Pop & Rock News

Ivan Smagghe & Rupert Cross collaborate again.. and it's another beauty! TIP!

"This second LP on Offen is an ajar window overlooking the phantasmagoric world of Smagghe & Cross, a remembrance of days that never were. The music is sparse, the past is forever : ghosts of industries are conjured through the English countryside, fading memories play static with an idea of romance, the sun breaks through the iron clouds. A record free of uncouth nostalgia but laced with ethereal melancholia. "

When Elena Colombi launched the Osàre! Editions label in the autumn of 2019, she explained that the label would become home to bold, daring, future-facing music rooted in experimentation and free-spirited musical abandon. These are all descriptions that could apply to the label’s latest release, a retrospective album of little-known works by Greek musician and producer Thanasis Zlatanos.

Many will not have heard of Zlatanos, or Nekropolis, the band he fronted alongside dear friend and regular collaborator Trygve Mathiesen, yet the music he made during the 1980s was otherworldly, intergalactic and undoubtedly alluring. These songs and instrumentals made extensive use of analogue synthesizers and lo-fi drum machines, as well as Zlatanos’s trusted Gibson Les Paul guitar and his own distinctive voice.

Stylistically, the musician and producer refused to settle on a specific sound, preferring instead to create inspired, often mind-altering pieces that join the dots between wave music, skewed leftfield pop, ambient, prototype electronic and Madedonian folk music. Operating for much of the period from a crumbling house earmarked for demolition, Zlatanos kept up a daily music-making vigil that resulted in a vast vault of music, most of which has remained unissued since the 1980s.

The breadth of and width of Zlatanos’s distinctive approach is laid bare on Retrospective, a compilation album prepared by Colombi and the artist himself that draws on tracks from his numerous albums, those by Nekropolis – whose sophomore set “The New Europeans” was banned in Norway – and his epic archive of previously unheard material.

The artist’s singular but wide-ranging musical vision is free for all to see across the 13 tracks stretched across the vinyl version of the album (digital buyers also get a further four superb cuts). It veers attractively from the ghostly, traditional-meets-futuristic new age electronica of “The Crystal Sight (Excerpt)” and the doom-laden coldwave throb of “Master Chameleon”, to the undulating, soft-touch creepiness of “Surreal Moment”, the Vocoder-laden operatic poignancy of “The New Barbarians” and the squally guitar solos and effects-laden electronics of “The Light”.

Words from the artist___:
"I live in the Internet. Visits from outer space make me compose. I breathe here. I am the master chameleon, the psychedelic clown. I am not here anymore, neither in the picture, nor the reflection. Our bed is a boat that takes us tomorrow without us.

Here is an album of dreams and digital emotions. Analogue recordings made with a Prophet, a Moog Rogue, a tape recorder and a Gibson Les Paul guitar.

As far as I can remember I have always been in a recording studio. I listen to, understand and live my life through songs and music. I have worked alone and with friends such as Trygve Mathiesen. Although I am a guitarist, I continue to work with synthesizers on music that blends elements of Macedonian folk music, recordings from the streets and embryonic electronic sounds.

Some of my albums have been critically acclaimed, others banned by radio stations. For years I worked on endless recording sessions in a crumbling house that should have been torn down. The music on this retrospective compilation was recorded at various points between 1982 and the present day. Some of the compositions first appeared on previous albums, while others have never been released before. They were sat on tapes waiting for a saviour. Now that saviour has arrived and they can be free.

For further proof of Zlatanos’s unique sonic approach, check the startling contrast between the bass-laden slacker pop headiness of “No Expectations” and the spacey ambience of “The Dead Don’t Remember”. Considered together, the selected pieces and those elsewhere on Retrospective forms a snapshot of a genuinely unique and visionary musician, composer and producer. It’s a celebration of someone whose work has previously been overlooked."

Redefining an 80's Generation od disillusioned youth caused by Britain's Insane ability to rid itself of the Poverty and turmoil of the era, The Smiths were the neointellectual Person's answer to the dullness surrounding them. As is so often the case, the sum of The Smiths parts was always less than the whole, the group's influence on modern rock music incalculable, their unique sound echoing through the strains of countless indie success stories and untold hopefuls alike. The Smiths provided a guitar-based alternative to the Synth-Pop Sounds of so many other early 80's UK Bands, paving the way for the 90's Brit-Pop explosion, and The Smiths' distinct LP's are still studied by millions of sensitive types all over the World.
In this Chapter of our 'The Many Faces' Series, we will explore The Smiths' unparalleled repertoire and a fantastic early live performance of the band. With Stellar Artwork and remastered sound, 'The Smiths' are the most recent addition to our 'The Many Faces' Collection in Vinyl.

Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow is the 1974 album by Marc Bolan and T. Rex. The album was preceded by hit singles “The Groover” and “Truck On (Tyke)” includes the follow-up hit “Teenage Dream”. The results of listening to black radio stations whilst touring the US during 1973 are apparent on this album, something of an oft-overlooked treasure trove.

Remastered by co-producer Tony Visconti and Ted Jensen.

This classic album, released in July 1972 on the back of three chart-topping T.Rex LPs – provides a perfect snapshot of the era the press dubbed ‘T. Rextasy’ and is proof of Bolan’s extraordinary and enduring appeal across the generations.

The Slider contained two UK Number 1 hit singles, Telegram Sam and Metal Guru and the first to bear the T. Rex Wax Co imprint, a seal of approval from EMI Records, who felt Bolan sufficiently important to warrant having his own record label. This edition features the complete album remastered by producer Tony Visconti and Ted Jensen.

Preceded by some of Bolan’s most fondly-remembered singles, “Children Of The Revolution”, “Solid Gold Easy Action” and the classic “20th Century Boy”, 1973’s Tanx was the first T. Rex album to make full use of the ever-expanding range of studio gadgets. And while the album represented a new musical departure, several tracks maintained a direct link to the old sound.

The album reached number 4 in the UK album charts and has gone on to influence numerous musicians from Suede to Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore. This edition includes the complete album remastered by producer Tony Visconti and Ted Jensen.

First released in 1975, Bolan’s Zip Gun was produced by Marc Bolan, without Tony Visconti for the first time. Originally issued as a UK-only release, the album features the hit singles “Light Of Love” and “Zip Gun Boogie”. The tracks have a futuristic tone, reflecting Bolan’s love of science fiction but also incorporate elements of American soul music.

Futuristic Dragon is the 1976 album by T. Rex. The album features both ‘Dreamy Lady’ and ‘New York City’ which became Bolan’s biggest latter-day hit. Bolan continued to experiment sonically on this album along with incorporating more an American soul influence into the T. Rex sound.

This, the final official Marc Bolan and T. Rex album, was conceived during a turbulent time in rock history. Issued on 11 March 1977, 'Dandy In The Underworld' arrived in the wake of the Damned’s ‘New Rose’ and the Sex Pistols’, ‘Anarchy In The UK’, singles that had given the emerging punk rock a national platform. To promote the album, Bolan undertook a tour of the UK and Europe, with support from The Damned, who acknowledged T. Rex as a big influence.

With a new T. Rex line-up, Bolan had already scored a # 13 hit single with “I Love To Boogie”, and followed this up with single releases of the title track of the album, “The Soul Of My Suit” and “Crimson Moon”, before culminating with the exuberant “Celebrate Summer”, tragically the last single to be issued in Bolan’s lifetime.

Preceded by some of Bolan’s most fondly-remembered singles, “Children Of The Revolution”, “Solid Gold Easy Action” and the classic “20th Century Boy”, 1973’s Tanx was the first T. Rex album to make full use of the ever-expanding range of studio gadgets. And while the album represented a new musical departure, several tracks maintained a direct link to the old sound.

The album reached number 4 in the UK album charts and has gone on to influence numerous musicians from Suede to Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore. This edition includes the complete album remastered by producer Tony Visconti and Ted Jensen.

New project produced by Ripley Johnson of Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo fame. Packaged in a deluxe double gatefold package with original art by D. Norsen. Features special guest John Jeffrey on drums.

The album is described by producer Ripley Johnson: “The band was aiming to capture a timeless, natural sound, not quite of the present, past, or future, but phasing in between the consciousness of now and the stoned dream-state of the eternal. Sort of a back porch jam just as the shrooms are starting to kick in. Handmade and human, but also cosmic and transcendental. The goal is to let the music speak for itself and hopefully find a weird and wonderful audience somewhere out there.”

That description feels right for an album which seems perfect for those soft ephemeral moments and softly wraps you in the feeling of walking at twilight. Mellow but upbeat, it’s easy to imagine the leaves changing colours. It’s psych rock and difficult to describe without getting poetic, dreamy and insular - it’s easy to get lost in this album.
Produced and recorded by Ripley Johnson and mixed by Chris Cohen (Captured Tracks, Deerhoof), the album finds its niche in the hazy sonic landscape of private press country and psych records, alongside artists like Relatively Clean Rivers, Jim Sullivan, Kenny Knight and countless other explorers of the pastoral underground.

