The last batch of new releases in February is a hefty one! Info and links for the ones you want to know about most below, plus some other ones you may not have heard of (but should know), with audio & video for your listening and viewing pleasure. Click here to see releases from the past several weeks…
Barzin, To Live Alone In That Long Summer (Monotreme)
Toronto singer-songwriter Barzin presents a fourth full-length of his lovely, slowcore folk jams. Check out the video for "All The While" below, directed by Jason Yeomans
Beck, Morning Phase (Capitol)
The multi-instrumentalist singer, songwriter, producer and generally high quality talent finally drops a 12th album and follow-up to 2008's Modern Guilt. So far, it underwhelms, though fans of Sea Change might disagree. Check out one of the more high quality cuts, "Blue Moon," after the jump ...
Dierks Bentley, Riser (Capitol Nashville/Universal)
Bleeding Rainbow, Interrupt (Kanine)
Brandt Brauer Frick, DJ-Kicks (!K7)
CEO, Wonderland (Modular)
Brian Culbertson, Another Long Night Out (BMC)
Damaged Bug, Hubba Bubba (Castle Face)
The solo project of John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees).
Death Vessel, Island Intervals (Sub Pop)
Delta Rae, Chasing Twisters (Sire / Wea)
Doomsquad, Kalaboogie (Hand Drawn Dracula)
Eternal Lips, Eternal Lips (New Mirage)
The Fray, Helios (Epic)
Mike Gordon, Overstep (ATO)
One of my all-time favorite musicians and among the most exceptionally interesting musical minds around right now, Phish bassist Mike Gordon, presents his fourth solo album. Billboard is streaming the entire album (and running a pretty decent Q&A) right here.
Charlie Greene, Charlie Greene (Artist Tribe Recordings)
Habits, Unselves in Arrival (Fleeting Youth Records)
Honduras, Debut Morality Cuts EP (Black Bell Records)
John The Conqueror, The Good Life (Alive Naturalsound Records)
Lo-Fang, Blue Film (4AD)
LOWELL, I Killed Sara V. EP (Arts & Crafts)
Mainland, Shiner EP (self-release)
Proto-punk/garage-rock upstarts out of NYC self-release a new EP that's produced by Spoon’s Jim Eno at his Austin studio, Public Hi-Fi. Check out the title track below.
Major Lazer, Apocalypse Soon (Mad Decent/Secretly Canadian)
Milagres, Violent Light (Kill Rock Stars)
After issuing a really stellar full-length debut in 2011, Glowing Mouth, Brooklyn indie rock quartet Milagres offers up a sophomore album, mixing heavier psych-pop and fuzzy synth-fueled funkiness with their usual dose of light dreaminess. Check out “The Letterbomb” below.
Brad Mehldau, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon (Nonesuch)
Mozes And The Firstborn, Mozes And The Firstborn (Burger Records)
Natural Child, Dancin' With Wolves (Burger Records)
Neneh Cherry, Blank Project (Smalltown Supersound)
New Electric Ride, Balloon Age (Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records)
Hooky, explosive psychedelic rock from London. Listen to "Bring What You Expect to Get" below.
New Madrid, Sunswimmer (New West)
The Notwist, Close To The Glass (Sub Pop)
Patten, ESTOILE NAIANT (Warp)
Runaway Dorothy, The Wait (Rock Ridge Music)
Run River North, Run River North (Nettwerk)
Schoolboy Q, Oxymoron (Top Dawg)
The Shell Corporation, Mandrake (Paper + Plastick Records)
Special Explosion, The Art of Mothering (Topshelf Records)
St. Vincent, St. Vincent (Loma Vista/Republic)
St. Vincent is one of those songstresses that just knows how to write an interesting, quirked-out dance track. David Byrne knows; the two collabed on an album a few years back. This is St. Vincent's fourth full-length, which was produced by John Congleton (The Paper Chase), and features collaborations by two drummers — Homer Steinweiss (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings) and McKenzie Smith (Midlake). Check out the video for "Digital Witness" below.
Superchunk, Indoor Living (Merge)
Supersuckers, Get The Hell (Reptilian)
Tacocat, NVM (Hardly Art)
Twin Forks, Twin Forks (Dine Alone)
Chris Carrabba's new band with Suzie Zeldin, Ben Homola & Jonathan Clark.
Various Artists, Making Patterns Rhyme: A Tribute to Duran Duran (Manimal Vinyl)
The UK's New Wave rock vets get the tribute treatment. Among the contributors:
Liars, Warpaint, Little Dragon, Juliette Lewis, Moby and Crocodiles. All proceeds from the album go to Amnesty International.
Joe Louis Walker, Hornet's Nest (Alligator)
Wake Owl, The Private World of Paradise (Vagrant)
Wild Beasts, Present Tense (Domino)
Yellow Ostrich, Cosmos (Barsuk)
Thalia Zedek, SIX EP (Thrill Jockey)