Album of the Week – 29-10-21

Is it really 25 years since New Adventures in Hi-Fi was released? I guess so as they’ve just released a 25th Anniversary edition.

There’s a gem of a new album from Lewsberg (In Your Hands). It’s a surprise release but seeing as they’re not exactly Ed Sheeran, it might have slipped under the radar a little. There are also new releases from The War on Drugs (I Don’t Live Here Anymore), Nightmares On Wax (Shout Out! To Freedom​.​.​.), The Parrots (Dos) and Mary Lattimore (Collected Pieces II).

For our Album of the Week, we’ve gone for the intense and swirling sounds of the Unsolved Mystery that is Marissa Nadler, with her new album The Path of the Clouds.

Album of the Week – Marissa Nadler – The Path of the Clouds

The Path of the Clouds, Marissa Nadler’s ninth solo album, is the most stylistically adventurous, lyrically transfixing, and melodically sophisticated collection of songs in her already rich discography. Gripped by wanderlust while suddenly house bound at the start of the pandemic in 2020, Nadler escaped into writing, and came back with a stunning set of songs about metamorphosis, love, mysticism, and murder. Blurring the line between reality and fantasy and moving freely between past and present, these 11 deeply personal, self-produced songs find Nadler exploring new landscapes, both sonic and emotional.

One of Nadler’s distractions during the 2020 quarantine was binging reruns of Unsolved Mysteries. As she watched, she began to notice parallels between many of its stories and her own life. What began as a writing exercise became the bedrock of her songwriting process, as she came to inhabit the narratives that had so fascinated her. In “Bessie, Did You Make It?,”Nadler inverts the canon of the murder ballad, crafting a narrative of female empowerment and survival. “The Path of the Clouds” tells the story of the infamous hijacker D.B. Cooper, but the song isn’t just about jumping out of an airplane, faking your death, and making a grand exit. It’s a meditation on perseverance and transformation, a salute to mastering one’s fate. “Well, Sometimes You Just Can’t Stay” details the ingenious plans of the only successful escapees from Alcatraz, as well as the lingering enigma that surrounds their history. The lyrical twist on the chorus turns a tale about a prison break into a humorous, shoegazing country song.

Albums of Note:

— Lewsberg – In Your Hands

— The War on Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore

— Mary Lattimore – Collected Pieces II

— The Parrots – Dos

— Nightmares On Wax – Shout Out! To Freedom​.​.​.

October 29th:

— A Broken Design – Another Day In Hell

— ACID – Romance, Science Fiction With Acid and Persona

— Ad Infinitum – Chapter II – Legacy

— Alcopops – DEVIL EP

— Al Jacobi – Confider’s Guilt

— Alleys and Gangways – Long Shot EP

— American Teeth – We Should Be Having Fun

— Anna Vincent – Under the Glass

— Anti Ritual – Expel The Leeches

— An Unction in Braille – The Wordless Whisper EP

— Archspire – Bleed the Future

— Artz & Bugy – We Survive EP

— Augustine – Weeks Above The Earth

— Babytron – Bin Reaper

— Bad History Month and Nyxy Nyx – Death Takes a Holiday

— Bad Wolves – Dear Monsters

— BASTARÐUR – Sólstafir

— Bat Fangs – Queen Of My World

— Be’lakor – Coherence

— Begat The Nephilim – II: The Grand Procession

— Bitchin Bajas – Switched On Ra

— Black Veil Brides – The Phantom Tomorrow

— Blake Saint David – Be Your Own Celebrity EP

— Blanks – Nothing Lasts Forever And That’s Ok

— Bloodmouth – Unmanned

— Brandy Zdan – Falcon

— Bremer/McCoy – Natten

— Brother Bird – Gardens

— Burning the Oppresor – Damnation

— CAAR – I’m Just Bored EP

— Calling All Captains – Slowly Getting Better

— Callus – A Breath of Fresh Air

— Chakourah (Alecia Chakour of Tedeschi Trucks Band) – lotusland EP

— Charlotte Cornfield – Highs In the Minuses

— Chloé & Vassilena Serafimova – SEQUENZA

— Christopher Parker & The Band Of Guardian Angels – Soul Food

— CHVRCHES – Screen Violence: Director’s Cut

— Contrition – Broken Mortal Coil

— Cory José – Your Own American Chanteur

— The Cosmic Dead / GIÖBIA – The Intergalactic Connection: Exploring The Sideral Remote Hyperspace