“The record’s a psychedelic crossroads that’s not being traversed as much these days, and as usual Johnson’s created a record that’s absorbing as its own little world. Once this hits the turntable you’re set to repeat endlessly” - Raven Sings The Blues

Long-running cinematic rock band Caspian don't want you to call their fifth album On Circles a "redemption," a "comeback," a "rise from the ashes," or any of the other sentiments that emerge when bands return from nearly five years of silence. Instead, this majestic collision of post-rock, metal, shoegaze, electronics, noise and ambient music is an existential meditation, an acceptance of the cyclical nature of both life and career. Produce by Will Yip (Code Orange, Defeater, Quicksand, Turnstile), On Circles marks the most organic writing and recording sessions in Caspian's 15-year history.

Together for four weeklong songwriting sessions, the band (joined by propulsive new drummer Justin Forrest), opted for music gleaming with visceral impact instead of over-thought tangles, over-arching concepts and drawn-out crescendos On Circles is an art-rock record swirling with fourth-world saxophones, dubby textures and 7/8 rhythms. The albums two epics, “Division Blues” and “Ishmael,” feature apocalyptic cello from Jo Quail (Myrkyr, Winterfylleth, Poppy Ackroyd). The wistful "Nostalgist" features vocals from Pianos Become The Teeth vocalist Kyle Durfey.

For the first time, each track is meant to stand alone. "They're just songs that we got together and wrote over the course of a year while trying to have a good time and reclaim whatever it is that’s simple about all of this," says Jamieson. "Don’t get me wrong, we kicked our own asses constantly and stayed up staring at the ceiling thinking about song structures all night for a year … but being free from the yolk of having our music relentlessly try to answer the un-answerable was emancipating and humbling." Eschewing many of the giant, enveloping wall-of-guitar build-ups of past Caspian albums, the songs inside On Circles even take circular paths, with no beginning or ends. "Life isn’t a series of epic crescendos, " says Jamieson.

"Sometimes it's the hint of one ('Onsra'), or a sequential series of crescendos that come in waves and aren’t set up to go for an obvious jugular ('Wildblood,' 'Ishmael'), or end up in a completely different place than where you expected but pivot at the very last moment back to their beginning ('Division Blues')." Caspian will follow the album release with a series of tour dates across the States in early ‘20.

Dying Fetus is an American death metal band originally from Greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Formed in 1991, the group is known for their consistently hook-laden song structures, characterized by blast beats, complex riffing, slam riffs and heavy breakdowns. Additionally, their reality-based lyrics characterized by political/modern themes are notable in death metal. Various line-up changes throughout the years have left John Gallagher as the sole remaining original member, as well as the band's driving force.

According to Gallagher, the band name was chosen while the members were of adolescent ages and was intended to be offensive. History Repeats was originally released in 2011.

As Blood Rains from the Sky ... We Walk the Path of Endless Fire is the fifth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl.
This album is highly typical of Fleshcrawl's mid-to-late career material, and resembles contemporary work by such melodic/Swedish death metal bands as Dismember, Entombed, and Arch Enemy.

It utilizes highly melodic and aerobically rhythmic mid-to-high guitar range with rapid tempos and short, highly agile guitar solos, and is consequently very characteristic of the Swedish-style Death metal sound that has dominated their work since the late 1990's.

A slightly brutal sound present in the drumwork, which consists of very high-tempo double-bass drum rolls and the occasional blast beats, serves to accent the melodic death metal rhythmics of the album without creating a sense of disorganization and chaos, while the guttural, abrasive vocals, somewhat reminiscent of such bands as Six Feet Under and Deicide enhance the intensity of the album.

oulskinner is the sixth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. The last to feature founding guitarist Stefan Hanus.

In the spring of 2019 ShitKid - Åsa Söderqvist and Lina Molarin Ericsson - headed over to the US for a couple of shows at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX but ahead of the festival they managed to squeeze in a couple of days in the studio – first in LA with the legendary the Melvins and then in Austin with Paul Leary of Butthole Surfers. The new album Duo Limbo/”Mellan himmel å helvete” collects the recordings from these two sessions, half of which are ShitKid’s first recordings in their native Swedish – with a set of four songs to start with the band set out to record them in both English and Swedish, clocking in at just over 26 minutes. It’s ShitKid’s finest work yet with the duo backed by an all star line-up of Buzz Osborne (Melvins) and Dale Crover (Melvins, Redd Kross) on half of the album and Paul Leary and Josh Freese (NIN, Devo, The Replacements etc) on the other half.

