Two strong reissues came out this past Friday, one being the expanded 20th anniversary edition of Radiohead's 1997 album OK Computer, featuring three previously unreleased tracks. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "while not classic Radiohead, they're all fine examples of the band's brooding prog-rock." The other stand-out reissue this week comes from Prince. On Purple Rain — Deluxe Expanded Edition, you get a bonus disc of 11 previously-unheard tracks, as well as single-edits, b-sides, and a never-before-seen DVD of Prince and The Revolution Live! in 1985.
Stand-out releases of new music this week include the sophomore full-length from London/NYC-via-Atlanta band Algiers. Yates calls it, "another powerful, edgy blend of gospel-tinged post-punk and industrial, with loud, buzzing synths, shards of angular guitars, forceful rhythms and handclaps accompanying Franklin James Fisher's soulful vocals and politically charged lyrics decrying injustice and racism." Another strong second LP comes from Long Beach, CA rapper Vince Staples, "another powerful set of hard-hitting hip hop, but this time featuring a more electronic-influenced sound that blends banging hip hop with Detroit techno, house and 2-step. With production from Zack Sekoff along with Flume, SOPHIE, Jimmy Edgar and GTA, the album's cavernous sound combines dark, bass-heavy beats with his limber, conversational delivery and concise, sharply crafted lyrics reflecting on race, class, hip hop culture and the toxic effects of fame."
Prolific Australian band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard deliver "a dark, mind-bending concept album about the end of humankind, the death of the planet and ultimately, the murder of the universe. The story is told in three lengthy song suites combining face-melting psych-rock, metallic stoner-rock and motorik prog with dystopian lyrics reflective of these dark times." And Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy shares a solo LP featuring eleven of his own songs written for Wilco, and side projects Loose Fur, or Golden Smog. The solo acoustic album was recorded at Tweedy’s own Chicago recording studio The Loft.
It's been six years since we last heard from Seattle-bred band Fleet Foxes, and the group return with their third LP this week. KEXP Music Director Don Yates says the album's "expansive folk-pop is their most adventurous work to date, featuring a rich, ornate sound on sprawling, shape-shifting song…
