Blog
Rough Trade Shop Picks... Posted by on 17/02/09 in blog
This weeks round up of all the best and most interesting new releases with little videos and facts to keep you all entertained along the way…
Peter, Bjorn & John – Seaside Rock
Peter, Bjorn & John aren’t a real rock band (Peter doesn’t like to sign breasts, Bjorn bought his first leather jacket at the age of 27 and John can neither spit cool nor spin his drumsticks). Despite a lack of proper “rock band history”, they’ve produced a gorgeous record, inspired by their hometowns in Northern Scandinavia. Enjoy!
Buy from Rough Trade
Torche – Meanderthal
The best metal album produced this year. Period. Featuring punishing drums, crushing riffs and absolutely the best pop hooks this side of Nirvana, this is a must buy.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – S/T
For fans of My Bloody Valentine, the Smiths, the Jesus and Mary Chain, meet the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, a four-piece from the same New York scene as the Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts. Meaning, if you’re into dreamy, noisy pop with boy / girl vocals, blissful melodies and blistering drums, this is definitely for you.
Zombi – Spirit Animal
Zombi have returned with this amazing 5 track full length release. The synths seem richer and more organ like than previous releases and it has an epic cinematic scope no other band can touch.
Swing Kids – Discography
The Swing Kids, out of San Diego, were one of the finest screamo bands that ever existed. With a classicly trained jazz drummer in tow, they redefined hardcore and led the way for 1000 of skinny black jean imitators, none of whom came close to the originals. This compilation brings together their 10’ and two 7 singles. A tour de force.
Wavves – S/T
One of the big tips of 2009 (no, seriously, we mean it) – this debut release from Wavves: lo-fi beach punk anthems by San Diego’s Nathan Williams. Beautiful timeless melodies on top trash can guitars and blown-out drums. 14 tracks in 35 minutes. Don’t. Miss. This.
KTL – IV
Another mighty KTL opus, but this one feels different and more devastating from the previous three: IV is the first full-length album by Peter Rehberg and Stephen O’Malley to have not been based on commissioned work, and consequently should be a more conventionally ‘album-like’ affair. KTL seem to get better with each release – top contender for our top ten albums of the year. Absolutely immense.
The Hunches – Exit Dreams
The Hunches are Portland’s finest purveyors of cacophonous garage, delivering ragged-edged rock ‘n’ roll with such devastating hidden melody, one is left wondering how the band crammed such pop into the noise cavalcades. With two previous full-lengths in their pockets, the Hunches are back with ‘Exit Dreams’, their third (and possibly final) album that captures their fiery live form on wax once more. it’s a veritable melee of vicious guitar savagery and lo- fi freak-out fugginess.
Davila 666 – S/T
Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Davila 666 is one of the biggest rock attractions in the country. Over the past two years, they have amassed a huge local following and their shows have a reputation as must-see spectaculars. Their sound is the combination of obvious rock ‘n’ roll classics like the Stones, Stooges and Dolls, along with less likely influences such as Mazzy Star, Lil’ Wayne, and Plan B. Their sound is smart, sarcastic, and aggressive: as all young bands should be.
The Bug – London Zoo
The Bug is Kevin Martin’s main project, a furiously busy producer behind a number of projects, ranging from being a part of techno animal / ice / god, king midas sound, razor x productions. Then there’s the running of his pathological records label, collaborations with the likes of kevin shields, el-p and antipop consortium. These things, along with personal requests to re remix thom yorke, grace jones, einsturzende neubauten and primal scream, have led up to “London Zoo.” The fruit of Martin’s labour is straight out of London’s sound-system culture, an introduction to the thriving dub step scene with throbbing boombastic rhythms.
Weave! – S/T
A white vinyl delight is so good it could have been released on 99 records. This bizarre and blistering afro-pop is crossbred with precise and chilly new wave – weave!‘s debut breathes new life into a groovy vintage sound. The arty grinders have a respectable pedigree to boot; Weave!‘s founders, Ivory Lee Carlson and Nicole Turley spent 2007 with pickup members from around their native LA.