**DOUBLE MINT GREEN UK EXCLUSIVE COLOR LTD. 200 COPIES**

The latest title in the successful T.REX Alternative singles catalogue • Limited pressing on White Vinyl • Presented in the new T.REX House bags this one being red on white as opposed to blue • Both tracks audio cleaned and mastered for vinyl • Taken from Marc’s own recordings and mastered in 2019 they are not mixed or re mixed or tampered with in any way • All royalties got to the Light of Love Foundation The Marc Bolan School of Music & Film.

Burning Witches Records and Fangoria and excited to announce the release of the original motion picture soundtrack to Satanic Panic by Wolfmen of Mars. Satanic Panic is a 2019 comedy horror film directed by Chelsea Stardust, based on a screenplay written by novelist Grady Hendrix and adapted from a story created by Hendrix and Ted Geoghegan. A pizza delivery girl at the end of her financial rope has to fight for her life - and her tips - when her last order of the night turns out to be high society Satanists in need of a virgin sacrifice. The Wolfmen of Mars have created the perfect soundtrack tone with some of their very best work to date. Expect synths, retro guitar tones, distorted electronics and their unmistakable style. Not to be missed.
Join us for the final pizza party of the year and kick off the festive season with a copy of the limited-edition vinyl of Satanic Panic. Pressed on red and purple wax with insert print and download card. Mastered for vinyl and cut at Abbey Road.

For their 40th anniversary, legendary psych-folk band 'CAEDMON' wrote seven new songs and found unreleased archive material from the ‘70s to make the album “RARE”. ... 500 copies limited edition (parallel story to the '78 album) in a full colour matt sleeve. Includes insert with lyrics.

Side A consists of five new tracks. Highlights are the 8 minute prog-folk rock epic “Dream of the Rood”, the folk-funk of “Go” the folk-rock of “Runaway” and more. The bonus 7” includes “Rare” (a new song about record collecting and searching for a Holy Grail) and “Peace” (another new song with a beautiful guitar solo at the start).
Side B includes six previously unreleased songs from 1975/1978. Featuring the studio version of “London Psalm” from 1975 (a live version was included on the Kissing Spell live CD), the Pentangle inspired “Born To Die”, a folk-rock rendition of traditional hymn “God Is Love” and more.

... You'll find a Bonus to the 12"-Vinyl on the 7".
Expanded Tracklist: C1. Rare and D1. Peace

Psychobilly madness legendary purveyors 'Demented Are Go'
long lost 2012 comeback finally back on vinyl, in a limited, highly collectable. This Coloured Vinyl LP, pressed on the Rebellion label.

Formed in early stages of the British punk explosion by four high school mates in Finchley, north London, Eater quickly established themselves as one of the youngest and rawest bands on the scene.

Lead singer Ashruf Radwan had an Egyptian heritage, hidden by his alias, Andy Blade, and guitarist Brian Haddock became Brian Chevette once in the fold; Ashruf’s brother Lutfi was the group’s first drummer, joining under the name Social Demise, but was soon replaced by Roger Bullen, playing under the moniker Dee Generate, while future Vibrator Ian Woodcock was the resident bassist from their second gig.

Inspired by a line in the T Rex song, “Suneye,” Eater was influenced by the classier side of glam rock but was very much a rapid-fire power-punk concern with their own output. Headlining spots at the Roxy club alongside The Damned, The Lurkers and Sham 69 solidified their reputation, especially once their material made it onto the live compilation album issued by Harvest in 1977, and after footage of their appearances at the club were included in Don Letts’ Punk Rock Movie.

Signing to Dave Goodman’s fledgling punk imprint, The Label, Eater issued three singles before their greatly anticipated debut album (which surfaced after future Slaughter and the Dogs member Phil Rowland joined on drums), which has since been hailed as an all-time classic; pointing their fingers at upper-class twits on songs like “Lock It Up” and taking the piss out of themselves and their fans on “No Brains,” the album also features two Velvet Underground covers and an unusual David Bowie adaptation, all delivered in no-holds-barred triple time.

Imagine a blend of Frank Zappa, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Doors?
Here's a quite accurate result: Kk's Projet.
Amazing psychedelic rock made in Spain!

