RECKLESS RECORDS FEBRUARY 7 2025 NEW RELEASES
FACS – Wish Defense LP/CD (Trouble In Mind) limited white or black vinyl
Chicago art rockers FACS return with their 6th album which also sees the return of original bass player Jonathan Van Herik. They also go back to basics arrangement & recording wise. Their last few albums have had a lot of post production & studio trickery but this one sounds like a band simply playing their songs live in a room. We’re not sure how common this knowledge is but this was the final album that Steve Albini worked on before he shockingly left this world.We’re not sure if Albini’s classic, minimal aesthetic influenced the band or not but it seems likely considering the minimalist approach. Six albums these talented vets keep figuring out ways to make things interesting. RECOMMENDED OF COURSE.
GUIDED BY VOICES – Universe Room LP/CD (GBV)
Bob & the gang return in 2025 & this is their (spits out water) 41st album. This one has a little bit more sonic exploration & some surprisingly heavy moments with thick, distorted bass & big sounding drums.
KENDRICK LAMAR – GNX LP/CD (Interscope) indie only blue vinyl or black
When GNX was released, Kendrick was reveling in his victory over Drake, & firmly planting his flag as the most important rapper in pop music today, but GNX is both a victory lap & a mission statement It’s the first for his new label venture pgLang, as well as a showcase for the newest voices & sounds the West Coast has to offer. This is a love letter to California, a regional sound in a world of global connectivity. And… It KNOCKS!
KATHRYN MOHR – Waiting Room LP/CD (The Flenser) color or black vinyl
2025 album by the Oakland artist Kathryn Mohr. Intimate bedroom style recordings mixed with field recordings & some heavy processing on some tracks. Lo-fi & sort of shambolic like early Xpressway Records & Siltbreeze releases with some hints at contemporaries like labelmate MIDWIFE, GROUPER, MOUNT EERIE etc…
THE MOLES – Composition Book LP/CD (Splendid Research)
Richard Davies is one of those ‘if you know, you know’ artists. He’s a hero to post Beatles/Kinks/Syd freaks & 90s/00s indie rock songwriter royalty. THE MOLES don’t release a lot of albums so this is a notable moment. With some help from some female gang back-up vocals, Davies has added another classic to his cannon. For fans of THE MOLES/CARDINAL/Flying Nun especially THE CLEAN & THE CHILLS etc… RECOMMENDED.
SQUID – Cowards LP/LP w/10” (Warp)
British post-punks SQUID get much weirder and more discordant for their third LP, incorporating bright modular synthesis, textured post-rock and ghostly, minimalistic ENO-esque pop, all while covering such topics as bodies, bugs and cannibalism.
OTHER IMPORTANT NEW RELEASES & RESTOCK
BLOOD INCANTATION – Interdimensional Extinction LP (Dark Descent) picture disc
VASHTI BUNYAN – Lookaftering LP (Di Cristina) 2LP/CD 20th anniversary expanded edition
THE CAMERA OBSCURA – To Change the Shape of An Envelope LP (Solid Brass)
CHASTITY BELT/HOLY WAVE split 7” (Suicide Squeeze)
CELIA CRUZ – Siempre Vivire LP (Universal)
THE DONNAS – Gold Medal LP (Real Gone)
HEARTWORMS – Glutton for Punishment LP (Speedy Wunderground)
HER SPACE HOLIDAY – Home Is Where You Hang Yourself LP (Numero) limited color or black
HTRK – Marry Me Tonight LP (Ghostly) reissue on black & pink vinyl
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS – Apple Cores LP/CD (Anti-)
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND – Where Are You Going? Singles LP (Sony)
PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – Perfect Right Now: Slumberland Collection 2008-2010 LP (Slumberland)
HORACE PARLAN – Up & Down LP (Blue Note) Tone Poet
ROBIN PLATTS – Times & Seasons & the Rise & Fall & Rise of the Zombies Book (Hozac)
DIZZY REECE – Blues in Trinity LP (Blue Note) Tone Poet
SONNY ROLLINS – Alfie LP (Impulse) Verve Acoustic Sound Series
MIDORI TAKADA – Through the Looking Glass LP (We Release…) back in print
TELEVISION PERSONALITIES – Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out: Radio Sessions 1980-1993 LP (Fire)
TORTURE – Enduring Freedom LP (Daze) new color
TRISTWCH Y FENYWOD – Tristwch Y Fenywod CD (Night School) now on CD vinyl repress soon
SHARON VAN ETTEN & THE ATTACHMENT THEORY – Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory LP/CD (Jagjaguwar) limited color or black
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Back Up Dos: Mexican Tecno Pop 1980-1989 LP (Dark Entries)
HAROLD WHEELER – Black Cream LP (Real Gone) color vinyl reissue
WILCO – Ghost Is Born: 20th Anniversary 2LP/9LP box set/2CD/9CD box set (Nonesuch)
WILDSIDE – Under the Influence LP (Real Gone)