12XU - Forced Exposure

$24.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 5/16/2025

"I first encountered the Gotobeds in August 2014, at a benefit for the great rock bard Karl Hendricks in their mutual hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Gotobeds went on fashionably (if not voluntarily) late and proceeded to lay waste to anything else anyone tried to do that evening. I took an abnormal number of photos and was made a fan for life. This kind of instant affection happens to me, particularly in my jaded dotage, so very rarely that I feel it is worth noting. Almost inevitably, an attempt to describe an unnameable jolt will devolve into predictable cliches. I'm talking about old chestnuts like: Bouncing off the walls Spending about half an hour in a washing machine full of bolts and rose petals Having sand thrown in your eyes just before being kissed vigorously on the neck All of which are a) barely better than nothing on the word front but b) do apply, if lazily so, to the Gotobeds' various, terrific issuances: on 12XU (to which they have happily returned), their erstwhile label Sub Pop, etc. And the latter two apply perhaps most especially to their terrific new record?Masterclass. The Gotobeds have an unwavering commitment to bending and breaking things in the process of remaking them into something bolder and better (and, a couple of lineup changes to the contrary, not laying anyone off wantonly from critical government jobs). The Gotobeds are aggressive, cannily disjointed, occasionally raw propellent, with an ear for melody that leavens the entire enterprise with a reasonable, non-diabetes-inducing amount of sugar. The complements to this wrangling and strangling are warm and charming vocals (albeit semi-buried), with perhaps surprising heart and richness to them, plus (crucially) an insistent, melodic bass guitar and beguilingly slushy drumming that together invite that most welcome and rare of rock sense-memory tingles (The Clean). In closing, I will suggest: Apprise your ears, brain, and genitalia of this brazen, scabrous, lovingly made record?the Gotobeds' fourth or fifth depending on how many fingers you have left on your counting hand. Masterclass was spat out during a low point of recent human history -- the Great Plague of 2020-2022 -- but as we should all know from watching the History Channel, there's always a sub-sub-basement. And beautiful art, great music, good books?these things are necessary for survival, as well as being prime antidotes to the scourge of psyops-enabled doomscrolling." --Tim Midyett

$24.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 3/21/2025

"Back in the mid-'90s the Dirty Three opened for Ed Kuepper in Melbourne. That's when Ed and Jim White first crossed paths. Jim of course was well-aware of Ed; who wasn't? This was an artist who had redefined Australian music not just once with The Saints, not just twice with Laughing Clowns, but was at it again for a third time, under his own name. Roll forward to 2020. Time became malleable, even these most industrious of artists found themselves with time to kill. Jim was unexpectedly back in Australia, in fact stranded in Australia. Despite all the complexities of the pandemic Ed recognized an opportunity to capture the collaboration he'd long had in mind. The original idea was for the two of them to do a few shows together. It would be 'casual'. But it proved to be anything but. Amidst the on-off restrictions and the threat of the virus the tour was a turbulent ride. They performed two sold out nights at the Sydney Opera House and fluked the only gig at Rising before the Melbourne Festival was cancelled. Other gigs were blown out and plans would be changed at the last minute. Touring was precarious with Ed and Jim unsure when restrictions would be announced, leaving them high and dry or forcing them to drive cross county late at night to cross state lines before the borders were closed. In amidst this turmoil a musical bond was forged. Ed appreciated Jim's "rhythmic intent. It's intuition based" he explains. The duo grasped an opportunity to enter Melbourne's Sound Park Studio. Working quickly over four days they captured the music they had been performing. The resulting album features eight tracks that provide, as Ed puts it 'The broadest representation of what we did, with the most variety.' The widescreen selection of songs gives a tracking shot of Ed's career to date. The earliest song reimagined here is The Saints' 'Swing For The Crime,' which originally appeared in 1978 on the Prehistoric Sounds album. Ed's early '80s band Laughing Clowns is generously represented and rewired with the songs 'Crying Dance,' 'The Year Of The Bloated Goat,' and 'Collapse Board.' Deep into their careers, at the top of their game, ever curious, changing and searching, Ed and Jim reach another high-water mark. After The Flood was recorded and mixed by Idge at Sound Park Studio, Melbourne, Spring 2023. Produced by Ed Kuepper and Jim White."