— Cyclopean Walls – Enter the Dreamlands

— Dancing On Tables – Play Play Play EP

— Dave Chappelle – 8:46 (Vinyl Release)

— David Reece – Blacklist Utopia

— Dear Laika – Pluperfect Mind

— Death Cab For Cutie – The Photo Album (Deluxe Edition)

— DJ Abilities – Phonograph Phoenix

— DOEDSVANGR – Serpents Ov Old

— Doodie Lo – Big Doodie Lo

— Early Internet – You’re Just In Time To Miss Everything

— Ed Sheeran – = (Equals)

— ELDR – Nowhere Else to Go EP

— Eleanor Buckland – You Don’t Have to Know

— Elvie Shane – Backslider

— Emerson, Lake & Paul – Out of This World: Live 1970-1997

— Emily Scott Robinson – American Siren

— Erockfor – Phoenix

— The Exbats – Now Where Were We

— Felin – Heroes and Villains

— First Fragment – Gloire Éternelle

— Frozen Soul – Encased in Ice EP (Reissue)

— Furrows – Fisher King

— Gates – Here And Now EP

— Geese – Projector (Digital Release)

— Georgia Feroce – Moon Signs

— Goat Torment – Forked Tongues

— Good Morning – Barnyard

— Good Posture – Changin’ EP

— Goya Gumbani and Subculture – KRYSTIN EP

— Grand Cadaver – Into the Maw of Death

— Habibi – Somewhere EP

— Hadley Kennary – Crooked Roots

— Handsome Jack – Get Humble

— Hayes Carll – You Get It All

— The High Strung – HannaH

— The Hollywood Stars – Live On The Sunset Strip

— Holy Death – Separate Mind From Flesh

— Hot Garbage – RIDE

— The Human Veil – The Hybrid Era EP

— Jamire Williams – But Only After You Have Suffered

— Jeon Somi – XOXO

— Jerry Cantrell (of Alice in Chains) – Brighten

— Joe Bonamassa – Time Clocks

— Jonathan Blake – Homeward Bound

— Joni Mitchell – Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971)

— JUNG – She EP

— Katy B – Peace and Offerings EP

— Kayo Dot – Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike

— Knivad – Insidans Ärrvävnad by Knivad

— Laura Reznek – Agrimony

— Leaping Tiger – Soulsleep

— Levitation Orchestra – Illusions & Realities

— Light Conductor – Sequence Two

— Lightmare – Dirt

— Lilli Lewis – Americana

— Lily Konigsberg (of Palberta) – Lily We Need to Talk Now

— Lone – Always Inside Your Head

— Lotic – Water

— Luciano Launius – Painters of Ether

— The Lucid Furs – Damn! That Was Easy!

— Lucifer – IV

— Luke Wild – Shoebox EP

— Lunar Vacation – Inside Every Fig Is A Dead Wasp

— Magnolia Park – Halloween Mixtape

— Manchester Orchestra – Christmas Songs Vol. 1 (Digital Release)

— Marco Parisi – Untitled

— Marie Dahlstrom – Safe Place EP

— Marissa Nadler – The Path of the Clouds

— The Mars Volta – Octahedron (Vinyl Reissue)

