1. Lonnie Holley - Oh Me Oh My
SIGNED COPIES
LIMITED TRANSPARENT BLUE VINYL
The beloved outsider artist offers an elegant and ferocious album, less a performance of pain endured and more a display of perseverance, of relentless hope.
Producer Jacknife Lee's studio is the perfect sculpting workshop, his genre-transcending sound palette consciously giving enough space for Holley's ruminative spontaneity, but not afraid to harden and sharpen to match the intensity of the subject matter when required. What comes out, the strength Lonnie has, not just to speak plainly of the unshakeable hurt inflicted upon him over the years, but to come through it with such catharsis and love for humanity, is nothing short of overwhelming.
The guest appearances are star studded - Michael Stipe, Bon Iver and Sharon Van Etten all subtly elevate their tracks, in contributive conversation with Lonnie. The shuffling afro-jazz-funk of the two Moor Mother collaborations are massive highlights, and Jeff Parker's unmistakeable guitar is always a welcome layer. An incredibly moving and unique record all round from an absolute treasure of an artist still pushing boundaries at 73 years old.
2. The Necks - Travel
+ SIGNED PRINT (ALTERNATIVE ARTWORK)
+ EXCLUSIVE STP x THE NECKS BEER MAT
The unclassifiable piano/bass/drums trio have mesmerized us with another set of four side-long pieces this year, their debut for Northern Spy. A ritual of starting each day in the studio with a 20 minute improvisation birthed these recordings, with subtle overdubs gently contouring their narrative arcs. Once again we're invited to play each side in the order of our choosing, constructing a different album with each play. This is seriously deep listening - a perfect entry point into their incredible (19 album!) career, and another feast for the voracious long-term fans.
3. Aphex Twin - Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760
+ WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE APHEX TWIN LENTICULAR A5 POSTCARD (IMAGERY BY WEIRDCORE)
6-PANEL FOLD OUT ANAMORPHIC DIORAMA SLEEVE WITH SCANNABLE AUGMENTED REALITY ARTWORK
Richard D. James' first proper release in 5 years is up there with his best, with intricate and melodic production which seems to look back across his career, refining every iconic idiosyncrasy into an EP of pure Aphex. Dynamic and meticulous drum programming, subtly lively basslines and his hallmark melancholic ambient chords, mind bending artwork, it's all here in abundance.
4. WITCH - Zango
+ EXCLUSIVE SIGNED POSTER
LIMITED "ZAMBIAN FULL MOON" YELLOW VINYL
The incredible return (after nearly 40 years!) of WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc), who pioneered the Zamrock genre in the 70s by fusing African rhythms and instrumentation with heavy Sabbathian riffs, James Brown funk and bluesy pychedelia. Reincarnated by original bandleader Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda, who unites with later member Patrick Mwondela and a fresh band including Nico Mauskoviç (Altin Gun), JJ Whitefield (Madlib Invazion) and Jacco Gardner.
Returning to the very same studio in Zambia where their classic Lazy Bones LP was recorded in 1975, WITCH emerge with an album steeped in their own legacy but focussed ahead and outward, reinforced by a female presence absent from Zamrock's first wave in the form of collaborators Theresa Ng’ambi, Hanna Tembo, and Sampa The Great. Keith Kabwe, the unmistakable voice of Amanaz, also makes an appearance!
5. Cosmic Neighbourhood - Gatherings
+ UNIQUE HAND-DRAWN POSTCARD
We are utterly enchanted by the world of Cosmic Neighbourhood aka Adam Higton's Gatherings, especially after seeing his charmingly homemade accompanying paper stop motion animations. Like being welcomed by friendly forest folk into their humble hidden eden, with chirpy warbling synths overhead and a soft bed of pine needle percussion underfoot. Take a seat on the shroom pillowed log around the cathode-ray campfire and indulge in this tapehead fuzz fleeced radiophonica dream while it lasts...
Adam has lovingly hand illustrated and signed 50 unique postcards to go with each order! Don't miss out!
6. Bobby Lee - Endless Skyways
SIGNED COPIES
A brilliantly convincing melting pot of cosmic americana, swampy choogle, krautrock kinetics, Saharan blues and string-slide ambience, from Sheffield?! Bobby gets the band back together here, building on the strengths of 2021's solo venture Origin Myths - the new full-bodied extrapolation of the previously sub two-minute tease "Impregnated by Drops of Rainbow" is a treat, especially with the addition of Joe Harvey-Whyte's shimmering pedal steel!