$23.00 IN STOCK

"Live In Paris is the fourth album from the Austin TX trio USA/Mexico, and their first since 2021's Del Rio. As the title suggests, the album was recorded live at Paris' Le Petit Bain in March of 2024. As on their prior studio albums, the group remains guitarist Craig Clouse (Shit and Shine), bassist Nate Cross (Water Damage, Marriage) and drummer King Coffey (Butthole Surfers). Mastered by James Plotkin."

$34.00 NOT IN STOCK

"Through the fog of our grief in the wake of the earth-shattering loss of our beloved angel stevie? we announce the release of Mope Grooves' fifth and final album, Box of Dark Roses. A 27 song, two-disc LP of songs that stevie prepared for release before she left. In addition to the music, stevie provided extensive liner notes to accompany the album. These are included with the album in the form of a zine, or as a digital PDF, respectively. Box Of Dark Roses is an LP where the same images repeat and repeat until you might have some idea of what roses have to do with armed struggle, trans autonomy, losing your house (again), angels, women political prisoners, violence returned to sender, suicided poets, refusing to recant, insisting on life, and how the revenge of twenty billion screaming ghost women could unmake the worst of all possible worlds. Performance by stevie (lowercase, no last name, she/her), cap (lowercase, no last name, they/them), Lee Butterfield (they/them), Penny Olives (she/her), Elias Williamson (they/them), Izzy Dupuis, Ana Díaz Sacco (she/they), Clinton O'Brien, Evan Mersky, Ana María Rodríguez (she/her), Ray Aggs (they/them), and Kyle Raquipiso." --Mope Groves

$23.00 IN STOCK

"Through Today is the sophomore album for rising Australian band Chimers. A husband /wife duo comprising life partners Padraic Skehan (vocals/guitar) and Binx (drums/vocals). Recorded by Jono Boulet (Party Dozen) over two days at Stranded Studios, Wollongong and mixed at Boulet's Sydney home studio, produced by the band and veteran manager/promoter/producer Tim Pittman (Feel Presents), Through Today features ten tracks of tightly-coiled intensity that barely lets up for all of its 34 mins. In enlisting Boulet, the band were confident that due to his own experience of being one half of Party Dozen, they had someone who understood the confines of working within the structure of a two-piece but also the possibilities that creates. Boulet, in turn, rewarding that trust by capturing a powerful bedrock of sound that allowed the band's taught rhythms to circle and permeate and yet give full breathing space for the melody within. For Pittman's part, having a third ear on hand to devote serious listening time and critical commentary was an added bonus. It's a major step forward from the band's 2021 self-titled debut. Lyrically, Chimers maintain the intensity as they tackle the themes of love, life, death and relationships, distance from home (Padraic is Irish, moving to Australia in 2001) and the current political climate providing enough drama to fuel a forest fire. Guest musicians on the album include saxophonist Kirsty Tickle -- also of Party Dozen -- and violinist Jordan Ireland of The Middle East, both of whom were invited in on short notice, adding their respective parts in just one to two takes each without any prior knowledge of the material. Binx too showing added versatility contributing lead vocals to 'An Echo' and sharing lead across '3AM,' 'Generator,' and others. Through Today is a great album. Solid and confident from the get go. No waste. No unnecessary fat. Should it be Chimers last it would remain a defining statement of originality and intent. But it's not the last, it's just the beginning. And there's plenty more where that came from."

$23.00 IN STOCK

"In attempting to write this dispatch on the second Voice Imitator album my instinct is to pitch them as somewhat of an antidote to the current ills of what could be described as the post-noise rock landscape. I'm trying not to tread too far down the path of negativity and slander, so let's just say that while on paper they share basic characteristics with popular groups in the pigfuck to frat rock pipeline, Voice Imitator possess a tact and vision scantly seen in repetition-orientated rock. On Of How Hits, the members decades long individual and collaborative experiences in punk/rock, the avant-garde and electronic music, are further honed to form an internal logic that doesn't merely cut and paste from these experiences, but creates a distinctive and singular group sensibility. Self-conscious subcultural baggage is removed from past youth music experiences, only the molten core remains. With each listen the distinction between traditional band and synthesized modes becomes harder to distinguish, like a zoomed in Killing Joke welding itself to Robert Hood's technominimalism. Lyrics reflect the surreal banality and horrors of modern existence, like a co- worker recapping their interstate trip away to the Banksy exhibition. The album ender, 'On Cloud Nine As One Of Three Percent' can only be compared to Lou Reed and Metallica's 'Junior Dad'. In short, affecting contemporary music." --Nic Warnock

