Notable vinyl releases out this Friday - 07 March (2025)

Alt-rock legend Bob Mould returns with his new album, Here We Go Crazy. The former frontman of H?sker D? and Sugar delivers 11 slices of anthemic, emotional driving alternative rock. Featuring singles "Here We Go Crazy," "When Your Heart Is Broken," and "Breathing Room," the album finds Bob in top form. 

The Open Up is the follow-up to 2022's The Bees, making it Frog Eyes' second album since their brief breakup. It was recorded primarily live off the floor (with overdubs added after), with a press release pointing to sonic touchstones like '90s emo, the Fall, goth rock and "weird blues."

Hamilton Leithauser's 5th studio album This Side of the Island (co-produced by Aaron Dessner of The National) boldly turns away from the folk-rock vibes of his two previous records and introduces a groovier, bass-heavy, modern sound — a sound undoubtedly influenced by several decades of music. Inspired by events in Hamilton’s personal life, the album's lyrics showcase his unrelenting optimism and biting wit and as they consider heavy themes of solitude, love, loss, and resilience.

After releasing multiple albums and touring the world with his band, the 400 Unit, Isbell will begin 2025 with a change of pace. He hits the road on his own, performing solo this winter and early spring at historic music venues across Europe and the US. In conjunction with these much anticipated shows, Isbell releases a new album featuring only his voice and an acoustic guitar, an all-mahogany 1940 Martin 0-17. These recordings further demonstrate his pure talent as a songwriter and musician. Produced by Gena Johnson and Jason Isbell, and recorded at Electric Lady Studios in NYC, Foxes in the Snow is an absolute masterpiece.

After two consecutive new Jethro Tull album releases in 2022 and 2023, another collection – Curious Ruminant. Consisting of nine tracks varying in length from two and half minutes to almost seventeen minutes, this is an album of mostly full band music. Amongst the musicians featured are former keyboardist Andrew Giddings and drummer James Duncan, along with the current band members David Goodier, John O'Hara, Scott Hammond and, making his recording debut with the band, guitarist Jack Clark.

The alchemy by which history becomes myth is mysterious. Much is lost to time and reinterpretation, but the result is something more universal, a symbol. All artistic practice, in this sense, is a practice of myth-making, an experience rendered universal through abstraction. Russian musician and producer Yana Kedrina, who goes by the stage name Kedr Livanskiy, is intimately familiar with this process, having crafted ethereal, far-flung dance tracks for the better part of a decade. On her fourth studio album Myrtus Myth, she draws on mythologies both public and personal to craft an expansive experimental pop album and Dante-esque journey through the self. There's always been an element of esotericism to Kedr's music, from the slow-burning choral synths that anchored her debut EP January Sun to the delicate strings and churchlike harmonies of 2021's Liminal Soul. Even her clubbier releases, 2019's Your Need and 2023's K-Notes, depict mysterious forests, enveloping clouds, and foreboding winters. Of all her discography, though, Myrtus Myth seems to gesture most directly towards Ariadna, her far-reaching but understated first album, wherein she fused William Blake poetry with skittering lo-fi techno and minimalist ambient soundscapes. The same reverberating synths, echoing vocals and innovative song structure that punctuated Ariadna fuel Myrtus Myth, but this time the scope has broadened. This is due in part to the work of producer and visual artist Flaty, known for his experimental, futuristic releases on labels such as Gost Zvuk and his own imprint ANWO. Though he and Kedr have worked together frequently in the past (both as co-producers on Your Need and in their band, Kosaya Gora), Myrtus Myth represents a deeper collaboration, with Flaty producing and composing the entire record for the first time. Together, the two artists transcend dance structure completely, incorporating live instruments and new vocal techniques to bridge influences from vaporwave to Kate Bush to Phil Collins. In doing so, Kedr and Flaty have further unburdened the hauntological impulse that has long driven her artistic output. In some places, the ghosts are literal, as on lead single "Anna", a full-fledged '70s tune featuring live drums, strings and melodies reminiscent of Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac. It's the closest thing Livanskiy has made to a straight-ahead pop song, a touching ode to a lost friend awash in a cloud of echoey haze and Kedr's soaring vocals. In other instances, the references are more subtle - on "Purple Sadness", Flaty's crunchy synths and autotuned vocals evoke the cloud rap of the early 2010s, while "Agata Dreams", a downtempo '90s electro-pop song, channels French-Canadian pop star Mylene Farmer.Though stylistically diverse, Myrtus Myth comes together through the narrative structure of Livanskiy's storytelling. Written in her native Russian, her lyricism is at it's most immersive on this album, a hero's journey recounted over 11 tracks. "Orpheus" uses the classic Greek myth as an introductory touchpoint to the record - over a delicate arrangement of twinkling synth tones and operatic chirps, she casts the titular musician's story as a testament to the long-lasting power of artistic tradition. On "Night Trains", we find our hero departing home for their epic journey, as the refrain "leave on familiar trains, leaving cities" repeats over a bassy, looping electronic beat. The journey reaches it's apex on standout track "Spades on Hearts", an anthemic battle cry with rhythmic keys and declarative marching drums. "My body is armor," our protagonist declares, "this is a game where you lose!"

