PlayARt - Bring Albums to Life

"In January 2019 I found myself stuck in a Chicago hotel room during the “Polar Vortex”. I was performing there with my duo Radnor & Lee over a few nights when temperatures dropped, leaving me unable to do much outside my hotel room for 4 days.

Chicago is a city that holds a special history for me, and I found myself spending a good chunk of time staring out my hotel window, reflecting on my first trip there in 1993 to record my debut solo album  Grandpaw Would at Idful Studios with Brad Wood. But more than the details of that trip, I was struck by how vividly memories started flooding back tome of being a 15 year old mega fan of music, and in particular, indie rock. I LIVED for the records that I loved and the bands who made them. I’m not sure you are ever a fan of bands the way you can be as a teenager. It’s pretty sacred.

I started re-listening to some of my favorite songs from that period in that hotel room, by the Beat Happening, Pavement, Fugazi, The Breeders, Guided by Voices. It struck me as crazy that these songs and the feelings that accompanied them were now over 25 years old. It started seeming odd to me that for some reason, indie rock hasn’t been canonized the same way ‘60s and ‘70s rock has. After all, Dinosaur Jr were my Led Zeppelin, Sonic Youth were my Grateful Dead and Built to Spill were my Steve Miller Band. These were my classics!

I always travel with my portable studio gear, and I immediately sat down and started learning and recording a collection of my favorite songs. I spent my 4 days of the 2019 Polar Vortex creating the blueprint for what would becomeQuarter Century Classix. When I got home to LA, I invited my friends Julianna Barwick, William Tyler and Mary Lattimore to my home studio to add their magic to my recordings as I knew they grew up in reverence of the same records I did. These three genius musicians became the “band” who you can hear framing these covers and I am eternally grateful for their talent and generosity. Later, Maria Taylor, Mike Watt, Petra Haden and Joey Waronker all showed up to play too.

To some people these songs are just footnotes in pop culture history. But to me, they are the essence my own personal history. I wanted to make this record a tribute to these bands, to these songs, and to the irreversible way music can touch and transform the life of a young person. I hope you enjoy

Quarter Century Classix. - Ben Lee

JD McPherson presents A Christmas Album, SOCKS. Featuring 11 original tracks written by JD McPherson and his friends. SOCKS is an album of Holidays songs sure to be standards while you are decorating the tree. Come get warm by the fire with songs such as , "All The Gifts I Need" and "Every Single Christmas." Or, burn the cookies to "SOCKS" and "Ugly Christmas Sweater." There is something for everyone on this record to enjoy whether you are in the Christmas spirit or if you just wanna say, "Bah Humbug".

uknowhatimsayin¿ marks a buoyant new chapter in Danny's career, a transitional and celebratory moment. His profile has grown since Atrocity and now armed with a cable TV show and a co-sign from one of rap's icons, we will look to solidify his positioning as a ubiquitous entertainer, independent rap hero, and one of the essential cultural voices of this era, while still retaining the edgy, maverick style that makes him a fan-favorite. The album is executive produced by Q-Tip, and features production by Q-Tip, JPEGMAFIA, Flying Lotus, Paul White, Standing on the Corner and more. 

Pluralone (pronounced "plural one") is the new project from multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Josh Klinghoffer. While Klinghoffer is best known for his current role as guitarist in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he has played and recorded with a variety of acts, including PJ Harvey, Beck, and Gnarls Barkley, as well as fronting the group Dot Hacker. Pluralone's debut album, To Be One With You, is largely a solo effort on Klinghoffer's part, although it features performances by frequent collaborators such as Flea (RHCP), Jack Irons, Eric Avery (Jane's Addiction), and fellow Dot Hacker members, Eric Gardner and Clint Walsh. On the heels of a seven inch release with two foreign language covers, the new album showcases ten brand new, original tracks which will be available on LP, CD, and digital formats.

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Allman Brothers debut album, New West Records is proud to present, Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band. This record is a true collection of big band jazz interpretations of Allman Brothers classics. The record features guest vocals by Marc Broussard and Ruthie Foster. Big Band of Brothers also features Jack Pearson on guitar, who has performed as a guest of the Allman Brothers Band on numerous occasions, and actually joined as a member of the band in 1997. Together with Dickey Betts, he completed the band's archetypal guitar duo for nearly 3 years. Wycliffe Gordon (of Jazz at Lincoln Center fame) is also featured as a soloist. Gordon is consistently ranked among leading trombone players in the Downbeat critics poll.

William Hooker has been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, leading a variety of ensembles within the worlds of free jazz, experimental, and new music. Hooker’s prior collaborators range from avant garde jazz musicians to indie rock legends like Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. On his latest work, “Symphonie of Flowers”, Hooker weaves three sections into a whole, or a “symphonie” of sorts. As he says, “the piece begins and ends with the drum…my instrument. Its rhythm and variations of timbre are the stabilizing element.”

