Album of the Week – 05/11/21

This week, we have a new album by Abba? I guess the pandemic has done strange things to people. They have said it’s their last but I think they said that before at some stage so they can’t be trusted! The other big hitter this week is Radiohead with their new collection (KID A MNESIA), but is it really a new album?

Otherwise, there are new releases from Brian Chase, James Ilgenfritz, and Robbie Lee (Loss and Gain). Brian’s day job is with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs but this is definitely a lot more esoteric. Aimee Mann returns with Queens of The Summer Hotel, and it’s as lovely as ever. Other new releases that deserve a listen include Penelope Isles (Which Way To Happy) and Ben Chasny (of Six Organs of Admittance) which his new release The Intimate Landscape.

But… we just couldn’t look past the work of the 22-year-old Lindsey Jordan…

Album of the Week – Snail Mail – Valentine

“Nothing outstays its welcome on an album that lasts just over half an hour. It’s a collection of what used to be referred to as ‘perfect pop’. If there’s any justice Lindsey Jordan and Snail Mail will be on a lot of people’s radar by the end of the year.” – Killian Laher from his review which you can read here.

“I wanted to take as much time as possible with this record to make sure I was happy with every detail before unleashing it unto y’all,” says Jordan. “Referring to the process as the deepest level of catharsis and therapy I have ever experienced would be a huge understatement. Valentine is my child!”

A hugely anticipated follow-up, Valentine was written and produced by 22-year-old Lindsey Jordan and co-produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee) in 2019-2020. The album is filled with romance, heartbreak, blood, sweat and tears. But Valentine is poised and self-possessed, channelling anger and dejection into empowering revenge fantasies and rewriting the narrative of its own fate. Stitched throughout it is the melodrama and the camp Jordan so deftly utilizes to offset her pain. The sonic leap forward can be heard from the first moments of the title track –the whispered voice and eerie sci-fi synths erupting into a full-on stadium-sized adrenaline-rush of a chorus.

Albums fo Note:

— ABBA – Voyage

— Aimee Mann – Queens of The Summer Hotel

— Brian Chase (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs), James Ilgenfritz, and Robbie Lee – Loss and Gain

— Ben Chasny (of Six Organs of Admittance) – The Intimate Landscape

— Joan As Police Woman, Tony Allen, and Dave Okumu – The Solution is Restless

— Radiohead – KID A MNESIA

— Penelope Isles – Which Way To Happy

Albums Reelased – November 5th:

— ABBA – Voyage

— Àbáse – Laroyê

— The Acharis – Blue Sky / Grey Heaven

— AfterTime – Infinite Legacy EP

— AHI – Prospect

— Aimee Mann – Queens of The Summer Hotel

— Air – 10 000 Hz Legend – 20th Anniversary Edition

— Alan Parsons – The NeverEnding Show – Live In The Netherlands

— Altareth – Blood

— AM Higgins – Hymning

— Aminé – TWOPOINTFIVE

— Amy Allen – AWW! EP

— Annie and the Bang Bang – Walkie Talkie

— Another One Down! – A Bitter Descent

— Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings

— The Aubreys (feat. Finn Wolfhard) – Karaoke Alone

— Aundrey Guillaume – Violet EP

— Ayumi Tanaka Trio – Subaqueous Silence

— Barry Adamson – Steal Away EP

— Beanz – Tables Turn

— Beauty Queen – Real Life EP

— Ben Chasny (of Six Organs of Admittance) – The Intimate Landscape

— Bent Knee – Frosting

— Benz – This Could Be The End EP

— Billy Idol – Happy Holidays (Reissue)

— Billy Joel – Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection, Vol. 1

— Bino Rideaux – 100 Roses

— Black Hill Cove – Broken

— The Black Keys – El Camino (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

— Black Map Slate – Melodoria

— Blind Tiger – Blind Tiger EP

— Bornholm – Apotheosis

— Brian Chase (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs), James Ilgenfritz, and Robbie Lee – Loss and Gain