$23.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

"The music of New York trio Weak Signal (Mike Bones, guitar and voice; Sasha Vine, electric bass, violin, and voice; Tran, drums and voice) is a masterclass in simplicity and economy but these aspects aren't present for their own didactic sake. Rather, their art is world-building in the most essential of ways, subtly spinning out in an enveloping, rich haze from a clear, architectural core. There are sections of knife-like collective squall and dialogic drift that glance at improvised music; while not strictly pop, the tunes are incredibly catchy with wry, keenly memorable lyrics that easily stick in one's craw. With associations including Endless Boogie, Sian Alice Group, and Soldiers of Fortune, Weak Signal formed in 2017. They waxed two full lengths in the period leading up to the pandemic, and during that unsettling year -- plus without many gigs to speak of, the trio kept busy and unleashed a handful of choice digital EPs and a couple of split 7" singles. Fine is their fourth full-length to date, its tight ten-song program fleshed out with sonic icing from keyboardist Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip) and guitarists Doug Shaw (Gang Gang Dance; White Magic) and Cass McCombs. Fine is an unhurried jewel in the trio's discography, partly the result of the time it took to write. Even if the vibe and structure is familiar -- and one can easily pick out their stripped-down jangle, like the lovechild of the Rain Parade and Lungfish -- there's a clear evolution over the course of their records, each one more finely-tuned and comfortable. Fine was recorded by Jon Erickson and mixed by Rupert Clervaux, whose expertise has been called in for records by Spiritualized and pianist Matthew Shipp, among others, keeping just enough of the SoundCloud lo-fi aesthetic to ensure it's a proper Weak Signal record."

$23.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

"Big Hotel, the sophomore effort of Winged Wheel, is an evolutionary document. Core members Cory Plump (Spray Paint, Rider/Horse, Expensive Shit), Fred Thomas (Tyvek, Idle Ray), Whitney Johnson (Matchess, Damiana), and Matthew J Rolin (Powers/Rolin Duo, solo) expand their lineup to include Lonnie Slack (Water Damage) and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), and instead of the entirely remote method utilized to create their 2022 debut No Island, the far-flung party convened in person in Kingston, NY for a long weekend of live studio recording. The results are undeniably compelling. The band's signature cyclonic energy is simultaneously augmented and refined with the approach of real-time collaboration. After tracking three days' worth of group improvisations, weirdly-born songs, and other spontaneous creations, the hours of material were edited with a similar intensity. Half-hour jams became three-minute ragers and fragments were looped into infinity, calling on the same spliced aesthetic as some of the most adventurous material by Can, Faust, or more recently the experimental production of the International Anthem camp. The stereo field has been torn apart and sewn together again, rerouted with strange and mesmerizing left turns. Vignettes of ambiguous construction, both tightly coiled and exploding, revolve around themselves, gathering intensity and mass, coalescing into something greater than the sum of its parts. Where No Island was born out of distance and murk, these songs breathe and erupt in close quarters. Though the band isn't necessarily concerned with finding new levels of clarity, there's a newfound power in the steady drive of Shelley's unmistakable rhythmic style, and the unexpected interplay that builds on this foundation. Big Hotel is the sound of what happens in the rare and intriguing moments when Winged Wheel are all in the same room." --Jen Powers

$35.00 IN STOCK

2024 repress. "Volume, repetition, volume, repetition, volume and repetition, this is the sonic mantra of Austin, Texas's Water Damage. On their new double album, Water Damage continues to scorch the earth with walls of punishing sound. It's no secret that something truly special can happen to the psyche when you are being pummeled with trance inducing drones, you can transcend time, you might laugh, you might cry but hopefully you look inward, letting a calm wash over you with metric tons of distortion. Water Damage are the rare 'rock' band that follow in the lineage of artists like Faust, Tony Conrad, Steve Reich, and Pärson Sound, one that creates such heavy yet minimalistic audio treasures that not only hit you viscerally but also give space to contemplate on your place in the cosmos. Their longest offering yet, Water Damage hits you with four side-long tracks of krautpunk ending with a cover of 'Ladybird' by Shit & Shine featuring Craig Clouse on vocals. Drone until you hear god speak." --Joe Trainer, Dummy