— Mary Lattimore – Collected Pieces II

— Masn – This Place Wouldn’t Be The Same Without You EP

— Mastodon – Hushed And Grim

— Maya Jane Coles – Night Creature

— Mayorkun – Back In Office

— M(h)aol – Gender Studies

— Mick Jenkins – Elephant In The Room

— Minus The Bear – Farewell

— Molybaron – The Mutiny (Reissue)

— Mon Laferte – 1940 Carmen

— Monolord – Your Time To Shine

— Moron Police – The Stranger and the Hightide EP

— Motörhead – Everything Louder Forever

— Mustan Kuun Lapset – Ei Sävyjä Pimeässä – The Complete 90s Collection

— Naomi Alligator – Concession Stand Girl EP

— Natalie Jane Hill – Solely

— Naytronix (Nate Brenner of tUnE-yArDs) – Other Possibilities

— Nicholas Payton – Smoke Sessions

— Nightmares on Wax – Shout Out! To Freedom..

— Nina Simone – Feeling Good: Her Greatest Hits & Remixes

— NTDT – Stuck in the Middle with You EP

— Of Monsters and Men – My Head Is An Animal (10th Anniversary Edition)

— Oneohtrix Point Never – Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (Blu-ray Edition)

— Order – The Gospel

— Orson Wilds – What Is It That You Won’t Let Go? EP

— The Parrots – Dos

— Patrick Shiroshi – Hidemi

— Pelt – Reticence Resistance

— Pentatonix – Evergreen

— Phillip-Michael Scales – Sinner-Songwriter

— Pink Floyd – A Momentary Lapse Of Reason – Remixed & Updated

— Planningtorock – Gay Dreams Do Come True EP

— Plush – Plush

— The Pop Group – Y in Dub

— Pretty Embers – Under

— Qrion – I Hope It Lasts Forever

— R.E.M. – New Adventures in Hi-Fi (25th Anniversary)

— Randy Rainbow – A Little Brains, A Little Talent

— Reno McCarthy – Run Up River

— Richard Ashcroft – Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1

— Robin Hatch – T.O.N.T.O.

— ROMderful – Please Connect Controller

— Ross Goldstein – Chutes & Ladders

— Rotersand – Truth Is Fanatic (Reissue)

— Rotersand – Welcome to the Goodbye (Reissue)

— Royston Langdon – Chains EP

— Running Wild – Blood On Blood

— Sam Evian – Time to Melt

— Sammy Berell – Beyond the Veil

— Save Face – Another Kill For The Highlight Reel

— Sea Fever – Folding Lines

— Shubh Saran – inglish

— Silla And Rise – Silarjuaq

— Soffia Björg – The Company You Keep

— Somber Hills – It’s Sad Saying Goodbye EP

— Soot Sprite – Poltergeists EP

— Spice Girls – Spice25

— SUSTO – Time In the Sun

— Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – Temple – Deluxe Edition

— The The – The Comeback Special

— Theon Cross – Intra-I

— Thrash La Reine – Notre-Dame-de-l’Enfer

— Threshing Spirits – The Crucible

— Thulcandra – A Dying Wish

— Tori Amos – Ocean to Ocean

— Tōth – DEATH EP

— Type O Negative – October Rust (Vinyl Reissue)

— Vandalizer – Ride EP

— Various Artists – A Sentimental Christmas with Nat “King” Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined

— Various Artists – Goosebumps® The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium (Original Studio Cast Recording)

— Various Artists – ULTRA25-The Remixes

— Various Artists – The Vinyl Series: Volume Three

— War – Greatest Hits 2.0

— The War on Drugs – I Don’t Live Here Anymore

— Wave Racer – To Stop From Falling Off The Earth

— Whitechapel – Kin

— Whitesnake – Restless Heart: Super Deluxe Edition

— The Wilderness Of Manitoba – Farewell To Cathedral

— Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend (Deluxe Edition)

— World Party – Goodbye Jumbo (Vinyl Reissue)

— Yellow Days and Ric Wilson – Disco Ric in London Town EP