It’s First Thursday Feb. 7, and we have all kinds of sexy savings throughout the store, including:
• Buy 2 get 1 free used CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray and vinyl!
• Buy 2 get 1 free T-shirts in The Record Exchange Gift Shop!
• Buy 2 get 1 free coffee and espresso drinks!
PREVIEW/BUY THE CD HERE
PREVIEW/BUY THE VINYL HERE
With Regions, the central Jim James fingerprint is his voice. It permeates every track on the record, and it’s just as angelic and powerful as ever. However, sonically speaking, the album draws more from the down-tempo grooves of James’ oeuvre rather than the bombastic stadium rock often associated with his work with My Morning Jacket. Think more Monsters of Folk’s “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F)” than MMJ’s “One Big Holiday,” closer to the ethereal instrumental break in “Off the Record” than the driving guitar riff.
The album also features a somewhat science fiction-inspired theme both in terms of sound and lyrical content. This isn’t really much of a surprise since James hasn’t been shy about his intentions for the record. “I wanted the album to sound like it came from a different place in time,” he said. “Perhaps sounding as if it were the past of the future, if that makes any sense—like a hazy dream that a fully-realized android or humanoid capable of thought might have when it reminisces about the good old days of just being a simple robot.”
Other themes like religion, destiny and the pursuit of happiness find their way onto the record as well, presumably through the influence of Lynd Ward’s 1929 novel-in-woodcuts “Gods’ Man,” of which James is an outspoken fan. This early incarnation of the modern-day graphic novel tells the story of a young artist who engages in a Faustian bargain with Death, exchanging his life for a magic paintbrush enabling him to embrace the skill and success of the masters who came before him. Of course, money and fame aren’t all they’re cracked up to be as the artist learns the hard way before finding true happiness in love and family just in time for Death to show up and collect on their agreement.
Bits and pieces of this narrative are sprinkled throughout the album’s tracks, which flow often seamlessly into one another. It seems like James’ full-length solo debut might even have a vague story of its own. However, as easy as the record is to listen to, discerning a complete tale from the songs proves to be much more challenging, but in the most fun way possible. The album definitely tempts the listener to journey down a rabbit hole, but the trip isn’t required to enjoy it.
Either way, Regions of Light and Sound of God marks a promising first entry in a solo career we’ve been waiting on. It’s a bold direction that’s not always easy to pursue successfully in the world of music, but Jim James is sure off to a good start. — Paste
Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, R.E.M., Big Star) will perform live at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Downtown Boise) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5. As always, this Record Exchange in-store performance is free and all ages. Stringfellow is performing at Neurolux later that evening as part of Radio Boise Tuesdays and we have tickets for sale at the store! RSVP HERE.
ABOUT KEN STRINGFELLOW
Ken Stringfellow – musician, songwriter, producer, arranger – has been part of the indie landscape since the debut of his acclaimed band The Posies in 1988. Hailing from the musical hotbed of Seattle at the time when that music scene exploded into national prominence, The Posies went on to sign with Geffen Records and released brilliant, successful albums such as 1993’s legendary Frosting on the Beater. The band is still active today, having released their seventh album Blood/Candy in 2010 … an album heaped with critical praise in the U.K. press: The Word magazine devoted two pages to a review, which called it “a finely calibrated … dazzling tapestry … just stupidly good.”
In addition to his groundbreaking work with the Posies, Ken was part of rock legends Big Star, one of the most acclaimed and legendary groups of all time, from 1993 until the death of Alex Chilton in 2010. Ken played bass, sang and helped create the band’s 2005 album In Space, their first since 1978’s timeless Third/Sister Lovers. He’s still frequently called upon to perform, speak about and celebrate the music of one of the cornerstones of indie rock.
Ken also spent ten years on the road and in studio with R.E.M., appearing on two albums (2001’s Reveal and 2004’s Around the Sun) and propelling the band on keyboards, bass, guitar and accordion during headlining slots at Glastonbury, Rock In Rio, Rock Am Ring, etc., as well as on TV shows such as Top of the Pops, Saturday Night Live, Later With Jools Holland and countless others.
The list of collaborations goes on: guitarist in punk legends Lagwagon; producer/engineer on albums for Damien Jurado, the Long Winters, China’s Hanggai and dozens more; onstage and on-album appearances with Snow Patrol (keyboards on their landmark Eyes Open album), Neil Young, Patti Smith, Mudhoney, Death Cab For Cutie … to list all his work over the years would add up to hundreds of albums and thousands of live appearances.
Then there’s his solo work. A scant four albums over the last two decades (1997’s This Sounds Like Goodbye, 2001’s Touched, 2004’s Soft Commands and 2012’s Danzig in the Moonlight), all garnering high praise in Pitchfork, Mojo, NME and other incontrovertible indie rock media. The albums mix Ken’s deeply expressed, emotional singing with delicate support: acoustic, electric, electronic, chamber — Stringfellow is adept at many styles. His shows are legendary, pushing minimalism to its core definition, often performing without using the house P.A,. Ken’s voice soars, cries, leaps from barely audible to room-filling anguish, joy, sorrow and humor. Ken’s live show has been raved about in packed audiences from Lithuania to Lima, from Taipei to Tasmania, from Johannesburg to Trinidad.
1. Get Up!, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite
2. Hummingbird, Local Natives
3. Heartthrob, Tegan & Sara
4. Time Bomb, Iration
5. Oddfellows, Tomahawk
6. Babel, Mumford & Sons
7. The Lumineers, The Lumineers
8. Night Visions, Imagine Dragons
9. We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic, Foxygen
10. La Costa Perdida, Camper Van Beethoven
11. Anything in Return, Toro Y Moi
12. The Divinity of Purpose, Hatebreed
13. Adam Green and Binki Shapiro, Adam Green and Binki Shapiro
14. The Heist, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
15. Searching for Sugar Man, Rodriguez
16. The Glorious Dead, The Heavy
17. Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons
18. True North, Bad Religion
19. Give Me All You Got, Carrie Rodriguez
20. Rumours (Expanded Edition), Fleetwood Mac
This winter has gone from woeful to just plain whoa, and even though we’re thawing out a bit, the dust is far from settled. So we’re here to warm you up with The Record Exchange Winter Whoa! Sale.
For the next few weeks, we’re offering four-day 20% savings in select categories, starting with 20% off all new and used vinyl (including clearance) Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 31-Feb. 3.
WINTER WHOA! SALE SCHEDULE:
Jan. 31-Feb. 3: 20% off all new and used vinyl (including clearance)
Feb. 7-10: 20% off new and used CDs (excluding sale and clearance)
Feb. 14-17: 20% off new and used DVDs (excluding sale and clearance)