Circlesquare – Songs About Dancing And Drugs
Circlesquare a.k.a. Jeremy Shaw is back with his long-awaited second album; the Canadian artist resides in Berlin makes more than your usual dance music. These tracks are opiated rave-ups, ambient music with an anti-pop brain and a rock’n‘roll heart.
The Puddle – No Love No Hate
New Zealand psych-pop pioneers the Puddle, a revolving line-up of musicians assembled around the unstable core of George D. Henderson, have been around, in one form or another, since 1984. Though releases have been few in the last few years, George has continued to write even more new songs, recording these at his brother’s home studio in Dunedin. the resulting album ‘no love – no hate’ – has little in common with the full band puddle album recorded earlier; if that’s a turbocharged ferrari, this is a three speed bike with a basket and a bell that rings, of mainly sentimental value. that said, ‘no love – no hate’ adds a further unexpected twist in the long, strange and frequently derailed odyssey of this unique nz musical institution.
Titus Andronicus – S/T
‘Titus Andronicus’ is a raucous three-minute blast of DIY punk rock that’s sounds like a distorted version of the Pogues-meets-a-ramshackle Neutral Milk Hotel. It shows the band at their thrilling, exuberant best. You NEED Titus Andronicus in your life.
Trees – On The Shore
An expanded edition of this classic psycheldic folk-fusion album that is now on 2 slabs of glorious 180gm vinyl – now with 7 previously unreleased remix tracks plus a BBC session version of ‘Forest Fire’ and a demo of ‘Little Black Cloud’. Recorded in 1970 only three months after the debut ‘The Garden of Jane Delawney’, this record soon disappeared and became a sought-after cult classic. This album is one of the few to start from a ‘rock’ viewpoint, and it succeeds brilliantly. A dark, rich and complex album that deserves this reissue.
Sir Richard Bishop & Friends – Wooden Guitar
‘Wooden Guitar’ is an inspired excursion into the creases and folds of modern deltadelica & a thinly veiled homage to the great takoma compilations of yore where guitarists could sit back, work those muscles in their fingers and go the extra musical distance. Four of the great worldwide guitarists — Germany’s Steffen Basho-Junghans, Seattle’s Sir Richard Bishop (The Sun City Girls), Japan’s Tetuzi Akiyama & Virginia’s Jack Rose give us a fresh look at a very old instrument with gloriously stretched out solo compositions.
Bert Jansch – Jack Orion
Where Jansch’s previous albums were largely comprised of self-penned material, this third set was drawn from traditional songs, bar an instrumental reading of Ewan Maccoll’s “First Time I Ever Saw Your Face”. The artist’s highly original guitar style underpins the lengthy title track and the enthralling “Black Water Side”. ‘Jack Orion’ is a mesmerizing selection from a hugely influential performer.
Earth – The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull
Earth’s latest incarnation has arrived. After re-faceting some old gems for greater illumination on ‘Hibernaculum’, the band returns one again to its continuing evolution. Earth show’s it’s affinity with a nod to the best elements of the more adventurous San Francisco bands of the late 60’s and 70’s, and the more spiritually aware and exciting forms of jazz-rock from the same era. This is no nostalgia trip but a thoroughly inspired and original metamorphosis.
Lights – S/T
In Winter 2007, Brooklyn psych-folk sirens Lights found themselves in Greg Weeks’ (Espers) Hexham Head studio in Philadelphia. with some analog tape and a little help from their friends, the band wove together their self-titled LP. The combination of effervescent vocal harmonies and fuzzy guitar conjures images of death courting the maiden: that kiss of both darkness and light, the roughness against the softness. Transcendent.
Robert Henke – Atom / Document
‘Atom’ is a collaborative performance by Christopher Bauder and Robert Henke (aka Monolake), having been performed at Centre Pompidou / Paris, at Tesla Berlin, and at several other festivals in 2007 / 2008. As the performance is based on lots of spontaneous interaction between Bauder, who controls the height of the balloons in the matrix, and Henke, who controls the LED patterns by triggering various musical elements, each performance is different, and this recording only serves as a document of one possible scenario.