— Bryan Eckerman – Plague Bringers

— Candi Scissors – Candi Scissors EP

— Cannabis Corpse – Tube of the Resinated (Vinyl Reissue)

— Chase Wright – Intertwined

— Chime School – Chime School

— Christian Death – The Dark Age Renaissance Collection, Part 2, The Age Of Innocence Lost

— Churchburn – Genocidal Rite

— Clubhouse – Are We Going Too Slow? EP

— Colin Blunstone (of The Zombies) – One Year: 50th Anniversary Edition

— Colin James – Open Road

— Connan Mockasin – Jassbusters Two

— Crazy Lixx – Street Lethal

— Curtis Harding – If Words Were Flowers

— Cyndi Lauper – Merry Christmas…Have a Nice Life! (Vinyl Reissue)

— Cystectomy – Deprive to Hollowness

— Dan Munkus – The Edge of the High Trace

— Danielia Cotton – Good Day

— Darius Jones – Raw Demoon Alchemy (A Lone Operation)

— DEADNATE – The North Sea Pt. 1 EP

— Deana Carter – Did I Shave My Legs For This? 25th Anniversary Edition

— Diana Ross – Thank You

— Dijon – Absolutely

— Dion – Stompin’ Ground

— Disbeliever – Archetype

— DJ Lag – Meeting With The King

— Dlina Volny – Dazed

— Dorian Electra – My Agenda (Deluxe Edition)

— Duncan Evans and Wilderness Hymnal – Until Liars Fear Your

— EEP – Winter Skin

— Elise LeGrow – Grateful

— Emika – VEGA (Virtual Reality Soundtrack)

— Emma Ruth Rundle – Engine Of Hell

— Endearments – Father of Wands EP

— Extinction A.D. – Chaos, Collision, Carnage & Propaganda

— Fans Of The Dark – Fans Of The Dark

— Fearout – Bleedthrough

— Fela Kuti – London Scene (Vinyl Reissue)

— Finn Askew – Tokyo EP

— FORNHEM – Stämman från Berget

— FPA – Princess Wiko

— FUR – When You Walk Away

— Gaahls WYRD – The Humming Mountain

— Garbage – beautifulgarbage (20th Anniversary Reissue)

— Gary Numan – 45X15 – The Singles Collection 1978-1983

— Glassing – Twin Dream

— God of Love – Do Your Worst

— Gold & Youth – Dream Baby

— Goo Goo Dolls – It’s Christmas All Over (Deluxe Edition)

— Green Desert Water – Black Harvest

— Greer – Happy People EP

— Gregory Porter – Still Rising

— Halfnoise (Zac Farro of Paramore) – Motif

— Hana Vu – Public Storage

— Hard Feelings (Amy Doglas & Joe Goddard) – Hard Feelings

— Heart Attack Man – Thoughtz & Prayers

— Héctor Oaks x Coco-Paloma – No Hay Mañana EP

— The Hengles – Count Me Out

— Holly Humberstone – The Walls Are Way Too Thin

— Hyd – Hyd

— ÌFÉ – 0000+0000

— In Aphelion – Luciferian Age

— Ingrid Michaelson – Songs For The Season – Deluxe Edition

— Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik – Hardanger

— Jaga Jazzist – Pyramid Remix

— James Arthur – It’l All Make Sense In The End

— JD Simo – Mind Control

— J.D. Wilkes and the Legendary Shack Shakers – Cockadoodledeux

— Jennifer O’Connor – Born At the Disco

— Jess Chalker – Hemispheres

— Jethro Tull – Benefit (The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition)