As suggested by the name of the group, Newtown Neurotics was a product of suburban Britain. Formed in 1979 in the anonymous town of Harlow in Essex (which had been established as a planned city to house displaced families in the aftermath of World War II), lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Steve Drewett took an openly socialist stance within the band, steering their music in a bid for stimulating social change, much in the manner of Joe Strummer in The Clash or punk troubadour, Billy Bragg; The Ramones also provided early musical inspiration, along with the deep and heavy sounds of roots reggae from Jamaica.
Along with bassist and backing vocalist Colin Dredd (AKA Colin Masters), demos and early singles featured drummer Tig Barber, who was replaced by Simon O’Brien (AKA Simon Lomond) in 1981.

The cassette release Pissed As A Newt surfaced in small quantities, but their proper debut album arrived in 1983 in the form of Beggars Can Be Choosers, a masterwork of political punk with pop and reggae leanings; in addition to spurring their listeners to wake up and take direct action on the disc, the album also addresses teen angst, messy relationships and the caustic nature of boredom and apathy, as well as gender inequality and racial tensions. Closing number, “Living With Unemployment” was co-written by JM Carroll and Nicky Tesco of The Members.

The story of northern English band Blitz follows something of an unusual trajectory. Formed in the small industrial town of New Mills in Derbyshire (once known for coal mines, cotton mills and calico bleaching), Blitz began as a hardcore concern, their first two albums considered classics of the ‘street punk’ and Oi subgenres of the early 1980's, but third album Second Empire Justice shifted their sound in a totally unexpected post-punk/new wave direction, with intricate arrangements, greater musical complexity and a generally softer style.

Unfortunately for the group, the album was a commercial failure that spelled their ultimate demise, yet just as the band bit the dust, bassist Neil McLennan and guitarist Nidge Miller formed 'Rose of Victory' with drummer Gary Bowler and engineer Nigel Beverley on vocals, cutting a one-off version of Bowie’s “Suffragette City,” coupled with an equally intriguing Miller instrumental on the flip.

'Rose of Victory' never lasted beyond this initial offering ... however, leaving the single a unique memento of their faltering creativity.

Townes Van Zandt is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt, originally released in September 1969 by Poppy Records. It includes re-recordings of four songs from his 1968 debut album, including the first serious song he ever wrote, "Waitin' Around To Die".

50th anniversary - 180 gram remastered vinyl - Remastered by Chicago Mastering - Tip-op Jacket - Cardstock innersleeves with lyrics included

This is a licensed reissue on 7" vinyl of the killer garage single by the Other Half published by GNP Crescendo in 1966 and never reprinted since. The Other Half was a 5 piece band that included the guitar wizard Randy Holden who later went on to join Blue Cheer. TOH members were originally from L.A., then moved to San Francisco in the mid-sixties. Their sound was a US Garage Rock in the vein of Music Machine, the Sonics and the Wailers. Mr Pharmacist is their best known and much sought after single. It was covered by The Fall with great success in the 80's. Originals go for big money on Discogs! This is garage rock, it belongs on a 7” single! And now the track is finally re-released in all its MONO glory!

On the flip side "I've Come So Far" is a slower number backed with some awesome piano (reminiscent of the Seeds) and great vocals to boot. Irresistible. The release is on a high quality 42 gram 7" vinyl 45 RPM Mono as per the original.

Todd Rundgren’s Utopia is the debut album by the American rock band Utopia. It can be seen as one of the most definitive prog albums of all time. Praised by many as an superb masterpiece where every aspect of Todd’s creative ideas come together on record. Most of the band members already played on Rundgren’s solo records and they exactly knew what to do to make this a true spectacle. The album consists of only four pieces, with the closing track “The Ikon” clocking over 30 minutes. All these great movements in sounds and lyrics marks Todd Rundgren’s Utopia as a major prog asset in any good music collection.
Todd Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He is known for his stage outfits, experimental music and adopting computer technologies to describe his musical ideas.
Available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on blue marbled (solid blue & white mixed) coloured vinyl.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• 7TH RELEASE OF THE MUSIC ON VINYL TODD RUNDGREN/UTOPIA SERIES
• LIMITED EDITION OF 1000 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON BLUE MARBLED (SOLID BLUE & WHITE MIXED) COLOURED VINYL

Sly Stone is a songwriter and record producer, mostly famous for his role as front man for Sly and the Family Stone. The band played a critical role in the development of soul, funk, rock, and psychedelics in the 1960s and '70s.

