NEW RELEASE for the week of January 15, 2021 PRIORITIES & HIGHLIGHTS >> Pre-Order Now! BLANCK MASS "In Ferneaux" (SACRED SBR267 CD/ LP BLANCK MASS "In Ferneaux (magenta)” (SACRED SBR267LPC1 LP February 26 street date. "In Ferneaux" explores pain in motion, building audio-spatial chambers of experience and memory. Using an archive of field recordings from a decade of global travels, isolation gave Blanck Mass an opportunity to make connections in a moment when being together is impossible. The record is divided into two long-form journeys that gather the memories of being with now-distant others through the composition of a nostalgic travelogue. The journeys are haunted with the vestiges of voices, places, and sensations. These scenes alternate with the building up and releasing of great aural tension, intensities that emerge from the trauma of a personal grieving process which has perhaps embraced its rage moment. With "In Ferneaux", Blanck Mass wrangles the immanent materials of the here-and-now to build a sense of transcendence. Here, the uncanny angelic hymn sits comfortably beside the dirge. The misery and blessing are one. CARCASS "Swansong (digi-FDR audio)” (EARACHE) MOSH160CDFD CD CARCASS "Swansong (FDR audio)" (EARACHE) MOSH160FDR LP January 29 street date. Liverpool's legendary Death Metal pioneers Carcass (who still tour extensively to this day) are often credited with shaping the entire death metal genre, pushing boundaries with their shocking imagery whilst evolving and innovating with each new album. "Swansong" is their sixth album, originally released in 1996. DJ MUGGS THE "Dies Occidendum" (SACRED SBR268 LP/ CD BLACK GOAT DJ MUGGS THE "Dies Occidendum (red (SACRED SBR268LPC1 LP BLACK GOAT vinyl)" March 12 street date. "Dies Occidendum" is a mythical voyage across fog-laden, scorched earth terrain from the original friar of dark hip hop, DJ Muggs The Black Goat. Known and revered as the sonic mastermind behind both Cypress Hill and his own Soul Assassins imprint, here Muggs sheds the MCs and presents his latest dark-soaked productions as an illuminated manuscript of sorts; a fully immersive, instrumental soundtrack to the mysterious "Dies Occidendum". No one wields the Excalibur of sonic darkness quite like Muggs. Combining ingredients of psych rock, gypsy folk with modern elements of trap, forged together under layers of his signature sonic grime, Muggs has created yet another blueprint for the utmost sonic menace and macabre. The Renaissance is upon us. Long live King Muggs. EL MICHELS AFFAIR "Yeti Season" (BIG CROWN) BCR060 LP/ CD EL MICHELS AFFAIR "Yeti Season (clear blue)” (BIG CROWN) BCR060LPC2 LP EL MICHELS AFFAIR "Yeti Season (BIG CROWN) BCR060LPDLXC4 LP (LP+book/red vinyl)" March 26 street date. Fresh off of their 2020 offering "Adult Themes", El Michels Affair is back with a new full- length release. Titled "Yeti Season", this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA's patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where "Adult Themes" inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, "Yeti Season" brings us to a different place in time - with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with "Yeti Season". If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. It's a heavy album - as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better - or fuller -coming our way. The limited edition deluxe version comes with a 50 page children's book inspired by the album. MADLIB "Sound Ancestors (MADLIB MMS044 CD/ LP (arranged by Kieran Hebden)" March 5 street date. Gil Evans to Miles Davis.... Holger Czukay to the ensemble known as Can....Jean Claude Vannier to Serge Gainsbourg on "Histoire de Melody Nelson". That's the only way to explain the specificity of Four Tet and Madlib's collaboration, in this special album that showcases a two-decade long friendship that has resulted in an album that follows Madlib's classics like Quasimoto's "The Unseen", "Madvillainy" and his "Pinata" and "Bandana" albums with Freddie Gibbs. "A few months ago I completed work on an album with my friend Madlib that we'd been making for the last few years. He is always making loads of music in all sorts of styles and I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album. Not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish. I put this concept to him when we were hanging out eating some nice food one day and we decided to work on this together with him sending me tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that I would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine. I