Indie Exclusive Releases
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Califone - The Villager's Companion (Indie Exclusive Firework Shimmer Vinyl) - VINYL LP
Like a passenger riding shotgun on a road trip, The Villagers Companion offers its own unique perspective and story to tell. Featuring tracks recorded alongside last year's acclaimed villagers, TVC captures the miles between the start and destination-the faded gas station pit stops, the plastic saint statue stuck to the dashboard for safe travels or luck. It embodies the essence of the journey without the burden of driving-the experience of the ride itself.
The album takes us through the heart of Califone's magic: reverb-drenched piano chords, electronic whirs, and layers of experimental noise. Guided by Tim Rutili's abstract, fragmented lyrics-both strange and familiar-delivered through his warm, well-worn vocals, it creates an experience as evocative as it is haunting. Often passing through what seem to be the spaces between radio frequencies, the stations never meant to be heard. Crackles of static, feedback loops, and fleeting signals bloom into meditative moments, with each sound given space to breathe, unravel, and shimmer in slow decay. The result resonates deeply, transforming what might be noise into something profound, hypnotic, and totally immersive.
As with villagers, Rutili and company continue to explore what it means to get lost while surrounded by modern technology. Like a ghost in a machine or a whispered prayer stuck in a telephone line, Califone adds soul-be it damned or saved. And they do so with the kind of transformative magic granted perhaps only to artists a quarter of a century into their craft. The kind that turns a photograph into a tableau, or any darkened space with a microphone into a makeshift confessional. A song into a hymn, and a hymn into a soundtrack to a life.
Califone - The Villager's Companion (Indie Exclusive Firework Shimmer Vinyl)
Vinyl: $43.77 PREORDER
Vinyl: $28.21 Buy
Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham
Cunningham Bird [Indie Exclusive Translucent Forest Green vinyl]
ON SALE $25.98 Vinyl: $24.99 Buy
“You have to see them in concert,” is what fans of The National have been preaching for years. “The songs transform. It’s a whole other level.” Recorded live (without overdubs) in June 2024 at an architecturally stunning venue named for famed Italian film composer Ennio Morricone, Rome is the definitive live document of The National. The 21-track double album is truly career spanning, and showcases scintillating versions of beloved songs like “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” “Don’t Swallow the Cap,” “I Need My Girl,” “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness,” “England” and “Fake Empire”; plus sharpened readings of recent tracks “Eucalyptus,” “New Order T-Shirt,” “Tropic Morning News” and the boundary-pushing “Smoke Detector.” The National’s setlist changes significantly show to show, revisiting their 25-year catalog to cast fresh light on hidden gems. For Rome that includes the show opener “Runaway,” “Lemonworld,” “The Geese of Beverly Road,” “Lit Up” and a tour de force pairing of “Humiliation” from their critically acclaimed album Trouble Will Find Me into Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers’ “Murder Me Rachael.” The Rome encore features the election anthem “Mr. November,” and, from High Violet, “Terrible Love” and the show-closing fan singalong, “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.” The live album was mixed by the band’s longtime collaborator Peter Katis. Reviewing a National performance this summer, NME wrote that “every song is played like it could be the last.” Rome captures that playing-for-keeps urgency on record and serves not merely as a concert souvenir but the latest vital addition to the band’s peerless catalog.
Indie Exclusive - Includes 2 Bonus Tracks! - 2014 marks the 10th anniversary of the 3rd studio album ‘Great Western Valkyrie’. Originally released in June 2014, this album propelled Rival Sons to Rock N Roll royalty featuring the fan favourites ‘Electric Man, ‘Open My Eyes’ & ‘Good Things’ . It became the first Rival Sons album to achieve Top 20 status in the UK Album charts (peaking at #14). This very special anniversary edition includes 2 bonus studio tracks from the original album sessions for the first time on vinyl.
Indie Exclusive - 20th Anniversary Pressing! - Decapitated’s third studio album, 'The Negation', is a high-octane, raw mix of death metal and technical metal. Released in 2004, this record boasts the unique and impressive musicianship that Decapitated are renowned for, making it a must-have in every metal music aficionado's collection. The band will headline Damnation festival this November, performing The Negation in it’s entirety to celebrate this anniversary.
Indie Exclusive - FIRST TIME ON VINYL - Armed to the Teeth is Swollen Members' fifth full-length release, released on October 27, 2009. The album features guest appearances by Talib Kweli and Tech N9ne. In the United States the album debuted at #146 on the Billboard 200 with 3,400 copies sold in its first week, making it their first appearance on that chart.
ThinkIndie Exclusive - Velvert Turner is largely known for being a protégé and student of Jimi Hendrix, who he met as a teenager in New York in the late ‘60s. The influence is immediately clear, with respect to both Turner’s guitar work and vocals. Some have even mistaken his only album for a “lost” Hendrix recording. Velvert Turner Group’s self-titled 1972 release, which aptly closes with a tribute to Hendrix (a cover of “Freedom”), is now back on vinyl, remastered by Dave Gardner. This reissue features an alternate mix of the first song, “Madonna (of the Seven Moons)”, as a bonus track.
Indie Exclusive - This record is a must have for anyone who likes to listen, surf or dance. Energetic and reworked covers from the celebrated Californian group, The Challengers, will make sure you’re on your feet. Experience 60s nostalgia, pressed on heavyweight sea-glass blue vinyl.