$38.00 IN STOCK

Restocked. "At the very dawn of the '90s, Love Child's debut 7" made a splash on the burgeoning scene of shambolic bands and lo-fi recordings. Back then, they were mentioned in the same breath as Pavement, Sebadoh, or Beat Happening. But Love Child's two great albums and sparkling singles have become the stuff of record collectors, unavailable vis streaming and out of print, until now. Never Meant to Be: 1988-1993 pulls from these releases and some unreleased radio sessions, unearthing a trove of lost gems by a band that could be the best of all of the '90s buried treasures. Culled from their smashing debut 7", their two full-length albums, another great single, and some unreleased radio sets (including a Peel session), Never Meant To Be has catchy hooks, gritty noise, sneakily-deft playing, brainy but blunt lyrics, and lots of other awesome stuff. Love Child were part of lo-fi's beginnings, but also had the NYC pedigree to absorb predecessors like the Velvet Underground, the Voidoids and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. Will Baum started Love Child while a student at Vassar College, bringing on classmates Rebecca Odes and Alan Licht. All three members were happy to trade roles and instruments from song to song, but they also had some specific chops. Licht was a bit of a guitar prodigy, having taught himself how to tap like Eddie Van Halen, but versed enough in punk to know simplicity could be just as powerful. Odes' bellowing bass was equally prominent, and her vocals could veer quickly from sweet to snarling, like Kim Deal or Georgia Hubley with a jagged edge."

$23.00 IN STOCK

"Activator is the third installment from the trio of Jayson Gerycz, Jen Powers, and Matthew Rolin, who respectively need no introduction writ-large. For anyone observing the American underground in the last decade, whether live, on tour or across various listening formats, these names are attached to the crucial goings-on propelling the Rust Belt and beyond. Here the trio expand their collaborative vernacular across two sides of vinyl starting with the steady strumming of 'Entrance,' a paradox of pensive riffing and anxious percussion where Gerycz and Powers meld into a nebulous cluster of shapeshifting staccato and phantom rhythms. Tracks like 'Sun Rays' and 'Ivory' walk a tightrope between structured songcraft with chord patterns and concise riffs held together by steady cadence, ranging from hand bells to the bombastic, full-kit eruptions Gerycz has perfected over many years. As each piece ascends and unfurls, Powers provides a gentle tessellating from her dulcimer, with each strike landing like raindrops upon shallow puddles. The title track 'Activator' displays the full range and might of the trio, highlighting and merging the many facets and abilities each individual brings to the table, forming the singular identity that has made the project so beloved. Starting with slow dulcimer swells, watery bells, and mellow, motorik electric guitar, the track slowly tangles up its own elements and tumbles itself with grace and patient beauty while ascending to an ecstatic explosion of distortion and thunderous drumming before dissolving into an iridescent singing bowl meditation. 'Activator' leaves it all on the table, displaying a perpetual metamorphosis of different modes from improv to song structure, a display of seemingly endless possibilities executed with a nimble prowess that comes from time spent in close collaboration. Over 40+ minutes of transcendent music the trio employs these multitudes of music making approaches while remaining cohesive and articulate, beautiful and mysterious - a rare talent for the artists and a gift for the listener."

$23.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

"Sarah Black played bass and guitar and wrote music in several Minneapolis bands including Kickball, Period, Plain Jane, the Bleeding Hickeys, the Lie-Ons, the Pointing Geenas, and Brandy Thunders. In the Minneapolis performance scene, Sarah was a performance artist, drag and burlesque performer. Sarah is also a scenic painter and welder who worked on commercial sets, films, and music videos including some rock sculptures that can be seen in Prince's video 'The Holy River.' Jenn Gori trained as a vocalist and was a member of impossibly nerdy musical ensembles and performance groups, singing and arranging music for multi-part vocal compositions including madrigal music, a cappella, and improvisational harmonies. After moving to Minneapolis from Boston, Jenn ventured into punk, drag and burlesque performance, songwriting and playing drums in the Bleeding Hickeys, the Lie-Ons, Pointing Geenas, and Brandy Thunders. Chris Brokaw was and remains a member of Come, Codeine, and the Martha's Vineyard Ferries, sometimes Charnel Ground, sometimes the Lemonheads. He makes solo albums and film scores, and teaches guitar and drums. Chris, Jenn, and Sarah made odysseys living in New York and Seattle for several years each, at exactly the same times, without being aware of each other, all ending up (back) in Boston at roughly the same time a few years ago, apparently following the same north star on the same crooked path. Chris met Jenn and Sarah at a yard show at Brad Searles' house as the pandemic was cooling in 2021 and connected further via the Mr./Mrs. California nexus at 40 South St., Jamaica Plain. Jenn and Sarah asked Chris to play rhythm guitar on one song in the studio and instead he played on four. They decided to play a show as Lupo Citta, a name inspired by 1970s Italian horror and spaghetti western film titles. More shows, more songs, more recordings ensued and here we are. Lupo Citta are thrilled to present their first album, are busy writing the next one, and will maybe be coming to your town soon."

