Indie / Alternative
576 products
Loving You To Death is very much about being with someone who is hurting you by hurting themself, knowing you should leave but that you can’t live without them. It’s mostly about one night, or one period of time? I don’t really know anymore, but maybe you can relate. Before writing this I was obsessed with stretching out my little moody riffs into long drawn out ambient pieces, throwing them through the morphagene and seeing what happens. But there is just way too much sound design around me, everything is so slick and impressive and boring and unmemorable. So I tried to keep everything bare, to accept the recordings as they are and to do it without a band. Long live mid-fi, dramatic relationships, obsessiveness, sing-song melodies and unprofessionalism, and huge thanks to Ariana, Matt, Adam, Yas, Nik, Victor, Ouri, Ziggy, my mom, Alan, and everyone else I drove crazy while making this.
An archival compilation that brings together My Bloody Valentine’s 1988 John Peel Session and rare tracks from the same period.
Respraying familiar bittersweet indie themes with contemporary DAW gloss, Danish duo Snuggle guide references to Cocteau Twins, The Sundays, Elliott Smith and Young Marble Giants thru modernist trip-pop structures that'll surely appeal to anyone into ML Buch, Erika de Casier, Smerz or that new James K record - another Escho smash basically.
Founded by Copenhagen underground mainstays Andrea Thuesen Johansen (of noise-rock trio Baby in Vain) and Vilhelm Tiburtz Strange (of smoove pop four-piece Liss), Snuggle is a fittingly modest Escho supergroup whose sound shouldn't be a huge surprise to devotees of the label. Baking themes that have been circling the RMC scene in the last few years, their debut album is almost sickeningly sweet - and hard to stop nibbling away at. It's a tray of detached, melancholy pop that's formed so flawlessly - rooted in a spread of sonic ingredients that we've never stopped going back to over the years - that it sits comfortably alongside contempo genre staples like 'Suntub'.
Theusen's voice falls somewhere between Alison Statton's and Harriet Wheeler's, cool, detached and achingly fragile, and is well matched by Strange's controlled but cannily penned miniatures. He sounds like Robin Guthrie covering 'Here's Where the Story Ends' at first on 'Dust', eventually offsetting the warbled, well-phased guitar chords with just-gritty-enough breaks that snap us in the direction of the trip-hop revival. Indie adorned with powdery boom-bap drums and samples wasn't a complete anomaly in the '90s - just poke thru the Grand Royal catalog and bands like Bran Van 3000 or Sukpatch, for example, who recently got a shot of adrenaline from Concentric Circles' reissue campaign. And the sound has finally come of age, an Ableton-era hallucination of music that's recognizable but not completely rinsed.
These elements are most prominent on the chugging, grungy opener 'Sun Tan' and the chirpy 'Driving Me Crazy', that's fleshed out with tasteful cello scrapes from Naja Soulie. But Snuggle lock into a deeper, more mysterious groove on 'Marigold' balancing out their dry, boxy drums with early Factory riffs before sliding towards Air's sensualized exotica in the final act, and Theusen's vocal melody is transfixingly twisty on 'Playthings', draped around splashy dubwise snares and a killer bassline from Strange. And although 'Sticks' sits way too close to the coffee table for our liking, 'Water in a Pond' sounds like Hope Sandoval singing Elliott Smith - unmissable, basically.