Hudson Mohawke – Polyfolk Dance
Enter Hudson Mohawke, a new Warp signing and one of the secret weapons for 2009! This 22-year-old is responsible for spear-heading a movement of next-gen beat music that has exploded from his native Glasgow this year. With an ear for a pop hook and a forward thinking production aesthetic, our bets are that 2009 will hold an awful lot of action for this young producer. If you don’t believe us yet, here’s the killer first ep on Warp – with his debut album in the pipeline.
Lithops – Ye Viols
Lithops is the solo disguise of Jan St Werner known for his work in Mouse on Mars, Microstoria and his most recent collaboration with Mark E Smith and Andi Toma as Von Sudenfed. with ‘Ye Viols!’, Lithops presents a selection of installation soundtracks assembled from several recent exhibitions. ‘Ye Viols!’ can be seen as background noise for a visual utopia: a recombined industrial iconography of spatial adventures, futuristic collages and phantasmagoric scenes.
Alva Noto – Xerrox
‘Xerrox’ is the new, self-contained project of Alva Noto, which, like his transall-series, is intended to be released in five parts during the next few years. Alva Noto manipulates recognizable melodic (micro) structures by the process of copying, and alienates them beyond recognition, so the results manifest their connection to the original only suggestively.
Atom Tm – Liedgut
From a contemporary point of view, Atom’s ‘Liedgut’ may be considered a romantic work. ‘Liedgut’ therefore oscillates between the poles of chaotic irregularity and mathematical purity: scientific exercises on Schubert chord progressions, digital waltzes and romantic lyrics. With a blessing from Florian Schneider (of Kraftwerk fame: he contributed a spoken epilogue after hearing the finished album), you know it’s got to be good.
V/A – B Music: Drive In, Turn On, Freak Out
Finders Keepers presents another 21 mind blowing vintage vinyl discoveries hidden around the psychedelic globe from most the desirable combined record collection you’re likely to find. Featuring tracks compiled by Andy Votel and Dom Thomas and luminaries such as David Holmes, Cherrystones and Chris Geddes, this is a compilation that demands a listen.
V/A – Amorphous Androgynous
Amorphous Androgynous are a psychedelic cosmic rock supergroup comprised of Gaz Cobain and Brian Dougans aka seminal electronic duo, future sound of London. originally an ISDN broadcast on Kiss FM in 1997, ‘Monstrous’ has become something of a legend amongst fans and it is extremely hard to come by. It includes tracks from Miles Davis, Donovan, Pop Levi, Betty Davis, Can, Pentangle, Tim Buckley, Devendra Banhart, Osibisa and loads and loads more. A true sonic trip.
V/A – Protected: Massive Samples
Massive Attack have come to define the sound of Bristol with their unique, smouldering mix of downtempo soul, dub and atmospherics. ‘Protected’ reveals some of the secrets of the MA motherlode, bringing together for the first time many of the original samples and covers that have contributed vital sonic juice to the band’s sound. The album coincides with Massive Attack’s new album, provisionally titled ‘Weather Underground’ which is due for release this month (February).
V/A – Fly Girls
Spanning over four decades, this double album features a stellar line-up of female artists who have all defined hip-hop over the years: Roxanne Shante, Tanya Winley, Queen Latifah, Sweet Tee and many, many more. Also features lots of rarities, obscurities and unknown (but great) female emcees. A deluxe digipack double CD.
Luke Haines – Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In Its Downfall
The first great music book of 2009, as the ex – Auteurs frontman revisits the last decade of the 20th century and the his part in the creation and dissolution of Britpop. As acerbic and opinionated as you’ d expect, this is a must read for anyone who lived through the nineties – except possibly the members of Blur, Oasis and the Boo Radleys, who all have cameo roles in the book!
