PlayARt - Bring Albums to Life

Wolf Parade - Dan Boeckner, Spencer Krug, and Arlen Thompson - will release Thin Mind, the group’s fifth album for Sub Pop, on January 24th, 2020. The 10-track record was recorded by John Goodmanson at Risque Disque on Vancouver Island, BC, mixed by Goodmanson at Bogroll Studios in Seattle, WA, and mastered by Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel Mastering in Toronto, ON. Thin Mind has sci-fi, post-apocalyptic and dystopian narratives interwoven throughout. These themes emerged while working at Risque Disque, which Boeckner jokingly describes as a Dutchman’s failed utopia, a problematic structure with a post-apocalyptic vibe: the studio is housed in a stone barn hand-built by the Dutchman in the middle of the woods, using local materials and based on his memory of a building he loved growing up in the Netherlands. Thin Mind finds the core members of Wolf Parade working as a trio, as they did on past albums Apologies to the Queen Mary and At Mount Zoomer, with songwriting duties evenly split between singers Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug. The album includes the singles “Forest Green,” “Julia, Take Your Man Home,” and “Against the Day,” the latter of which features a rare, co-vocal performance from Boeckner and Krug.

GRAMMY Award-nominated, multi-Platinum artist and alternative pop maverick Halsey returns with her third full-length album Manic featuring her 5x Platinum hit "Without Me" and "Graveyard." The success of "Without Me" has made Halsey the first and only female artist to have at least three songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100. It now ranks as the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit by a female artist of this century.

"Black Hole Rainbow” was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War On Drugs) in his iconic Downtown LA studio, with additional album production from Ariel Rechtshaid (Vampire Weekend, HAIM). Shortly after wrapping the recording, Devon and a team from Capitol embarked on a trip to South Africa to grasp the creative vision for the new record. One which you can see very clearly through the imagery associated with the roll out. “Get Out and Get It” was the first single and music video to be release, landing in the top 15 at AAA radio. “Even Though It Hurts” followed not long after with a visualizer and saw a lot of love from fans and critics alike. The upcoming record named “Black Hold Rainbow” will undoubtedly be one of the best debuts in 2020.

Honeymoon is the excellent debut album from Beach Bunny, the four-piece band out of Chicago. Recorded at the iconic Chicago studio Electrical Audio with producer Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Algernon Caldwaller), the nine songs on the LP burst with energy that capture their vital and life-affirming live shows. Songs like the swooning and anthemic singles 'Dream Boy' and 'Ms. California' encapsulate the highs and lows the exiting the honeymoon stage of a relationship. The long-awaited debut LP 'Honeymoon' from Beach Bunny follows their breakout hit on Tik-Tok, 'Prom Queen' (65 million global streams, 518K+ TikTok videos). Honeymoon will be released on February 14th, 2020 following a major market tour with festival plays.

Double vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. 2020 release, the eighth album from hard-hitting rockers Five Finger Death Punch. The album was produced by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who currently lives in Las Vegas, where he works out of his private studio, The Hideout Recording Studio. Includes "Inside Out".

Only The Song Survives is the definitive collection of John Hiatt's musical output spanning two decades of releases on New West Records. The vast box set includes eleven albums, spread across fifteen long play records, all pressed on high quality 180g vinyl. Four releases - Crossing Muddy Waters (2000), The Tiki Bar Is Open (2001), Beneath This Gruff Exterior (2003) and Master Of Disaster (2005) - have been remastered for vinyl and pressed on wax for the very first time. The box set's 48-page book is autographed by John Hiatt and features rare photos, testimonials, essays and insights from many of Hiatt's co-conspirators throughout his career - from Ry Cooder, Steve Earle, Sonny Landreth, Patterson Hood, Luther Dickinson, Rodney Crowell, James McMurtry and more.

Seven inch vinyl pressing of this single lifted from the alt-rock supergroup's 2019 album Help Us Stranger.

The 20th Anniversary of The Slim Shady LP is set to release on 3LP 180 gram vinyl and 2CD on 13th December, 2019 in an updated Expanded Edition including bonus tracks, rarities, a capella’s, freestyles, and instrumentals.

Originally released on 23rd February, 1999 The Slim Shady LP turned Eminem from an underground rapper into a high-profile celebrity. The album featured production from Dr. Dre, the Bass Brothers, and Eminem himself. The Slim Shady LP is his first album with a major label after his first album Infinite was released on an independent label in 1996. The majority of the album’s lyrical content is written from the perspective of the rapper’s alter ego Slim Shady, whom the rapper created on the Slim Shady EP (1997).