Imagine the mind’s farthest wanderings made physical, formed into worlds that represent our internal and external expressions. Mythologically speaking, people have been naming this duality for ages: utopia and dystopia, heaven and earth, Olympus and the underworld. Now imagine this concept distilled in an eleven track, thirty-six minute album, and you arrive at Arcadia, the latest offering by songstress Lily Kershaw. Weaving warmer analog sounds like organ, harpsichord and guitar with cinematic force, Arcadia is Kershaw’s most intimate release to date. But the strongest tool Kershaw wields is her voice, both in the simmering ferocity it carries and the poetry it speaks. Though the concept behind the record is epic to say the least, Kershaw is ultimately telling a story of acceptance, both of herself and the great mystery that is the universe

Maryland-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Nau is back with a fourth “solo” album, on the heels of his 2018 release, Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread. Nau, who previously fronted projects like Page France and Cotton Jones, is known for his unique blend of psychedelic folk, R&B, and indie rock music. On his latest effort, Less Ready To Go, Nau enlisted Scott McMicken (Dr. Dog) as a producer, along with collaborators Whitney McGraw, Andrew Dost (fun.), Zach Miller (Dr. Dog), Benny Yurco, and Seth Kauffman.

The Gathering Dawn is the debut solo album from Hollie Kenniff. The album, which is her first ambient proclamation, displays a sprawling looseness in sharp contrast to her works as one half of Mint Julep with husband Keith Kenniff (Helios, Goldmund). The Gathering Dawn wistfully utilizes glacial synths, blurred out guitars and Hollie's melancholic vocal plumes as a basis. The album finds Hollie effortlessly folding classic ambient motifs in with a minimal modernist brushstrokes.

The Raconteurs – Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence, and Patrick Keeler – have announced the release of their long-awaited new album, HELP US STRANGER, which is the GRAMMY® Award-winning rock band’s third studio LP and first new album in more than a decade. Out on Friday, June 21, HELP US STRANGER sees the mighty combo reassembled, stronger and perhaps even more vital than ever before as they continue to push rock 'n' roll forward into its future, bonding prodigious riffs, blues power, sinewy psychedelia, Detroit funk, and Nashville soul via Benson and White’s uncompromising songcraft and the band’s steadfast musical muscle. With HELP US STRANGER, The Raconteurs have returned right when they are needed most, unified and invigorated with boundless ambition, infinite energy and a collectivist spirit operating at the peak of its considerable powers, once again creating a sound and fury only possible when all four of its members come together.

Composed and assembled over the course of several years, Jaime is a highly personal album release combining Brittany’s unmistakable voice with peerless, visionary and fearless songwriting. Brittany has constructed an assemblage of songs which bend the framework of what we know from her previous work with Alabama Shakes and endeavors with Thunderbitch and Bermuda Triangle, music which wholly sits in a new terrain of sound bolstered by an incredible band of musicians including Zac Cockrell of the Shakes, drummer Nate Smith and the one and only Robert Glasper.

Black Pumas has announced their highly anticipated debut album set for release on June 21. The band is led by the creative partnership between Grammy Award-winning guitarist / producer Adrian Quesada and 27-year-old songwriter Eric Burton. Burton is a relative newcomer who arrived in Austin in 2015 after busking his way across the country from Los Angeles, while Quesada has a storied reputation for playing in bands like Grupo Fantasma and Brownout. 

After the two connected via friends in the Austin scene, they began to collaborate on a new sound that transmutes soul into something idiosyncratically modern. Reminiscent of Ghostface Killah and Motown in equal measure, this original sound ensured that Black Pumas’ weekly residency at C-Boys quickly became “the hottest party in town” (Austin-American Statesman). 

Sweden’s Opeth are preparing to release their most important record to date with “In Cauda Venenum”. Certainly, fans and critics will have their opinion, but few records in the Swedes’ oeuvre are as engaging, delicate, panoramic, intense, and musical as Opeth’s lucky thirteenth. Sporting a clever Travis Smith cover—replete with inside jokes and a nod to King Diamond—a masterful Park Studios (The Hellacopters, Graveyard) production, Opeth’s usual five-star musicianship, and lyrics entirely in Swedish, “In Cauda Venenum” raises the bar markedly. While a record in Swedish is a first—there’s also an English version—for frontman and founding member Mikael Åkerfeldt, the 10 songs on offer feel and sound completely natural. As if years of listening to and being a fan of Swedish rock and hard rock has paid off. In a way, Opeth have come home. But the Swedish lyrics of the primary edition of “In Cauda Venenum” shouldn’t distract from the quality presented in Opeth’s new songs, the lot of which sneak up and take control after repeated listens. “In Cauda Venenum” is like that, tricky in its complicated simplicity, resourceful in its ability to charm with delightful if wistful melodies. Really, it’s just Opeth being Opeth.

FITTED is a new project from Wire members Graham Lewis and Matthew Simms, with Mike Watt (Minutemen, Stooges, fIREHOSE) and drummer Bob Lee (Fearless Leader, The Freeks). The group first convened after just one practice to perform at Wire’s DRILL festival in 2017 at The Echo in Los Angeles. On their debut album, First Fits, the freewheelin' pysch-pop powerhouse plows through six numbers over the course of 38 minutes, with Lewis and Watt trading lead vocal duties. The album will be available on LP, CD, and digital formats beginning November 8th.

