New Release Round-Up 05-25-18

Shawn Mendes - Shawn Mendes - Island
Shawn Mendes releases his highly anticipated self-titled album via Island Records. The album includes previously released tracks, 'In My Blood' and 'Lost In Japan.' Current single 'In My Blood' is quickly approaching Top 10 airplay at Top 40 and Hot AC radio formats. He will support the album with numerous media appearances, which will include a week-long residency on 'The Late Late Show with James Corden' in June.

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Snow Patrol - Wildness - Republic
Since releasing their debut album in 1998, Snow Patrol has gone on to be one of the biggest acts in the world. With over 10 million global album sales, 1 billion global track streams, 5 UK Platinum awards, 6 BRIT Award nominations, 1 GRAMMY nomination, 1 Mercury Music-Prize nomination, a massive and passionate fan base, the band is back with their 7th album, Wildness. Wildness follows Snow Patrol's 2011 record, Fallen Empires, and finds the group reuniting with longtime producer Jackknife Lee.

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Tracyanne & Danny - Tracyanne & Danny - Merge Records
Tracyanne & Danny is a new collaborative project between singer-songwriters Tracyanne Campbell (Camera Obscura) and Danny Coughlan (Crybaby). Tracyanne hails from Glasgow, Scotland. London-born Danny is based in Bristol, England. Their paths first crossed in 2013 when introduced by mutual music industry pals. Tracyanne dug Danny’s Crybaby album (released on Helium Records) and invited him to open some Camera Obscura shows in the UK.  Mutual artistic respect led to the swapping of song ideas, but tentative plans to work together were set aside while Camera Obscura wrote, recorded, released, and promoted their fifth album Desire Lines. Following the death of Camera Obscura’s Carey Lander, all band activity stopped. Time passed. Tracyanne and Danny revisited the idea of collaborating. A pool of songs were honed and crafted. On the suggestion of their manager (and Teenage Fanclub drummer) Francis Macdonald, they recorded at Clashnarrow, a studio in Helmsdale in the highlands of Scotland owned by the esteemed Edwyn Collins. 

Xavier Rudd - Storm Boy - Nettwerk Records
Produced by Chris Bond (Ben Howard, Tom Speight) and mixed by Tim Palmer (Pearl Jam, David Bowie, U2), Xavier Rudd's new album Storm Boy - his ninth studio album, and first solo album in six years - showcases his incomparable songwriting craftsmanship and is an impressive addition to his ever-growing legacy.

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Jonathan Davis - Black Labyrinth - Sumerian Records
It would be nearly impossible to mistake anyone else for Jonathan Davis. A true original, the Bakersfield, CA singer, songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist indelibly impacts millions as frontman for alt-metal/rock game-changers KoRn—whose accolades encompass two GRAMMY® Award wins, worldwide sales of 40 million-plus, and countless sold out shows in nearly every corner of the globe. Throughout over 20 years in music, his presence coursed through the film scores, contributions to popular video game franchises, and official remixes for the likes of Steve Aoki and more. Along the way, he lent his voice to tracks for everyone from Linkin Park to Tech N9ne. However, 2018 sees him doing something he has yet to do: release his first solo album. Writing and recording on the road, he played guitar, keys, and anything else he could get his hands on. Moreover, the music was primarily record live. Led by the single “What It Is,” it continues a tradition by boldly treading new territory. “I’ve always got to be different,” he leaves off. “Once again, I’m doing something I haven’t heard before. This is my swan song. It’s my fucking masterpiece up to this point.”

Prince - Nothing Compares 2 U [Vinyl Single] - Warner Bros
"Nothing Compares 2 U" contains the original version of the iconic song. This previously unreleased version was recorded in 1984, six years before 1990's classic reimagining by Sinéad O'Connor and before Prince started performing the song live. The track was recorded at the Flying Cloud Drive 'Warehouse' in Eden Prairie by Prince's long-time engineer Susan Rogers, and originally composed, arranged and performed in its entirety by Prince, aside from the backing vocals by Susannah Melvoin and Paul "St. Paul" Peterson. Also featured on the original track is saxophone work by Eric Leeds.

