Here’s a quick look at the bright and shiny new releases this week at The Record Exchange:

CD

John Mayer – Paradise Valley

The Lumineers – The Lumineers Deluxe Edition

Tedeschi Trucks Band – Made Up Mind

Blue October – Sway

No Age – An Object

Earl Sweatshirt – Doris

Typhoon – White Lighter

Ricky Scaggs and Bruce Hornsby – Cluck Ol Hen

Superchunk – I Hate Music

Julianna Barwick – Nepenthe

Laura Veirs – Warp and Weft

Fleetwood Mac – Then Play On

Zola Jesus and JG Thirlwell feat. Mivos Quartet – Versions

White Lies – Big TV

Watain – Wild Hunt

Born of Osiris – Tomorrow We Die Alive

Blessthefall – Hollow Bodies

Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue Acoustic

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – The Jimi Hendrix Experience (deluxe box set)

Mark Kozelek and Desertshore – Mark Kozelek and Desertshore

Charlie Worsham – Rubberband

Fleshgod Apocalypse – Labyrinth

Propagandhi – How to Clean Everything (reissue)

Sarah Vaughan – Sophisticated Lady: The Duke Ellington Songbook Collection

Fit for Rivals – Steady Damage

Julia Holter – Loud City Song

Ty Segall – Sleeper

Various Artists – The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Soundtrack

Various Artists – One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das Soundtrack

TGT – Three Kings

Soil – Whole

Shigeto – No Better Time Than Now

Richard Pryor – The Warner Bros. Albums (1974-1983)

Saint Vitus – C.O.D.

Saint Vitus – Die Healing

Underoath – Act of Depression

Underoath – Cries of the Past

Tosca – Tlapa: The Odeon Remixes

Tisziji Munoz and John Medeski – Beauty As Ugly

Tisziji Munoz and John Medeski – Ugly As Ugliest

Andrew Belle – Black Bear

Willie Sugarcapps – Willie Sugarcapps

Between the Buried and Me – Snapshot

Trapt – Snapshot

JJ Doom – Keys to the Kuffs Butter Edition

Tim Easton – Not Cool

Lee Dewyze – Frames (deluxe edition also available)

Crosby, Stills and Nash – Box Set

Dio – Snapshot

Willy Mason – Carry On

Buffalo Killers – Ohio Grass

John Coltrane – Afro Blue Impression

Big E – A Salute to Steel Guitar

Asap Ferg – Trap Lord

August Alsina – Downtown: Life Under the Gun

Charlie Daniels Band – Snapshot

Bob James – Snapshot

Mannheim Steamroller – Snapshot

VINYL

No Age – An Object

Julianna Barwick – Nepenthe

Julia Holter – Loud City Song

Superchunk – I Hate Music

Fleetwood Mac – 1969-1972

Their/They’re/There – Their/They’re/There

Zola Jesus and JG Thirlwell feat. Mivos Quartet – Versions

Ty Segall – Sleeper

Telekinesis – Telekinesis

Pelican – Deny the Absolute

Bill Callahan – Expanding Dub/Highs in the Mid-40s Dub

Tosca – Tlapa: The Odeon Mixes

Propagandhi – How to Clean Everything

White Lies – Big TV

Typhoon – White Lighter

Typhoon – Hunger and Thirst

Typhoon – A New Kind of House

Robert Randolph – Lickety Split

Barenaked Ladies – Grinning Streak

Yes – Yesterdays

Saint Vitus – C.O.D.

Saint Vitus – Die Healing

The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate

The Black Dahlia Murder – Unhallowed

Soil – Whole

Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue Acoustic

Neneh Cherry and The Thing – Cherry Thing

Todd Rundgren – The Hermit of Mink Hollow

Amorphis – Privilege of Evil

Scorched Earth Policy – Going Thru’ a Hole in the Back of Your Head

DVD/BLU-RAY

Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin – Invitation to Illumination: Live at Montreux 2011 DVD and Blu-ray

Captain Beefheart – The Lost Tapes: 1966-1970 DVD

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PREVIEW/BUY THE CD HERE
PREVIEW/BUY THE VINYL HERE

Ever since his 2009 EP Life of Leisure, Washed Out’s Ernest Greene has been shrouding listeners in dreamy, reverb-drenched soundscapes that straddle the line between throwback new wave and forward-thinking electronica. Greene’s music has been known to swell and roll through an ocean of soothing samples, digital beats, hook-minded arrangements and slow-motion synths. It’s this methodology that has made Washed Out such an accessible and standout act. So when Greene capitalized on his strengths for 2011’s breakthrough LP Within and Without, it proved that the godfather of “chillwave” wasn’t just starting a trend but was building a foundation of something bigger and better. It was more than art; it was design.

Now Washed Out is back with a brand-new offering, Paracosm, which finds Greene dispensing another dose of sun-soaked synths, ambient hooks, digital beats and reverbed melodies that cling to you like smoke. However, while sticking to some tried and true practices, the album isn’t necessarily business as usual. Rather, Greene has taken his formula a step further on Paracosm, thanks to an expanded armory of instruments. Among the swath of computerized layers and MIDI-laden textures, he’s added live drums, guitars and bass to the record, as well a swarm of old-school keyboards (the Mellotron, Chamberlin, Novatron and Optigan)—all the while keeping the usual Washed Out tropes intact.

The expanded repertoire of instruments certainly adds something to the songs on Paracosm. The album feels warmer, more organic, less processed and, as a result, more sophisticated. The result is nothing less than a catchy feel-good summer album that’s crafted with plenty of attention, care and know-how. — Paste

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