There’s a world of quirky indie-folk out there, and Sufjan Stevens is its king. His ‘wunderkind’ status may be a stretch – the guy is in his thirties, after all – but there is no question about Sufjan’s skill and creativity as a songwriter. Diverse arrangements, complex characters and themes of spirituality and Americana are the common threads that run through the majority of his seven studio albums.

The glaring exception was Sufjan’s sophomore release Enjoy Your Rabbit. Enjoy Your Rabbit is fully instrumental, fully electronic and a complete departure from the Gaelic-inspired folk rock of his debut A Sun Came.

In the words of his recent press release:

Enjoy Your Rabbit seemed less like a sophomore slump or a sophomore smash than an entertaining divergence. It was not, however, what you might call a good career move. Not that Sufjan had a music career at all.

Now, eight years later, Sufjan has revisited this strange-cousin record with his upcoming release Run Rabbit Run.

Run Rabbit Run is a complete re-arranging and re-imagining of its electronic predecessor for performance by the string quartet Osso. Sufjan commissioned a series of composers to write new arrangements for the fourteen songs of the original album (minus ‘Year of the Asthmatic Cat.’) Each song was then tweaked and modified by the players – electronic clicks, beats and noise were interpreted with scrapes of the bow or clicking tongues.

The result is pretty surprising.

Sufjan Stevens at the Independent Music Awards

I’ve been a fan of Sufjan Stevens since first experiencing Seven Swans for the first time in 2004. Since then I have worn out my copies of Welcome to Michigan and Come on Feel the Illinoise. Nevertheless, when I first got wind of his plans for Run Rabbit Run I was skeptical, at best. The move seemed pretentious – like he had lost touch a little bit. I thought perhaps it was just filler until he released a real record.

When I finally got to hear it for myself I was instantly drawn in. This album is every bit as incongruent as its predecessor. It’s unusual textures and effects weave an engaging experience that is sometimes beautiful, sometimes playful, and often downright strange.

The shadow of electronica can still be felt throughout the arrangements, such as in the jarring transitions of ‘Year of the Tiger’ and the club-synth-cum-violin of ‘Year of the Dog.’

The effect is more than a little reminiscent of the work of Philip Glass (in fact, one of the album’s many contributing composers is Nico Muhly, who has worked extensively with Glass on past projects.)

Members of Osso

Osso approaches the material with capable hands and a sense of humor that seems to ground the album. The ensemble is no stranger to unique challenges, having collaborated with a variety of artists including Jay-Z, The New Pornographers, The National and Kanye West.

Sufjan Stevens’ influence is not absent of course, thought it is obscured a bit by the nature of the project. I for one associate Sufjan much more with woodwinds and brass than with strings. ‘Year of the Dog,’ which I mentioned earlier, is by far the most Sufjan-esque. It may have even sounded at home as one the extras on Avalanche.

Some will likely pass off Run Rabbit Run as simply a diversion to hold fans over until The BQE (also set to be released in October.) But I think it’s quite a bit more than that – it’s an engaging and often beautiful collection of music from the minds and hands of a host of talented musicians.

Listen to ‘Enjoy Your Rabbit’ from Run Rabbit Run.

Run Rabbit Run is set to be released on October 6, 2009 by Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Sufjan photo by Zach Klein.

This week brings us several worthwhile new albums. I am particularly excited about Cymbals Eat Guitars Why There Are Mountains. These guys show a ton of promise and I found this record to be a great listen.

Karen O and the Kids give us an early taste of Where the Wild Things Are with their excellent soundtrack. After hearing this soundtrack and watching/re-watching the trailer I am very excited about this film.

Another release I recommend checking out is the Avett Brothers’ I and Love and You. This EP is a bit of a departure from their earlier material but if long-time fans can get past that it is a great collection of tracks.

Finally, I have to mention Ghostface Killah with his new one Ghostdini the Wizard of Poetry. Ghostdini is Ghostface’s (Mr. Killah’s?) eight solo album sans Wu-Tang Clan.

The complete list is below with affiliate links to purchase straight from iTunes or Amazon (depending on availability at the time of posting.) You’ll notice that this list only includes major label acts – this is simply because I don’t have the time to track down each and every new independent release. If you are an independent artist or record label and would like your upcoming releases included on this weekly list please contact me.