$23.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

LP version. "Dutch four-piece Lewsberg present their fourth studio album, Out And About. Since forming in 2016, Lewsberg have gone from strength to strength. On Out And About, rudimentary pop and rock songs are deliberately kept bare, only occasionally embellished with a violin or organ part. In the lyrics, the tendency towards existentialism and black humor is nuanced with an almost naive openness and engagement. Recorded in Amsterdam in Spring 2023 with producer Yulya Divakova, Out And About sees founding members Shalita Dietrich (vocals, bass guitar), Michiel Klein (guitar) and Arie van Vliet (vocals, guitar, violin) joined for the first time on record by drummer and vocalist Marrit Meinema, who joined the band in the Autumn of 2021. Out And About embraces a collaborative spirit, allowing each member to contribute their unique songwriting talents. The result is a collection of tracks that capture the band's collective creative energy and their individual perspectives. Compared to their first three albums, Out And About feels lighter, calling to mind the The Feelies, Marine Girls, and Young Marble Giants, whilst remaining distinctly Lewsberg."

$20.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

"First US pressing of Lewsberg's 2018 debut album. Recorded at Schenk Studio during the summer of 2017 in Delfshaven. Produced and mixed by Jan Schenk and Lewsberg. Mastered by Mikey Young. 'A riveting chugger of blase threat and moral ambivalence.' --Mojo"

$13.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

"Dutch four-piece Lewsberg present their fourth studio album, Out And About. Since forming in 2016, Lewsberg have gone from strength to strength. On Out And About, rudimentary pop and rock songs are deliberately kept bare, only occasionally embellished with a violin or organ part. In the lyrics, the tendency towards existentialism and black humor is nuanced with an almost naive openness and engagement. Recorded in Amsterdam in Spring 2023 with producer Yulya Divakova, Out And About sees founding members Shalita Dietrich (vocals, bass guitar), Michiel Klein (guitar) and Arie van Vliet (vocals, guitar, violin) joined for the first time on record by drummer and vocalist Marrit Meinema, who joined the band in the Autumn of 2021. Out And About embraces a collaborative spirit, allowing each member to contribute their unique songwriting talents. The result is a collection of tracks that capture the band's collective creative energy and their individual perspectives. Compared to their first three albums, Out And About feels lighter, calling to mind the The Feelies, Marine Girls, and Young Marble Giants, whilst remaining distinctly Lewsberg."

$20.00 IN STOCK

"Rocket 808's self-titled debut album came out in late 2019, and luckily, absolutely nothing happened in 2020 to divert the world's attention away from the release. Combining the primitive analog drum machine of 1970s New York underground icons Suicide with the raw guitar of Link Wray, Rocket 808 blasted rock n' roll guitar into our new, weirder present. Now Rocket 808 returns with a new LP, House of Jackpots, taking up where the previous record left off while adding some new elements to juice things up. Still channeling Alan Vega, the Cramps, and Duane Eddy influences from the first LP, House of Jackpots further explores 1980's television cop show themes and Ry Cooder film scores. 'Punk rock Mike Post' might not be something you knew you needed, until you hear the first cut of the record. Slide guitar gives you your own personal screening of Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas in your mind's eye, or imagine if instead of the Barry De Vorzon intro, 'Simon & Simon' opened with a trash-rock instrumental instead. Saturated in big-screen iconography whether it be surf tunes for 100-foot waves or David Lynch soundtracks for a grimy 1970s Las Vegas strip, House of Jackpots takes you out of a current reality that frankly, we all probably want to forget anyway. Covers of 1950s proto-goth Jody Reynolds and reviled eighties electro-rockers Sigue Sigue Sputnik give nods to the obscure rock n' roll weirdos of the past while dragging them into the future. Recorded by Grammy-winner Stuart Sikes and mastered by Crypt's Tim Warren, House of Jackpots takes electronic punk rock guitar noise into the 22nd century."

