An excellent return for the seemingly ageless wonder JOHN CALE, (80 years old at the time of this release), embracing steely post-disco, dark ambience and cloudy, baroque theatricality. "Mercy" features an abundance of collaborators, including WEYES BLOOD, LAUREL HALO, SYLVAN ESSO and ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, and CALE utilizes each's unique artistic touch for a record that is at once varied and unified. On Domino and RECOMMENDED!

John Cale should be familiar to most - former multi-intrumentalist in the Velvet Underground, brilliant and consistent solo output throughout the 70s, and he produced some amazing records with the Stooges, Nico, Patti Smith, Jonathan Richman already hard to define musical styles. Danger Mouse is featured on the opening track "I Wanna Talk 2 U" and his exploration of effects and electronics is also found on tracks like "December Rains" where some auto-tune rears its head. This is not Cale's most cohesive work but, not unlike David Bowie, he is not afraid to experiment with modern innovations and examine his place in contemporary music's broad landscape. ... In case you were curious, "where the climate is cool, and the river is wide..." is where you can find Nookie Wood.

Recorded in 2022 at the actual Royal Albert Hall in London, this set from Chan Marshall recreates DYLAN's 1966 "Royal Albert Hall" show (the original bootleg was mislabeled and instead performed in Manchester), going song-for-song and tapping into the vitality of DYLAN's transitional period. Great stuff!

24th (TWENTY-FOURTH!) record from local lunatics CHEER ACCIDENT, and this one balances electro no wave (a la BLACK DICE) with some more vicious rhythmic exersizes (think FLYING LUTTENBACHERS). Still one of the great artists of Chicago's avant garde for decades!

90s nostalgia continues for Numero with this reissue of the late 90s album "Set You Free" by CHISEL. Featuring Ted Leo, who a few short years later would have great success with Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, CHISEL wrote songs that were a mix of post DC hardcore like JAWBOX, power pop & indie rock of the era like SUPERCHUNK.

90s nostalgia continues for Numero with this reissue of the late 90s album "Set You Free" by CHISEL. Featuring Ted Leo, who a few short years later would have great success with Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, CHISEL wrote songs that were a mix of post DC hardcore like JAWBOX, power pop & indie rock of the era like SUPERCHUNK.

The 1991 experimental dance album by COIL has been given the deluxe treatment by Wax Trax! for its 30th anniversary. The album was made under the influence of A LOT of drugs, a unhealthy amount of sleep deprivation & a few hallucinations. This a manic album with tons of demented samples, "out" techno, APHEX TWIN esque ambient excursions & more. RECOMMENDED!

The 1991 experimental dance album by COIL has been given the deluxe treatment by Wax Trax! for its 30th anniversary. The album was made under the influence of A LOT of drugs, a unhealthy amount of sleep deprivation & a few hallucinations. This a manic album with tons of demented samples, "out" techno, APHEX TWIN esque ambient excursions & more. RECOMMENDED!

REAL ESTATE frontman MARTIN COURTNEY comes thru with his second solo record (and first since 2015), keeping the lightly harmonied breezyness of his band's output but with a touch of country twang to some of these songs. With each passing day, COURTNEY's voice sounds more and more like Ben Gibbard's. Nice stuff!

REAL ESTATE frontman MARTIN COURTNEY comes thru with his second solo record (and first since 2015), keeping the lightly harmonied breezyness of his band's output but with a touch of country twang to some of these songs. With each passing day, COURTNEY's voice sounds more and more like Ben Gibbard's. Nice stuff!

Daft Punk is not what you might call prolific, but what they do make, amazes. 8 years since their last studio LP the French Duo maintains their spot as leaders & heroes in the dance music world. Random Access Memories is an affair of nostalgia, 70s & 80s disco, next to Prog-Pop, & the EDM they're known for. Along for the ride are numerous guests including a godfather of electronic music Giorgio Moroder. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Follow-up to 2007's "Rise Above" and close on the heels of their collaboration with David Byrne for the "Dark Was The Night" compilation, the Dirty Projectors have been rather busy and productive. With Antony-like vocals, this band is nearly unmistakable. With "Bitte Orca's" crisp production and narrative lyrics this album can hold court with the "big cats" of indie rock. Fans of Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavillion," Of Montreal, or the Talking Heads may enjoy this release. On Domino Records.

The third in a series of EPs for the DIRTY PROJECTORS focuses on long time frontman DAVE LONGSTRETH, and the inspiration drawn from legendary bossa nova guitarist JOAO GILBERTO. Ol' DAVEY picks up the nylon string for this one, making lite mood pieces remeniscent of the late GILBERTO's softest pieces. On Domino.

2009's Bitte Orca was a big moment for Dirty Projectors. They broke through to large numbers of listeners and ended up collaborating with the likes of Bjork (see the "Mount Wittenberg Orca" LP). Long time collaborator Angel Deradoorian is absent on this release giving the album a different tone and leaves David Longstreth at the helm of "Swing Lo Magellan." The fruits of twelve months of recording and writing are some of the most cohesive song-writing to date.

The first of three EPs from the shapeshifting indie stalwarts DIRTY PROJECTORS set for 2020. "Windows Open" focuses on the voice and songwriting of Maia Freidman, who's vibrant singing cuts through and balances Dave Longstreth's tangled guitar arrangements. On Domino.