PlayARt - Bring Albums to Life

Just a few weeks after the surprise release of the Cuttin' Grass (Vol. 1): Butcher Shoppe Sessions album—which Uproxx called “the most sublime and delightful music he’s yet made on record”—Sturgill Simpson returns with the next installment of his bluegrass series, Cuttin' Grass (Vol. 2): The Cowboy Arms Sessions. The genre-defying singer/songwriter reconvened an A-Team of acoustic players (now dubbed "The Hillbilly Avengers") for another round of reinterpretations of his catalogue, this time largely focusing on 2016's A Sailor's Guide to Earth, which won the Grammy for Country Album of the Year and was nominated for Album of the Year. This volume also includes "Jesus Boogie," originally performed by Simpson's first band, Sunday Valley, and two previously unreleased songs, "Tennessee" and "Hobo Cartoon," the latter of which was co-written with the incomparable Merle Haggard—who once said that Simpson was "about the only thing I've heard that was worth listening to in a long time."

Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions) is now available on Vinyl & CD.

Championed by Sir Elton John on Apple Music Beats 1. From the label that is pioneering the new wave of 21 st century Rock N Roll artists. Following in the footsteps of bands like Rival Sons, The Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke, Massive Wagons & Those Damn Crows. Developed a fearsome live reputation with relentless touring up and down the UK. Played festivals such as Ramblin' Man Fair, Planet Rockstock & Winter's End. Chosen for the support slots with the likes of Black Stone Cherry * The Dead Daisies Huge support from major UK Rock media such as Classic Rock Magazine and Planet Rock Radio (1.2 million listeners per week)

On August 20, 2020 the world lost an amazing light with the passing of Justin Townes Earle. Justin was a vibrant songwriter who could play the blues, country, and rock n roll all in the same song.  In his short career, Justin released eight albums and one EP that all manage to sound classic and yet inventive.

Justin's father, Steve Earle, pays tribute to his son by recording an album of songs written by Justin titled, J.T.  The album consists of ten Justin Townes Earle songs as well as one song written by Mr. Earle shortly after Justin's passing. J.T. features fan favorites such as "Harlem River Blues," "Far Away In Another Town" and "Champagne Corolla" along with lyrically heavy songs like, "The Saint of Lost Causes" and "Turn Out My Lights."

J.T. is a loving tribute to a loved son and beautiful songsmith who left this earth too early.  But in his wake, Justin left a wealth of beauty.  All proceeds from this release will be put into a trust for Justin’s 3 year old daughter, Etta.

As a rock icon and filmmaker with a unique vision, Rob Zombie has continuously challenged audiences as he stretches the boundaries of both music and film. He has sold more than fifteen million albums worldwide, and is the only artist to experience unprecedented success in both music and film as the writer/director of eight feature films with a worldwide gross totaling more than $150 million.

October 2020 sees the release of the first new ZOMBIE track and video in over four years - "King Freak: A Crypt Of Preservation And Superstition" off of the forthcoming full-length album entitled The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. A classic ZOMBIE album through and through with high-energy rages like The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man and Get Loose to heavy-groove thumpers like Shadow Of The Cemetery Man and Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass . This new slab of ZOMBIE madness hits in early 2021.

The self-titled, full-length debut from Bones Owens is a selection of songs both gloriously gritty and undeniably euphoric. In a bold departure from the moody Americana of his acclaimed EPs Hurt No One and Make Me No King, the Missouri-bred musician’s first release with Thirty Tigers delivers a powerful sound deeply inspired by ’60s garage-rock, Hill Country blues, and the swampy roots-rock of bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival (“the first record I remember stealing from my dad when I was ten and just starting to play guitar,” according to Owens). A potent showcase for his formidable guitar work—a talent he’s displayed in performing with artists as eclectic as Yelawolf and Mikky Ekko—Bones Owens arrives as a full-tilt expression of Owens’ wildest impulses, all swinging rhythms, and swaggering riffs.

