THE VINYL WORD: OWL CITY ‘ALL THINGS BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL’

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Owl City’s new album, All Things Bright and Beautiful, is somewhat mistitled. The tracks are bright, to be sure, but more so in emo-pop, acid-bright tone than in any sense of actual joy. And the beauty here is (arguably) in the repetition of that tone; if you’re a diehard Owl City fan, then you’re going to love this disc.

The 12 tracks here are mostly three to four minutes long, a pretty standard setup on a pretty standard pop album. The one exception is “January 12, 1986”, a 38-second clip of Reagan’s speech after the Challenger disaster, played rather inexplicably in the middle of the album over a quiet track of synth and open-vowel vocals. This probably has some significance for Owl City’s Adam Young (and appears to lead into next track “Galaxies”), but some insight might be helpful. As is, the interlude feels like a distraction (albeit a welcome one). – Consequence of Sound

OTHER NEW VINYL RELEASES:

Candy Golde Candy Golde
Dodos All Night
Elvis Costello Delivery Man
Dear Hunter Color Spectrum
Deftones Adrenaline
Go Sailor Go Sailor
Junior Boys It’s All True
Robert Earl Keen Gravitational Forces
Paul McCartney McCartney
Radiohead Supercollider/The Butcher

RECORD EXCHANGE TOP 20 SELLERS (WEEK ENDING JUNE 12)

1. Loverboy, Brett Dennen
2. Circuital, My Morning Jacket
3. Arabia Mountain, Black Lips
4. Codes and Keys, Death Cab for Cutie
5. Revelator, Tedeschi Trucks Band
6. Ukulele Songs, Eddie Vedder
7. 21, Adele
8. Born This Way, Lady Gaga
9. Suck It and See, Arctic Monkeys
10. Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes
11. Torches, Foster the People
12. Give Till It’s Gone, Ben Harper
13. The Book of Mormon, Original Cast Recording
14. Speed of Darkness, Flogging Molly
15. Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, Beastie Boys
16. It’s a Corporate World, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
17. David Comes to Life, Fucked Up
18. Illud Divinum Insanus, Morbid Angel
19. Gloss Drop, Battles
20. God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise, Ray LaMontagne

THE RECORD EXCHANGE RECOMMENDS: NEIL YOUNG’S ‘A TREASURE’ ON CD & LP

BUY THE CD HERE
BUY THE STANDARD LP HERE
BUY THE 180-GRAM LP HERE

Neil Young‘s highly-anticipated new archival album A Treasure will be available in all formats on June 14, including a deluxe vinyl version!

The 12-track live album includes songs — five of which are previously unreleased — recorded during Young’s 1984 and 1985 U.S. tours without the support of an album or Young’s then record label due to unique and unusual circumstances.

A Treasure features Young’s onstage work with some of the greatest artists in the history of country music, including the late, great Ben Keith on steel and slide guitar and Rufus Thibodeaux on fiddle, along with living legends Spooner Oldham and Hargus “Pig” Robbins on piano, Tim Drummond and Joe Allen on bass, Anthony Crawford on mandolin and guitars and Karl Himmel on drums, among many others. A Treasure is Young’s first release since last year’s Grammy and Juno Award-winning album, Le Noise.

The live album captures this iconic artist during a fascinating time in his career, when he was facing criticism and lawsuits from his then current record company for exploring a more traditionally country sound. “You can call me erratic,” Young said when asked at the time about his tendency toward musical shape-shifting, “but I’ve been consistent about it, consistently erratic.” A Treasure is akin to a sonic time capsule, instantly transporting the listener to the time and place when it was made. “I love this record,” Young says. “I hadn’t heard these takes in 25 years, but when we unearthed them co-producer Ben Keith said, ‘This is a treasure.'”

Part of what makes A Treasure so compelling is the musical contributions of The International Harvesters, with whom Young was playing at the time. Many of them were already paragons within the country music world and their notoriety has only grown in the years since. “I just love to hear those guys,” Young says. “They’re all country music legends.” Those behind the scenes also made significant contributions to A Treasure‘s sonic potency. Tim Mulligan mixed and mastered the tracks. At the time these songs were recorded, Bob Sterne was the tour manager, Tim Foster ran the stage and Larry Cragg was in charge of the band’s instruments.

TRACK LISTING:

*Denotes previously unreleased track
1. *Amber Jean (9/20/84) Nashville Now TV – Nashville, TN
2. Are You Ready For The Country? (9/21/84) Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
3. It Might Have Been (9/25/84) Austin City Limits TV – Austin, Texas
4. Bound For Glory (9/29/84) Gilleys Rodeo Arena – Pasadena, TX
5. *Let Your Fingers Do The Walking (10/22/84) Universal Amphitheater Universal City, CA
6. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong (10/26/84) Greek Theater – Berkeley, CA
7. Motor City (10/26/84) Greek Theater – Berkeley, CA
8. *Soul Of A Woman (10/26/84) Greek Theater – Berkeley, CA
9. Get Back To The Country (10/26/84) Greek Theater – Berkeley, CA
10. Southern Pacific (9/1/85) Minnesota State Fair – St. Paul, MN
11. *Nothing Is Perfect (9/1/85) Minnesota State Fair – St. Paul, MN
12. *Grey Riders (9/10/85) Pier 84 – New York City, NY

WIN AN ARCTIC MONKEYS PRIZE PACK!

Arctic Monkeys‘ new album Suck It and See just hit the streets, and The Record Exchange has a killer prize pack that includes Suck It and See on vinyl, a UK-only white-label single (“Brick By Brick/Don’t Sit Down, ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair”), letterpress print and patch!

To enter to win the prize pack, send an email with the subject “Arctic Monkeys” HERE by midnight Sunday, June 26. The winner will be drawn at random and notified on Monday, June 27. Good luck!

BANG YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE HEADBANGER’S WALL AT THE RX!

Do you like it hard and heavy? Then come to The Record Exchange and visit The Headbanger’s Wall, a listening station devoted to some of today’s best bands pummeling you with raw power and raw emotion.

The Headbanger’s Wall currently features Scar Symmetry, Egypt Central, Hell, In Solitude, Portrait, Tombs, Scale the Summit, Morbid Angel, Vampire’s Everywhere! and Hate Eternal. Come melt your face with us.