In this fast-paced musical landscape, where it’s so easy to simply put a playlist on shuffle, nothing compares to putting a record on, sitting back and enjoying all it has to offer in full (or at least until you have get up again to flip it over).
Every week, NME will round up the best vinyl releases available to buy or pre-order. Check out the best from this week below.
Solange – ‘When I Get Home’
NME say:
Solange’s 2016 album ‘A Seat At The Table’ was a revelation, with our review at the time labelling it as “deeply personal and thrillingly intimate”. It had some bangers too. The follow-up from the younger Knowles sibling, ‘When I Get Home’, is a little lower key, but by no means less enthralling, akin to a mood piece rather than a hits collection. “With soothing production, enveloped with numbing vocals, she leaves you in a state of utopia,” we wrote upon its release in March. “This surprise album of 2019 was something we didn’t know we needed.” You can now own it on vinyl.
Norman Records say:
Earning rave reviews upon its surprise release, Solange’s second studio album ‘When I Get Home’ at last gets a proper vinyl edition, arriving on a special clear LP. Including insightful highlights like ‘Almeda’, Solange can now surely do no more to shake off the insulting tag of merely being Beyonce’s sister.
Iggy Pop – ‘Free’
NME say:
‘Free’ is Iggy Pop’s 18th album, what he calls a “uniquely somber and contemplative” collection. It’s a record that’s all about emerging from darkness and coming out stronger the other side. Iggy explains that after his last tour he had “rid myself of the problem of chronic insecurity that had dogged my life and career for too long,” adding: “I have lived my life thus far in the belief that that feeling is all that is worth pursuing; all that you need – not happiness or love necessarily, but the feeling of being free. So this album just kind of happened to me, and I let it happen.” ‘Free’ is out on 6 September.
Norman Records say:
Recommended
Living legend, Iggy Pop, has been dogged by insecurity all his life. The process of making and touring his last album, 2016’s ‘Post Pop Depression’, helped him with this. He wanted to feel free, so he allowed that feeling to take over, and ‘Free’, his 18th solo album, developed from there. It is different in tone to its predecessor, finding Iggy in a pensive and solemn mood.
M83 – ‘DSVII’
NME say:
Anthony Gonzalez’s M83 project may be best known for their brand of bubbling synth-pop, but back in 2007 they took an ambient detour with the Brian Eno-inspired ‘Digital Shades Vol. 1’. Now, they’re back with a follow-up of sorts, ‘DSVII’, which has been described as “influenced heavily by early video game soundtracks, ‘80s sci-fi/fantasy films and analog synth pioneers”. Need any more convincing? Just take a look at that artwork.
Norman Records say:
If you’re a big M83 (aka Anthony Gonzalez) fan, as I’m sure lots of you are, you’ll be aware of his 2007 album, ‘Digital Shades Vol. 1’, which contained some Eno influenced ambient outtakes that couldn’t find a place on any of his albums. 12 years have passed and M83 has amassed enough material for a second helping, ‘DSVII’. This time there’s an ‘80s sci-fi element to the music. Eno is still clearly an influence but there’s evidence he’s been listening to Mort Garson, John Carpenter and Suzanne Ciani, too.
(Sandy) Alex G – ‘Trick’
NME say:
Back in 2014, Alex G – now known as (Sandy) Alex G – was dubbed by some as “the Internet’s Secret Best Songwriter”. Fast-forward five years and, following on from a series of acclaimed albums on Domino Records, plus a cameo on Frank Ocean’s Blonde, the Philadelphian lo-fi wiz’s talents are pretty well established. Ahead of his new record ‘House of Sugar’ (out in September), revisit this early gem ‘Trick’, self-released via Bandcamp back in 2012.
Norman Records say:
‘Trick’ is a 13-tracker from the Philadelphia-based musician and songwriter. This is one for all the indie weirdos out there, with each track lead by Alex’s wonky melancholic croon over an acoustic guitar, with some bits of Casio keyboards and other lo-fi bits and bats. Think Mac DeMarco & Elvis Depressedly.
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Bandana
NME say:
Anything by either rapper Freddie Gibbs or hip-hop producer Madlib is always worth shouting about, and their first joint LP, 2014’s ‘Piñata’, proved that a collaboration between the pair is even more than the sum of its parts. It’s now 2019 and their raw chemistry hasn’t faded one bit, with NME’s Thomas Hobbs predicting that ‘Bandana’ “might just end up being remembered as the best rap album of 2019″. High praise indeed.