Sly Stone was identified as a musical prodigy at a young age. By the time he was seven, Sylvester had already become proficient on the keyboards and by the age of eleven he had mastered the guitar, bass, and drums as well. While still in high school, Sylvester had settled primarily on the guitar and joined a number of high school bands.

In 1993 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the group.

High On You (1975) is the first solo album by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone. For the most part Stone performed a large part of the instrumentation for each song on his own by using multi-tracking. The album prominently features vocalist Rudy Love and includes the singles I Get High on You', Le Lo Li' and Crossword Puzzle'.

'Matita Emostatica' is the re-issue of a sought after compilation connecting the most underrated outsider artists of the Milan scene, in the early eighties. The amazing artwork is the creation of influential designer and photographer Roberto Masotti, a very well known figure in the avantgarde and jazz realm (he made astonishing portraits for the likes of Anthony Braxton, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Carla Bley, etc.)

The compilation was produced in 1981 by Al Aprile and released by Materiali Sonori. Among the 10 artists you can find future journalists, unstoppable record collectors, renowned photographers and influential underground persona ... just scroll down the album and read the names of Monofonic Orchestra, Angelo Vaggi, Baker Street Band, Al Aprile, Roberto Masotti and many others. The result was quite unbelievable, ranging from small cosmic opus to avantgarde symphonies and asymmetrical etno-world jams. In the end ‘Matita Emostatica’ was quite in line with the efforts coming from the rest of Europe and the other side of the ocean, so to speak the compilation wouldn’t be out of place in the Ralph or Crammed Discs catalogue. A postcard from a country that is no more.

In a world chock full of flame-outs, coulda-been contenders and great white hopes, the band Jonathan Fire*Eater are among the “almost-est.” Widely praised as the mid-Nineties next-big-thing, they are largely credited with being the earliest purveyors of the “New York City Rock and Roll Revival” circa 2001.
Which would be great, if only the band hadn’t imploded by 1998. The quintet employed a fresh, one-of-a-kind blend of sly rock and roll reference and reverence. Their press release at the time name-dropped all the correct and relevant influences...the Stooges, the Modern Lovers, Tom Waits, the Scientists, ? and the Mysterians, the Cramps, Nation of Ulysses, the Stones, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds...all markers conveying the point that Fire-Eater’s dark, brooding overtones are complemented by springy Farfisa tones and impressionistic, evocative lyrics.

The band was inarguably in top form with the 1996 EP release of Tremble Under Boom Lights. Mean and lean at only five tracks, those songs click together perfectly, enough so to kick-start a major label bidding frenzy which found the band signing a lucrative, seven-figure contract. Showcasing lead singer Stewart Lupton’s redolent exercises in picturesque poetry, coupled with Matt Barrick’s inimitable percussive attack, Paul Maroon’s wide, unadorned guitar blistering throughout while Walter Martin’s choice, deliberate organ accompaniment and Tom Frank’s propulsive, bottom-heavy bass all join together for a full, beautiful, glorious masterpiece.

Lead-off track “The Search For Cherry Red” would not only provide the EP with a title via its lyrics, but would also see a second life as covered by esteemed rock-and-rollers The Kills. “Give Me Daughters” is enviable for the perspective it foresees, when taking into consideration its narrator was barely 21 years old at the time. Songs fl it about cockfights, open caskets, ballroom gowns, switchblades, motorcycle accidents and jewel thieves all to propel the record into a world of juvenile delinquent attitude and vivid cinematic color.

For the Japanese release of Tremble Under Boom Lights, the five-song running order was accentuated with four bonus tracks ... three songs from the band’s 1995 debut single and a spritely cover of the Lee Hazelwood gem “The City Never Sleeps.” With the 2019 reissue, Third Man Records is proud to make these seminal songs available digitally and on vinyl for the first time in over two decades.

All parties involved are beyond overjoyed to augment the running order of the Japanese version of Tremble Under Boom Lights to include the bonus track “In the Head.” Touted by the band members as the last song they ever recorded, it is wincingly brilliant, the most artful, dudes-in-their-early-twenties version of a swan song that one may ever hear.
After the break-up, Barrick, Maroon and Martin would go on to form the backbone of the Walkmen and enjoy a solid run with their seven full-length releases. All three are still active in the music business today. Frank went on to a career in journalism, writing for Vanity Fair and acting as contributing editor for Washington Monthly. Despite struggling with addiction for years, Stewart Lupton notched solid efforts with his bands the Child Ballads and the Beatings. Lupton passed away suddenly on May 27th, 2018 at the age of 43.