Blending the eclectic energy that first captivated her fans with a bold, fearless artistic vision, Mayhem marks a triumphant return to Gaga’s pop roots. The album explores themes of chaos and transformation, celebrating music’s power to unite, provoke, and heal. “The album started as me facing my fear of returning to the pop music my earliest fans loved,” said Gaga. Far from a nostalgic throwback, Mayhem reinvents her early sound with a kaleidoscopic approach that draws from her expansive musical library while embracing a fresh and fearless artistic perspective. Gaga describes the creative process as “reassembling a shattered mirror: even if you can’t put the pieces back together perfectly, you can create something beautiful and whole in its own new way.”

Oceanside Countryside is the latest of Neil Young's great "lost" albums to be released as part of his Analog Original Series. The album was recorded from May to December 1977, preceding the release of Comes A Time in 1978. The two albums share the same country/folk sound, and three songs ("Goin' Back", "Human Highway" and "Field of Opportunity") appear on both albums. The vinyl release of Oceanside Countryside includes some tracks that are on the CD of the same name in Neil Young's Archives Vol. III. However, this track list is how Oceanside Countryside was originally planned to be released. Recorded on tape, these are the original mixes done at the time of recording. All the songs on "Oceanside" are performed solo by Neil Young. On "Countryside," Young is joined by a band of his friends: Ben Keith (Steel Guitar), Rufus Thibodeaux (fiddle), Karl T. Himmel (drums), Joe Osborne (bass). On "The Old Homestead" Tim Drummond plays bass and Levon Helm plays drums. "Pocahontas" is Young solo. Please note that while the songs on Oceanside Countryside appear on Archives Volume III, the versions are not always the same and the track list is the running order for the original Oceanside Countryside album.

Two Sasamis exist in harmony. First is Sasami Ashworth, the conservatory-trained classical French horn player, producer, and composer—an artist with a studious approach to craft. And then there is all-caps SASAMI, the fearless performer and protagonist of her three increasingly audacious albums. For Blood On the Silver Screen, these two sides fused for her most epic and realized music to date: the all-out Sasami pop record. After establishing herself with the poised melancholia of her eponymous 2019 debut, Sasami embraced volume and control on 2022’s Squeeze—touring with a metal band—but her goal on Blood On the Silver Screen was to speak her truth with conviction by singing. Working with co-producers Jenn Decilveo and Rostam, with Sasami as sole writer, each Blood On the Silver Screen track viscerally captures a different thread of love, sex, power, and embodiment. “Pop music is like fuel,” Sasami says. “It’s just invigorating.” Across Blood On the Silver Screen, Sasami’s lyrics narrate the ecstasies and agonies of being “a modern lover,” she says—writing about “big city dating endeavors” even as she found herself relocating, on a whim, from Los Angeles to rural Northern California. The anthemic “For the Weekend” explores “modern intimacy, where you can get deep without the relationship being defined,” while the irrepressible “Just Be Friends” bottles the dizzying longing that can overtake those in-betweens. “I wanted to go all out with this album,” Sasami continues. “I wanted to, in my tenderness and emotionality, have the bravery to undertake something as epic as making a pop record about love. I hope it makes people feel empowered and embodied, too. It’s important to not box yourself in.”

Star 99 has come a long way since these four best friends (Saoirse Alesandro, Chris Gough, Jeremy Romero, and Thomas Calvo) lived together in a disgusting house in downtown San Jose, CA. Their first EP “My Year in Lists”, a nod to the Los Campesinos song, was released in 2021. This first step led to tons of shows throughout the SF Bay Area and multiple west coast tours where they have shared the stage with some amazing bands such as Scowl, Mom Jeans, Spy, Bug Bath, Supercrush, and Slumped. In 2023 they released their debut full length “Bitch Unlimited” on Lauren Records, where the band’s eccentric hard twee sound was fully realized. Their next full length “Gaman” will explore Star 99’s personality with more intention. By adding multi-instrumentalist Aidan Delaney, the band has once again leveled up their sound and musicianship with this release. Where “Bitch Unlimited” is fast, energetic, and punchy, this new record shows the subtle side of Star 99 while still delivering exciting pop music that their fans have grown to love and expect. “Gaman” is an exploration of the deep feelings that come from relationships with family, friends, and lovers and learning to persist despite hardship. 