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

CURRENT SINGLES/EPs

Chvrches - Love Is Dead Jo Passed - Their Prime Biffy Clyro - Mtv Unplugged: Live At Roundhouse London Hoobastank - Push Pull Big Scoob - Duality Joshua Redman - Still Dreaming Jeremy Enigk - Return Of The Frog Queen: Deluxe John Powell - Solo: A Star Wars Story [Soundtrack] Lithics - Mating Surfaces Jennifer Warnes - Another Time, Another Place Thunderpussy - Thunderpussy Fortunate Ones - Hold Fast Graveyard - Peace Brownout - Fear Of A Brown Planet Split Cranium - I'm The Devil And I'm Ok Bleeding Through - Love Will Kill All & More .....

Wallows - Spring EP [Pink & Green Vinyl] Jenny Hval - The Long Sleep EP The Alarm - Two Rivers Passenger - Hell Or High Water   Arthur Buck - Forever Waiting Jennifer Lopez - Dinero State Champs - Mine Is Gold The Love Language - Southern Doldrums / Castle In The Sky Buddy Guy - Nine Below Zero

UPCOMING RELEASES

Father John Misty - God's Favorite Customer - Sub Pop
Written largely in New York between summer 2016 and winter 2017, Josh Tillman’s fourth Father John Misty LP, God's Favorite Customer, reflects on the experience of being caught between the vertigo of heartbreak and the manic throes of freedom. God’s Favorite Customer reveals a bittersweetness and directness in Tillman’s songwriting, without sacrificing any of his wit or taste for the absurd. From “Mr. Tillman,” where he trains his lens on his own misadventure, to the cavernous pain of estrangement in “Please Don’t Die,” Tillman plays with perspective throughout to alternatingly hilarious and devastating effect. “We’re Only People (And There’s Not Much Anyone Can Do About That)” is a meditation on our inner lives and the limitations we experience in our attempts to give and receive love. It stands in solidarity with the title track, which examines the ironic relationship between forgiveness and sin. Together, these are songs that demand to know either real love or what comes after, and as the album progresses, that entreaty leads to discovering the latter’s true stakes. God's Favorite Customer was produced by Tillman and recorded with Jonathan Rado (Foxygen), Dave Cerminara (Jonathan Wilson, Foster the People, Conor Oberst), and Trevor Spencer (FJM). The album features contributions from Haxan Cloak, Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood, longtime collaborator Jonathan Wilson, and members of Misty’s touring band.

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Neko Case - Hell-On - Anti
Producer/singer/songwriter Neko Case has won a large and loyal audience for her smoky, sophisticated vocals and the downcast beauty of her music. Now more than 23 years into her musical calling, Case is the consummate career artist--fearless and versatile, with a fierce work ethic and a constant drive to search deeper within herself for creative growth. On June 1st, Anti- will release Neko Case’s ‘Hell-On,’ an indelible collection of colorful, enigmatic storytelling that features some of her most daring, through-composed arrangements to date. Produced by Neko with help from Bjorn Yttling (Peter Bjorn & John), ‘Hell On’ is simultaneously the most accessible and most challenging album in a rich and varied career that’s offered plenty of both. Rife with withering self-critique, muted reflection, anthemic affirmation, and her unique poetic sensibility, the 12 tracks of ‘Hell On’ — which features collaborations such as Joey Burns, Beth Ditto, Kelly Hogan, KD Lang, AC Newman, Paul Rigby, Laura Veirs, and more.

