Past Releases

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.”

youbet "Compare & Desire (Ba Da Bing!)"

Trippy, sunny, and fun. Three words that describe very little during the gloomy east coast winters. Except! Compare & Desire (Ba Da Bing), the new album from Youbet. Imagine a world where Cate LeBon was a member of early Foxygen. Things change operatically and weave in and out of 60s hippie rock, angular indie changes, and surprising quirk bombs. Happy and disturbing, this is an album that contains multitudes (like the best candy bars). Check out the first single “Bite.”

Eduardo Fernández "Guitar (Delmark)"

From Delmark:

For his debut on Delmark Classics guitar virtuoso Eduardo Fernández put together a program covering two centuries of music and two continents. From Paganini to Brouwer, this album offers a variety of schools, tendencies and techniques that very few performers can match. In addition to brilliant pieces by Denisov and Chávez, this CD features a rarely heard works by Mertz and Rebay. An internationally recognized guitarist and scholar, Eduardo Fernández was born in Uruguay in 1952. He studied guitar with Abel Carlevaro. In 1975 he was awarded at the Radio France (Paris) competition and won the Andres Segovia Competition in Spain. His New York debut in 1977 received critical accolades. Since then, Fernández has been performing and teaching all over the world as well as releasing numerous acclaimed albums

 

Check out the absolutely stunning performance of Niccolò Paganini’s “Sonata No. 24 in G Major: I. Minuetto.”

of Montreal "UR FUN (Polyvinyl)"

Though its always been a great time to be a fan of of Montreal, the last few years have been especially varied and prolific. UR Fun (Polyvinyl) is the culmination of the last stretch of records. This is as bouncy, poppy, and as fun as his music has ever been. Forgoing recording with a band and instead locking himself at his home studio for 12 hours a day recording and sequencing himself, UR Fun is as true a representation of the inside of Kevin Barnes’ mind as we’ve ever been gifted with (unless you also happen to be a doctor with access to an x-ray he had taken after wearing a very tight hat for too long*). Every song on this album could, and should, be a chart-topping single. Like a David Bowie album from the 80s, or Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual, this is stacked from top to bottom with artistically leaning pop mastery. I hate to recommend a song here since really, every song on here is a focus track. But check out the driving “Polyaneurism.”