By popular demand, Hype Williams/Dean Blunt collaborator Joanne Robertson’s early side of slanted, detuned and enchanting lo-fi productions returns to vinyl in an expanded new edition via theeee untouchable Escho label. If you've been snagged by her stunning 'Blue Car' album for AD 93, or indeed her unforgettable turns on much of Dean Blunt's output this last decade, or into classic Throwing Muses, this will rule your world. Among the best in her cult class of contemporary singer-songwriters, Joanne Robertson has built her rep from the ground up thru more than 15 years working with everyone from David Cunningham (The Flying Lizards, General Strike), to Gnod’s Paddy Shine, who appears twice on this record, and a role in the mysterious Bo Khat Eternal Troof Family band - an early vehicle for Hype Williams’ Dean Blunt and Alina Astrova. ‘Wildflower’ is her 3rd solo session and now regarded a classic in her sparing catalogue that clearly bridges ’80s post-punk jangle, ‘90s indie scuzz, and its modern iterations in the likes of bar italia. However Robertson transcends with a singular blend of timeless, folk pop-intoned vocals, highly personalised (de)tuning systems and ascetic recording tekkerz that indelibly watermark her work and prickle the listener’s spine. A case in point for her uncanny hooks is ‘Heven’, with typically unadorned vocals set to open fret strums and devastating drone discord that seems to seep off the page, and which we could happily rinse and repeat for days, while Paddy Shine finely chimes with her sound on the naked room recording snapshots of ‘90s grunge residue in ‘The Motor’ and psych billow to ‘You Hear Me Go’. Practically anyway you turn, from the pharmaceutically faded ‘Late at Night’ to the shivering wheeze of ‘Dance With Me’ or motorik drone-pop of its title song, going like Stereolab recording in a Blackpool boarding room, or the £1 burger version of Mazzy Star-like steak in ‘There and Here’, hit the mark dead on, if you know what’s good.
Adrian Lenker’s third solo album was recorded following a two-week road trip through the American Southwest. She entered the studio with her longtime friend Luke Temple, and together they spent a week crafting the music. The tracks included on this album are not what you might call outtakes or B-sides, but rather songs that stood out with a particularly vivid presence as they were performed in the studio. Some of the songs had been around for years, while others were written just a few days before recording. What tied these songs together was an intuition that cannot be easily put into words. With this album, *abysskiss*, Adrian Lenker revealed to a wider audience what those close to her had already known—that she is an exceptionally talented songwriter. Listening to her inner voice and the greater voice that flows through her, she transforms these into music with unwavering candor and clarity.
Adrian Lenker and Buck Meek met on the very day she moved to New York. The two explored the city on bicycles and eventually began making music together. Buck Meek’s unconventional, piercing guitar phrases complemented Adrian Lenker’s melodic, soul-stirring vocals and lyrics, creating a perfect contrast that gave shape to her artistry. The pair made touring the center of their lives, and in 2014, they compiled the songs they’d written while on the road into two EPs. Released under the name “Buck and Anne,” these were titled *a-sides* and *b-sides*, respectively. Both are warm, acoustic works. This album, *a-sides and besides*, offers a glimpse into the origins of the musical expression that would lead to their subsequent work, while also serving as a testament to their twenties—a period of great significance in their creative journey.
Although Adrianne Lenker became widely known for her work with The Big Thief, her story began even before the band’s debut album, *Masterpiece* (2016). When I moved to New York, I was starting from scratch and didn’t have a single piece of work that truly represented my music. The only thing I had to show people was a song I’d written when I was 13. So I decided to record a solo album featuring my own songs. – Adrianne Lenker In 2013, Adrianne Lenker returned to her hometown of Minneapolis, entered Terrarium Studios with producer Rob Osterlin, and recorded ten songs centered around the acoustic guitar. “It’s basically like a solo live performance, but with a little twist,” she recalls. Released in 2014, *Hours Were the Birds* is an album brimming with beautiful imagery and intimate stories. It captures the image of a woman stepping into new territory with courage and sincerity.
Asthmatic Kitty Records will release 'Worst Christmas Ever!,' a single-LP collection that distills Sufjan Stevens' expansive holiday catalog—drawn from the box sets 'Songs for Christmas' and 'Silver & Gold'—into one definitive collection. The album pairs fifteen favorites, selected from more than one hundred Christmas recordings, with the newly released original song "On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)," Sufjan's first new Christmas song in nearly fifteen years.
A long-selling album that includes a cover of “Firecracker”—a live staple also known for its YMO version! Kruangbin, the Texas-based groove trio whose sound—rooted in Thai funk and wrapped in a unique, mellow groove—has earned them a global following, is releasing a Japan-exclusive album titled *Everything Smiles at You* to commemorate their highly anticipated Fuji Rock appearance, following their sold-out debut Japan tour in March 2019! This release features 10 tracks—all previously released as singles or on EPs but never included on an album and now available on CD for the first time—including “The Infamous Bill” and “The Number 4,” which were performed during their Japan tour and are popular live staples; “Firecracker,” also known for its YMO version; and a cover of Serge Gainsbourg’s classic “La Javanaise.”