The world may seem like a pretty strange place right now, but if nothing else that’s forced us into realizing that being human is a shared experience. That sentiment lies at the core of Earth Is A Black Hole, the second full-length from the Los Angeles rock act Teenage Wrist.

The album also marks the group’s first release as a duo, with guitarist Marshall Gallagher stepping up as frontman, and longtime drummer Anthony Salazar backing him up in spectacular fashion. Gallagher explains. “I wanted to keep this band going and we didn’t know exactly what that would look like, so I wrote two songs and demoed them myself to see if everyone was still on board.” Those songs turned out to be the jangly power ballad “Yellowbelly” and spacey rocker “Wear U Down”—and with that, a new era of Teenage Wrist was born.

The artistic liberation of this lineup change, coupled with the past two years the band spent touring alongside genre-smashing acts such as Thrice, allowed Teenage Wrist to expand on the shoegazing sound that helped establish them as one of the most exciting rock bands around today. From lush, guitar-driven songs like “High Again” to the atmospheric ambience of “Stella” and syncopated aggression of “Earth Is A Black Hole,“—most evidently on the swirling anthem “Silverspoon,“— Earth Is A Black Hole sees the band.

Fleet Foxes will release their fourth studio album entitled SHORE, a collection of 15 new songs, on February 5, 2021 on double-gatefold 2LP vinyl and CD.

Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold shares, “SHORE feels like a relief, like you’d feel when your feet finally hit sand after getting caught in a riptide. It’s a celebration of life in the face of death, honoring our lost musical heroes, from David Berman to John Prine to Judee Sill to Bill Withers, embracing the joy and solace they brought to our lives and honoring their memory. SHORE is an object levitating between the magnetic fields of the past and the future.”

SHORE was released digitally in its entirety on the fall equinox (9/22) alongside an album length Super-16mm landscape film captured and edited in Washington State by the filmmaker Kersti Jan Werdal. The album was recorded in upstate New York at Aaron Dessner’s Long Pond Studio, in Paris at Studios St. Germain, in Los Angeles at the legendary Vox, in Long Island City at Diamond Mine, and New York City’s Electric Lady.

Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut made a profound impact on the international musical landscape, earning them Uncut's first ever Music Award Prize and a spot in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the 2000’s. The follow-up album Helplessness Blues was met with the same critical praise as its predecessor (MOJO ★★★★★, Pitchfork’s Best New Music) and earned them a GRAMMY nomination. Both Fleet Foxes and Helplessness Blues are certified Gold in the US. The band’s third studio album Crack-Up, released in 2017, charted #9 on the Billboard Top 200.

Every now and then an artist comes along who makes you remember why you started listening to albums in the first place: Aaron Lee Tasjan is that artist. With his off-center charm and restless creative dazzle, he makes music with conviction that has its roots in rock’s murky past, armed with an arsenal of songs that spill over with humor, intelligence, irony, and at times prophecy.He updates the idea of androgyny but dispels the emotional and social ambiguity with lyrics that reflect his own geographic and artistic wanderings.

Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! is 11 songs. The man who began the album, is not the same man who completed it, transformed both by the experiences that inspired the songs and crafting them. This is not anxious music for anxious times, but rather music as an antidote for anxious times. It is the sound of the future arriving.

Like the great river that flows through Memphis, the music of Lucero keeps rolling on, twisting and turning through the years, the same dark and brooding steadiness always at work.  Since forming in late the ‘90s, this group of Memphis road-dogs has mixed heartfelt lyrics with the sounds of early rock and roll, classic punk, country-folk, and deep-fried Southern soul. It’s a sound that stands on the pillars of American music, born more of feeling than technique, delivered night after night to legions of fans in dive bars and theaters, and on stages as august as Red Rocks Amphitheater and the Ryman. In short, it’s music that is built to last, impervious to trends.  For their tenth studio album, When You Found Me, the band continues its natural evolution, this time tapping into a more atmospheric, widescreen vision (one that wouldn’t seem out of place on a Reagan-era FM dial) while still staying tethered to its roots.  “I wanted a very classic rock sound for this album,” says songwriter and frontman Ben Nichols. “I wanted it to sound like stuff I heard on the radio growing up. I didn’t want to make a retro record at all, but I did want to reference some of those sounds and tones and moods. I think we struck a nice balance between nostalgia and something that still sounds like contemporary Lucero.”

