New Release Round-Up 09-01-23

Sigur Rós - ÁTTA - BMG
Following it’s surprise digital release, Sigur Rós’ first new studio album in ten years, ÁTTA, is their most intimate and emotionally direct record to date. Few bands cut through the noise and distractions of the world to bring you a pure elemental truth or feeling like Sigur Rós. As you hear on ÁTTA, there’s a new compulsion and drive to the band that comes with the new formation of the line up. Multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson is back in the fold – having left the band in 2012 – to join frontman Jónsi and bassist Georg Holm. Recorded across multiple continents - in the band’s Sundlaugin studio in Iceland, the legendary Abbey Road in the UK and a number of studios in the US - ÁTTA leans heavily towards the orchestral, and touches on everything that has made Sigur Rós one of the most ambitious and acclaimed bands of recent times, with close to ten million albums sold, whilst signposting an exciting and expansive possibility for their future. ÁTTA prominently features the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Robert Ames, alongside brass performed by longtime Icelandic collaborators Brassgat í bala. It is mixed and co-produced by another frequent collaborator Paul Corley, alongside the band."

Royal Blood - Back To The Water Below - Warner Records
Royal Blood ignite an epic summer ahead as they release their fourth album ‘Back To The Water Below’. From the very beginning, Royal Blood’s story has been one of two life-long friends whose shared passion and dedication for writing and performing has led them on a remarkable adventure together – a story that has yet to be repeated, and is a feat as rare as it is remarkable. Long before Royal Blood were even formed, they spent years together in various bands playing to half empty bars around Brighton - and only then did they suddenly become a decade-in-the-making overnight success story. One day they were plotting how to recoup the meagre £300 they had spent on their first recording, but within a year they were at the top of UK album charts, storming Glastonbury and winning the BRIT Award for Best British Group.

  

The Paper Kites - At The Roadhouse - Nettwerk Records
Australian indie folk rock band The Paper Kites release their highly anticipated sixth album - At The Roadhouse. The song and production background began when the band created a roadhouse in rural Australia, performing an unannounced month-long residency in the small Victorian town of Campbells Creek, whilst working on their sixth record. The atmosphere of the live performance is recreated with pedal steel and crooning vocals and harmonies. The song lyrics reminisce of a romance still as alive as a blue flame. "We had talked about this for years" Sam Bentley explains, "We were drawn to the idea of holding up in a town somewhere and playing the evenings as a house band. The Roadhouse became this place for us." Expanding their line-up, the five members of The Paper Kites recruited three extra musicians to make up their roadhouse band, including multi-instrumentalist Matt Dixon - who's weeping pedal steel features on the track - as well as Hannah Cameron and Chris Panousakis.

Tom Waits - The Island Years - Island
Tom Waits revisits his albums from The Island Years. The albums are newly remastered for the first time ever from the original master tapes and personally overseen by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering under the guidance of Waits’ longtime audio engineer, Karl Derfler. The remastered editions available are Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Franks Wild Years (CDs available 9/1 and LPs available 9/22), with Bone Machine and The Black Rider coming 10/6.

Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS - Geffen Records
3-time GRAMMY® award winning recording artist Olivia Rodrigo will release her new album, GUTS, on september 8th via geffen records. GUTS was recorded with producer daniel nigro, who also collaborated with her on SOUR, her chart-topping, 4x platinum debut album. “for me, this album is about growing pains and about trying to figure out who I am at this point in my life and exactly what I want to say in my songs."

Sparklehorse - Bird Machine - ANTI
ANTI- Records is honored to share a never-before-heard album by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse titled 'Bird Machine.' Originally recorded in 2010 and mixed by Mark Hamilton (who also worked on 'It's A Wonderful Life'), Mark's brother Matt notes "great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark's music. We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world."Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous in the mid-1990s. Born on September 9, 1962, in Arlington, Virginia, Linkous began playing music as a teenager.Described as an artist who "compelled listeners to heed the beauty of darkness" by Pitchfork, Sparklehorse released many influential records, including the renowned albums 'Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot' and 'Good Morning Spider' in the '90s, 'It's A Wonderful Life' and 'Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain' in the early aughts, and a collaborative album 'Dark Night of the Soul' released in 2010.Throughout his career Mark collaborated with thought provoking artists like Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, Danger Mouse, and David Lynch.While Mark recorded in various studios, collaborating with other musicians and producers, he did much of his work in his home studio, Static King, often playing and recording everything on his own. He was "very much kind of a working-class guy with a very poetic sensibility, who was drawn to artists like himself, who worked in isolation, " said NPR Fresh Air's Ken Tucker.Sadly, Linkous struggled with drug addiction and depression throughout his life, and despite his untimely death, his music continues to be highly regarded and influential in the indie rock and alternative music scenes.

  

Linda Ronstadt - Canciones de mi Padre - Iconic Artists Group
There are times when an artist transcends the form. When the spirit of music goes beyond embodying sound. 1987 saw the release of Linda Ronstadt's groundbreaking love letter to her family soul and lifeblood - Canciones de mi Padre. Selling over 10 million copies and celebrated by music lovers across the globe, and here at home by both Grammy's and the Library of Congress, Linda Ronstadt brought the most beautiful and timeless Spanish melodies back into homes in a loving reunion as well as coloring new rooms where these songs, bright as the day, suddenly rang out. New connections celebrating beauty, language, and roots. Even today - especially today - the sound of Canciones de mi Padre links the then to the now and onward.

  

Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty: 25th Anniversary - Capitol
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Beastie Boys’ multiplatinum Hello Nasty album, this deluxe vinyl reissue is a rare version of the album that was released as a limited run in 2009. It includes two additional LPs with 21 bonus tracks (remixes, B-sides, rarities) and features the singles “Intergalactic” (certified platinum), “Body Movin’” and “The Negotiation Limerick File.” Co-produced by Beastie Boys and Mario Caldato Jr., it’s a record that embraces a kaleidoscope of musical influences, with hat-tips to Latin psych-rock, Brazilian samba, jazz-funk, dub, post-punk and an impressive collection of collaborators ranging from reggae vagabond Lee “Scratch” Perry to Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori. Pressed on 180g vinyl, this Deluxe 4 LP boxset is housed in a hardcover slipcase and includes a removable sew-on patch.