USA Import, in silkscreened sleeve (colors may vary) in VERY limited edition. Recorded live live @ the Sporthalle, Cologne, February 1972.

Best of David Bowie, live from the Olympic Stadium,
Montreal, Canada on August 30th 1987. Strung out in heaven’s high, the eternal lost astronaut walked out on to the stage at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal and gave an inspired joyride through his then 20-album career. 1987’s Glass Spider tour was his most theatrically ambitious to date and although it had its critics as a spectacle, musically, it was spellbinding. While Low, Lodger and Ziggy fail to emerge, Bowie has plenty more to play with, even after his highly successful Serious Moonlight tour. Here is Bowie, back at his beguiling best in front of 80,000 ecstatic fans. Protus proudly presents the legendary Starman’s best tracks, in concert, broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour. Professionally re-mastered original broadcast with liners and rare photos.

Powerful and melodic hard-rock by this US power-trio: ultra-loud Quilter amps, killer leads, fuzz bass, furious drumming and vocals. Recorded at the legendary Sonobeat Studios in Austin (home of Mariani!) and originally released in 1971 as a private demo album, now impossible to find. Originally formed in California in the late 60s, Wildfire consisted of Randy Love (guitar/vocals), Danny Jamison (bass/lead vocals) and Donny Martin (drums). Famous for powerful live shows, they packed the clubs with lines around the block of fans waiting to enter, becoming the house band for Finnegan’s Rainbow and the favorite group of The Hessians Motorcycle Club, who became the unofficial guardians of the band. Soon, they got in touch with Pat Quilter from Quilter amps. Tired of blowing up amps when playing, Randy told Pat to design an amp that couldn’t blow up. And he did it. Following Wildfire’s input, Pat designed for the band the famous “Master Volume Dial” amp. In 1969, a Texas promoter heard the band in Southern California and brought them to Austin, becoming an instant hit locally in the Austin area. While in Texas, Wildfire shared the stage with Freddie King, the Allman Brothers, Johnny Winter and ZZ Top. It was in Austin that the 8-song demo was cut at Sonobeat Records (home also of Mariani and Cold Sun), released in 1970 as a private pressing housed in a plain white cover with a Wildfire sticker, each one numbered. The demo album was never sold other than at a small record store in Southern California and it’s now one the rarest hard-rock albums from the US. First bootlegged in the 90s and then officially reissued by Shadoks in 2006, here’s a welcomed new vinyl edition

DELUXE VINYL EDITION.

Roger Waters - Pros & Cons of New York Vol. 1

This two instalment Roger Waters release, the subject of an FM radio broadcast synced across the country, was recorded on 28th March at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. Featuring a host of Floyd classics as well as the new record in its entirety, this set goes to show that Waters was just as much an exceptional performer, showman and musician when out on his own as he ever was with his old band.

Berlin based Dame Bonnet makes music influenced by post punk and cold wave and with a primitive and reverb-drenched production he creates a tragic dream for the listener to sink in to.

The music has a sentimental feel to it but the pretentions are avoided thanks to the direct sound and the unremitting drums which contributes to give the tracks a forward momentum instead of a stuck in place-feeling.

Dame Bonnet makes sad club music with traces from the early eighties In England, a society ravaged by the cold individualism as a result to neo conservative politics - a time that resembles ours, where people gets categorized out of prejudice and the social welfare systems are uninstalled bit by bit in front of a sparser crowd of woke people.

In Europe, now in the 2010s, a supposed dead ultraconservative monster is coming alive again and Dame Bonnets music makes the soundtrack to that process.

PINK VINYL WITH PINK SLEEVE.

Kungens Män hail from Stockholm, Sweden and have been around as a musical unit since 2012. Their inspiration comes from the drone, the rattle of the loose screw, the circuit failure of the effects, the phatness of the moog and from the very diverse wiring of a bunch of middle aged Swedish freaks. Kungens Män never plan the next musical move - it presents itself.
 
Nine months after their acclaimed album 'Chef' (also released on Riot Season) the band return with 'Hårt Som Ben’, a stunning follow up with a debut UK tour to coincide.
 
Echoes And Dust on ‘Chef’: “From pure psychedelic freak out, to exploratory ramblings, and all imbued with a sense of communal priority to create together a work of immense intelligence, Chef is an album which begs for continued listens and deep immersion. That it is so accessible too, makes that genius shine through even more so. Superb.”
 