Highly anticipated debut from 2020 breakthrough artist, london-based musician and poet Arlo Parks.

 

"My album is a series of vignettes and intimate portraits surrounding my adolescence and the people that shaped it. It is rooted in storytelling and nostalgia - I want it to feel both universal and hyper specific."

 

Recent press features have seen her grace the cover of  NME and Dork Magazine as well as being included on the 2020 Dazed 100 List. And all whilst performing stand-out shows for the revered COLORS and NPR's Tiny Desk series - plus being one of only three artists to perform at Glastonbury this year.

 

Arlo has also been named an ambassador for the British mental health charity, CALM. Whilst her songwriting has seen her gain new fans in; Billie Eilish, Florence Welch, Michelle Obama, Angel Olsen and Wyclef Jean, among others.

 

"A minor key moonbeam"

NPR

 

“Her songs are the results of an alchemy that combines shiver-inducing highs with sweet, molasses-coated lows”

W Magazine

 

“gritty, visceral storytelling that shines through her songwriting”

Pigeons & Planes

 

"Arlo Parks gives teen angst a human face" 

The FADER

The Daisies have started the next chapter welcoming new band member Glenn Hughes. Also known as "The Voice Of Rock", Glenn has taken over lead vocals and bass guitar, joining guitarists Doug Aldrich, David Lowy and drummer Deen Castronovo. With the addition of Glenn Hughes, The Daisies supercharge their front line through his rock solid bass grooves and unmatched vocal intensity. As all fans know, the man is a true original, inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, with a rich history of music that features heavy weights like Deep Purple and Black Country Communion as well as a successful solo career. One might say: "They don't build rockers like him anymore". Followers can expect more High-Voltage Rock songs, indomitable grooves and spellbinding lyrics, all the ingredients that have made this music so timeless, out-living trends of the modern day. The sound of The Dead Daisies is entrenched in the Hard Rock way of life we all love but as a living, breathing rock band, they are constantly evolving & bringing new dynamics to a classic style.

Mike Rosenberg, better known as Passenger, is a multi-award winning, platinum-selling singer-songwriter from Brighton, England. Although still known for his busking, he long ago made the journey from street corners to stadiums – most notably with 'Let Her Go', which reached number 1 in 19 countries and which has now notched more than two billion plays on YouTube. For his latest album "Songs For The Drunk and Broken Hearted" Rosenberg explains, “I chose the album title because a lot of the songs are about drinking and the emotions felt around it” he explains. There are personal references Rosenberg adds, “I’ve recently gone through a break-up, which is always a rough time but can actually be very inspiring too. I spent a few months going out and drinking too much which was fun and heartbreaking and awful all at once. Some of the material is personal and some of it is about other people, either people I’ve met or fictional characters. That’s always been a Passenger thing: sad stories about people drenched in disappointment with that sense of what could have been.”

A lifelong bluegrass and country music fan, legendary singer, songwriter and producer Barry Gibb has long dreamed of a project that would bring him together with some of the artists he admires the most. With the help of Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb, that dream has become a reality with GREENFIELDS: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1—out January 8th via Capitol Records. Featured artists roster includes Alison Krauss, Brandi Carlile, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow and more.

The desire for change stirs from the inside. We either listen to it-or not. Aluna chose to listen. After widespread critical acclaim as one-half of multi-platinum duo AlunaGeorge, the singer, songwriter, and producer established an unpredictable and undeniable signature sound on her 2020 solo debut, Renaissance.