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Roger Daltrey - As Long As I Have You - Republic
Legendary front man of The Who, Roger Daltrey, to release brand-new studio album, 'As Long As I Have You,' on 6/1. 'As Long As I Have You' is Roger’s first solo album since 1992. The album will feature 11 new studio recordings of new Roger Daltrey written tracks and covers of tracks from the likes of Steve Stills, Parliament, Nick Cave, Stevie Wonder & Dusty Springfield. Additionally, the album features guitar from Pete Townshend. 'As Long As I Have You' was produced by the iconic producer Dave Eringa.

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Ben Howard - Noonday Dream - Republic
'Noonday Dream,' the highly anticipated new album from Ben Howard, is set for release 6/1 on Republic Records. 'Noonday Dream' was written and produced by Howard, with production contributions from regular collaborator and band-mate Mickey Smith. Howard's music has amassed well over half a billion streams to date and has earned the singer-songwriter an Ivor Novello Award nomination, the U.K.'s most prestigious songwriting accolade, in addition to two Brit Awards in 2012 for 'British Breakthrough' and 'British Solo Male Artist.'

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American Aquarium - Things Change - New West
In the lush tobacco fields of North Carolina where BJ Barham was raised, people work hard. Families stay nearby, toiling and growing together. BJ loves those farms and his tiny Reidsville hometown, but he had to run off and start American Aquarium, a band now beloved by thousands. BJ couldn’t stay. But he couldn’t really leave, either: he’s still singing about the lessons, stories, and lives that define rural America––and him. Recorded at 3CG Records in Tulsa, Oklahoma, American Aquarium’s seventh studio album, Things Change was produced by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter John Fulbright and features cameos from Americana standouts including John Moreland and Jamie Lin Wilson. Stacked with BJ’s signature storytelling––always deeply personal but also instantly relatable––Things Change questions and curses current events, shares one man’s intimate evolution, and leaves listeners with a priceless gift: hope. BJ’s candor has fueled American Aquarium’s runaway appeal, visible most clearly in consistently sold-out shows across the country and throughout Europe - between 200 and 250 dates a year. Much has changed for the band and BJ since their acclaimed last effort, Wolves. In 2017, every American Aquarium member save BJ quit the group. American Aquarium has featured about 30 players since BJ founded the outfit in 2006, and while each member has left indelible marks, the band has always been anchored by the literary songs and sometimes roaring, sometimes whispering, drawl of BJ Barham. Featuring a new band lineup that includes Shane Boeker on lead guitar, drummer Joey Bybee, bassist Ben Hussey, and Adam Kurtz on pedal steel and electric guitar, as well as a reinvigorated frontman in BJ, Things Change is American Aquarium’s first release on a label after selling thousands of records on their own.

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Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - Apart EP - Capitol
2018 collaboration between the singer/songwriter and actress/vocalist, and follow up to their 2009 album ‘Break Up’. Comprised of 5 new recordings, including the single “Bad Dreams” (a cover of Brooklyn-based band The Echo Friendly’s “Worried”), and a new version of “Tomorrow” (previously featured on Yorn’s 2014 album ‘ArrangingTime’). “If Break Up was dealing with an unraveling relationship, Apart is dealing with the aftermath,” Yorn explains. “It acknowledges the array of heavy emotions that come up living separate lives. You’re getting used to the idea of not being with someone who has been a big part of your life.” Scarlett Johansson adds, “Being able to revisit this project with Pete in a totally different context but within the same creative parameters is a unique artistic opportunity for me.”

  

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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section and don't forget that many of these titles are also available on vinyl.

New Release Round-Up 05-18-18

James Bay - Electric Light - Republic
Following the success of his multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated debut album, Chaos & The Calm, James Bay releases his highly anticipated album, Electric Light, on via Republic Records. The album includes the single “Wild Love,” which recently entered Top 20 at Hot AC radio.