— JJJJerome Ellis – The Clearing

— Joan As Police Woman, Tony Allen, and Dave Okumu – The Solution is Restless

— John DeNicola – She Said

— JORDY – Mind Games

— Julia Daigle – Un singe sur l’épaule

— Kito – Blossom EP

— Kristof Hahn (of Swans) – Six Pieces

— The Ladies (Rob Crow and Zach Hill) – They Mean Us – Anniversary Edition

— Lizzie & The Makers – Dear Onda Wahl

— Louisahhh – The Practice of Freedom Deluxe

— Low Life – From Squats to Lots: The Agony & XTC of Low Life

— Marconi Union – Signals

— Margo Cilker – Pohorylle

— Martha and the Muffins – Marthology: In and Outtakes

— The Mary Veils – Somewhere Over the Rowhome EP

— Matthew Pinder – Seated In The Sun EP

— Maudits – Angle Mort EP

— Maymind – June

— METZ – Live at the Opera House (Vinyl Release)

— Mira Calix – absent origin

— Misty Mtn – Weren’t Those The Days EP

— model home – both feet en th infinite

— The Money War – Blood EP

— Moonshine Oversight – The Frame

— The Mountain Goats – The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volumes 3 and 4

— Mountain Man – Made the Harbor (10th Anniversary Edition)

— MUNYA – Voyage to Mars

— The Muslims – Fuck These Fuckin Fascists (Physical Release)

— Nashville Pussy – Eaten Alive

— Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – The Future

— Nation of Language – A Way Forward

— Neal Francis – In Plain Sight

— Neckbolt – Midwestern Drawl

— Nequient – Collective Punishment

— The Nervous Hex – The Nervous Hex EP

— Noga Erez – KIDS (Against The Machine)

— Old Man Wizard – Kill Your Servants Quietly

— Omnium Gatherum – Origin

— Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman (40th Anniversary Expanded Digital Edition)

— Pamela Z – Echolocation (Reissue)

— Parcels – Day/Night

— Penelope Isles – Which Way To Happy

— Portico Quartet – Monument

— Portrayal of Guilt – Christfucker

— Puma Blue – In Praise of Shadows (Deluxe Edition)

— Radiohead – KID A MNESIA

— Richard Fearless – Future Rave Memory

— Rongeur – Glacier Tongue

— Roy Montgomery – Audiotherapy

— Ryan Farish – Rhythm of the Seasons

— Salt Ashes – Killing My Mind

— Samuel Petra – Lavanda EP

— Sarah King – Tulip or Turnip

— SchwertMann – Theater Of Grief EP

— SeeYouSpaceCowboy – The Romance Of Affliction

— serpentwithfeet – DEACON’S GROVE EP

— Sia – Everyday is Christmas (Snowman Deluxe Edition)

— Sitcom – Smoothie

— Sloppy Jane – Madison

— Songs: Ohia – Songs: Ohia (Vinyl Reissue)

— Snail Mail – Valentine

— Spencer LaJoye – Remember The Oxygen EP

— SpiritWorld – Pagan Rhythms

— spoony bard – Animal Husband EP

— Springtime (feat. members of The Drones, Tropical Fuck Storm, Dirty Three, and The Necks) – Springtime

— The Starlite Campbell Band – The Language of Curosity

— The Steel Wheels – Everyone A Song Vol. 2

— Steve Conte – Bronx Cheer

— Steve Perry – The Season

— Stonewall Noise Orchestra – Vol. 1 (Reissue)

— Summer Walker – Still Over It

— Taleen Kali – Songs For Meditation

— Tar Of – Were I EP

— Tasha – Tell Me What You Miss the Most

— Test Subjects – Study

— Thangorodrim – Liberation In Unbound Chaos 666

— The Tragically Hip – Road Apples (30th Anniversary Deluxe)

— Tim Kelly – Ride Through the Rain

— Tusks – Change EP

— USQUAM – Our Reborn EP

— Various Artists – Blade Runner: Black Lotus Soundtrack

— Various Artists – Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Vinyl Reissue)

— Various Artists – Luz de Vida II: A Compilation to Benefit Homicide Survivors

— Various Artists – Songs for Tres

— Various Artists – Zum Audio Vol. 4

— Varius – Concordance EP

— The Verve Pipe – Threads

— Vincent Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas (Silver Edition Cassette)

— Wendy Eisneberg – Bent Ring

— Youth Fountain – Keepsakes & Reminders

— Zero Boys – A Vicious Circle (Vinyl Reissue)