Benjamin Gibbard
Former Lives
Barsuk Records
Other cities, other plans; different friends, different dreams; former loves, former lives. After fifteen years in Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Gibbard didn’t make his first solo album in search of a new beginning; instead, it closes a door. “These songs span eight years, three relationships, living in two different places, drinking then not drinking” he says of the dozen tracks that comprise Former Lives. “They’re a side story, not a new chapter.
Grizzly Bear
Shields
Warp Records
Shields, the fourth and most fluid album by Grizzly Bear to date, will be released on Sept. 18, 2012. The quartet of Chris Bear, Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen and Chris Taylor have never made a quick follow-up; it took them three years to get from Horn of Plenty to Yellow House, three more to get from Yellow House to Veckatimest. Between those records, though, they’d not only toured (headlining as well as with the likes of Radiohead, Feist, Wilco, TV on the Radio and more), but issued singles and splits, EPs, remixes and solo projects. The potential energy gathered in tour vans and busses, in studios and on stages for years was finally released, giving the individual band’s pieces the chance to recover and, after a year, return to being Grizzly Bear, and delivering their best album yet. “This has a different energy behind it,” concludes Ed Droste. “Veckatimest was a little more of a polite album; the desire to keep the vocals smooth might have kept a little distance between us and the audience. This one feels a bit more rough and exposed, so that on Shields, everything speaks for itself.”
Flying Lotus
Until the Quiet Comes
Warp Records
Composed, according to FlyLo, as “a collage of mystical states, dreams, sleep and lullabies”, Until the Quiet Comes has the distinct feel of this nocturnal trip. From the twitching descent into a subconscious state and the out-of-focus time-ether of the journey that follows, the sound is an unhinged, yet elegant evolution of the melodic and rhythmic interplay that is woven into the DNA of Flying Lotus’ aural personae. The album, featuring guests Erykah Badu, Laura Darlington, Niki Randa, Thundercat & Thom Yorke, is set for release on October 2. UTQC is fueled by FlyLo’s first ever full US Tour, multiple videos, creative visual assets and massive support from his ever-growing group of press and fans. Notable followers include Odd Future (Earl Sweatshirt collaboration with Adult Swim online now), Schoolboy Q (who’s been in the studio) and rising super-producer Clams Casino.
Iris DeMent
Sing the Delta
Flariella Records
Considered “one of the finest artists of her generation” (All Music), Iris DeMent has returned with her first album of original music in 16 years, Sing The Delta, out October 2 on her own Flariella label. The album brings the delta to life through timeless songs, DeMent’s richly evocative voice and support from a cast of first-call musicians including Al Perkins, Reese Wynans, and album co-producers Bo Ramsey and Richard Bennett.
Sing The Delta is uplifting and heartbreaking, ripe with twang and soul. Dixie horns, weeping slide guitar balladry and bright, Gospel-tinged piano swirl as Iris contemplates religion, love and family with introspection and imagery that few singer-songwriters can convey. Iris’ voice soars over a bluesy crawl on “The Kingdom Has Already Come” while “The Night I Learned How Not To Pray” is a vivid story about the tragic death of a young boy and subsequent religious reckoning.
Widespread Panic
Wood
Widespread Records
Widespread Panic’s Wood combines fan favorites and first time played songs from the band’s 11-date, four-city dubbed”2012 Wood Tour” which was Panic’s first-ever fully acoustic tour. The Sold out tour began on January 24 with two nights at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD, followed by three nights at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA, January 27-29, then to CO for three nights at The Fillmore -Denver, February 10-12 and wrapped up with three shows at the intimate Belly Up-Aspen in Aspen, CO, February 17-19.
First Aid Kit
The Lion’s Roar
Wichita Records
First Aid Kit is Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg. The first single and title track to their sophomore album, “The Lion’s Roar”, was recorded with producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk, Jenny Lewis) in Omaha, NE. The record sees the band exploring a bigger sound and more instrumentation than on their debut album”The Big Black and the Blue”, but maintains the signature storytelling and harmonies they have become renowned for.
Chelsea Wolfe
Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs
Sargent House
In a way, Chelsea Wolfe is on a journey to the surface of her own music. 2012 finds releasing her first acoustic emanation, titled “Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs”. The experience is a secret shared, a side of our heroine rarely seen or heard, and the making was as intimate as it gets: recorded in the woods of Northern California and at Wolfe’s L.A. home, co-produced by her bandmate Ben Chisholm, with players Ezra Buchla (viola), Andrea Calderon (violin) and Daniel Denton (bass).
Tift Merritt
Traveling Alone
Yep Roc
For Traveling Alone, Tift Merritt’s Yep Roc Records label debut, Merritt put together her dream cast to make a record that was real, raw and live off the floor. Recorded in Brooklyn in 8 days, this album was produced by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket), features a guest appearance by Andrew Bird and a band that includes Marc Ribot (Tom Waits), Eric Heywood (Pretenders, Son Volt), John Convertino (Calexico) and longtime collaborator Jay Brown. These songs were written and traveled by Tift Merritt.
The Heavy
The Glorious Dead
Counter Records
Renegade English soul-rockers The Heavy are happy to announce the release of their new album, The Glorious Dead, on August 21 via Counter Records/Ninja Tune. The Glorious Dead is the band’s third full-length LP, and the follow-up to their acclaimed sophomore record The House That Dirt Built (2009). Self-produced and with their unique, raw eclecticism fully intact, it’s their most fully-realized record yet, mixing together soul, hip hop, rock, blues and funk into glorious, raucous party music that is equally full of heart.
Time’s All Gone
The House That Dirt Built
