You'll want these records in your collection...
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, we here at NME round up the best vinyl releases, available to buy or pre-order via Norman Records. Here are the latest picks.
Bob Dylan – ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’
NME say:
So far from Bob Dylan’s new album, we’ve heard ‘Murder Most Foul’, a meditative and meandering, 17-minute epic about the JFK assassination and its effects on American culture. Then came ‘I Contain Multitudes’, a stripped-back and self-reflective ode, followed by ‘False Prophet’, a jaunty and creeping bluesy number based on a Billy “The Kid” Emerson classic. If this trio of tunes are anything to go by, the 10-track ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ is shaping up to be an eclectic affair.
Norman Records say:
Arguably the most legendary figure in all of rock history, Bob Dylan presents his first new album of new material in eight years, and his 39th altogether. Spanning 70 minutes and containing the 17-minute long single ‘Murder Most Foul’, ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ sees an artist approaching his 79th birthday in some of his best lyrical form in recent memory.
Preorder it now from Norman Records
Disclosure – ‘Energy’
NME say:
The Lawrence brothers have been releasing one-off tracks for the past year or so, but only one of their four singles over the past 12 months will actually find it onto ‘Energy’ – its title-track, while the rest will have to settle for a place on the deluxe edition. The lead single, though, is a dizzying onslaught of pulsating house, Balearic rhythms and the odd rave whistle, a perfect place to start for album number three, out in August.
Norman Records say:
On their previous two albums dance phenomenon Disclosure have written only the material they ended up using. On their third album though they’ve recorded over 200 pieces and whittled them down to just 11. The keyword being the title as they chose only the most energetic, most immediate tracks. It is still a very varied collection with Brazilian, R&B and hip-hop influences and two mega guests in Kelis and Common.
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Arca – ‘KiCk i’
NME say:
“I don’t want to be tied to one genre,” Arca explains of new album, ‘KiCk i’. “I don’t want to be labeled as one thing.” That might explain the diverse array of stars the Venezuelan experimental artist has enlisted for the LP: Björk, Rosalía, SOPHIE and more. Lead single ‘Time’ teases a little of what to expect – a hypnotic and entracing track that manages to sound both like a daydream and nightmarish.
Norman Records say:
Venezuelan artist, producer, DJ, performer, dancer, singer Arca returns with the album that may well cement her reputation as one of today’s most important and forward thinking artists. You’ll get noise, psychedelia, experimentation, pop, balladry and everything in between. It will be a hell of a ride that’s for sure.
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Yellow Days – ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’
NME say:
We’ve been big fans of Yellow Days for a while. Back in 2017, we remarked how George van den Broek made “everything look so effortless” with his “blend of Mac DeMarco-esque slacker rock and hypnotic funk in the vein of Unknown Mortal Orchestra”. Now his major label debut, ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’, incorporates some very 70s influences, paying homage to the likes of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield.
Norman Records say:
British songwriter George van den Broek presents his second album as Yellow Days, and his first since signing to Columbia. Expanding his palette from his 2019 debut album, A Day In A Yellow Beat is inspired by classic funk and R&B, but contains the same spark of self-taught creativity that made his early music so appealing.
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Christian Lee Hutson – ‘Beginners’
NME say:
You may know Christian Lee Hutson from his work with Phoebe Bridgers. Or for recreating a long-lost earworm on a hit podcast. As a solo artist, he makes some of the most emotionally resonant Americana at the moment, as displayed by his stripped-back and yearning recent single ‘Get The Old Band Back Together‘ from new album ‘Beginners’.
Norman Records say:
A co-songwriter with Phoebe Bridgers on her collaborative albums as part of boygenius (with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker) and Better Oblivion Community Center (with Conor Oberst), Christian Lee Hutson gets to go it alone on his debut album ‘Beginners’. Mixed by Joseph Lorge and featuring contributions from Bright Eyes pianist Nathaniel Walcott, it fits into a fine recent lineage of American alternative folk.
