Plenty of killer new music, some amazing compilations, one that's ridiculous and Led Zeppelin re-issues. Sounds good right?

 

Hello friends.

Welcome to the summer right? June has started yesterday and although it is already a bit pissy outside, we have plenty of reasons to be cheerful this morning. We have a new record of the month from our hombres Parquet Courts, a record of the week from the force of nature that is Fucked Up, superb re-issues of Led Zeppelin 1 - 3 and an otherwise great sounding musical week with some more tips below.

 

Fucked Up are a punk band. They were a punk band when they started in Toronto more than a decade ago and they’ve remained a punk band even as they’ve ascended to career heights that their younger selves never could’ve imagined. But how do you remain a punk band when you’re on magazine covers, or sharing stadium stages with the Foo Fighters? How do you stay true to your 15-year-old self when you’ve got a career to maintain and families to support? Those are the questions that Fucked Up asks on ‘Glass Boys’ and they ask those questions in the form of a blazing, titanic, ultimately triumphant rock album. 

It's our record of the week and A limited deluxe LP version of the album is available to us indie shops. On the proper version of the album, drummer Jonah Falco plays two simultaneous drum takes, and layered into/underneath that are another two simultaneous takes of the drums played in half-time, which adds a psychedelic, disorienting feel. The limited vinyl edition will include a bonus version that ONLY features the two half-time tracks.

Taylor McFerrin's musical style is equally influenced by the legends of 60s/70s Soul, the kings of the Modern Beat Generation, Golden Era hip hop, free form jazz and electronic music. By playing all of the instruments on his productions, while also relying heavily on sampling and chopping up his live takes, he has found a sound that seamlessly bridges myriad musical worlds and draws the listener into a constantly shifting audio soundscape. 'Early Riser' is a real gem on the always brilliant Brainfeeder label.

In its orchestrated rhythms, dynamic vocals and generous production, ‘Black Hours’ speaks from one booming voice. Inaugurating a new chapter in an already remarkable career from The Walkmen frontman, the album brings Hamilton Leithauser full circle and then some, from lonely midwinter piano-and-vocals sessions to a loud, live rock ‘n’ roll group and back again. Features an amazing guest line up and Hamilton's voice is in fine form. Man... we loved The Walkmen. ** We have some really nice postcard packs with this album **

Also this week is ‘Youth Culture Forever’, the second album from Paws that as seen the band decamp to a studio in the woods just outside New York to hone and expand on the sound that saw their debut ‘Cokefloat!’ acclaimed by the likes of Pitchfork, BBC music, and nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year Awards. It successfully manages to sound new, interesting and based twenty years ago. It's great!

Enter the code SUNBATHING at the checkout for a ten percent discount on any of this weeks releases.
 

So many of us took piano lessons as kids, and sadly, most of us gave up. Learning the piano is overwhelming. Chilly Gonzales brings some of the joy back to the lapsed amateur pianist with his Re-Introduction Etudes: 24 easy-to-master, fun-to-play piano pieces specifically designed to unlock musical mysteries for those who gave it up. This is such a lovingly put together book. Funny, as you'd expect, and really easy to get into. The man is a hero.

New from The Phantom Band. Musically Strange Friend is the most straight-up set of recordings the band have put to wax. Fans of their previous critically-acclaimed albums, fear not; those burbling, fluttering electronics that drag their sound through a wormhole and out into the 70’s alongside the soundtracks of John Carpenter and the kosmische of Kraftwerk and Neu! remain; the elements of folk; the woozy organ sounds. The difference is now it feels as though an imaginary thread’s been pulled tight through it all; take Strange Friend's driving opening track and first single, ‘The Wind That Cried The World'.


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ALSO NEW THIS WEEK: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Teleman, Popstrangers.


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Three compilations to tell you about...

 Greater Lengths is a selection of highlights from the All Saints label, including Brian Eno, John Cale, Harold Budd, Jon Hassell, Roedelius, John Paul Jones and Laraaji, alongside specially commissioned interpretations by contemporary artists including Bee Mask, patten, Sun Araw, Hieroglyphic Being and James Blackshaw. Soul Jazz present, the music of Calypso in its many forms - from its birthplace, the island of Trinidad, as well as other Caribbean islands (Jamaica and The Bahamas) and its subsequent onwards journey (Britain, Panama and the United States), recorded during the years 1955-69. Lastly, Jonny Trunk presents “Funny Old Shit”, an 18 track compilation of funny old shit from the Trunk archive. Careful, it's way too addictive a listen.

At the top we told you that there were reissues of Led Zeppelin's first three albums. Guitarist Jimmy Page has said recently that he decided to reissue the band's first three albums to remind people what a "fucking good band" they were... They really were and these pressings are superb.

Have a nice week, treat the ears well.

Drift