1. MGMT, MGMT
2. From Here to Now to You, Jack Johnson
3. Dream River, Bill Callahan
4. Can’t Talk Medicine, Pickwick
5. Perigaea Antahkarana, Wolvserpent
6. The Bones of What You Believe, Chvrches
7. AM, Arctic Monkeys
8. Country Music Dead, New Transit
9. Repave, Volcano Choir
10. Hail to the King, Avenged Sevenfold
11. Heavy Metal Music, Newsted
12. Fight for My Soul, Jonny Lang
13. Long Night Moon, Reckless Kelly
14. Battle Maximus, GWAR
15. The Worse Things Get, Neko Case
16. The Riverman’s Daughter, The Grahams
17. Hesitation Marks, Nine Inch Nails
18. Nepenthe, Julianna Barwick
19. Depend Yourself, Sebadoh
20. The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait, Bob Dylan
NEW DVD/BLU-RAY: PETER GABRIEL LIVE
PREVIEW/BUY THE DVD HERE
PREVIEW/BUY THE BLU-RAY HERE
Peter Gabriel: Live In Athens 1987 is a fantastic package containing both the Live In Athens live show complete with Youssou N’Dour’s opening set for the first time and also the Play DVD featuring 23 original promotional videos. Both discs are packed with Peter Gabriel classics, including “Sledgehammer”, “Games Without Frontiers”, “Biko”, “Shock The Monkey”, “Don’t Give Up”, “Solsbury Hill”, “In Your Eyes”, “Mercy Street” and many more.
In October 1987 after many months on the road, it was in the elevated surroundings of the hillside open-air theatre at Lycabettus overlooking Athens, that the So tour came to a climactic close. Filmed over three nights, this was the first time Peter Gabriel set out to capture a full concert on film and who better to do so than renowned cinematographer and director Michael Chapman and executive producer Martin Scorsese. As a concert film, it was brilliantly shot and has now been equally brilliantly remastered, a crystal-clear record of Gabriel and band in their mid-80s pomp.
Live In Athens 1987 places the viewer right in the heart of the action all the way, from the band’s synchronized choreography on opening number “This Is The Picture,” right through to the skin-pricking closer “Biko.” In between, we’re lost in music, spellbound by the spectacle, totally absorbed by the imperfection-free tightness of a band that’s been on the road for so long.
THE VINYL WORD: MGMT'S 'MIND-ALTERING' THIRD RECORD 'MGMT'
PREVIEW/BUY THE VINYL HERE
Pity the band stuck in the last-chance saloon. Once you’ve squandered your success and your corporate paymasters are worried about the running costs of their shareholders’ yachts, you’re going to get reined in. So pity MGMT. After 2010’s Congratulations – a bitter, courgette-flavoured lozenge compared to the candyfloss pop of debut album Oracular Spectacular in 2007 – their self-titled third album surely sees the band coerced into that purgatory, forced to whip up more ironic electro anthems under the threat of losing their deal…
The hell it does. Despite their decimated fanbase, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser have refused to back down from their ongoing musical odyssey. MGMT is something else entirely. It’s a dark, difficult album – perhaps the weirdest that a major label has released in years – that shares the electronic soundbed of Oracular, but little else. Throughout, the drums are distorted and glitchy, and synths drift woozily by, having more in common with Boards Of Canada’s acid mysticism than the glittering, glammy riffs of MGMT’s debut.
So the tie-dye T-shirts and proggy twists and turns may have gone, but this is undoubtedly the most mind-altering, psychedelic music MGMT have yet made. In a world where bands exist merely to bag the next phone ad soundtrack, the guts and wild abandon of the pair’s singular, foolhardy vision is rare indeed. In fact, as if it wasn’t clear enough already, MGMT aren’t here to please you, or their label – and if you think they owe you another ‘Kids’, you’re as misguided as the grannies who lost interest when The Beatles got into those jazz cigarettes and went a bit funny. — NME
ANATHEMA IN-STORE SEPTEMBER 26; BUY THEIR NEW CD, GET A FREE TICKET TO THEIR KNITTING FACTORY SHOW!