2025 repress forthcoming in Feb. One of the brightest and most famous projects of the entire punk/new wave scene, No New York was released in 1978 on Island's sub-label Antilles. Featuring some of the most incredible rule breaking bands of the underground N.Y.C. art and music scene, the project - produced by Brian Eno - is a genuine snapshot of the massively creative N.Y.C. scene. Artists: Contortions, Teenage Jesus And The Jerks, Mars, D.N.A..
A pairing of two live recordings of one of their signature songs, each featuring a different arrangement. An essential release offering a fresh perspective on the singular appeal of Maher Shalal Hash Baz!
Formed in 1984 and led by Tori Kudo, Japanese experimental music project Maher Shalal Hash Baz have created a uniquely distinctive musical universe, moving freely between folk, jazz, brass, classical music, and improvisation. Their signature song “Unknown Happiness” stands as a perfect embodiment of this singular approach. Its simple, heartfelt melody has continued to resonate with indie and experimental music enthusiasts around the world. Now, one of the most evocative live renditions of this beloved song finally receives a long-awaited 7-inch release! The A-side captures the spontaneous atmosphere of a live performance, along with the beautifully imperfect ensemble playing that is so characteristic of Maher Shalal Hash Baz. The B-side features a special live arrangement centered around piano, revealing another, equally captivating dimension of the song.
Track A1 recorded 20/2/73 Track B1 recorded 29/1/74 Tracklist: A1 Up To The Bakerloo Line With Anne (18:46) B1 Tony Wanna Go (14:27) Personnel : Bass: Holger Czukay Vocals: Damo Suzuki Drums: Jaki Liebezeit Guitar: Michael Karoli Keyboards: Irmin Schmidt
Come Back Down, the new album by Nashville experimental-pop duo Total Wife, was born from the edge of sleep. When composer and producer Luna Kupper would begin to fall asleep during late-night mixing sessions, the songs would follow her into the halfway place between dream and lucidity. Like Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, she’d wake with a new perspective on the puzzle she was piecing together. “I’m a psychological mixer — I’m trying to think of how someone’s experiencing the sound, versus getting stuck in trying to make all these different tones and using all this gear to make something sound a certain way,” Kupper says. And like a spiral from waking life into dream, the songs on Come Back Down are endlessly self-referential, building whole universes from a single point. Kupper sold all of her synths to make rent before she started working on the album, and so every inorganic sound is instead built from samples of the band’s own work. A guitar on one song may be reprocessed and used as a synth on the next, while everywhere on the album vocal samples are taken from a single unreleased cover of Elliott Smith’s “Between the Bars.” In tribute to this process, the album was almost named The Julia Set after the mathematical equation which feeds into itself again and again, creating beautiful fractal images. The intention was to create something complex but accessible; experimental, yet precise and without abstraction. In her lyrics, too, main vocalist and co-composer Ash Richter is as straightforward as she’s ever been. She drew on her experience of pandemic isolation to write about connection and disconnection, using her lyrics as a tool for the communication that was missing in everyday life. On the soaring, shoegazey track “peaches”, a storm that forced the cancellation of a recording session became a metaphor for emotional distance. “still asleep” chronicles Richter’s euphoria after Total Wife’s first tour, and watches it begin to curdle into paranoia. “Thank the full moon, my heart is overflowing,” she sings, before: “Is there such a thing as too happy?” The experience of isolation was prompting Richter to think back to her childhood, a time marked for her by solitude and natural play — climbing trees, making mud pies, getting lost in the woods. On tracks like “in my head” and “second spring”, she uses the imagery of nature to recall that time and forge a connection with her lonely inner child. “I feel connected with transcendentalist writing and magical realism — trying to convey things in a concrete way, but with that element of psychology and mystery,” she says. Richter and Kupper, friends from high school, formed Total Wife in 2016, relocating from Boston to Nashville in 2020. Both are visual artists as well as musicians, which they incorporate into their work with Total Wife via layered and purposeful visuals. A DIY streak underpins everything that they do — from handling their own artwork and music videos to recording their own music, releasing tapes through their label Ivy Eat Home, and hosting house shows in the basement they’ve christened Ryman 2. In Nashville they’ve settled into a weirdo scene living under the record industry’s floorboards, a hive of collaborative and creative energy that has made them excited to call the city home. They also assembled a live band for the first time shortly after moving to Nashville, consisting of Ryan Bigelow, Sean Booz and Billy Campbell — injecting their creative process with a jolt of spontaneity and aliveness that has fed back into Come Back Down.