Every December, Christchurch, NZ  enjoys the start of summer as Saskatoon, SK  begins to freeze over. For as far apart as these places may seem, you would never know it from the sound of  Plastic Bouquet, the debut collaborative album between Saskatoon duo Kacy & Clayton and Christchurch singer and songwriter Marlon Williams.

While on tour across Europe in 2017, Kacy & Clayton quite literally stopped Marlon in his tracks. As if playing by divine design through the radio, the pair’s “Springtime of the Year” immediately enchanted him.  Soon thereafter, Marlon hopped a flight to Saskatoon and they wrote and recorded the bulk of what would become Plastic Bouquet. They unlocked undeniable chemistry.

With Plastic Bouquet, these three musicians find common ground in dusty country spun through a kaleidoscope of psychedelic soul and dreamy fifties delivery.  They created an ethnosphere that is more than the sum of its parts. It’s also the beginning of something very exciting.

Grammy nominated Shawn Mendes returns with his fourth studio album Wonder, the follow up to 2018’s platinum Shawn Mendes.  Includes the first single, also entitled “Wonder” and 13 other tracks recorded over the course of 2020.  “Wrote an album. It’s called “Wonder”.  it really feels like a piece of me has been write down on paper and recorded into song. I tried to be as real and as honest as I’ve ever been.  It’s a world and a journey and a dream and an album I’ve been wanting to make for a really long time.”

Demon Records is proud to present a new series of vinyl reissues from American singer-songwriter Black Francis / Frank Black. The first release in this new series is 'Christmass', a collection of acoustic performances from Frank Black's 2006 US solo tour. Recorded both live on stage and in hotel rooms whilst on the road, the album includes tracks from across Black's career. Highlights include stripped back renditions of Pixies' classics 'Where Is My Mind?', 'Cactus' and 'Wave Of Mutilation' along with 'I Burn Today', 'Bullet' and 'Nadine' from Black's solo albums. This new definitive vinyl edition is pressed on two 140g 'cactus' green vinyl.

Relive the soundtrack from “The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners” VR zombie experience. The gripping complete collection brings to life the horrifying journey through walker-infested New Orleans. This Red/Green/Clear Smoke colored 3LP Set features 56 Bayou-inspired songs and compositions by Michael David Peter & Joshua Mosely, with muddy re-imaginings of songs like “When The Levee Breaks”, “In The Pines” and “When The Saints Go Marching In”. Immerse and ask yourself: are you a saint or a sinner?

Also available on 2CD with Alternative Cover

2020 release from this metal band spawned in the mile-high city of Denver Colorado, the first city to legalize marijuana. The band was nominated for 'Best Metal Band' at the 303 Magazine Awards. Album closer is a cover of UK trip-hop pioneers Portishead's 'Threads'.

After a huge success with their EP "All Shall Burn" late 2019, Eleine now releases their third full-length album "Dancing In Hell" on November 27th, 2020. Ith a natural step into the darker and heavier sound Eleine delivers an album that sets a new standard within the symphonic metal genre with hard hitting, melodic and seductive metal that has become the renowned Eleine sound. With "Dancing In Hell", Eleine share stories of inner demons, strength and loss. You've surely been pushed down and even alone from time to time in the fight you're in, whatever that might be, right? Imagine yourself standing in the center of your own personal hell, but you have a smile on your face because you know that united we have the strength to push through. In "Dancing In Hell", you will find a legion to lean against and be a part of. Get ready to feel empowered like never before.

Double vinyl LP pressing. Includes digital download. 2020 live release. Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace is a concert film and live album by musician Nick Cave. It was filmed by cinematographer Robbie Ryan and features Cave performing solo on piano at Alexandra Palace in London. Idiot Prayer serves as the final film in a trilogy-along with 20,000 Days on Earth (2014) and One More Time with Feeling (2016)-and was described by Cave as "it's luminous and heartfelt climax."

Vinyl LP pressing. Grammy-nominated Tank and the Bangas are back with Friend Goals, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed major label debut album Green Balloon. This 6-track EP features collaborations from CHIKA, PJ Morton, and Duckwrth.