E00zlD <a href=“http://hehlbbqjlwwq.com/”>hehlbbqjlwwq</a>, [url=http://mhxipypeydxh.com/]mhxipypeydxh[/url], [link=http://vsxfuhbvwlfg.com/]vsxfuhbvwlfg[/link], http://vwvdscbnzfrx.com/
— zwdcfipxm · 21/10/09 10:12 AM · #
46QVrN <a href=“http://cafztursakmb.com/”>cafztursakmb</a>, [url=http://gvwwdnsgpuuv.com/]gvwwdnsgpuuv[/url], [link=http://mofdxuzfywzw.com/]mofdxuzfywzw[/link], http://krszdghieoyn.com/
— piygbb · 24/10/09 09:36 PM · #
8PPVgo <a href=“http://lzcnjwdewpga.com/”>lzcnjwdewpga</a>, [url=http://dvehpwwogwhg.com/]dvehpwwogwhg[/url], [link=http://dyliybcoebcx.com/]dyliybcoebcx[/link], http://ixphsmsyhimj.com/
— didlphkv · 14/11/09 01:51 PM · #
ig8i2r <a href=“http://qmdmujxuoigw.com/”>qmdmujxuoigw</a>, [url=http://wufhmgbibznv.com/]wufhmgbibznv[/url], [link=http://rovmyfdgvgwj.com/]rovmyfdgvgwj[/link], http://wcmxawntqeqc.com/
— zoemmmvlrhv · 11/12/09 09:53 PM · #
ylybz1 <a href=“http://amhzpousygmj.com/”>amhzpousygmj</a>, [url=http://otijpiqqiryr.com/]otijpiqqiryr[/url], [link=http://kcfruwfgnllo.com/]kcfruwfgnllo[/link], http://ufknnkbdikeq.com/
— oaroca · 25/02/10 09:42 PM · #
bZ3y0c <a href=“http://daotcwhvplcv.com/”>daotcwhvplcv</a>, [url=http://fovyturauojv.com/]fovyturauojv[/url], [link=http://cosztplbixyb.com/]cosztplbixyb[/link], http://qzhlupnelmlm.com/
— bhpegojz · 28/02/10 08:35 PM · #
TPPAs9 <a href=“http://gkpolfunipte.com/”>gkpolfunipte</a>, [url=http://hkrxqsddiwbt.com/]hkrxqsddiwbt[/url], [link=http://xtywjgjdgdir.com/]xtywjgjdgdir[/link], http://igqclshyqmqn.com/
— hrdiatuf · 03/03/10 12:41 PM · #
OMxx1t <a href=“http://mgvxmaswexqo.com/”>mgvxmaswexqo</a>, [url=http://dfgqfmxmmtpc.com/]dfgqfmxmmtpc[/url], [link=http://ebotxwbahgvi.com/]ebotxwbahgvi[/link], http://gquskopybltt.com/
— vxvwvoyxga · 07/03/10 08:45 PM · #
pSkbvh <a href=“http://hwcmbimehaga.com/”>hwcmbimehaga</a>, [url=http://zmioyudlltzo.com/]zmioyudlltzo[/url], [link=http://hbugamhkzeeg.com/]hbugamhkzeeg[/link], http://bcwbmimqkwzg.com/
— ufzdmk · 18/03/10 04:42 PM · #
rj7GbD <a href=“http://xtdidoirfhgd.com/”>xtdidoirfhgd</a>, [url=http://gadyphuaetyu.com/]gadyphuaetyu[/url], [link=http://amftoxpnerrm.com/]amftoxpnerrm[/link], http://ejnbwnuasxpv.com/
— kksugmoykcy · 18/03/10 05:32 PM · #
27tLpM <a href=“http://zkfyqpskkplm.com/”>zkfyqpskkplm</a>, [url=http://ubtnhrzsmruh.com/]ubtnhrzsmruh[/url], [link=http://jyncarobtrxg.com/]jyncarobtrxg[/link], http://vryralwjxzzt.com/
— snuemdzi · 25/03/10 12:43 PM · #