The vinyl release features a deluxe package with a gatefold jacket and lyric insert.

Over their career, Cold War Kids have fielded music’s seismic shifts while simultaneously sticking to their own game plan. Over the course of a dozen releases – including seven studio albums, multiple EPs, and a live album on majors and indies alike, non-stop tours and the festival circuit’s biggest stages, massive radio, sales & streaming successes, the band have become a major part of the modern landscape. Their new album New Age Norms 1, with lead single “Complainer” is the next chapter with the approach of taking apart the idea of what the band is and just trying to take the doors off a bit to see where it can go. 

Japanese Wallpaper is Gab Strum, Melbourne-based dream pop producer, songwriter and artist. Gab blends shimmery synths, downtempo beats, and electronic influences with introspective, coming of age song themes to craft his brand of indie pop. Glow is the debut album from Japanese Wallpaper about navigating the simultaneously beautiful and incredibly awkward phase that is one's late teens, growing up and trying to figure out your place in the world. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Ben H. Allen (Walk the Moon, Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley, Kaiser Chiefs, Cut Copy, Washed Out, Neon Indian),

Australian alternative folk duo Hollow Coves' debut album Moments is a collection of warm, introspective songs that reflect the pair's travels across the globe and their deeply felt experiences along the way.

“It's like a coming-of-age crisis,” says Daniel Shultz about Out of the Blue, the messy and melodic debut album from his band, Dan Luke and The Raid. “It’s about being in that space in your 20s where you’re trying to get your shit together and figure things out in life. You’re dealing with your problems”—the singer, songwriter and guitarist pauses—“even as you’re going out and partying and getting into trouble all the time.”

Shultz and his Dan Luke & The Raid band mates know a thing or two about the last part of that equation, as evidenced by the songs and subject matter on Out of the Blue. Throughout the album’s 10 tracks, people are passed out on curbs under neon signs (“Black Cat Heavy Metal”), breaking hearts over rolled-up dollar bills (“Exoskeleton”), leaving baggies lying in passenger seats (“Money Mouth”) and faking smiles and feeling ashamed (“Golden Age”). Legs are bleeding, faces are numb and Shultz declares his band to be the “diamond kings of smut.” All the while, the music throbs and pulses and twitches and buzzes with the energy and enthusiasm and inexperience of youth, bursting with harsh, distorted guitar chords, blown-out synths squiggles and hopped-up rhythms—as well as, on occasion, moments of stunning and sincere melodic beauty.

With the weight and experience of events that have been at times joyful and sad, poignant and puerile, triumphant and tragic, Dan Luke and The Raid continue to carve out their future, one musical moment at a time. “What we want to do is create music, and create music in a way where people feel something,” Shultz says. “And when we see that happening it’s an amazing thing.”

Philadelphia-based punk band, The Menzingers are set to release their sixth studio album, Hello Exile. Produced by Will Yip (Title Fight, Quicksand), the album is the follow-up to the band’s 2017 critically acclaimed release After The Party.

Since forming as teenagers in 2006, The Menzingers have shown their strength as rough-and-tumble storytellers, turning out songs equally rooted in frenetic energy and lifelike detail. On their new album Hello Exile, the band take their lyrical narrative to a whole new level and share their reflections on moments from the past and present: high-school hellraising, troubled relationships, aging and alcohol and political ennui. And while their songs often reveal certain painful truths, Hello Exile ultimately maintains the irre- pressible spirit that’s always defined the band.

The Menzingers are: singer/guitarists Greg Barnett and Tom May, bassist Eric Keen, and drummer Joe Godino.

Beloved singer-songwriter Joshua Radin returns with his new album "Here, Right Now" produced by Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Andrew Bird) proving once again that love and the complications surrounding it to be his songwriting forté.

'A forgotten roll of film was found. Shot before the turn of the century, the photographs resonate with music. The images inspired an accompanying soundtrack. The music is full of stories. The songs and stories originate in two neighboring rural counties. The cast of characters includes four families of Mississippi musicians, three generations deep, and a photographer from Texas.' - Luther Dickinson In 2017, Wyatt McSpadden found an old roll of film and tracked down members of North Mississippi Allstars to share his forgotten photographs. The images were so profound and so beautiful that they would come to inspire the latest recording, Up And Rolling. The images inspired the band to ask, 'What did the music sound like that night in 96? What does Mississippi music sound like now? What would ideally be on the push button AM/FM radio as we drove thru the hills?' The North Mississippi Allstars would return to the famous Zebra Ranch to record Up And Rolling, inspired by Wyatt's images. They gathered together, trimmed back the wisteria, and swept out the converted barn recording studio. The fired up the tube amps and old computers and began conjuring up modern Mississippi music, ancient and futuristic all at once. Telling it how it was and how they think it should be. Up And Rolling is modern Mississippi. Transcending time and space, the music reaches out into the dark of night like the wisteria vine, looking for free hearted souls to latch onto and wedge into the foundation of hate, slowly tearing down walls a generation at a time.