$23.00 IN STOCK

2025 repress. "Water Damage's follow-up to 2022's widely acclaimed Repeater is another minimal/maximal collision with two songs (hey!) clocking in at 19 and 22 minutes respectively. Hence, 'Fuck This' and 'Fuck That'. On Two Songs, the original septet of Nate Cross (USA/Mexico/Marriage), George Dishner (Spray Paint), Thor Harris, Travis Austin, Mike Kanin (Black Eyes), Greg Piwonka and Jeff Piwonka are joined by Mari Maurice (More Eaze)." "More Water! More Damage! The second proper LP by this Texan juggernaut is even more biggerer than the first, a head-drowning pair of new 'reels' (every Water Damage tracks generally take up a reel of tape, hence the 'reel ____' song titles) that makes you feel like you're swimming in a sun-drenched river of sound. Two drummers, two bassists, and tons of vibrating strings are once again a recipe for massive rocking-drone fires. Two Songs has two songs, and they're kind of the yin/yang of Water Damage: one toned very low, growling and roaring, groaning over a beat, while the other hums high, troubling the treble clef and ringing like a bunch of church bells that don't want to be in church. They're more alike than different though, divining momentum from repetition, flying forward by staying in place, climbing a mountain that they're building as they go. Enough ink has already been spilled about the previous-band pedigrees of the players in this hurtling collective, and by this point, the past seems way less relevant than the present when it comes to Water Damage's present-pounding sound. These people know what they're doing, sure. You don't need a resume in front of you to figure that out. It's there in every second of this gigantic, eternal music -- in all the strings being bowed, the skins being slammed, the rumbles being rumbled. You might notice that this time around, Water Damage haven't just given their tracks reel numbers. They're also called 'Fuck This' and 'Fuck That.' I take that as instructional. Whatever you're doing, whatever you're fretting about, whatever someone's trying to use to occupy your attention so you'll buy something or vote for something or ignore something: Fuck This. Fuck That. Listen to Water Damage." --Marc Masters

$20.00 IN STOCK

"First vinyl edition of NYC trio Weak Signal's second album, 2022's War&War, originally issued digitally by Colonel Records. Weak Signal is Sasha Vine, Tran and Mike Bones. Ryan Sawyer plays additional percussion throughout. Sarim Al-Rawi plays additional guitar throughout. Cass McCombs plays guitar on 'Spooky Feeling.' Produced and mixed by Jonathan Kreinik at Vito's Fall 2020 and Union Pool Spring 2021. Mastering and vinyl lacquers by Carl Saff." "crazily focused & powerful" --Jennifer Kelly, Dusted. "a slyly incendiary collection wracked with rippling tension" --Raven Sings The Blues. "a mesmerizingly morose journey, yet a scenic one too. Just don't whack it on the turntable when you're feeling at your most fragile." - JR Moores, The Quietus

$23.00 NOT IN STOCK

2025 repress. "There is something really special about music based on drones. Whether it's the vocals of Pandit Pran Nath, the ARP 2500 of Eliane Radigue, or the nearly-blown amps of Sunn O))), by changing the listener's focus on details to one that favors flow, drones are uniquely capable of transporting our brains far far away. The debut LP, Repeater, by this loudly droning Austin septet is a goddamn splendid example of how the process works. Using the motto, 'Maximal Repetition Minimal Deviation,' Water Damage create glowing fields of post-rock lava that pretty much suck you right in and boil you alive. Water Damage, while technically a septet, actually operate in various configurations, with the proviso there should always be two drummers and two bass players on hand. They prefer if each of their sonic ideas takes up a whole reel of tape, and once they start they don't look back. Everything proceeds towards an imaginary end point that is only achieved when the tape starts flapping. What a way to run a railroad! But the folks in the band are all vets of various projects -- Spray Paint, USA/Mexico, Marriage, Black Eyes, Thor & Friends, among others -- so let's assume they know what they're doing. And why not? They sound fucking great. Their approach to the form is less front-loaded than most of their peers, and the surface of their sound is sometimes ruffled by aural events of an un-dronelike nature. But the main gush is usually a blend of harmonic tones and textures pointing towards a goal that is just out of ear-shot, just over the next bluff, and perhaps forever just beyond our reach. So remember to drink plenty of liquid while you spin this fine album. Nobody wants you to parch." --Byron Coley