The Slim Shady LP went on to be certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide.

The prophesy has come true! Tenacious D's Kyle Gass and Jack Black team up with Jack White on production to create a brand new one-sided single.

A1 “Don't Blow It, Kage" 

"In January 2019 I found myself stuck in a Chicago hotel room during the “Polar Vortex”. I was performing there with my duo Radnor & Lee over a few nights when temperatures dropped, leaving me unable to do much outside my hotel room for 4 days.

Chicago is a city that holds a special history for me, and I found myself spending a good chunk of time staring out my hotel window, reflecting on my first trip there in 1993 to record my debut solo album  Grandpaw Would at Idful Studios with Brad Wood. But more than the details of that trip, I was struck by how vividly memories started flooding back tome of being a 15 year old mega fan of music, and in particular, indie rock. I LIVED for the records that I loved and the bands who made them. I’m not sure you are ever a fan of bands the way you can be as a teenager. It’s pretty sacred.

I started re-listening to some of my favorite songs from that period in that hotel room, by the Beat Happening, Pavement, Fugazi, The Breeders, Guided by Voices. It struck me as crazy that these songs and the feelings that accompanied them were now over 25 years old. It started seeming odd to me that for some reason, indie rock hasn’t been canonized the same way ‘60s and ‘70s rock has. After all, Dinosaur Jr were my Led Zeppelin, Sonic Youth were my Grateful Dead and Built to Spill were my Steve Miller Band. These were my classics!

I always travel with my portable studio gear, and I immediately sat down and started learning and recording a collection of my favorite songs. I spent my 4 days of the 2019 Polar Vortex creating the blueprint for what would becomeQuarter Century Classix. When I got home to LA, I invited my friends Julianna Barwick, William Tyler and Mary Lattimore to my home studio to add their magic to my recordings as I knew they grew up in reverence of the same records I did. These three genius musicians became the “band” who you can hear framing these covers and I am eternally grateful for their talent and generosity. Later, Maria Taylor, Mike Watt, Petra Haden and Joey Waronker all showed up to play too.

To some people these songs are just footnotes in pop culture history. But to me, they are the essence my own personal history. I wanted to make this record a tribute to these bands, to these songs, and to the irreversible way music can touch and transform the life of a young person. I hope you enjoy

Quarter Century Classix. - Ben Lee

JD McPherson presents A Christmas Album, SOCKS. Featuring 11 original tracks written by JD McPherson and his friends. SOCKS is an album of Holidays songs sure to be standards while you are decorating the tree. Come get warm by the fire with songs such as , "All The Gifts I Need" and "Every Single Christmas." Or, burn the cookies to "SOCKS" and "Ugly Christmas Sweater." There is something for everyone on this record to enjoy whether you are in the Christmas spirit or if you just wanna say, "Bah Humbug".

uknowhatimsayin¿ marks a buoyant new chapter in Danny's career, a transitional and celebratory moment. His profile has grown since Atrocity and now armed with a cable TV show and a co-sign from one of rap's icons, we will look to solidify his positioning as a ubiquitous entertainer, independent rap hero, and one of the essential cultural voices of this era, while still retaining the edgy, maverick style that makes him a fan-favorite. The album is executive produced by Q-Tip, and features production by Q-Tip, JPEGMAFIA, Flying Lotus, Paul White, Standing on the Corner and more. 

Pluralone (pronounced "plural one") is the new project from multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Josh Klinghoffer. While Klinghoffer is best known for his current role as guitarist in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he has played and recorded with a variety of acts, including PJ Harvey, Beck, and Gnarls Barkley, as well as fronting the group Dot Hacker. Pluralone's debut album, To Be One With You, is largely a solo effort on Klinghoffer's part, although it features performances by frequent collaborators such as Flea (RHCP), Jack Irons, Eric Avery (Jane's Addiction), and fellow Dot Hacker members, Eric Gardner and Clint Walsh. On the heels of a seven inch release with two foreign language covers, the new album showcases ten brand new, original tracks which will be available on LP, CD, and digital formats.

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Allman Brothers debut album, New West Records is proud to present, Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band. This record is a true collection of big band jazz interpretations of Allman Brothers classics. The record features guest vocals by Marc Broussard and Ruthie Foster. Big Band of Brothers also features Jack Pearson on guitar, who has performed as a guest of the Allman Brothers Band on numerous occasions, and actually joined as a member of the band in 1997. Together with Dickey Betts, he completed the band's archetypal guitar duo for nearly 3 years. Wycliffe Gordon (of Jazz at Lincoln Center fame) is also featured as a soloist. Gordon is consistently ranked among leading trombone players in the Downbeat critics poll.

William Hooker has been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, leading a variety of ensembles within the worlds of free jazz, experimental, and new music. Hooker’s prior collaborators range from avant garde jazz musicians to indie rock legends like Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. On his latest work, “Symphonie of Flowers”, Hooker weaves three sections into a whole, or a “symphonie” of sorts. As he says, “the piece begins and ends with the drum…my instrument. Its rhythm and variations of timbre are the stabilizing element.”

Imagine the mind’s farthest wanderings made physical, formed into worlds that represent our internal and external expressions. Mythologically speaking, people have been naming this duality for ages: utopia and dystopia, heaven and earth, Olympus and the underworld. Now imagine this concept distilled in an eleven track, thirty-six minute album, and you arrive at Arcadia, the latest offering by songstress Lily Kershaw. Weaving warmer analog sounds like organ, harpsichord and guitar with cinematic force, Arcadia is Kershaw’s most intimate release to date. But the strongest tool Kershaw wields is her voice, both in the simmering ferocity it carries and the poetry it speaks. Though the concept behind the record is epic to say the least, Kershaw is ultimately telling a story of acceptance, both of herself and the great mystery that is the universe

Maryland-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Nau is back with a fourth “solo” album, on the heels of his 2018 release, Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread. Nau, who previously fronted projects like Page France and Cotton Jones, is known for his unique blend of psychedelic folk, R&B, and indie rock music. On his latest effort, Less Ready To Go, Nau enlisted Scott McMicken (Dr. Dog) as a producer, along with collaborators Whitney McGraw, Andrew Dost (fun.), Zach Miller (Dr. Dog), Benny Yurco, and Seth Kauffman.

The Gathering Dawn is the debut solo album from Hollie Kenniff. The album, which is her first ambient proclamation, displays a sprawling looseness in sharp contrast to her works as one half of Mint Julep with husband Keith Kenniff (Helios, Goldmund). The Gathering Dawn wistfully utilizes glacial synths, blurred out guitars and Hollie's melancholic vocal plumes as a basis. The album finds Hollie effortlessly folding classic ambient motifs in with a minimal modernist brushstrokes.

The Raconteurs – Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence, and Patrick Keeler – have announced the release of their long-awaited new album, HELP US STRANGER, which is the GRAMMY® Award-winning rock band’s third studio LP and first new album in more than a decade. Out on Friday, June 21, HELP US STRANGER sees the mighty combo reassembled, stronger and perhaps even more vital than ever before as they continue to push rock 'n' roll forward into its future, bonding prodigious riffs, blues power, sinewy psychedelia, Detroit funk, and Nashville soul via Benson and White’s uncompromising songcraft and the band’s steadfast musical muscle. With HELP US STRANGER, The Raconteurs have returned right when they are needed most, unified and invigorated with boundless ambition, infinite energy and a collectivist spirit operating at the peak of its considerable powers, once again creating a sound and fury only possible when all four of its members come together.

Composed and assembled over the course of several years, Jaime is a highly personal album release combining Brittany’s unmistakable voice with peerless, visionary and fearless songwriting. Brittany has constructed an assemblage of songs which bend the framework of what we know from her previous work with Alabama Shakes and endeavors with Thunderbitch and Bermuda Triangle, music which wholly sits in a new terrain of sound bolstered by an incredible band of musicians including Zac Cockrell of the Shakes, drummer Nate Smith and the one and only Robert Glasper.

Black Pumas has announced their highly anticipated debut album set for release on June 21. The band is led by the creative partnership between Grammy Award-winning guitarist / producer Adrian Quesada and 27-year-old songwriter Eric Burton. Burton is a relative newcomer who arrived in Austin in 2015 after busking his way across the country from Los Angeles, while Quesada has a storied reputation for playing in bands like Grupo Fantasma and Brownout. 

After the two connected via friends in the Austin scene, they began to collaborate on a new sound that transmutes soul into something idiosyncratically modern. Reminiscent of Ghostface Killah and Motown in equal measure, this original sound ensured that Black Pumas’ weekly residency at C-Boys quickly became “the hottest party in town” (Austin-American Statesman).