Double 180gm vinyl LP pressing. 2020 release from the acclaimed country music singer/songwriter. The album has 14 new tracks and is Chris's first studio album of new material since 2017. Features the single "Starting Over". Chris has received five Grammy Awards, seven ACM Awards, ten CMA Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards to date and with his first three album he has sold over eight million albums to date, including his debut album Traveller which has sold over four million copies.

Philadelphia-based indie rockers, The Menzingers made great use of their free time during this summer's stay at home order by recording a "re-imagined" acoustic version of their brilliant 2019 album "Hello Exile." Since forming as teenagers in 2006, The Menzingers have shown their strength as rough-and-tumble storytellers, turning out songs equally rooted in frenetic energy and lifelike detail. On From Exile, the band took their lyrical narrative to a whole new level and share their reflections on moments from the past and present: high-school hellraising, troubled relationships, aging and alcohol and political ennui. And while their songs often reveal certain painful truths, they ultimately maintain the irrepressible spirit that's always defined the band. These acoustic interpretations show once again how beautifully crafted these songs really are.

The internationally renowned and beloved Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli releases his breathtaking new album, Believe, celebrating the power of music to soothe the soul. It follows his record-breaking ‘Music for Hope’ performance at Easter from the historic Duomo cathedral in Milan which was watched live by millions around the globe. It features a previously unreleased track from the late, great Italian composer Ennio Morricone, as well as ‘Gratia Plena’ –  from the critically acclaimed new movie, Fatima –, two duets with award-winning mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, and for the first time ever Andrea Bocelli has recorded his own interpretations of ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘Padre Nostro’ along with familiar favourites such as ‘Hallelujah’, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘Amazing Grace’. Believe, co-produced by Steven Mercurio and Haydn Bendall, is a collection of uplifting songs that have inspired and sustained Bocelli over the years.     

Vinyl LP pressing. Formed in 1992, Boris boldly explores their own vision of heavy music, where words like "explosive" and "thunderous" barely do justice. Using overpowering soundscapes embellished with copious amounts of lighting and billow smoke, Boris has shared with audiences across the planet an experience for all five senses in their concerts, earning legions of zealous fans along the way. Absolutego is a trek over a staggering mountain of sound. The tension builds with wave after wave of massive feedback, drums leading into a crushing crescendo of full-band repetition and clarity before descending deeper until finally reaching a surreal divebomb purring drone finale. This song takes notes out of the Melvins playbook and pushes the sound to it's absolute logical and visceral extreme. It sets a solid foundation for why Boris is considered to be one of the most important metal bands of the 21st century.

Formed in 1992, Boris boldly explores their own vision of heavy music, where words like “explosive” and “thunderous” barely do justice. Using overpowering soundscapes embellished with copious amounts of lighting and billow smoke, Boris has shared with audiences across the planet an experience for all five senses in their concerts, earning legions of zealous fans along the way. 

First released in 1998, catalog staple Amplifier Worship will see its first-ever reissue with minimalistic album art from the first-press Japanese CD on November 13, 2020 via Third Man Records. The Stoughton gatefold jacket will house both officially remastered LPs, pressed at Third Man Pressing. This will also serve as Amplifier Worship’s long-awaited debut across digital streaming services.

Amplifier Worship is Boris’s most intense and unrelenting album to date. Not for the faint of heart, the group incorporates mythic doom-drones, up-tempo psych-sludge and even a refreshing ribbit into their signature concoction of celestial and heavy music. AmplifierWorship is a critical chapter in the Boris canon. The album is a testament to the group's bullishness in pushing metal to it’s uncomfortable and unfamiliar edges. And it is also undoubtedly one of their best. 

Return to Greendale is the next installment in Neil Young’s Performance Series (#16) and features a concert (audio & on film) from the historic and unique 2003 tour supporting the release of the Neil Young with Crazy Horse album Greendale.