The Tubs' second album, Cotton Crown, sees the Celtic Jangle boyband venture into darker, more personal territory while continuing to hone their highly addictive brand of songcraft. It's a true level up album which sees the band expand their sonic palette to take in a kaleidoscopic range of influences: everything from soulful pub rock (Chain Reaction) to Husker Du aggression (One More Day) to melancholy sophisto-pop (Narcissist) gets a look in. As Pitchfork noted, The Tubs see jangle as a 'vast world of moods and muses' and Cotton Crown sees them continuing to explore this world and creating a distinctly Tub-ular sound in the process. This is in no small part down to Owen 'O' Williams' vocal performance- often compared to a young Richard Thomson- and his frank, bleakly funny lyric writing. Cotton Crown sees him delve further into his favorite themes of love-psychosis, unsympathetic mentally ill behavior, and the humiliations of being a musician in London. This time around, however, there's a palpable sense of risk in his self assessments/confessions. No more so in the track's closing track Strange- an accounting of the clumsy, intrusive, well-meaning social interactions that took place in the period following the suicide of his mother (the folk singer Charlotte Greig.) As Williams says: "I'd tried a few times to write a song about it. The result had always seemed either mawkish, simplifying or like I was hawking my trauma. But then this one came out, and it felt right because it looked at something smaller: the weird, unsatisfying, strangely funny ways everyone, including myself, acted after the dust settled." The album artwork features an image of Williams as an infant being breastfed by Greig in a graveyard- a promotional shot taken around the release of her debut album (the re-issue of which was featured in The Guardian in 2023.) The essential trick Cotton Crown plays is to offset Williams' lyrical bleakness with joyous, hook-laden blasts of pop perfection. This is largely down to the guitar work of George Nicholls, who, across the album, effortlessly slips between the virtuoso jangle of Marr, the driving folk-rock of Pentangle and the chorus-heavy hi-fi grooves of contemporary bands like Tops or The 1975. Add to that the breakneck rhythm section of Taylor Stewart (Drums) and Max Warren (Bass)- who attack each song with power-pop ferocity, recalling Guided by Voices at their drunken-yet-tight best- and you've got yourself a recipe for indie rock greatness. The band's debut 'Dead Meat' was a word-of-mouth sensation that saw the band earn accolades from Pitchfork, The Guardian, MOJO, SPIN and more. They even gained some celeb fans: the inimitable Mark Proksch (The Office (US), Better Call Saul, What We Do in the Shadows) starred in the video for their "Round the Bend" single & punk legend Iggy Pop has praised them on his BBC 6Music radio program. Standing in opposition to the UK norm of post punk, and hookless high-minded indie prog, the album was described by Kitty Empire (Observer) as a "shot in the arm for indie rock". The band's hard touring and raucous, beery live show have seen them stand out at festivals like Greenman, End of The Road, Melbourne Rising and Canela Party. The band (minus Stewart) were previously members of Joanna Gruesome- who won the Welsh Music Prize, toured the UK and US extensively, and were praised in Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The NY Times, The Guardian and others. Lan McCardle (Joanna Gruesome, Ex-Void) also provides backing vocals on several tracks. The Tubs are part of the Gob Nation collective- the London-based network of bands, writers and promoters who were recently profiled in The Guardian.

Grammy-nominated artist, producer and label-head Tokimonsta has teamed up with long-time collaborator Anderson.Paak and rising neo-soul singer and rapper Rae Khalil to deliver her latest single, "On Sum" along with an accompanying music video. The new song comes as the third release from TOKi's upcoming studio album, Eternal Reverie, out November 22nd via Young Art Records and follows last month's irresistibly catchy samba-inspired dance floor anthem, "Corazon / Death By Disco Pt. 2.""On Sum" builds off the undeniable chemistry between Tokimonsta and Anderson.Paak as the two California-natives bring the best out of one another's eclectic styles. Rae Khalil's rich vocals over the serenading introduction sets the tone for Anderson to naturally float through and join. Their voices seamlessly weave in and out of Tokimonsta's signature beat-scene rhythms and lush synth chords while complementing one another's soulful cadences-this track is a masterclass on the classic duet. "On Sum" is an uplifting yet heartfelt R&B track that truly highlights the trio's ability to craft a song both velvety and uplifting. "I'm excited to drop this brand new collab with Anderson.Paak, marking ten years since our first song, 'Realla.' Having Rae Khalil on the track is the cherry on top-music just hits different when you're making it with friends," says Tokimonsta. In addition to the new single, Tokimonsta will be going on a 26-stop North American tour with the anticipation of her new album coming this fall. The tour is set to kick off on September 28th at San Diego's CRSSD Festival with stops in Dallas, Nashville, New York, Toronto, Chicago and more before wrapping up on November 30th in Los Angeles along with additional tour dates coming soon.

Formed by Brandon Hagen (guitar, vocals) and Drew McDonald (drums), and later joined by Zack Abramo (bass), Vundabar forged their sound in mythical underground venues in the early 2010s. Musically, they meld post-punk, math-rock, surf-guitar, jangle-pop and grunge scuzz into sharp, compact songs. On Surgery and Pleasure, their sixth album and first for Loma Vista Recordings, the trio have created their most urgent and visceral collection yet across 11 new tracks. Standard black vinyl.