New Music Tuesday - April 21, 2015

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Albums

Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color Alabama Shakes had a huge debut with Boys & Girls. There were some great tracks on the album, but as a whole it just fell somewhat flat for me. Still, I was excited for what a follow-up might bring. Thankfully, it means more of what was best about their sound; especially Brittany Howard's vocals and guitar works. The album is a much more solid bit of work from the young band, definitely an improvement on an already good debut. Watch: "Sound & Color" Watch: "Don’t Wanna Fight"

Built to Spill - Untethered Moon Three years after this band's previous record, 2009's There Is No Enemy, they recorded and were getting ready to release a follow-up. After some line-up changes (their rhythm section left) and a bit of burn-out, the album was postponed. Another three years and we now have the longest gap between albums for the band. But perhaps a bit of rest and some changes were good for them; Untethered Moon is being hailed as possibly their best since the 1990s. Watch: "Living Zoo" Watch: "Never Be the Same"

Passion Pit - Kindred The time following Michael Angelakos' second album was a difficult one for the performer. He suffers from bipolar disorder, and was hospitalized several times, forcing him to cancel shows. Rather than hide his illness, he was upfront about it and was honest with fans about the cancellations. But he also focused on getting better, something he's been able to achieve with the help of his wife. The album is largely dedicated to her and the songs reflect a kind of thankfulness to her role in his life. Watch: "Lifted Up (1985)" Watch: "Where the Sky Hangs"

Rocky Votolato - Hospital Handshakes Death Cab for Cutie's guitarist and keyboardist, Chris Walla, recently left the band in order to focus on his production work. Already doing production work for a number of artists, he has wasted no time in jumping back into that side of the music world. He produced this latest album from singer-songwriter Rocky Votolato, who he has produced for in the past. Hospital Handshakes is Votolato's eighth album. Watch: "The Hereafter" Listen: "Hospital Handshakes"

Speedy Ortiz - Foil Deer Speedy Ortiz burst onto the scene two years ago with Major Arcana, an album which garnered them a lot of praise. I started paying attention a bit later on, following the release of some incredible EPs and one-off singles; I love "Bigger Party," their single for the Adult Swim series. They easily live up to the quality of their previous work with this third album. Watch: "The Graduates" Listen: "Raising the Skate"

Other New Releases

50 Bands & a Cat for Indiana Equality The passage of the Indiana RFRA bill was extremely unpopular, both without and within the state. A number of prominent independent record labels are based in the state, including Asthmatic Kitty, Secretly Canadian, and Joyful Noise. With the help of a number of bands, as well as Lil' Bub, the Bloomington-based cat phenomenon, Joyful Noise has released this compilation to support LGBT groups in the state and work to get the law repealed. The recordings are available for purchase for a few more days. Listen: Thee Oh Sees - "The Ceiling"

The Alchemist & Oh No Present: Welcome to Los Santos There's been a seemingly endless parade of music being released in conjunction with the latest Grand Theft Auto game. The latest collection was curated by producers The Alchemist and Oh No. The album, whose tracks can be heard on various radio stations within the game, include contributions from Phantogram, MNDR, and Wavves. Listen: Gangrene - "Play it Cool" (featuring Samuel T. Herring & Earl Sweatshirt) Listen: MNDR - "Lock & Load" (featuring Killer Mike)

D’Angelo - Brown Sugar Reissue D'Angelo recently released his third studio album, his first in 14 years, but he made the long wait well worth it. Now, he's looking back to where he started and reissuing his very first album, which was originally released in 1995. The reissue celebrates the album's 20th anniversary. Listen: "Brown Sugar" Listen: "Cruisin’"

Mavis Staples - Your Good Fortune EP With the help of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Mavis Staples has recently been extending the musical legacy of the Staples family. She released two albums produced by Tweedy and worked with him to complete and release her father's last album. Tweedy is not directly involved on this latest EP, but his influence on her music is still evident. Watch: "Fight" Listen: "Your Good Fortune"

Red House Painters - Red House Painters box set Red House Painters were a indie rock band where Mark Kozelek (aka Sun Kil Moon) got his start. The band released six albums in the 12 years that they were together. This box set collects the band's coveted and rare first four albums. Listen: "Katy Song" Listen: "Have You Forgotten"

Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams: Live at Carnegie Hall And he just keeps going. The latest in the ever-growing list of releases from Ryan Adam is this live album. The album was recorded at Carnegie Hall on November 15 and 17 of last year. Listen: "Kim" Listen: "How Much Light"