New Music Releases September 29, 2009

7 Worlds Collide – Sun Came Out
Alberta Cross – The Broken Side of Time (vinyl)
Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue (vinyl)
Anti-Pop Consortium – Fluorescent Black
Apples In Stereo – #1 Hits Explosion (vinyl)
Atlas Sound – Logos
The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
Beaujolais – Admirations
Bear in Heaven – Wholehearted Mess (vinyl)
Beat Circus – Boy From Black Mountain
Bebel Gilberto – All in One
Bob Dylan – The Collection: Bob Dylan (3-CD box set)
Bob Schneider – Lovely Creatures
Boredoms – Super Roots 10 (vinyl)
Brand New – Daisy
Brandi Carlile – Give Up the Ghost (vinyl)
Breakestra – Dusk Till Dawn (vinyl)
Brookville – Broken Lights
Chris Smither – Time Stands Still
Chromeo – DJ-Kicks (vinyl)
Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons – Death Won’t Send a Letter
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains
David Gray – Draw the Line
Dawes – North Hills (vinyl)
Digital Leather – Warm Brother (vinyl)
Dizzee Rascal – Tongue N Cheek
Drivin N Cryin – Great American Bubble Factory (vinyl)
Drummer – Feel Good Together
The Ettes – Do You Want Power
Fool’s Gold – Fool’s Gold (vinyl)
Gary Higgins – Seconds (vinyl)
Ghostface Killah – Ghostdini the Wizard of Poetry
Ian Brown – My Way
Jenn Grant – Echoes
Karen O – Where The Wild Things Are Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Original Songs By Karen O And The Kids (vinyl)
Kris Kristofferson – Closer To The Bone
La Roux – I’m Not Your Toy
Landon Pigg – The Boy Who Never
Langhorne Slim – Be Set Free
Lowlights – Further/Free
Madness – The Liberty of Norton Folgate
Malcolm Holcombe – For The Mission Baby
Maps – Turning the Mind
Melvins – Chicken Switch
OM – God Is Good (vinyl)
Paramore – Brand New Eyes
Patty Loveless – Mountain Soul II
Richmond Fontaine – We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River
The Shaky Hands – Let It Die (vinyl)
State Radio – Let It Go
T.H. White – Company Book
Turbo Fruits – Echo Kid
Twin Atlantic – Vivarium
Various Artists – Tarantino Experience: Take II
Various Artists – Warp 20: Chosen
Various Artists – Warp 20: Recreated
Voyces – Let Me Die in Southern California
Wilco – A.M. (vinyl with bonus CD)
Will Hoge – The Wreckage
Yonder Mountain String Band – The Show (vinyl)
Zero 7 – Yeah Ghost
Zevious – After the Air Raid

Summer is coming to an end and the big releases are cranking up. This week brings us several highly anticipated releases, as well as one or two that I am personally excited about.

As far as big name acts go, Pearl Jam’s Backspacer drops this week, the band’s first album since cutting ties with Sony Records. And it doesn’t get much bigger than U2′s I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight which hits this week as well.

Indie-folk ‘supergroup’ Monsters of Folk unveil their first self-titled collaborative effort. The band consists of Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes and M. Ward.

One new release that I am particularly excited about is the new one from the Icelandic group Müm, called Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know. I’ve been a big fan of Müm since Yesterday Was Dramatic – Today Is OK way back in 2000. Make sure to give Sing Along a listen.

Also coming this week is Castanet’s spaced-out folk epic Texas Rose, The Thaw and the Beasts. Check out the full review I posted last week.

The complete list is below with affiliate links to purchase straight from iTunes or Amazon (depending on availability at the time of posting.) You’ll notice that this list only includes major label acts – this is simply because I don’t have the time to track down each and every new independent release. If you are an independent artist or record label and would like your upcoming releases included on this weekly list please contact me.

September 22 Releases

Alice Donut – Ten Glorious Animals
The Almighty Defenders – The Almighty Defenders (vinyl)
Amy Millan – Masters of the Burial (vinyl)
Basement Jaxx – Scars
Beastie Boys – Hello Nasty (remastered with bonus disc) (vinyl)
The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
Brand New – Daisy
Brother Ali – Us
Castanets – Texas Rose, The Thaw & The Beasts (vinyl)
David Gray – Draw the Line (deluxe edition)
Early Day Miners – Treatment (vinyl)
Five Finger Death Punch – War Is The Answer
Geoff Muldaur – Texas Sheiks
Guy Clark – Somedays The Song Writes You
Hallelujah the Hills – Colonial Drones
Hornet Leg – Ribbon of Fear (vinyl)
Insomnium – Across the Dark
Islands – Vapours
J Dilla – Jay Stay Paid (vinyl)
John Fahey – Twilight on Prince Georges Avenue: Essential Recordings
Joshua James – Build Me This
Julie Peel – Near the Sun
LCD Soundsystem – 45:33 Remixes
Le Loup – Family (vinyl)
Lisa Germano – Magic Neighbor
Los Lobos – Los Lobos Goes Disney
Mae – (m)orning
Mika – The Boy Who Knew Too Much (special edition)
Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
Mum – Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know
Noisettes – Wild Young Hearts (vinyl)
One Eskimo – One Eskimo
Owen – New Leaves (vinyl)
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than The Stars EP (vinyl)
Pastels/Tenniscoats – Two Sunsets
Pearl Jam – Backspacer
Rain Machine – Rain Machine
Richard Hawley – Truelove’s Gutter
Rollercoaster Project – Revenge
Rose Melberg – Homeade Ship (vinyl)
Rufus Wainwright – Milwaukee at Last!!!
Sea Wolf – White Water, White Bloom (vinyl)
Sean Kingston – Tomorrow
Sissy Wish – Beauties Never Die
Spiral Beach – The Only Really Thing
Times New Viking – Born Again Revisited (vinyl)
To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie – Marlone
Tom Brosseau – Posthumous Success
Twilight Sad – Forget the Night Ahead (vinyl)
U2 – I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Vic Chesnutt – At the Cut
Volcano Choir – Unmap (vinyl)
Vowels – The Pattern Prism
Wallpaper – Doodoo Face (vinyl)
WHY? – Eskimo Snow
Yura Yura Teikoku – Hollow Me/ Beautiful

New artwork included with the announcement.