Buy it now from Norman Records
Three Queens In Mourning & Bonnie Prince Billy – ‘Hello Sorrow Hello Joy’
NME say:
Will Oldham has long been prolific. In the past five years alone, he’s released three albums under his most famed moniker, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, one under his birth name, another as Chivalrous Amoekons, a live album, a handful of EPs. We called his most recent album “a soft, sumptuous delight”, and now he’s teamed up with Alasdair Roberts (Appendix Out), Jill O’ Sullivan (Jill Lorean), and Alex Neilson (Trembling Bells, Alex Rex) for covers of Oldman’s own songs, plus a new track. Another for the collection for fans of the cult star.
Norman Records say:
An assemblage of alternative country icon Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie “Prince” Billy) with the trio of Scottish artists Alasdair Roberts (of Appendix Out), Jill O’ Sullivan (a.k.a. Jill Lorean) and Alex Neilson (of Trembling Bells) collectively known as Three Queens In Mourning, the superb ‘Hello Sorrow Hello Joy’ consists largely of immaculate Oldham covers but a small handful of original material as well.
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Baths – ‘Pop Music / False B-Sides’
NME say:
Back in 2011, we called Baths’ ‘Pop Music / False B-Sides’ a “ragtag collection of bits and bobs”; an ambience-heavy rarities collection with highlights that included “the crisp, sparkling ‘Pop Song’, the creepily Bjork-ish ‘Tatami’ and the rippling, reptilian ‘Flux’”. Read our full review here.
Norman Records say:
Originally released in the form of a tour-only download back in 2011 off the back of debut album Cerulean, Pop Music / False B-Sides is now remastered and released in vinyl form for the first time. Released on Will Wiesenfeld’s own Basement’s Basement label, it shows his Baths project in the full bloom of creativity.
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Madeline Kenney – Sucker’s Lunch
NME say:
‘Sucker’s Lynch’, the third album in four years from Oakland’s Madeline Kenney, explores a side of falling in love not often touched upon in songs: feeling like a fool. “I was terrified of falling in love,” she explains. “Instead I wanted to explore the tiny moments; sitting alone in my room guessing what the other person was thinking, spiralling into a maze of logical reasons to bail and finding my way out again.”
Norman Records say:
To record her third long player, Oakland, California-based singer / songwriter Madeline Kenney enlisted the help of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, better known as Baltimore duo, Wye Oak. Judging by the lead single, Sucker, the results of their efforts have produced some quite beautiful sun-dappled indie-folk.
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Jeff Rosenstock – ‘No Dream’
NME say:
DIY mainstay Jeff Rosenstock – best known for his work in Bomb the Music Industry! – is back with a new album, and it’s a collection of perfectly executed, rip-roaring punk anthems about the personal and political ills of this modern age.
Norman Records say:
Jeff Rosenstock has been a central figure in the independent punk scene for over 15 years now, but he’s only just starting to get the credit he deserves. His solo work is power pop played with a whole lot of punk exuberance and pace. It’s packed full of melody and unforgettable hooks and will appeal to those into early punk and fans of modern hardcore and indie rock.
Preorder it now from Norman Records
Callum Easter – ‘Green Door Sessions’
NME say:
“The premise was to record the versions of the songs I’d been performing live using mainly accordion, drum machine and drone,” says Scottish singer-songwriter Callum Easter of his latest. “One take, no overdubs, straight to tape. All done in Glasgow’s Green Door Studios.” It does go some way of conjuring the magic of the live setting.
Norman Records say:
Moshi Moshi keeps up its impressive track record of discovering new major talent with Scottish songwriter Callum Easter, who releases his sophomore album ‘Green Door Sessions’ on the label. Recorded at the Glasgow studio of the same name and done almost entirely with accordion, drum machine and drone, it’s a snapshot of spontaneous performance and creativity.
Preorder it now from Norman Records
The post Bob Dylan, Disclosure and other vinyl releases you need this week appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.