New Music Tuesday - February 3, 2015

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

New Full-Length Albums

Big Noble - First Light Big Noble is the side project of Interpol's Daniel Kessler with sound designer Joseph Fraioli. Their first album takes on the interplay between "popular music and sound design" and uses field recordings, guitar, and sound manipulation. Watch: "Peg" Watch: "Stay Gold"

Bob Dylan - Shadows in the Night Bob Dylan has been active for more than half a century and, as one of our most celebrated songwriters, has seen much of his music covered by various other musicians. This time around, he is the one doing the covering. His latest record features songs originally sung by Frank Sinatra. Dylan is far from a crooner, he has his own distinctive voice, which lends a unique style to these songs. Listen: "Stay with Me" Listen: "Full Moon and Empty Arms"

Mount Eerie - Sauna Sauna is the fifth full-length album from Mount Eerie and their first in three years. The album is meant to evoke the feel of an actual sauna, stuffy and heavy, but still very relaxing. The album was recorded in a reclaimed church in Washington state. Watch: "Sauna" Watch: "This"

Murder By Death - Big Dark Love Recently, Bloomington-based band Murder By Death relocated a couple of hours south to Louisville. The band has settled into a well-established sound over their 15 years and seven albums together. Their latest sees them experimenting a bit on their sound, but still holding to their whiskey-voiced folk rock. Listen: "Big Dark Love" Listen: "Solitary One"

Ricked Wicky - I Sell the Circus The once-impossibly-prolific band Guided By Voices broke up last year, but it looks like their members will remain active on their own. Former frontman Robert Pollard is busy with a new project, Ricked Wicky. Pollard takes the name from his first made-up band name from his youth and brings in former collaborators Todd Tobias and Nick Mitchell to help. Listen: "Mobility" Listen: "A Real Stab"

Other New Releases

Billie Holiday - At Storyville The latest release from the legendary Billie Holiday was recorded at the Storyville Club in Boston in October 1951 and October 1953. More than half a century after the original recording, the music is getting a new release. Purchase: Amazon

Built to Spill - Ancient Melodies of the Future Reissue Built to Spill are getting set to release a new album in April of this year. First, they are re-releasing their fifth album which was originally released in 2001. Listen: "Strange" Listen: "The Host"

Fifty Shades of Grey Original Motion Picture Soundtrack It seems like a lot of movies that are otherwise uninteresting to me are getting really good soundtracks. Fifty Shades of Grey is the latest such film. It's unlikely I'll ever see it, but with new tracks from The Weeknd, Sia, and Jessie Ware, I may have its soundtrack on repeat. Watch: The Weeknd - "Earned It" Listen: Jessie Ware - "Meet Me in the Middle"

Hiss Golden Messenger - Southern Grammar EP Hiss Golden Messenger released his fifth album, Lateness of Dancers, in September of last year. He's following that up with a short new EP, which features two new songs, and a live version of the title track. A studio version of the title song was on his previous album. Listen: "He Wrote the Book" Listen: "Brother, Do You Know the Road?"

Hodgy Beats & Don Cannon - DENATAPE 2 Mixtape We may have already had the first Odd Future release of the year with Award Tour II last week, but Hodgy Beats is not far behind with his own follow-up mixtape. He released his first mixtape, DENATAPE, in 2009 and is releasing his follow-up to that this year, though he's released other mixtapes in the time between. Listen: "Self Titled" Listen: "Miyagi’s Prime"

Joni Mitchell - Newport Folk Festival 19th July 1969 The second-oldest live recording this week comes from Joni Mitchell and her 1969 performance at the Newport Folk Festival. The show came towards the beginning of her career and saw her performing songs that would become classics, as well as some of her rarer tracks. Listen: "The Circle Game"

Kali Uchis - Por Vida EP Kali Uchis is a Colombian singer-songwriter who has been featured on songs from Tyler, the Creator in the past. On her latest release (available as a free download from her site), Tyler returns the favor. The release also features production from Kaytranada and BADBADNOTGOOD. Watch: "Know What I Want" Listen: "Lottery"

Ty Segall Band - Live in San Francisco Ty Segall's prolific slate of new releases continues with his latest live album. The album was recorded over the course of two nights at The Rickshaw Shop and covers several years' worth of output. Listen: "What’s Inside Your Heart"