New vinyl on Digitalis. The more enlightened among us need no further info – but let me fill in the blanks for you heathens. Scott Tuma’s new album Dandelion is now available to order from Digitalis Industries, esteemed purveyors of many things psychedelic, noisy and droney. You may remember Scott’s collaboration with Mike Weis of Zelienople which came out on Digitalis last year – the prospect of which not owning on vinyl shook my dear friend Mitch to his very core. Indeed, such is the insurmountable burden of regret that one must bear if they fail to act appropriately when new Digitalis vinyl shows up. Consider yourself enlightened. Now please pay respects and checks to digitalisindustries.com or boomkat.com; depending of course upon where you currently reside.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Absolutely mind-paralyzing aural psychedelics courtesy of this group Messages. Nope, I’m unfamiliar as well… except that this tune of theirs just peeled my scalp back and dumped a hot liter of flash-fried hash oil directly onto my frontal lobe. So I guess you could say we’re getting familiar. Intimate, even. I’ll write more once my brain stops dripping down the back of my throat. In the meantime, pre-order for $15 from destijlrecs.com.

“Tambura” by Messages courtesy of Tiny Mix Tapes:

There’s minimal, then there’s Minimal. The former is a toss-off term bandied about by so-called “writers” who took a few years of art school (that would be me), and the latter is a regimented style of musical craft mastered by a man named Sylvain Chauveau and applied to the modern classical formula here on his album Singular Forms (Sometimes Repeated). Real talk: the arrangements on this album at times move with such glacial pacing that I feel like my cognitive abilities have slowed to a crystalline standstill. Um, I’m glad Type puts all their albums up for streaming so I don’t have to try to explain this bullshit to you guys. Type releases are always distributed by forcedexposure.com and boomkat.com and can be purchased in their webstores as well as places like experimedia.net

The first She & Him album from M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel was one of the bigger surprises of 2008.  With any luck, this one should probably be pretty great as well.  The lead single (found below) features guest vocals by Tilly and the Wall.  Sometimes it’s nice to listen to music that doesn’t make you want to jump off a bridge.  The vinyl drops March 23rd, but you can preorder now for $17.98 at MergeRecords.com.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Our friend Dangerous Dave is friends with these guys, so that means they are basically friends of ours, kind of.  Anyway, Giants’ 2008 album, “Old Stories”, has finally been pressed to vinyl.  There are two types of people in this world:  The kind that hate post-rock, and the kind that love post rock.  The first group will hate this, the second group will love it.  That pretty much sums it up.  The LP comes in a gatefold jacket and is available on either Yellow/Blue/Green Splatter or Green/White Haze colored vinyl for only $13.99.  Visit Cavity Records.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hydra Head press up a twelve-inch teaser for what is hopefully a shortly forthcoming vinyl issue of the recent collaborative album from Pyramids with Nadja. Lustmord and Ulver remix one of the most atonishing drone tracks to spill out amidst last year’s tar-slick of high-volume clamoring. Hand-numbered to 300, one at a time for $13 at bluecollardistro.com. No funny stuff.

If you’re a Grouper fan, nothing will get your loins simmering quite like news about an upcoming vinyl release. Unless you already have the release in question, which is entirely possible. In that case, hopefully you didn’t pay too much for it on eBay because now you can pre-order the second edition of Wide with new artwork from Liz Harris and limited to 1000 pieces for $14 from weirdforest.com.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

James Blake, exactly one-half of Mount Kimbie but a fully beloved producer in his own right, drops a triad of slow humping body-funk melodies and r&b vocal experiments from another dimension on 12 inches for the Hessle Audio label. If you like electronica that works better on your headphones than on the dancefloor, than this dubstep’s for you. Tunes are available at the usual vendors – try boomkat.com, forcedexposure.com or beatstax.com.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Meant to tell you guys about this one a little earlier but seeing as how Blackest Rainbow is now shipping out pre-orders with less than 15 copies left in stock I have pretty much failed all of you occult-folk fanatics (of which there are probably also less than 15). To be honest, I was not able to get my hands on their last release so I could not tell you exactly what is going on with these fellows – but I love their album art and I love the phrase “occult-folk”. The fact that there are only 15 left at the source hopefully means that there are plenty on their way to distros. I guess we will see, Blackest Rainbow releases sure do tend to disappear fast. If you’d rather not take your chances, best to order promptly at blackest-rainbow.com.

UPDATE: Some copies available at European label/distro aurora-b.com (look in the vinyl section).

UPDATE #2: Some copies available at forcedexposure.com. This will disappear soon, folks.

Say what?  One of the best indie rock records of all-time has just been reissued?  Yes, my friends, it is all true.   After it skyrocketed to over $100 on eBay for the past couple years, someone at Sony FINALLY had the good sense to repress Modest Mouse’s “The Moon & Antarctica”.  From the looks of the stats, I think they did this thing right:  180 gram 2xLP, remastered audio, and restored artwork.  This record is up for preorder now, or you can score it at Record Store Day.  Visit SonyMusicDigital.com.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Holy shit, Madlib just may be the most prolific musician on earth.  The third installment in his MONTHLY series of Medicine Show albums is “Beat Konducta in Africa”.  This one was inspired and fueled by the afro-beat, funk, psych-rock, garage-rock & soul records of Africa.  In addition to the two songs posted below, you can hear a few more HERE.  There are two versions of the vinyl at play here:  A 3xLP version with 43 tracks and a randomly colored silkscreen package by Hit + Run, individually numbered in an edition of 1250, and a 2xLP verison with 37 tracks.  The 3xLP will run you $29.99, the 2xLP costs $19.99.  Visit StonesThrow.com.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

OMGVinyl’s second-favorite psychedelic garage rock band, The Fresh & Onlys, have a brand new EP out on Captured Tracks.  “August In My Mind” features six new tunes that sound as good as anything this band has done.  If this type of music interests you at all, these are the guys to listen to.  Visit CapturedTracks.com.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Crystal Antlers have been kinda quiet lately, but they are proving that they are a smart, forward-thinking band with this new release.  You can either buy “Little Sister / Dead Horses” on a 7″ slab of vinyl for $9 shipped, or you can download the tunes for free, or you can do both (recommended).  Loud psych jams.  Visit CrystalAntlers.com.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

We got a package in the mail from To Live A Lie records and it was a loud one.  This label specializes in blistering punk rock, hardcore, grindcore, fastcore, and powerviolence.  Now, instead of trying to act like I know what I’m talking about when it comes to these genres, I’ll just say that this label puts out an awesome product with screenprinted packaging, good sound quality, and a serious DIY ethic.  If all that sounds appealing, visit ToLiveALie.com.

More new vinyl from Javelin. The last two pieces of wax released by these boys moved with a quickness, so if you want some I advise you to wrangle a pre-order in at luakabop.com. Hey, isn’t that David Byrne’s label? Maybe these guys actually are cool.

Yep, they are.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.