Norman Records say:
Been a long wait for this one. Anyone who’s had even a passing interest in hip-hop throughout the 2010’s knows that ‘Pinata’, the 2014 collaboration between Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, is one of the strongest rap full-lengths of the decade. The pair repeat the trick on ‘Bandana’, an LP five years in the making. Though the weight of anticipation must have been heavy for this one Gibbs and ‘lib are as steely-eyed as ever – Gibbs spits iron-wool bars over Madlib’s beat odysseys. Masterpiece, obviously. Pusha T, Killer Mike and Yasiin Bey are among the guests.
The Jam – ‘Snap!’
NME say:
Fans have been calling for a Jam reunion ever since their split in 1982. But with the prospects of that happening looking increasingly unlikely, you may have to do with this – the group’s first greatest hits collection, originally released back in 1983. It features ‘Town Called Malice’, ‘Going Underground’, ‘The Eton Rifles’ and much more over 29 tracks and two discs, even coming with a special live 7-inch.
Norman Records say:
Released soon after they split at the peak of their powers, ‘Snap!’ was the first compilation from The Jam, collecting their arsenal of excellent hit singles and fan favourites in a double-LP package. Now, it gets a lovingly packaged re-issue, with original artwork and inners plus the exclusive live 7-inch disc that originally came with it.
Echo & The Bunnymen – ‘The John Peel Sessions 1979-1983’
NME say:
The John Peel Sessions gave us some incredible music moments – Joy Division, Nirvana and The White Stripes among them – and the impact of getting the late Radio 1 DJ’s support was vital to any band. As Echo & The Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant explains: “Without John Peel sessions, Echo And The Bunnymen in my opinion, would not exist! It’s that simple… Recording a Peel session was essential to the development of our songwriting skills while at the same time giving us amazing exposure and self-belief.” This two-disc vinyl collection will be released on 6 September.
Norman Records say:
One of Britain’s most august indie institutions, Echo & The Bunnymen present an archival dig for all of the sessions they recorded for the legendary John Peel during their formative years from 1979 to 1983. Many of the 21 songs – presented over two LPs / one CD – do not appear on their early albums, as the band actually used the sessions to experiment with new material.
Japanese Television – ‘Japanese Television II’
NME say:
London fourpiece Japanese Television call themselves the “UK’s number two space-surf band”. We’re not really sure who that puts in at number one spot, but what we do know is that upcoming six-track EP, ‘Japanese Television II’, is out now and definitely lives up to its cosmic-beachy billing.
Norman Records say:
Produced by The Wytches’ Kristian Bell and laid down a deserted village hall, London’s Japanese Television deliver their second EP, which promises yet more space-rock / surf-rock / psych-rock. ‘Japanese Television II’ consists of six tracks, and arrives on 12” vinyl via Tip Top Recordings.
Moloko – ‘Do You Like My Tight Sweater?’
NME say:
2019 marks the 25th anniversary of Moloko’s formation in 1994, so it seems an appropriate time to reissue their debut album, ‘Do You Like My Tight Sweater?’, which arrived the following year. Fun fact: the inspiration for the record’s title came from a chat-up line Róisín Murphy uttered to Mark Brydon when they first met at a party.
Norman Records say:
One of the most quietly inventive British-based bands of the late Nineties, Moloko spanned electronica, jazz, soul and house on their 1995 debut album ‘Do You Like My Tight Sweater?’.
Fennesz – ‘Agora’
NME say:
‘Agora’, the new album from Austrian electronic musician Fennesz, sees the artist stripping things back. He explains: “I had temporarily lost a proper studio workspace and had to move all my gear back to a small bedroom in my flat where I recorded this album. It was all done on headphones, which was rather a frustrating situation at first but later on it felt like back in the day when I produced my first records in the 1990s.” It’s a move that worked though, with Fennesz adding: “In the end it was inspiring. I used very minimal equipment; I didn’t even have the courage to plug in all the gear and instruments which were at my disposal. I just used what was to hand.”
Norman Records say:
Can you believe it’s been nearly five years since the sumptuously singed guitar and synths of Christian Fennesz graced a solo album? It’s amazing but true. And his return to the format is a little unusual, in that it was put together away from the studio in his bedroom using only minimal equipment. Touch continues to touch.