At the end of May 2019 Kungens Män packed a couple of cars full of instruments and life supporting essentials and drove into the woods of Värmland to spend three days in the legendary Silence Studio. It has hosted recordings by bands and musicians like Bo Hansson, Motorpsycho, The Hellacopters, Bob Hund and Union Carbide Productions, the presence felt and seen all over the place. In between watching VHS tapes with Twin Peaks, Miles Davis and Roskilde Festival 92, cooking pasta, sleeping in bunk beds, Bruce Bannering shirts and chilling in the sun, Kungens Män managed to record about 13 hours of music. Some of it will never reach your ears, but here’s the first slab made public – Hårt som ben – Hard As Bone. Not very hard, that is.
 

50th anniversary edition of Bowie’s seminal album featuring a brand new mix by original producer Tony Visconti, and a new die cut O-card.

The vinyl will be randomly distributed worldwide with a mixture of hand-numbered labels; numbers 1 to 1969 on silver vinyl numbers and 1970 to 2019 on gold vinyl, with the remainder being black vinyl.

Originally released 14th November 1969, the sophomore effort from Bowie was a big turning point from his 1967 debut. The album most famously introduces the character of Major Tom in ‘Space Oddity’ which would go on to be one of his most enduring classics.

The new mix of the album now features the title track of the boxset ‘Conversation Piece’ restored to the track listing in its initially intended position before it was originally dropped due to time constraints of vinyl.

LIMITED COKE BOTTLE GREEN VINYL.

The debut album from Erin Anne, Tough Love is an unruly yet elegant collage of all the elements that make up her musical vocabulary: wildly shredded riffs and lo-fi acoustic ramblings, punk-rock energy and folky austerity, new-wave whimsy and high-flown pop theatrics. With a narrative voice at turns thoughtful and rebellious, confrontational and shy, the L.A.-based singer/songwriter presents a body of work that bravely documents the slow and strange process of becoming yourself.

Co-produced with Alex Rogers (Family Hahas, Tambourines), Tough Love offers a potent introduction to Erin’s kaleidoscopic musicality and infinitely unpredictable guitar work. In bringing the album to life, the two collaborators drew from an earlier version of Tough Love self-released by Erin in early 2019, re-recording each song with live drums and Rogers’s lavish collection of analog synths. With Erin playing every instrument except drums, Tough Love bears an expansive sonic palette wholly suited to its emotional thrust—a state of mind she encapsulates as “standing in the doorway between presents you’ve grown out of and futures you’re afraid you’re too small for, and using music as the catalyst to take those steps into the unknown.”
 
An album charged with restless intensity, Tough Love reaches a glorious peak on its title track, a song initially informed by Erin’s experience in earning her Ph.D. in musicology at UCLA. “Being a woman in academia can be exhausting,” says Erin. “‘Tough Love’ started when I came from a day at seminar when I was trying to make a very simple point and couldn’t get a word out—I was incredibly frustrated, and tried to write a vaguely ’80s, “9 to 5”-style song that would feel good to Jazzercise to.” But as the track took shape, “Tough Love” eventually morphed into a massive anthem, a thrillingly cathartic refusal to let her voice go unheard.

On the track “Bedroom Track (Carrie),” Erin transforms sentences lifted from Carrie Brownstein’s 2015 memoir Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl to deliver a “personal manifesto about wanting things—a very specifically female/queer kind of wanting.” The album’s hypnotic centerpiece, “Gaslighter,” which explores the confusion of abuse, is simultaneously jarring, mesmerizing, and oddly transcendent.

During her undergrad studies at Bowdoin College, Erin experienced a life-changing revelation upon viewing the Kathleen Hanna documentary The Punk Singer for a course on gender, sexuality, and popular music. “I grew up in New Jersey where everybody played lacrosse and I had very limited access to anything remotely queer, which meant I’d never heard of riot grrrl before,” she says. Not long afterward, Erin formed a riot grrrl band named the Navel Gazers, and began performing her own material for the first time. After graduating from Bowdoin, Erin moved to Portland, Maine, where she started a solo project called REGI RKT (a nod to a zine-making, feminist, street-hockey-playing character from the Nickelodeon cartoon “Rocket Power”), then put out an EP titled Vulnrubble in 2017. Her first release under her own name, the original version of Tough Love arrived in June 2019, and soon landed her a deal with Carpark Records.

In releasing her newly reimagined take on Tough Love, in all its frenetic grandeur, Erin hopes that the album might leave her audience with a sense of wholeness similar to what she found in its creation—an adventure she describes as “a journey to becoming a more comfortable self.”