mYwbbY <a href=“http://limdbxnuhjzh.com/”>limdbxnuhjzh</a>, [url=http://ajolprjvpzug.com/]ajolprjvpzug[/url], [link=http://yvxhtmgbcphr.com/]yvxhtmgbcphr[/link], http://kluaaxbwgluw.com/
— ogaulkmli · 25/03/10 07:43 PM · #
QlJyWy <a href=“http://gnimogzfyhnj.com/”>gnimogzfyhnj</a>, [url=http://agxrhvbvnomp.com/]agxrhvbvnomp[/url], [link=http://nngkviayquqj.com/]nngkviayquqj[/link], http://etqmufkgzvmr.com/
— speuandzcwr · 31/03/10 03:01 PM · #
VtIq5N <a href=“http://ddtyvvnaecce.com/”>ddtyvvnaecce</a>, [url=http://ayhkhljntqpw.com/]ayhkhljntqpw[/url], [link=http://uwvxthanvysa.com/]uwvxthanvysa[/link], http://doefqioggkde.com/
— otijyrqznvq · 31/03/10 04:14 PM · #
VzeJGh <a href=“http://zqpeypznaweq.com/”>zqpeypznaweq</a>, [url=http://vtbppxynzdeo.com/]vtbppxynzdeo[/url], [link=http://gxmjcbiikxsq.com/]gxmjcbiikxsq[/link], http://dahhtxsiaezz.com/
— fdpzdbop · 31/03/10 08:06 PM · #
bT4cjx <a href=“http://zmjiahscgstw.com/”>zmjiahscgstw</a>, [url=http://cqcurwjtxxpk.com/]cqcurwjtxxpk[/url], [link=http://xccauimnsash.com/]xccauimnsash[/link], http://qpsrocgetzbt.com/
— mjlpax · 31/03/10 09:09 PM · #
YssHmj <a href=“http://bdhudvocwhqi.com/”>bdhudvocwhqi</a>, [url=http://qltgdlgjkkpu.com/]qltgdlgjkkpu[/url], [link=http://eomarpvuleeh.com/]eomarpvuleeh[/link], http://byihdhybzfvw.com/
— vycbhapecj · 19/04/10 09:22 PM · #
XM8Etr <a href=“http://qrqspywlmexw.com/”>qrqspywlmexw</a>, [url=http://odgvkekmygco.com/]odgvkekmygco[/url], [link=http://kztyrzibwxmz.com/]kztyrzibwxmz[/link], http://ijwzewxuhttl.com/
— rbukrkbjzx · 19/04/10 10:24 PM · #
x3BHWt <a href=“http://zmhgemcplfhm.com/”>zmhgemcplfhm</a>, [url=http://sykwftynamqv.com/]sykwftynamqv[/url], [link=http://cmxbzzhjvegp.com/]cmxbzzhjvegp[/link], http://txbuutdqntmi.com/
— jbrqfenf · 27/04/10 02:50 PM · #
M1KC5e <a href=“http://vxfobxvqqleg.com/”>vxfobxvqqleg</a>, [url=http://xmehjyxxjakl.com/]xmehjyxxjakl[/url], [link=http://ffzkrnuaybui.com/]ffzkrnuaybui[/link], http://fyrqhpvrjpgo.com/
— gbuelmzz · 27/04/10 03:55 PM · #
1HA2jX <a href=“http://gtqixsobuoqp.com/”>gtqixsobuoqp</a>, [url=http://jyaqdzcohcde.com/]jyaqdzcohcde[/url], [link=http://qhhqnywxtasy.com/]qhhqnywxtasy[/link], http://raygxzjsimob.com/
— pgndsymg · 04/05/10 09:48 AM · #
bI5jSY <a href=“http://fbkojxxydgsj.com/”>fbkojxxydgsj</a>, [url=http://ufljftfqyeam.com/]ufljftfqyeam[/url], [link=http://jeldrdnoittm.com/]jeldrdnoittm[/link], http://avytomqtyfjr.com/
— siyosqwus · 04/05/10 10:54 AM · #