A big day for independent Minneapolis-based Afternoon Records, who are putting out three physical releases this week, two of which KEXP has already podcast! Sissy Wish, We All Have Hooks for Hands, and We Shot the Moon hit stores today.
Other worthwhile releases include David Rawlings, frequent songwriting partner of Gillian Welch, with his own Dave Rawlings Machine, a debut with fantastic covers from this bluegrass veteran. LA rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures -- Dave Grohl, Josh Homme & John Paul Jones -- blast into stores, while Norah Jones softly drifts in with her fourth album.
And it wouldn’t be the pre-holiday season without an abundance of reissues and box sets. Some unlikely characters get the remaster treatment: Blood Brothers, Alejandro Escovedo, David Bowie, The Fall -- all great stocking or turkey stuffers! -- while the mega-box sets weigh down with 11-disc Atlantic Records: The Time Capsule and the 6-disc The Doors: Live in New York.
Merge complete their SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records series with The Remixes!, featuring reworking of Merge bands, past and present, by Four Tet, John McEntire, Mark Robinson and others, with proceeds to benefit the label (natch!). But what better kind of gift to give yourself or a friend than one that benefits others? If that’s your bag, check out Indie Rocks! A Benefit Album For Malaria No More, featuring KEXP-friendly artists like The Walkmen, Youssou N’Dour and Peter, Bjorn & John.
Beat the lines on Black Friday by compiling your list from Largehearted Boy now, sampling the tracks below, and heading out to your favorite record store.
original recording from Beak> on Ipecac Recordings
Bellflur - Grey Sparkle Finnish Pig (MP3)
from self-released Last Quarter of the 20th Century Blues
The Bloodsugars - The Light at the End of the Tunnel (MP3)
from I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On on Engine Room Recordings
Felt - Protagonists (MP3)
from A Tribute to Rosie Perez on Rhymesayers
The Chairs - Charlotte Pipe (MP3)
from self-released Nine Ways
Globes on Remote - D.T. Lipps (MP3)
from self-released The Woo Hoo Hoo
A Grave with No Name - Open Water (MP3)
from Mountain Debris on Lefse Records
Norah Jones - Chasing Pirates
from The Fall on Blue Note Records
Mark Matos & Os Beaches - Hired Hand (MP3)
from Words of the Knife on Porto Franco Records
The Prairie Cartel - No Light Escapes (MP3)
from Where Did All My People Go on Long Nights Impossible Odds
Rakim - Walk These Streets (feat. Maino & Tracey Horton)
from The Seventh Seal on Ra Records
Dave Rawlings Machine - Cortez the Killer (live)
original recording from A Friend of a Friend on Acony Records
Real Estate - Beach Comber (MP3)
from Real Estate on Woodsist
Sissy Wish - Float (MP3)
from Beauties Never Die on Afternoon Records
Tape Deck Mountain - Scantrons (MP3)
from Ghost on Lefse Records
Them Crooked Vultures - New Fang
from Them Crooked Vultures on Interscope
Ryan Trevor - Blue Mornings (MP3)
from Introducing: Ryan Trevor on Drag City
tUnE-yArDs - Sunlight (MP3)
from BiRd-BrAiNs on 4AD
We All Have Hooks for Hands - Made Up of Tiny Lights (MP3)
from The Shape of Energy on Afternoon Records
We Shot the Moon - Red Night (MP3)
from A Silver Lining on Afternoon Records
Yello - The Expert
from Touch on 101 Distribution
compilations:
Indie Rocks! A Benefit Album For Malaria No More
Peter Bjorn and John - Summer Breeze (MP3)
Alan Lomax in Haiti on Harte Recordings
Surprise Jazz - Instrumental Merengue (MP3)
SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Remixes! on Merge
Xiu Xiu - Volcana (I Hope You Hear the Train Crashes remix) (MP3)