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Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel - Mom & Pop Music
The Grammy and Brit nominated Courtney Barnett returns with her second album - ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel.’ It follows her critically acclaimed 2015 debut album ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit’, and a recent top 10 collaborative record, ‘Lotta Sea Lice’, with Kurt Vile. One of the most distinctive voices in music, Courtney is known for mixing witty observations with un inching self-assessment - fast forward to now and although all of the cleaver turns of phrase and an eye for story telling are still there; this new collection of songs see a more serious and outwardly tone capturing the current social landscape yet still retaining moments of intimacy and warmth. As the world becomes more familiar with Courtney Barnett these songs feel comforting and emphatic yet that raw energy and the ability to make the listener think still remain..

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Sparkle Hard - Matador Records
The fact that Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks have thrived, rather than simply endured, over 17 years and delivered six albums of buzzy, sub-cultural significance, constitutes an impressive legacy. The challenge with album number seven is one that any successful band with integrity faces: how to safeguard that legacy and hold on to their identity without rehashing old ground (unthinkable), and also say something meaningful while (crucially) having fun doing it? With Sparkle Hard, Malkmus, Mike Clark (keyboards), Joanna Bolme (bass) and Jake Morris (drums) do exactly that. It’s light ’n’ breezy, head-down heavy, audacious, melancholic and reflective, goodtime and bodacious, and it pulls off the smartest trick: it’s both unmistakeably The Jicks and – due to the streamlining of their trademark tics and turns, plus the introduction of some unexpected flourishes (Auto-Tune! A fiddle! Guest vocalist Kim Gordon! One seven-minute song with an acoustic folk intro!) – The Jicks refashioned. If 2014’s Wig Out At Jag Bags balanced the lengthy prog workouts of Pig Lib with Mirror Traffic’s sparky pop moments, then Sparkle Hard bears less obvious direct relation to what’s come before. It also has turbocharged energy and enthusiasm by the truckload.

Matt Costa - Santa Rosa Fangs - Dangerbird
Santa Rosa Fangs is critically acclaimed California-based singer/songwriter Matt Costa’s new full-length, his first in five years. The album was produced by Peter Matthew Bauer (The Walkmen) and Nick Stumpf (French Kicks). The tale of Santa Rosa Fangs centers around a young woman named Sharon, her two brothers Ritchie and Tony, and their story of love, loss, and coming of age in a timeless yet contemporary California. It is replete with long distance love affairs and nostalgic romances woven through the loom of tragedy and time.

 

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Parquet Courts - Wide Awake! - Rough Trade US
Wide Awake! is New York’s Parquet Courts’ fifth record since their formation eight years ago. It’s also their most groundbreaking. It’s an album about independence and individuality but also about collectivity and communitarianism. Love is at its center. There’s also a freshness here, a breaking of new territory that’s testament to the group’s restless spirit. In part, this may be attributed to the fact that it’s produced by Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, but it’s also simply a triumph of their songwriter’s art. The songs, written by Austin Brown and Andrew Savage, are filled with their traditional punk rock passion, as well as a lyrical tenderness, but are elevated to even greater heights by the dynamic rhythmic propulsion of Max Savage (drums) and Sean Yeaton (bass). Ultimately then the message contained in Wide Awake! is complex. “In such a hateful era of culture, we stand in opposition to that — and to the nihilism used to cope with that — with ideas of passion and love,” Brown says. For Savage, it comes back to the deceptively complex goal of making people want to dance, powering the body for resistance through a combination of groove, joy, and indignation, “expressing anger constructively but without trying to accommodate anyone.” “The most exhilarating exercise from New York’s reigning indie-rockers laureate since their legend-making “Stoned and Starving” – as if you didn’t already have reason enough to be on high alert for Wide Awake!” – Stereogum “An urgent, fantastic return that sees the band at the very top of their game, and more together than ever” – DIY Mag