Anathema will perform live at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Downtown Boise) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. The band is playing the Knitting Factory later that evening and we have tickets for sale here at the store! As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages!
Be one of the first 25 people to buy their new album Universal (available Tuesday, Sept. 24) and we’ll give you a free ticket to the Knit show!
ABOUT ANATHEMA
Anathema have been at the forefront of the UK rock/metal movement for many years. They began their journey as pioneers of melodic heavy music, influencing a myriad of bands to follow them, before outgrowing all genres and limitations as they fearlessly explored new territory and new ways to express feeling through sound.
Formed in Liverpool in 1990, the band’s sound and musical vision have continually evolved over the ensuing years while always remaining true to their original goal of creating forward thinking, meaningful, passionate and honest music.
The line-up is really a collective of two families who were quite simply born to do it. Anathema consists of brothers Vincent and Daniel, alongside childhood friends John Douglas and his sister Lee, who is an incredible singer in her own right. Live they are joined by the third Cavanagh brother, Jamie and Daniel Cardosa.
There is a deeper bond in the group that transcends usual band politics, ego, and self-interest. They have a shared vision: to make the most incredible music they possibly can, and it seems, despite the lavish praise heaped on the band for their past work, that they are now taking their work to a whole new level.
The band’s first four albums, Serenades (1993), The Silent Enigma (1995), Eternity (1996) and Alternative 4 (1998), were released on Peaceville Records. Following these four albums the band moved to the now defunct Music For Nations where they released a further three albums, Judgement (1999), A Fine Day To Exit (2001) and A Natural Disaster (2003), which was hailed as ‘darned near essential’ by Metal Hammer.
With each release, they moved beyond the boundaries of limited scenes and pigeon holes, creating a complex and emotive atmospheric sound.
In August 2008, the band released Hindsight, a semi-acoustic album featuring old and new favourites from the band’s career, with new arrangements utilizing acoustic, electrical and orchestral instruments. The album was released on Kscope, a sister label of Peaceville.
This proved the start of a successful partnership with Kscope, which continued with 2010 studio album We’re Here Because We’re Here, which was awarded Classic Rock’s Prog Album of the Year as well as a host of other accolades. The producer of WHBWH, Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), has described it as “definitely among the best albums I’ve ever had the pleasure to work on.”
In late 2011, Kscope also released the Falling Deeper album, which continued where Hindsight left off, featuring brand new arrangements of songs and haunting melodies from the band’s earliest days as pioneers and co-creators of an entire genre of heavy music.
This was followed in April 2012 with Weather Systems, the band’s new studio album. Weather Systems was equally well received as its predecessor, receiving rave reviews around the world and charting across Europe.
It debuted at #14 in the German top 40 chart and it also reached the top 20 of the national charts in Poland (#9), Holland (#18), Finland (#15) and the top 40 in Norway (#29) and France (#31). In the UK it reached number #10 in the indie chart and #50 in the national chart. The album once again took the #1 place in the Prog magazine Critics Choice awards and Anathema were voted number one in the band of the year category in the readers’ poll.
The band also won the award for best live event at the inaugural Progressive awards, rightly recognizing the band’s incredible live experience. Honed over years of performing together, the band now display a rare understanding and confidence, which wowed fans across the world during the lengthy world tour that followed the release of Weather Systems.
The European part of this tour opened with a special one-off gig at the ancient Roman theatre of Philippopolis with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra. This special evening was filmed by the respected director Lasse Hoile and a concert film and live CD of the evening, titled Universal, will be released Sept. 24.
INVSN'S ENGLISH DEBUT OUT SEPT. 24!
Swedish post-punk group INVSN will release its English debut INVSN on Tuesday, Sept. 24, and The Record Exchange will have the album on CD and vinyl!
INVSN has released music in Sweden, and this album marks their U.S. (English language) debut. Dennis Lyxzén did a world tour with The Bloody Beetroots in 2011 and with the Refused in 2012. INVSN will be hitting the road with Minus the Bear in October.
Listen to “The Promise” HERE.