Past Releases

Destroyer "Have We Met? (Merge)"

Remember back 20 years ago when Y2K was gonna destroy all technology? (Looking back over the last few years, would that have been the worst thing?). Well, while the rest of us were hanging out by ATMs at the time in hopes that money would just come flying out of them when the clocks turned over, Dan Bejar was writing what has eventually become Have We Met? (Merge). Originally started then, and aping the then-appropriate sounds of Air, Björk, and Massive Attack, the idea was eventually scrapped. Well, here it is 20 years later and the album has finally been finished. The whole thing is mysterious (as all the best Destroyer albums are) with the sound landing somewhere between his normal output, and the sounds described mere moments ago by yours truly mixed with something of a lounge-y approach. Check out the ethereal “Crimson Tide.”

Torres "Silver Tongue (Merge)"

We’ve been fans of the enchanting music of Torres for a few years now-and are thrilled she is back with her 3rd full-length album. Silver Tongue (Merge) is a heady mixture of swirling synths, hidden guitars, AOR drums, Torres’ poetic, present vocals, and the perils of drinking mercury. Ok, I made up the last one (get it? silver tongue?). But don’t let my dumb joke turn you off to this stunner of an album. Instead, allow yourself to be stunned by this stunner. Start with the first song on the album “Good Scare” and go from there!

Squirrel Flower "I Was Born Swimming (Polyvinyl)"

from Polyvinyl:
 
Squirrel Flower’s music is ethereal and warm, brimming over with emotional depth but with a steely eyed bite and confidence in it’s destination. The band on I Was Born Swimming plays with delicate intention, keeping the arrangements natural and light while Williams’ lead guitar is often fiercely untethered. The album was tracked live, with few overdubs, at The Rare Book Room Studio in New York City with producer Gabe Wax (Adrienne Lenker, Palehound, Cass McCombs). The musicians were selected by Wax and folded themselves into the songs effortlessly. At the heart of the album lives Williams’ haunting voice and melancholic, soulful guitar. 
Check out the hypnotic “Headlights.”

Criteria "Years (15 Passenger)"

from 15 Passenger:

Criteria’s Years has been in the making for quite some time. No joke, like a really long time. But the album’s delay seems to be a badge of pride for the group, one that underscores the relentlessness of their collective vision to see it happen some fifteen years after the release of their sophomore LP When We Break (Saddle Creek).  The drums were tracked at Omaha’s ARC studios in 2014 and eventually the guitars and vocals were finished in Pedersen’s basement studio. Criteria’s own A.J. Mogis wore the hats of both bass player and producer/recording/mixing engineer. His production credits include Monsters of Folk, Fake Problems, Small Brown Bike, The Get Up Kids, Planes Mistaken for Stars, and Cursive. On Years, Mogis and Pedersen — along with guitarist Aaron Druery and drummer Mike Sweeney — have once again set the bar very high for self-produced rock albums. It has a sound that conjures the likes of both Quicksand and Built to Spill, with its high energy riffs/grooves under the catchy, melody-forward vocal lines. 

Check out the instantly sing-a-long-able first single “Agitate Resuscitate.”