Tomorrow, April 22, is Record Store Day and as always, there are a ton of “new” releases that are dropping as exclusives. While the intention of Record Store Day started as a way to bring excitement back to physical media in the format of vinyl, it’s quickly grown into a day where bands and labels release music for the sake of exclusivity. While it’s still fun to get a lot of great stuff on vinyl, it’s feeling more and more like a commercial event to get fans to spend a lot of money on items that are strictly being sold to make a lot of money. This is your reminder that you can support your local record stores and favorite bands every day of the year and not just on a day that was designed to make labels more money and that if there are records you want, please don’t buy them second hand for exorbitant prices that aren’t going to the stores the day was intended to celebrate.
Other new releases this week that are exciting to celebrate include the first new album in over two decades from the Trip-Hop / Dance duo Everything But the Girl. Picking up right where they left off, the group brings back their classic ‘90s sound without coming across as stale, but rather just as exciting now as it was nearly 30 years ago.
Guitar maestro Bill Orcutt has a new album that is his first acoustic record in ten years. Although physical copies won’t be available until next week, you can purchase the digital version now and listen exclusively on Bandcamp. ALL HANDS_MAKE LIGHT is a new duo featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Broken Social Scene and the two lead singles confirm that the post-rock aspirations are still in full force with this new project and their sprawling, droning nature seems to still be conjuring up a special magic that is near and dear to the hearts of their devoted followers.
Earlier this week, Foo Fighters announced a new album, their first since the tragic passing of their drummer Taylor Hawkins, and the lead single is a rocking, cathartic tribute called “Rescued.” The song is a full-charge, no holds-barred rocker and it’s a fitting ode for the legend and one of the strongest tracks the band has released in over a decade.
Militarie Gun have made it pretty far without releasing an actual album, but that will soon change and along with the announcement of their debut record, the band shared the alternative hardcore track “Very High.” Last week, MUNA played Coachella (which they’ll do again today) and debuted a new track called “One That Got Away,” and earlier this week they released a studio recording of the song.
JAY-Z played his first show in four years last weekend and dropped a new version of his career-comeback “Empire State of Mind.” The new version heavily sampled the late, great Gil Scott-Heron’s “New York Is Killing Me” and pretty much drops Alicia Keys’ nonsensical lyrics for a gruff new take that adds some grit back to Hov’s game.
Last year, Interpol released their seventh record, The Other Side of Make-Believe. Now, they’re back with a new reinterpretation of the album through the eyes and ears of Jeff Parker, Water From Your Eyes, and more. This week we got the remix of “Big Shot City” from ambitious jazz drummer Makaya McCraven.
Recent matador signees bar italia announced their debut record would be out later this year and shared another new track, the minimal post-punk tune “punkt.” Fellow scenesters from the London post-punk genre Squid have a new album coming in June and this week dropped the funky track “Undergrowth.”
British jazz artist Alabaster de Plume premiered their first new tune of 2023, the skronky new track “Salty Road Dogs Victory Anthem.” Arlo Parks has a sophomore record on the way and this week shared another single from the record. “Blades” was inspired by ESG and Kaytranada and brings some groove and rhythm to Arlo’s already solid sound.
After a decade as one half of Run the Jewels, Killer Mike announced a new solo album. Fans of the group need not fear as El-P guests on the new track easing any concerns regarding the state of their partnership. The sly Dean Blunt also shared two new tracks this week, the woozy acoustic guitar looping “Smile Please” (which features guest vocals from Iceage’s Elias Rønnenfelt) and the back to the groove basics, “Johnny cash hurst type beast.”
Next month, Daft Punk will release the tenth anniversary edition of their final album Random Access Memories and this week they shared the studio outtakes of the album’s opener “Give Life Back to Music.” The new take, “GLBTM,” features lush, orchestral strings in place of electric guitar, giving an entirely welcomed new vibe to the track that makes you wonder what the album could’ve sounded like, but also begs the question of what other roads the band explored while creating their last work of art.
Albums:
Everything But The Girl | Fuse
Bill Orcutt | Jump On It
Portrayal Of Guilt | Devil Music
ALL HANDS_MAKE LIGHT | Darling The Dawn
The Mars Volta | Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon
Naomi Yang | Never Be A Punching Bag For Nobody [Soundtrack]
Songs:
Foo Fighters | “Rescued”
JAY-Z | “NEW YORK (CONCEPT DE PARIS)” (ft Gil Scott-Heron)
Militarie Gun | “Very High”
MUNA | “One That Got Away”
Alabaster de Plume | “Salty Road Dogs Victory Anthem”
Interpol | “Big Shot City” [Makaya McCraven Interpolation]
bar italia | “punkt”
Dean Blunt | “Smile Please” (ft Elias Rønnenfelt) / “Johnny cash hurt type beast”
Squid | “Undergrowth”
Arlo Parks | “Blades”
Killer Mike | “Don’t Let the Devil” (ft El-P)
Alaska Reid | “She Wonders”
Moor Mother | “STORIES”
Kim Petras | “Alone” (ft Nicki Minaj)
Daft Punk | “GLBTM (Studio Outtakes)”
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2023) here!
*Record Store Day first releases