Big thanks to Bobby and the band and signing copies of this masterpiece!
7. Hilary Woods - Acts Of Light
SIGNED COPIES
+ HANDMADE BOOKMARK
LIMITED RED VINYL
Dublin based Hilary Woods' latest for Sacred Bones plunges fully into the abyss she's been wading out into over her last few releases. Deep woody bowed strings row solemnly in tandem with droning electronics across a nebulous lough of choral voices and field recordings. Each piece feels vastly detailed, giving the feeling of swimming through the grand chambers of the cathedrals they were recorded in, down into the crypts below. Alongside her visual work, made with hand processed personal 8mm and 16mm film cut with footage from Irish cultural archives, the record feels like a meditation on generational memory, what we pass on subconsciously, the disquiet and poetry in accepting that.
8. Sampha - Lahai
+ EXCLUSIVE SET OF 3 x ART PRINTS
+ BONUS STICKER
LIMITED WHITE VINYL
London singer/producer and Kendrick/Solange/Frank Ocean collaborator Sampha finally follows his Mercury Prize winning debut with a meticulously crafted album, rich with remarkably inventive production. Layering his unmistakable voice atop soulful keys, glitchy electronics and skittering drums contributed by Yussef Dayes, Morgan Simpson (Black Midi) and Kwake Bass, Sampha explores themes of fatherhood, disassociation and spirituality. With each listen a mind boggling new detail reveals itself, a different lyric latches onto you for the rest of the day. Well worth the wait.
9. SQÜRL - Silver Haze
+ SIGNED PRINT
LIMITED SILVER VINYL
Jim Jarmusch & Carter Logan with producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Boris, Earth) invite us deep into a thick grayscale fog on Silver Haze. Over slow, steady pumpjack rhythms, they drag thick black tar up from the earth's core, oozing and spluttering out through their amp grills onto the cold concrete floor.
They're joined by illustrious guests; Charlotte Gainsbourg pays tribute to The New York School poets on "John Ashbery Takes a Walk", Anika duets Jarmusch on the smouldering "She Don't Wanna Talk About It", and elsewhere frequent Tom Waits collaborator Marc Ribot's nomadic guitar is recruited, navigating a path through the wasteland unclear to unfamiliar fingers. As the wind picks up and sweeps away the desert rock shuffle of the closing title track, be ready to submit to the world's fade to silver.
We have a very small handful of prints signed by Jim and Carter from their recent visit to London - be quick!
10. David Holmes - Blind On A Galloping Horse
+ SIGNED PRINT & POSTER
+ HEAVENLY FANZINE (WHILE STOCKS LAST)
The Belfast songwriter, film scorer and DJ's first solo album in 15 years doesn't disappoint; a sprawling 75 minute politically charged opus traversing the many tenets of his work, from the sumptuous girl group informed pop of Unloved to the dubby mushroom chug of his DJ sets and anxious ambience of his recent soundtrack work. While he and vocalist Raven Violet are unafraid to speak truth to power and injustice, odes to Sinead O'Connor, Andrew Weatherall and the dreamers, misfits, radicals and outcasts of this world keep the faith & focus on hope and community. An uplifting call for action and an absolute treat of a listen.
11. Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada
+ SIGNED TEST PRESSING COMPETITION
LIMITED BLUE INKWELL COLOURED VINYL
Inspired by a grand hotel on a Croatian island, whose well worn ballroom floors and long-watchful chandeliers are soon to be removed and modernised, the ambient harpist's latest album observes and evokes the inescapable change and shared loss in our decaying world. Guests including The Cure's Lol Tolhurst, Slowdive's Rachel Goswell and cult Kiwi hero Roy Montgomery provide new textures and perspectives to Lattimore's unfailingly moving framework, making this her most expansive and open-armed music to date.
Also available on Limited Velvet Green or Standard Black vinyl.
12. jaimie branch -
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
+ INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM "TRACING THE LINES" ISSUE 2 ZINE
LIMITED 'TURTLE SHELL' GREEN MARBLED VINYL
METALLIC SILVER FOIL SLEEVE
FOLD OUT POSTER
We lost a true force of nature last year. jaimie branch's death came as a huge shock, leaving us with such an overwhelming sense of gratefulness to have been in the presence of her vital music, and a reminder to not take that shit for granted. Watching her perform truly felt like witnessing the canonical greats at their peaks, her enormous personality and urgent spirit bouncing off the walls and piercing hearts and minds all around the room. The recording of this miraculous album was finished shortly before her passing, and the finishing touches were completed with great care by her family and her band. ((world war)) is an incredibly ambitious LP, and while it's painful to lament what could have come next, its generosity reminds us how lucky we are to share a universe with people like jaimie, whose teachings and energy will no doubt be deeply imbued in generations of artists to come.