Come Back Down, the new album by Nashville experimental-pop duo Total Wife, was born from the edge of sleep. When composer and producer Luna Kupper would begin to fall asleep during late-night mixing sessions, the songs would follow her into the halfway place between dream and lucidity. Like Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, she’d wake with a new perspective on the puzzle she was piecing together. “I’m a psychological mixer — I’m trying to think of how someone’s experiencing the sound, versus getting stuck in trying to make all these different tones and using all this gear to make something sound a certain way,” Kupper says. And like a spiral from waking life into dream, the songs on Come Back Down are endlessly self-referential, building whole universes from a single point. Kupper sold all of her synths to make rent before she started working on the album, and so every inorganic sound is instead built from samples of the band’s own work. A guitar on one song may be reprocessed and used as a synth on the next, while everywhere on the album vocal samples are taken from a single unreleased cover of Elliott Smith’s “Between the Bars.” In tribute to this process, the album was almost named The Julia Set after the mathematical equation which feeds into itself again and again, creating beautiful fractal images. The intention was to create something complex but accessible; experimental, yet precise and without abstraction. In her lyrics, too, main vocalist and co-composer Ash Richter is as straightforward as she’s ever been. She drew on her experience of pandemic isolation to write about connection and disconnection, using her lyrics as a tool for the communication that was missing in everyday life. On the soaring, shoegazey track “peaches”, a storm that forced the cancellation of a recording session became a metaphor for emotional distance. “still asleep” chronicles Richter’s euphoria after Total Wife’s first tour, and watches it begin to curdle into paranoia. “Thank the full moon, my heart is overflowing,” she sings, before: “Is there such a thing as too happy?” The experience of isolation was prompting Richter to think back to her childhood, a time marked for her by solitude and natural play — climbing trees, making mud pies, getting lost in the woods. On tracks like “in my head” and “second spring”, she uses the imagery of nature to recall that time and forge a connection with her lonely inner child. “I feel connected with transcendentalist writing and magical realism — trying to convey things in a concrete way, but with that element of psychology and mystery,” she says. Richter and Kupper, friends from high school, formed Total Wife in 2016, relocating from Boston to Nashville in 2020. Both are visual artists as well as musicians, which they incorporate into their work with Total Wife via layered and purposeful visuals. A DIY streak underpins everything that they do — from handling their own artwork and music videos to recording their own music, releasing tapes through their label Ivy Eat Home, and hosting house shows in the basement they’ve christened Ryman 2. In Nashville they’ve settled into a weirdo scene living under the record industry’s floorboards, a hive of collaborative and creative energy that has made them excited to call the city home. They also assembled a live band for the first time shortly after moving to Nashville, consisting of Ryan Bigelow, Sean Booz and Billy Campbell — injecting their creative process with a jolt of spontaneity and aliveness that has fed back into Come Back Down.