On the 2003 tour, Neil Young and Crazy Horse were joined on stage by a large cast of singers and actors to perform the story Neil Young wrote about the small town of Greendale and how a dramatic event affects the people living there. The ten songs from the powerful original album are performed in sequence, with the cast speaking the sung words - adding to the intensity of the performance.

The live album Return to Greendale is released on 11/6/20 in several formats: Double vinyl, a 2 CD set, and a limited-edition deluxe box set that includes a Blu-ray of the full concert, a DVD of Inside Greendale (the making of the album documentary), 2 LPs and 2 CDs.

The film of the ambitious live show captures the vibrancy of Neil Young and Crazy Horse on stage in a unique multi-media experience. It seamlessly blends together the live performance, the actors portraying each song, with the story occasionally enhanced by scenes from the Greendale - The Movie. 

Both the live concert film and the Inside Greendale documentary are directed by Bernard Shakey and produced by L. A. Johnson.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2020 release from the alt-rock band led by singer/songwriter Mark Everett (AKA E). Earth to Dora is the follow-up to the band's 2018 release The Deconstruction.

Sam Smith continues their all-conquering journey to super stardom as they move towards the release of their third album ‘LOVE GOES’ in October 2020. This follows an incredible run of global smashes including ‘Dancing with a Stranger’, with Normani which has amassed over 13 million copies and over 2.5 billion streams, became the #1 airplay in the US & UK and has achieved platinum status in 15 countries. ‘How Do You Sleep?’ and the accompanying game-changing video has already reached sales of over 8 million and remained in the Spotify Global Top 20 after 4 months. 2018 also saw Smith release their global hit with Calvin Harris ‘Promises’ which the pair performed at the BRIT Awards; Sam reached 13 million YouTube subscribers – one of only 8 UK artists to achieve this accolade – and they ended 2019 peaking at 8 on the Global Spotify monthly listeners chart. They have over 10 billion total streams on Spotify alone, with 2 singles (Too Good At Goodbyes and Stay With Me) being one of only 100 tracks to ever achieve over 1bn total streams on Spotify. During their career Sam has sold over 28 million albums worldwide and notched up seven UK No. 1 records to date including ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ – the first Bond theme to reach the position, gaining them a Guinness World Record. In addition, Sam has also received four Grammy Awards, three BRITs and an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song (Writing’s On The Wall).

2020 release, the first album in eight years from hip-hop icon Busta Rhymes. The album is a sequel to his 1998 album E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front. Includes the single "The Don and The Boss", a collaboration with dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel.

2020 release. Jeremiah Johnson blends the sounds of the south, with Mississippi River blues and a touch of country flair. Emotionally charged roots rock, powered by the common man's passion for life and all the struggles in-between. Songs with meaning, a powerfully persuasive voice and master class musicianship.

Winter Is For Lovers was a lifetime in the making... a solo lap-steel guitar piece incorporating elements of delta blues, flamenco, and even Satie-like minimalism, this work resonates with lyrical virtuosity, originality and soul. In some ways Winter Is For Lovers is a love letter to Ben Harper’s longtime fans who have always revered his guitar virtuosity; it’s the record they always wanted him to make. For many other music lovers, this record is a revelation, an unknown side to a celebrated artist showing a sense of meticulousness, depth and music history that will add new dimensions to an already renowned career.

As a child, before Ben Harper was even playing music, he sat at the feet of folk luminaries like Rev Gary Davis, John Fahey, Ry Cooder and others in his grandparents Folk Music Center in Claremont, CA, soaking up their influence and passion for pure guitar music. As a teenager, while discovering his own musical gifts, he was repairing guitars and being mentored by many of these artists, most notably, Taj Mahal. While his musical path has taken him to worldwide fame playing rock and roll, and many other idioms, that pure guitar music has always been central to his musical heart.

Ultimately, Winter Is For Lovers is a very personal statement from Ben Harper, drawing from the bountiful garden of his earliest musical impressions and propelling him into the future with an elegiac masterpiece.