The Sidekicks - Happiness Hours - Epitaph
On May 18, Ohio-based band The Sidekicks will release their fifth album, Happiness Hours. Nearly three years in the making, Happiness Hours follows 2015’s critically acclaimed Runners in the Nerved World. Produced, engineered, and mixed by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile), Happiness Hours features some of the sunniest, most ebullient songs The Sidekicks have ever recorded—all ringing guitars, charging drums, and soaring vocals. That dynamic is more than apparent on the infectious lead single “Twins Twist,” which premieres today. With its warm harmonies and shining melody, bouncing groove and bittersweet lyrics, “Twins Twist” also reveals the more narrative-driven direction that The Sidekicks pursued in creating Happiness Hours. As vocalist/guitarist Steve Ciolek explains, those narratives reach squarely toward a kind of universal experience. “They are relative to my life, but they aren’t just about me,” says Ciolek, whose bandmates include drummer Matt Climer, guitarist/vocalist Toby Reif, and bassist/vocalist Ryan Starinsky. “Unlike when you’re a kid, when every song has to be about falling in love or breaking up—about me, me, me—you get to a point when you really want your art to be inclusive. You want everyone to be able to locate themselves somehow in your songs.”

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Burn The Priest - Legion: XX - Epic
RIAA-certified, Billboard chart-topping, Richmond, VA band LAMB OF GOD may be one of the biggest bands in modern metal, but they will never forget where they came from. Mark Morton (guitar), Willie Adler (guitar), John Campbell (bass), and Chris Adler (drums) formed the first incarnation of the band, Burn The Priest, in the winter of 1994 after meeting four years earlier as students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Less than a year later, in the summer of 1995, they met vocalist Randy Blythe and the rest is global metal history. Guitarist Mark Morton says, "To truly understand the essence of the band BURN THE PRIEST, one must first consider the landscape in which it began: the mid-90s. Grunge and alternative music ruled the airwaves. Social media and the internet had yet to assume their role as our collective sources for entertainment and cultural exchange. It was a time when DIY 'zines turned us onto new bands and regional scenes, and 'copy and paste' still implied a print shop and a glue stick." BURN THE PRIEST's self-titled debut album, released via Philadelphia-based Legion Records, documented what was, in essence, a primal punk band performing metal. Ultimately, as they grew in local popularity, the five-piece chose to stray away from their name to avoid being associated with satanic metal, choosing the name LAMB OF GOD. Morton continues, "As our sound and songs developed, so did our goals... we began playing basement parties and warehouse shows and in doing so, we realized that the energy we were creating was transferable. The shows we played in those squats and warehouses [in Philadelphia] and the people we met there are forever embedded in our collective consciousness and the DNA of our band." As they enter their 20th year since releasing their first self-titled album as BURN THE PRIEST, the band will release a full-length covers album that reflects on the greatness of classic punk, hardcore, crossover and noise - rock subgenres that contributed to what LAMB OF GOD - and indeed, the world - now view as modern heavy metal. As BURN THE PRIEST, the band presents Legion: XX featuring tracks originally performed by Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front, Quicksand, Ministry, Bad Brains, Melvins, S.O.D., The Accused, Big Black and Richmond punk band Sliang Laos. The tracks are performed with the unmistakable precision that has kept the band vital for two decades, but ultimately harks back to the raw, punk-driven sound first explored by four unsuspecting college students and a line cook-turned-vocalist in their formative years. Produced with Josh Wilbur at the helm, Legion: XX exhibits BURN THE PRIEST in their true element. This LP version is 150g vinyl, Coke bottle color with white and black 'smoke.'

UPCOMING RELEASES

Snow Patrol - Wildness - Republic
Since releasing their debut album in 1998, Snow Patrol has gone on to be one of the biggest acts in the world. With over 10 million global album sales, 1 billion global track streams, 5 UK Platinum awards, 6 BRIT Award nominations, 1 GRAMMY nomination, 1 Mercury Music-Prize nomination, a massive and passionate fan base, the band is back with their 7th album, Wildness, out 5/25. Wildness follows Snow Patrol's 2011 record, Fallen Empires, and finds the group reuniting with longtime producer Jackknife Lee.