13. Hayden Pedigo - The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored
RADIOACTIVE GREEN VINYL
Boldly striving to create “the best instrumental acoustic guitar album of the past twenty years,” Hayden Pedigo crashes the New Age guitar of Windham Hill and John Renbourn into the art provocations of Harmony Korine.
14. Sam Gendel &
Marcella Cytrynowicz - AUDIOBOOK
SIGNED COPIES
An audiovisual puzzle rooted in a strange in-between, in a shadowy and vivid chasm between terrestrial and otherworldly. 13 instrumental tracks and illustrations that feel like dispatches from outer space, or unearthed ancient runes.
15. OSEES -Intercepted Message
+ SIGNED PRINT
LIMITED BLUE VINYL
A pop record for tired times. Sugared with bits of shatterproof glass to put more crack in your strap. Early grade garage pop meets protosynth punk suicide-repellant. For fans of Teutonic synth punk and Thee Oh Sees (who the fuck are they?)” — John Dwyer
16. Gazelle Twin - Black Dog
SIGNED COPIES
ECTOPLASM CLEAR VINYL
Gazelle Twin unmasks and turns her gaze inwards on her debut for Invada, using herself as a medium for the voices within. Black Dog is an album about confronting fear, telling a story that unfurls like a film, moving from delicate tenderness to doom-driven power.
17. Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings - Resolve
The hypnotic return of cult minimalist composer looks beneath the hood of several decades of progression to review and renew the revolutionary intent of his microtonal foundation credo. This new Orchestra — Oren Ambarchi, Konrad Sprenger and Joachim Schütz – combine effortlessly to explore new scalar dimensions.
18. SAULT - Today & Tomorrow
One of five mindblowing surprise albums released all on the SAME DAY this year by the mysterious London collective headed by producer INFLO (Little Simz, Michael Kiwanuka, Cleo Sol). Today & Tomorrow is a unique experiment in their catalogue, built around fuzzed up guitars, raw energetic drums and youth choir chants. Their most urgent, rough around the edges record celebrates the voices of tomorrow.
19. Jalen Ngonda - Come Around and Love Me
One of the most captivating performers on today's soul scene, whose voice, equal parts raw feeling and elegance, exudes confdence and charm. With a crack team Daptone family backing band, Jalen skillfully blend heavy arrangements and introspective lyrics with Motown sophistication, leaving the listener in a blissful wash of wonderment. An instant classic.
20. ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross
ANOHNI addresses loss of loved ones, inequality, alienation, acceptance, cruelty, ecocide, devastation wrought by Abrahamic theologies, Future Feminism, and the possibility that we might yet transform our ways of thinking, our spiritual ideas, our societal structures, and our relationships with the rest of nature.
21. Jonny Dillon - A New Directive From The Bureau of Compulsory
Entertainment
Instrumental guitar compositions and distinctive finger picking style full of indomitable spirit. This is spiritful music of a rarer kind made by an artist as inherently attuned to the troubling times we are living through as he is to the value of carving out new paths to the waterfall through the medium of sound on our behalf.
22. Lost Girls - Selvutsletter
Where Jenny Hval & Håvard Volden's last album was about exploring club beats, and expanding and trying out structures, Selvutsletter is about disappearing in experiences. It combines the intuitive, late night feel of Lost Girls’ previous work with experimental rock music as its object. The result is more adventurous than nostalgic: A fiery, bilingual whirl of colors, words, vegetation and electricity.
23. Cory Hanson - Western Cum
Cory Hanson ups the heat to molten levels, six strings at a time. Western Cum is a high-stepping, hard-dancing, first love/heartbreak, tonight’s-the-night, future nostalgia kind of good time - the sound of guitars through the speakers of luxury cars.
24. Goat - Medicine
Bohemica Splatter Vinyl
Goat return with a more introspective, slightly mellower psych-folk sound that remains recognisably them. A warm, restrained record, with swaying, warping guitar solo nods to Swedish 70s psych/prog/folk heros, alongside gentle synths, sitar and flutes.