The Best New Album Releases for the first two weeks of February 2015 include new material from artists old and new, from folk and rock to pop and psych. The latest releases for this past week are reviewed and available below, followed by the first week of releases (Feb. 3-9) for the month, which include new singles and albums from Ólafur Arnalds, The Church, John Carpenter, Two Gallants, Dylan and many others.
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Father John Misty, The Districts, The Do, Thurston Moore, Peace
Father John Misty has ordained the single, “Chateau Lobby #4,” from the well-received new album, I Love You, Honeybear, as the album’s first single. Next, one of the best new rock singles of 2015 is The District‘s track, “Peaches,” from their new album, A Flourish and a Spoil. Raucous guitar riffs and spatial percussions dominate the new title track from Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and John Moloney‘s new album, Full Bleed. Plus, listen to lead tracks from new LPs by The Do, Peace, Rone and Crushed Beaks.
If you missed any of the recent blockbuster DIY and indie posts and playlists, check out Best New Releases for January, the blockbuster Best New DIY Releases of 2015 and the on-going series featuring the Top DIY Songs and Albums of 2014.
“Chateau Lobby #4” – Father John Misty from I Love You, Honeybear on Sub Pop
“Peaches”– The Districts from A Flourish and a Spoil on Fat Possum
“Full Bleed” – Thurston Moore and John Moloney from Full Bleed on Northern Spy Records
Trustful Hands” – The Dø from Shake Shook Shaken on Get Down!
“World Pleasure” – Peace from Happy People (Deluxe Edition) on Columbia
“OUIJA” – Rone from Creatures on InFiné
“Overgrown” – Crushed Beaks from Scatter on Matilda Records/Moshi Moshi Records
Swedish artist Magnus Larsson, aka Pet Politics, released a compilation, titled simply, 2005-2008, of his solo music released on different labels during those years. The single we chose from the compilation is “The Ghost Mary and Her Friends.” The DIY band, Max and The Moon, self-released a new EP, MATM, featuring the single, “Modern Love.” You can purchase albums via Amazon by clicking the album title.
“The Ghost Mary and Her Friends” – Pet Politics from 2005-2008 on Novoton Records
Bonus: Taken Away By Aliens – Pet Politics from 2005-2008 on Novoton Records
“Modern Love” – Max and The Moon from MATM EP (self-released)
Top Releases for Feb. 3rd – 9th: Olafur Arnalds, Two Gallants, Title Fight, Dylan
The prolific multi-instrumentalist and Arcade Fire collaborator, Olafur Arnalds‘ score for the soundtrack of Broadchurch: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is out now, featuring the track, “Beth’s Theme.” Filmmaker John Carpenter releases his first non-soundtrack album, with the dark, cinematic orchestrations and pending doom rhythms. San Francisco duo Two Gallants dropped another roots blues rock and folk album We Are Undone, followed by Pennsylvania’s Title Fight and the new track – “Chlorine” – from the band’s decidedly more shoegaze-oriented album, Hyperview.
Beth’s Theme – Ólafur Arnalds from Broadchurch: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Mercury Classics
“Vortex” – John Carpenter from Lost Themes on Sacred Bones
“We Are Undone” – Two Gallants from We Are Undone on ATO
“Chlorine” – Title Fight from Hyperview on Anti
Bob Dylan, The Aging Master, Drops LP of Sinatra Covers
Even though Bob Dylan would scoff (and always has) at the suggestion that he is a musical genius, at the ripe old age of 73, Dylan (whose birth name was Robert Zimmerman) simply is just that – a musical genius. And yet he hates that. Just last week he said in an interview that if he had to do it all over again, he would have been a school teacher. Hmmm…the world would have surely been different today if he had become a school teacher, and perhaps not have benefited quite as much.
Dylan is a historic figure who not only had tremendous impact on music, but also the world. He has been a powerful, yet modest, warrior against the forces of evil in the world. Millions of people took his words in the 60’s and turned them into positive change across the globe – from the equal right movement to protests against war and violence. Now, Dylan, always evolving, has recorded an album of Frank Sinatra songs – and it’s, of course, brilliant.
“Stay With Me” – Bob Dylan from Shadows in the Night (No. 6 on Amazon) on Columbia
Singles from New LPs by The Church, Butch Walker, All We Are and Michna
Next up is the dreamy psych pop of “Pride Before A Fall” from The Church‘s 21st! album, Further/Deeper, a release that is a textured mix of majestic power pop and psych rock, atmospheric guitars. Butch Walker doesn’t fade away; he keeps coming back every year with more solid music. Such is the case with his newest LP, Afraid of Ghosts, featuring the mysteriously ominous, yet gorgeous, single, “Bed of Fire.” Plus, listen to singles from new albums by All We Are and Michna, Breakfast in Fur and The Staves, and a split single from Kind of Like Spitting and Warren Franklin & the Founding Fathers.
“Pride Before A Fall” – The Church from Further/Deeper on Unorthodox
“Bed of Fire” – Butch Walker from Afraid of Ghosts on Dangerbird Records
“Stone” – All We Are from All We Are on Domino/Double Six
“Portrait” – Breakfast in Fur from Flyaway Garden on Bar/None Records
“She Exists In My Mind” – Michna from Thousand Thursday on Ghostly International
“Stress Cadet” – Kind of Like Spitting/Warren Franklin & the Founding Fathers from It’s Always Nice to See You on Top Shelf Records
“Steady” – The Staves from If I Was on Atlantic
All the albums featured in this post are available for fast checkout on Amazon simply by clicking the album title.