$20.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

2021 release. "Gram Parsons coined the phrase 'Cosmic American Music' to describe the synthesis of country, blues, rock and soul that he traded in. Sheridan Frances 'Francie' Medosch wouldn't be born for another 28 years after Parsons' 1973 death, but that Cosmic American sound was waiting for her all the same. On Big Fall, she embraces it like an old friend. Medosch grew up outside of Philadelphia in a family home that encompassed three cats, a dog and a pig. Her mom loved music; she played all kinds of stuff around the house, but mostly alt-country like Gillian Welch and Wilco. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the seminal 2002 album by the latter became formative to a young Francie's love of music -- 'I never really got into Sgt Pepper or anything, so I think that album kinda took the place of that.' She learned violin for a while, then she was a natural on piano, but that stuff bored her. Eventually, her mom bought her a guitar. 'I was actually very bummed out at first. I think I wanted an Xbox or something that year. But I came around to it very quickly,' she laughs. As a teenager she got into obscure underground rock and power pop, influences she channeled in the band she initially named Francie Cool, which would later transition into Florry (these days it's a solo project, in which she's backed by Jared Radichel on bass, John Murray on guitar and Joey Sullivan on drums). In 2018, at the age of 17, Medosch put out her debut Florry album Brown Bunny (Sister Polygon). The following year, she went out to Willow, New York -- a tiny hamlet outside of Woodstock -- and recorded a follow-up album with producer Paco Cathcart that she ended up shelving. Backed by Theo Woodward on drums and Pete Gill on bass, it was dark, and angsty, consisting of songs written between the ages of 16 and 18 and reflecting the depression that defined that time for her. During the pandemic, she began writing again. Her headspace had changed a lot. She was much happier and embraced 'absurdist existentialism' -- 'where you realize that nothing really has any meaning, and that it's pretty funny that we're here at all.' She was also bored of indie rock, and for her new songs she looked towards her upbringing among country and folk music, and her fascination with Parsons' Cosmic American Music. 'There's something about that kind of music that just makes me feel really good inside,' she says. Her main goal was just to write songs that felt good, that translated her newfound positivity. 'That was the biggest change for me, just writing and playing music when I'm feeling good, instead of when I'm feeling sad.' With six of those songs home-recorded with the early iteration of her new lineup, she pulled another four from the Willow sessions, a way of closing one chapter and opening a new one. There's a clear split between the old songs -- dark, sad, confused -- and the new -- self-assured, fun, free. Opening track 'You Don't Know' was the last one to be written, and the one that Medosch feels most accurately captured the spirit of Cosmic American Music. It's a Neil Young-indebted, pedal steel-adorned country tune, the melody of which was born from a dream Medosch had about the Staple Singers. She addresses a loved one who is 'fucking their life up': 'You don't know what you're doing / And you're hurting so many people'. Meanwhile, Medosch channels traditional country with the honky-tonk piano of 'Say Your Prayers' and the rollicking bassline of the title track 'Big Fall'. On both, she is full of optimism, claiming the idea of a joyful future with exuberance. These are the record's lightest moments; its heaviest are the Elliott Smith-esque 'Dream Diary/Growth' and the slowcore closing track 'Lovely', where Medosch conducts a bitter post-mortem on a toxic friendship, singing despairingly: 'When you tell me to quit being so loud, I will / When you tell me to quit being myself, I will'. It ends the album by 'collapsing in on itself', with a sudden compressed crunch followed by interlocking guitars that spiral towards the song's conclusion like they're circling a drain. Musically, Medosch comes all the way out of left field on the punky 'Older Girlfriend' and the dance track 'Everyone I Love You'; these feel like moments of total unbridled glee. Of the latter, which was influenced by both Philadelphia's club and rave scene and Neil Young's 1982 album Trans, Medosch says, 'For like a month, it was all me and my friends would listen to, 'cause everyone was so pumped up on it. Without a doubt, it's the weirdest track on the album. But I love that song.' The emotional heart of the album is arguably 'Jane', one of the Willow tracks, which recounts a major turning point for Medosch. In the lowest depths of depression, she watched Jane, the 2017 documentary on Jane Goodall. In the theater, she broke down in tears as she saw the passion and pride with which Goodall spoke about her work. In that instant, Medosch knew that was what she wanted for herself. To love herself; to be proud of who she was and what she had done. Now here she is, presenting Big Fall to the world, and she's proud." --Mia Hughes

