Past Releases

Emptyset "Borders"

Is there such a thing as aggressive ambient music? Imagine if Brian Eno mixed his ambient music through broken, distorted effects. Or don’t imagine, instead, check out the latest from Emptyset. Borders (Thrill Jockey) finds the experimental electronic duo of James Ginzburh and Paul Purgas falling down a rabbit hole of timbre twiddling, energetic ambient music. Yeah, I know, that hardly makes sense. But what does these days? Check out the static-y, nervous energy of the intruder alert that is “Body.”

Ty Segall "Ty Segall"

Oh, hell yes! Who isn’t excited by a new Ty Seagall album? His mix of T.Rex/Black Sabbath/Mudhoney is what we all need when we believe guitar-rock is dead. So all hail Ty! Need a folky ballad? How about a rocker? A 10 minute jam? Ty has you covered! He as something for everyone! Well, almost anyone… Imagine if he called himself Ty Seagull! Oh the album covers he could have! How great would Ty’s take on Jonathan Livingston Seagull be? I guess we will never know… However we do know what “Orange Color Queen” sounds like, so dig in!

Delicate Steve "This Is Steve"

We make no attempt at hiding how much we love Delicate Steve around the office. Besides being a great guy, we absolutely love his unique take on pop music. Take, for instance, his latest record This Is Steve (his debut for Anti Records!). If there is such a thing as sing-a-long-able instrumental music, Steve makes it. Seriously, there are songs on here that I swear I remember as having words until I listen again and sure enough: instrumental. With production that vibes along with Traveling Wilburies/George Harrison’s ‘80s output, a little ELO thrown in (I’m aware that all of those things are kind of the same. leave me alone.), and more hooks than the river on fishing day (is that a thing? i don’t know, i’m more of an indoorsman).
or, if you don’t like that joke:
more hooks than a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar season. He used the hook shot for his Hockey, right? Sorry, not much of a sports guy
OR, if you don’t like that joke, how about:
more hooks than a highlight reel of SNL’s 1989 season
Every song on here is the mind soundtrack to a perfect day. Check out the aforementioned Harrison-esque standout track “Winners.”

Fred Thomas "Changer"

There can’t be anything left to say about Fred Thomas that hasn’t been said a hundred times already, even by me in blurb form. From his Saturday Looks Good To Me releases, to his self-titled solo stuff, the man is ultra-prolific. Which is why it’s so shocking that every time a new Fred Thomas record comes in the office braces itself for Pete’s excited yelps. But he has reason to be excited, because as prolific as Fred is, is as good as he is, and Changer (Polyvinyl) does nothing to change that fact. Frankly, this album sees Fred stretching out in ways that will only be familiar to the most devout of Thomas-heads. Take, for instance, the arpeggiated synth harps and Beck beats running headfirst into the Portisehead majesty of “Echolocation.”