was sent hundreds of pieces of music over a couple of years stretch and during that time I put together this album with all the parts that fitted with my vision" - Kieren Hebden aka Four Tet. NO USE FOR A NAME "Rarities Vol. 2: The (FAT WRECK) FAT973 CD/ LP Originals" February 12 street date. When it comes to classic Fat Wreck bands No Use For A Name certainly need no introduction, but here's the scoop: they were one of the first bands on Fat Wreck Chords and remain a cornerstone of the label roster. Their unique take on California punk emphasized equally innovative and catchy melody, paired with top-flight musicianship. Despite the tragic passing of singer and songwriter Tony Sly in 2012, their presence can still be felt today, as their influence is evident in the work of many other artists. Fat Wreck recently unearthed some demos and early versions of some of the best No Use For A Name songs. The response was unanimous - people must hear these! So alas, we bring you "Rarities Vol. 2: The Originals". Side A gets the listener hooked immediately with rare versions of songs that have only appeared on compilations. The B-side contains never-before heard demos from the classic NUFAN album "Hard Rock Bottom". NOFX "Single Album" (FAT WRECK) FAT114 CD/ LP February 26 street date (CD)/March 19 street date (LP). After nearly 40 years, what is left to say about NOFX? Can a band continue to shake it up after almost four decades as a band? The answer to this question lies on "Single Album", the quartet's 14th full-length studio album. It is, as frontman and bassist Fat Mike describes, "a dark album". That wasn't the original intent. By early 2020, NOFX had written and recorded enough songs for a planned double album to be released that fall. Like so much about 2020, those plans changed. The band decided they had fell short of making the perfect double album, so they scrapped some tracks, and condensed it down to one solid single album. Hence the title. Recorded at Motor Studios in San Francisco with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore (Rise Against, Alkaline Trio), "Single Album" gets more personal than NOFX ever has before. The result of these 10 tracks is a NOFX album that is both familiar and unpredictable traits that legions of adoring fans have grown to love about the band. SCHULTZ, WESLEY "Vignettes" (DUALTONE) DUA2228 CD/ LP February 26 street date. "Vignettes" sees Wesley Schultz, the 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter- guitarist and co-founder of The Lumineers, exploring his myriad influences and early inspirations with a series of starkly beautiful cover versions spanning such legendary artists as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Sheryl Crow, Jim Croce, Derek and the Dominos, and Warren Zevon. SMERZ "Believer" (XL XL1076CD CD SMERZ "Believer" (XL XL1076LP LP February 26 street date. Smerz are the Nowegian duo of Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg. The duo, who produce, write, direct and conceptualize all their own work, carve out a space where it's not so impossible for dreams, both big and small, to grow in the midst of the systemic societal weeds that tangle up people's self-worth and confidence. With "Believer", their 2021 debut full-length album on XL Recordings, they formalize the boundless sonic world that started to emerge within each of their debut EP's and in their running NTS monthly residency. Are you a Believer? WOODS "Reflections Vol. 1 (WOODSIST) WOODSIST102 LP (Bumble Bee Crown King) (black vi" WOODS "Reflections Vol. 1 (WOODSIST) WOODSIST102X LP (Bumble Bee Crown King) (coloured" March 5 street date. With no touring in 2020, and possibly this year, Woods decided to take a deep dive into their archives and put together the first volume of their much discussed archival series, "Reflections". Featuring rare and unreleased recordings from 2009-2013, including a ghost town desert jam off the side of the highway, their first live performance in Big Sur, the first recorded version of "Bend Beyond" and some shelved diamonds in the rough that were finished up during quarantine. Their hope is that it plays like a "lost record" from an extremely strange and fruitful period in Woods history. Exclusive >> ROCK/POP/PUNK/ALTERNATIVE/INDIE >> FALL "Live At St. Helens (CASTLE FACE) CF133 LP Technical College '81 (LP+7-inch)" February 19 street date. First official release of this live show from the legendary post-punk band, from early in their career. Made with the blessing of all those still living associated with this line-up and show.