$20.00 IN STOCK

"Sometimes change comes with big shocks, sometimes it comes with small steps. On In Your Hands, Lewsberg's new album, a bit of both seems to be happening. Take the second song, 'The Corner'. A remarkably discreet song: a violin plays a simple melody; a gentle drum loop keeps its finger on the pulse. 'This brick is a brick to build', it sounds, though a little later: 'This brick is a brick to throw'. A brick offers many possibilities, for those who want to see it. One time as a part of something bigger to come, the next time just as a simple stone, left on the ground. After all, most things are relative. Sometimes one can achieve more by breaking something than by building something. If you think you can determine which of the two is needed, you'd be fooling yourself. In Your Hands embodies the moment when all the bricks are there, but the wall has yet to be built. It's a moment with perspective, a moment where everything still seems possible, but caution is advised. The album sounds both smaller and more spacious than the previous albums. Guitar chords are plucked instead of fiercely struck, the bass guitar is given more room for melodic explorations, the drum kit is dismantled to just a tom and a tambourine. There is doubt in the lyrics, but it's a strong kind of doubt. A doubt that can stand in the way of a wrong decision but also invite for a good conversation. The old Lewsberg has been professionally demolished and the building blocks are on display. Ready for future applications and already finished at the same time. In Your Hands is therefore an ode to the potential and a call to carefully give way to it. Just what we need right now. But if I were to claim this so boldly, I wouldn't have learned much from Lewsberg." --Niek Hilkmann, October 2021

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"Winged Wheel is made up of four musicians whose worlds have intersected for years without them ever all being in the same room. Cory Plump (Spray Paint, Expensive Shit), Whitney Johnson (Matchess, Damiana), Fred Thomas (Tyvek, Idle Ray), and Matthew Rolin (Powers/Rolin Duo, solo) have been longtime participants in various diy communities, crossing each other's paths through shared gigs, working on releases, or taking the stage at Cory's small upstate NY bar. Each player has developed their own personal practice of improvisation and home-recording, and Winged Wheel began by chance when Cory asked Fred to send over some rawly recorded drum loops to jam over. Cory tracked rangy guitar and bass parts over these repetitive loops and songs slowly started taking shape. Matthew's guitar layers took these foundations to a whole new level, and Whitney's submerged vocal tracks solidified everything, elevating the project from a soup of partially formed ideas into something intelligible. The entire album was written, recorded, and mixed in remote collaboration, eventually turning into a balancing act of precisely arranging sonic details and maintaining the formless excitement the music began as. This paradoxical process can be heard in the final form of the album, a continuous zone that manages to be strange and amorphous while still carving out space for four distinctive musical personalities. It's a sound that hovers and stumbles as often as it takes declarative turns in unexpected directions, the circles getting smaller the closer you zoom in."

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2022 repress, 2021 release. "Chris Brokaw is the consummate underground rock musician. In a career spanning thirty-plus years he has been in countless bands (Come, Codeine and The Lemonheads, to name a few) has been a sideman with everyone from Thurston Moore to GG Allin, pounded countless stages on nonstop tours, and played on over seventy recordings. Puritan is his tenth solo album and it's a killer. From the hypnotic repetition on the extended instrumental outro of title-track opener 'Puritan', the wounded grace of 'Depending', to the fragile beauty of the Velvets-esque duet with Claudia Groom, 'I'm the Only One for You', and the ghost of Alex Chilton echoing through 'The Bragging Rights', onto the GBV-like firestorm of 'Periscope Kids', and ending with the On The Beach era Neil Young minimal strum of his cover of Karl Hendricks' 'The Night Has No Eyes', Brokaw has crafted an understated masterpiece. Puritan is an album that is all heartache and rebirth, resignation and joy, the kind of record that is so needed but all too rare these days. A classic from front to back." --Mark Lanegan, 2020

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2021 release. "After a six-year absence, The Dead Space returns with Chlorine Sleep. Recorded days before their breakup in 2015, this album marks a turning point, both for its the trio of Quin Galavis, Garrett Haden and Jenny Arthur, as well as for their collective scene in Austin, Texas. The Dead Space never quite fit in since forming in 2008, and never really cared to. The trio quietly managed to craft their own brand of tightly wound art rock, equal parts bleak and brooding, but presented in stark tones. Whether their allergy to artifice was a roadblock, in keeping with their character or some combination of both, it's hard to say. Either way, the Dead Space were very much on the outside looking in prior to the release of their well-received first album, 2014's Faker. And when it finally seemed they could reach a broader audience, they did what any good band should do -- they broke up. Slightly before that, however, the band returned to Ian Rundell's Second Hand Tacos studio to record Chlorine Sleep. The record carries the band's history forward with arduous blasts of force, contrasting with stark, lean efficiency, and exposes a sense of fragility and vulnerability. With Garrett Hadden's return to Texas, preparation to return to the stage later this year and next with a renewed vision and sense of purpose, The Dead Space's ferocious sophomore effort that expands on previous themes while forging a new path all its own. It's great to have them back."