CocoRosie is the Casady sisters, Bianca and Sierra. Born in different states, the girls grew up apart until fate brought them together again in 2003: once disconnected, now inseparable. After the mysterious and beautiful La Maison de Mon Reve surfaced in early 2004, CocoRosie lived a nomadic existence, spending months traveling the world with a myriad of acts, including Bright Eyes, TV on the Radio, Antony and the Johnsons, Devendra Banhart, and Blonde Redhead. Along the way, Noah’s Ark began to breathe. It happened anytime, anywhere, everywhere: in a barn in France, at their home in Brooklyn, in a Parisian studio, in a grungy hotel room after a show. The songs were formed and fashioned in various ways, using anything from prehistoric recording methods to more modern techniques. Heart-offerings of friends, family, loved ones and lost ones surface gracefully throughout Noah’s Ark, contributing depth to the narrative journey. A mother's chant, a nephew's cry. Antony’s angelic falsetto floating across “Beautiful Boyz.” The texture and flow that French MC and beat boxer Spleen adds to "K-hole," "Bisounours" and more. Originally released in 2005, Noah’s Ark is the result of a rootless reality, a drifting consciousness across state lines, date lines, time lines...connected to the past, vague about the future. But the heart of these songs is always issued from a tender present.
Big Crown Records is proud to present Glera, Marco Benevento’s debut album on the label. Marco Benevento has always moved like someone who understands the studio as its own instrument, not just a room where the toys are. Long before he began appearing on stages with Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, and in the liner notes of albums by Clairo and Leon Bridges, Benevento was already thinking like a producer - listening for texture, tension, and negative space, and for the strange emotional alchemy that occurs when groove and curiosity collide. His new album Glera sharpens that instinct into focus, presenting Benevento not only as a virtuosic keyboardist and bandleader, but as a composer building worlds from rhythm, tone, and feeling. Glera is a genre-bending jazz record that folds in soul and reggae’s elastic low end with an open-door sense of possibility. The project began three years ago as a kind of private exercise, with Benevento writing intuitively, inspired by Italian film scores and melody. Over time, those sketches evolved into something broader and more muscular, culminating in the grand majesty heard here. What emerges is music that moves cinematically without becoming precious. Tracks can feel like chase scenes or slow dissolves, sometimes within the same song, with jazz improvisation sharing space alongside reggae pocket, orchestral elements, and psych-pop atmosphere. It’s exploratory but grounded, complex yet unmistakably groove-forward. Album opener “Frizzante” is pure musical celebration captured on tape - a high-energy, feel-good banger that finds Marco trading melodies with himself over a relentless groove. On “Turandot,” Benevento is joined by Italy’s own Marianne Mirage on vocals; the haunting, cinematic track sits comfortably between the worlds of Portishead and Serge Gainsbourg. Then comes “Big Top,” stretching the album’s palette even further; equipped with voice memos and peacock calls, it’s most aptly summed up as “circus funk.” Blow the whistle and the game begins with the jazz-fusion–esque dancefloor filler “Houdini,” a kick-in-the-door burner from the very first drumbeat. Blending dream pop into the mix on “I Can’t Control This Bliss,” Marco invites Dream Crease to the microphone for a dose of lo-fi gorgeousness. Elizabeth Steiner brings her storied harp work to “Miss Neptune” over a deeply vibey, reggae-influenced backing track. Putting the pedal to the metal, “Sprezzatura” plays like a high-speed pursuit through narrow streets, while “Quattro Passi” brings the pace down to a saunter, featuring jazz vocalist Chiara Civello. Marco Benevento is operating at the highest level, shaping sound with purpose and curiosity. This album announces itself loudly—both outward-facing and deeply intimate. It’s music that moves—across genres, tempos, and registers—while remaining anchored to the joy of discovery. It’s a record that embodies motion, carrying the past forward without ever standing still.
Bad Brains is the self-titled debut studio album recorded by American hardcore punk/reggae band Bad Brains. Recorded in 1981 and released on (then) cassette-only label ROIR on February 5, 1982, many fans refer to it as "The Yellow Tape" because of it's yellow packaging. Though Bad Brains had recorded the 16 song Black Dots album in 1979 and the 5-song Omega Sessions EP in 1980, the ROIR cassette was the band's first release of anything longer than a single. The release includes the original liner notes by Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo. This reissue marks the second release in the remaster campaign on the band's own Bad Brains Records imprint with Org Music. In coordination with the band, Org Music has overseen the restoration and remastering of the iconic Bad Brains' recordings. The audio was mastered by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering.