EARLY PRESSING, MADE IN WEST GERMANY

HOO BOY! After blowing up the spot with his excellent solo mixtape "LiveLoveA$AP" & the follow-up mixtape with his A$AP MOB crew ("Lords Never Worry"), A$AP ROCKY steps out on his first official solo album. The album starts off with the title track, which has a very catchy hook (don't let that scare you) along- side his signature, dark style & proceeds to keep it nice & bass-heavy with deceptively clever lyrics. A$AP ROCKY's subject matter probably won't appeal to those who prefer a more, shall we say, positive style, as ROCKY talks a lot about cocaine, women & so on. BUT if you're feeling the previous A$AP crew output, GUILTY SIMPSON or the slo-mo Houston style that ROCKY (who reps Harlem) has adopted & put his own twist on, then you'll be feeling this. A VERY strong album with great guest spots from DANNY BROWN, KENDRICK LAMAR, SANTIGOLD, DRAKE, ACTION BRONSON, BIG K.R.I.T. & more.

MeTV.FM FAVORITES NEVER MY LOVE ALONG COMES MARY CHERISH WINDY

A compilation of emcee SLUG's latest masterpieces, the "Lucy" & "Ford" eps, here's systematic evidence that SLUG is simply one of the best rappers around. His lucid, literate style switches from laid-back to intense at the drop of a...beat. Those, by the way, being supplied (as always) by the ever-atmospheric ANT, with some additional work by Anticon's own JEL. Together, these two dj's create the perfect backdrop to SLUG's tales of urban life, lost love & the mediocrity of daily existence. As a bonus, this cd not only includes all of the tracks from those eps (minus the instrumentals), but a handful of exclusive numbers only found here.

Debut album from this Los Angeles trio is a dreamy pop-rock lockup of shoe-gazing stillness, John Bonham esque backstabs, and new wave-groove. Fans of BRMC, ENON, and SECRET MACHINES should take note. Produced by T-BONE BURNETT.

Taking the art of sampling to it's logical extreme, THE AVALANCHES jettison all notion of instrumental composition for a postmodern tour de force of 'borrowed' or recycled found/bought sounds. Inhabiting the nexus between broken beat, post-trip hop MO WAX beat juggling and CHEMICAL BROTHERS/DJ SHADOW sample sculpting with a shade of NEGATIVELAND sample humour The Avalanches leave you wondering how someone had time to garner and prepare so many delectable sounds in sonic-IRON CHEF fashion. Raise anchors and set sail for strange and distant shores of exotic beat renderings and cannibal sample cut-ups.

with PICK UP THE PIECES

2010 SubPop debut from this SHINS-esque band, with sweet and catchy melodies for days. This is perfect for the upcoming summer and any other summer yet to happen. It will also cheer you up in the winter.