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Shawn Mendes - Shawn Mendes - Island
Shawn Mendes to release highly anticipated self-titled album on 5/25 via Island Records. The album will include previously released tracks, 'In My Blood' and 'Lost In Japan.' Current single 'In My Blood' is quickly approaching Top 10 airplay at Top 40 and Hot AC radio formats. He will support the album with numerous media appearances, which will include a week-long residency on 'The Late Late Show with James Corden' in June.

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Xavier Rudd - Storm Boy - Nettwerk Records
Produced by Chris Bond (Ben Howard, Tom Speight) and mixed by Tim Palmer (Pearl Jam, David Bowie, U2), Xavier Rudd's forthcoming album Storm Boy - his ninth studio album, and first solo album in six years - showcases his incomparable songwriting craftsmanship and is an impressive addition to his ever-growing legacy.

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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section and don't forget that many of these titles are also available on vinyl.

New Release Round-Up 01-26-18

Calexico - The Thread That Keeps Us - New West Records
Over the past two decades, a strong sense of place has shaped the music of Calexico, infusing their albums with a stylistic unpredictability and richness of texture. While 2015’s Edge of the Sun brought the Tucson-bred band to the Mexico City borough of Coyoacán, their new full-length The Thread That Keeps Us mostly came to life in a house studio near the Northern California coast nicknamed “The Phantom Ship” by CALEXICO vocalist/guitarist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino.

 

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Hollie Cook - Vessel of Love - Merge Records
Hollie Cook combines her unique vocal talent with charming charisma to craft her own dynamic strand of lovers rock with enduring tropical vibes, weaving a path from her West London roots to an arena of diverse collaborations, critically acclaimed records, and iconic live appearances around the world. Cook’s ability to continually surprise, delight, and progress solidifies her position as one of the most exciting voices in reggae, and this is crystal clear on her third full-length and Merge debut, Vessel of Love.

Ty Segall - Freedom's Goblin [LP] - Drag City
Ty Segall goes all the way, flipping the Freedom coin to find passion, laughter and savagery on both sides. A head-spinning compendium of stompers, weepers, ballads, screamers, bangers and funker-uppers, all marking a different impasse, like a flag whirling into a knot, exploding and burning on contact, in the name of life and loathing and the pursuit of what you love.

Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - Black Coffee [Red LP] - J&R Adventures
It's been 4 years since the critically acclaimed, Grammy nominated, and #1 Billboard Blues album Seesaw was released by Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa. They have reunited for Black Coffee - another collection of scorching interpretations of ten soul gems that pair Hart’s breathtaking vocals and Joe’s masterfully expressive playing. Featuring songs made famous by; Edgar Winter, Ray Charles, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Lucinda Williams and more. LP is 180g, red vinyl, and contains an exclusive bonus track.

Nightmares On Wax - Shape The Future [2LP] - Warp Records
One of the most influential artists of a generation and a long-standing member of the Warp Records family, Nightmares On Wax announces his new album Shape The Future. A perfect marriage of soul, hip-hop, dub and timeless club sounds that act as a salvo masterpiece of contemporary and classic genre-blending, brilliantly solidifying Nightmares On Wax place as an inspirational electronic music figurehead.

Cornelius - Mellow Waves [LP] - Rostrum Records
Acclaimed Japanese producer, composer, and recording artist Cornelius first proper studio album in over 11 years, featuring the singles If You're Here, Sometime / Someplace, and In a Dream. 180g black vinyl gatefold LP

American Folk [Soundtrack] - American Folk Records
American Folk is the soundtrack to the award-winning 2018 independent film, American Folk, starring Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth. In addition to both original compositions and classic folk song renditions by Purdy and Rubarth, the soundtrack includes John Prine's ''Some Humans Ain't Human'' and Jerry Garcia & David Grisman's ''Freight Train.''

 

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For more information on these and other releases out this week, check out our New Releases charts by week section and don't forget that many of these titles are also available on vinyl.