitchell’s original paintings. Fans will enjoy a full version of the whimsically abstract landscape as an accompanying insert included in the album packaging for both the CD and LP configurations."

Kate Nash’s new album ‘9 Sad Symphonies’ is her first signed to the legendary Kill Rock Stars label. The album was produced and mixed by Grammy winning Danish producer Frederik Thaae (K Flay, Jada, Crown The Empire). Marking a new chapter in Kate’s illustrious career, the album’s lyrical scope is both deeply personal and achingly relatable, whilst its orchestral arrangements and melodies draw from Kate’s experience in the world of musical theatre. Kate Nash is a BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter, musician and actress known for her fearless approach to music and unapologetic storytelling. A platinum selling artist with a career spanning over a decade, she has garnered critical acclaim for her chart-topping hits and electrifying live performances. From her debut album Made of Bricks to her latest releases, Kate’s artistry continues to resonate with audiences and has earned her a dedicated fanbase. She also captivated audiences as Rhonda in Netflix’s Emmy-nominated GLOW.

In Kehlani’s words: “A crash, in any form, is the peak height of the moment. It isn’t the anxiety of the before, or the lament after. It is the everso imperative present. A space with no reminisce, no remorse, and no after thought. CRASH IS HERE. At my most free, most fun, most loud, most fueled, so far.”

Lake Street Dive - Good Together [Neon Yellow LP] / Produced by Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow), Lake Street Dive's new album Good Together is an eclectic set of genre-bending songs that could only have come from popular music's most agile and compelling outliers. Fusing pop, R&B, soul and jazz, Lake Street Dive: Rachael Price (vocals), Bridget Kearney (bass), Mike Calabrese (drums), Akie Bermiss (keyboards), and James Cornelison (guitar), have created the most confident and accomplished recording of their career.

The Joy grew up on Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but their harmonies harken back to another vocal tradition. Mbube meaning 'lion', gives some indication of the elemental power it's practitioners summon when bursting into song. In this part of South Africa, where the Zulu tradition of a cappella singing is central to the cultural identity of it's people, you'll have to transcend the sum of your constituent parts to truly command attention. But singing together as teenage boys for the first time, Pastor (Ntokozo Bright Magcaba), Duzie (Melokuhle Mkhungo), Guduza (Sphelele Hlophe), Sthombe (Phelelani Sithole) and Marcus (Sanele Ngcobo) have no reason to pause and consider that. Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson pronounce themselves fans, the latter calling them "my favourite group". Sessions produced by longtime champion Two Inch Punch amass millions of streams either in spite or because of the fact that they correspond to nothing else competing for your attention in the modern musical firmament.