Billy Corgan announced Wednesday that recording has begun on a new 44 track album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, which he will release as a series of free downloads.

In a statement made on the Pumpkins’ website Corgan said that he hopes ”to release a song at a time beginning around Halloween of this year, with each new release coming shortly after until all 44 are out.” The band is currently in the studio recording the first four of these new songs. According to Corgan all 44 songs will be made available for free. ”There will be no strings attached. Free will mean free, which means you won’t have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop. You will be able to go and take the song or songs as you wish, as many times as you wish.”

He goes on to say that limited edition EPs will be made available for sale at some point, likely containing 4 songs apiece. “The EP’s will be more like collectors items for the discerning fan who will want the art itself, along with the highest possible audio quality available.” Although the details have yet to be worked out, he expects the physical releases to be “more like mini-box sets rather than your normal cd single.”

The final step will be to compile the 44 songs together into a deluxe box set after all of them have been completed and released. According to Corgan the EPs and the box set will not overlap in content. ”Those who have bought the EP’s need not worry, as the box set will not be a recompilation of the limited edition pieces.”

This is a huge undertaking. Corgan is no stranger to big releases - remember the double disc Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness? Still, 44 songs, 11 EPs and a massive deluxe box set makes that album look tiny in comparison. Prince is the only one I can think of to tackle a project of this scope. Corgan addresses that concern as well, saying, “I already have 53 songs written for the record, so I am quite confident that I already have much of the material that I would need to undertake such an extensive project. I am very committed to seeing this album through to its completion and very, very excited about the prospect of delivering new Smashing Pumpkins music to you in a unique and exciting way.”

Corgan also hints at what fans can expect in terms of content: “The music of ‘Teargarden by Kaleidyscope‘ harkens back to the original psychedelic roots of The Smashing Pumpkins: atmospheric, melodic, heavy, and pretty.”

The album will also apparently feature a consistent story line throughout, “breaking down the journey of our life here into four phases as made by these different characters; the Child, the Fool, the Skeptic, and the Mystic.” Sounds pretty Smashing Pumpkins to me.

Some fans have reported that Corgan has already debuted some of this new material live while touring as Spirits in the Sky this past August.

I was skeptical when I first heard that the Billy Corgan was reforming the Smashing Pumpkins without any of the original band members. It’s always a dangerous thing to risk the legacy of a band as influential as the Pumpkins were in their heyday. Jumping back into the game with a huge project like this is also a pretty gutsy move. On the one hand, Billy Corgan and the new band will need to make quite a splash to prevent potential media backlash. Teargarden could be exactly the kind of buzz-builder they need. Still, tying up so many resources – not only financials but time and creative energy as well – could prove disastrous if it falls flat once it begins to roll out to listeners.

I do appreciate that Corgan is trying something new. His plan seems to reveal that he’s been paying attention to the changing market, at the very least. This should be an interesting story to watch as it develops over the coming months.

Texas Rose, the Thaw and the Beasts is Castanets’ biggest and most ambitious work to date, featuring a full band and bringing to the table a brand new appetite for the epic. It’s a challenging, but oddly accessible collection of music.

The album is something of an enigma – rooted in rustic country-folk, yet twisted and bent through the lens of dark, tripped-out electronica. Its mere 39 minutes are filled with a shifting cast of slide guitars, gospel choirs, drum machines and retro synths. When it builds to the unexpectedly rock and roll climax of ‘Down the Line, Love’ or dissolves into the incoherent string-scraping of ‘Thaw and the Beasts,’ neither seem out of place.

Frontman Ray Raposa’s quivering, Dylan-esque vocals weave an uncompromisingly honest tapestry of love, loneliness and disappointment. His grit and sincerity provide an anchor for the songs’ frequent musical tangents, whether drenched in cavernous reverb or up close and personal.

The diverse arrangements of Texas Rose are highlighted in the atmospheric ‘On Beginning,’ and the horror-film blues of ‘No Trouble.’ It’s strangest moments come in ‘Worn From the Fight (With Fireworks)’ with its clicking drum loops, echoey vocals and funky bass lines that border on the whimsical.

‘Dance, Dance’ strips away the the synthesizers and samples and delivers what I found to be the highlight of the album.

So she says, “come in from the rain”
Well, hell, I came in from the rain
It was cold she had room
Hell, I suppose I’m not averse to being tamed.

Raposa tells the story of love and the disappointment when it doesn’t work out quite the way you thought it would.

It was a love so bitter, so taxing, so sad
it was alarming
And then even the good neighbors kids
they seemed more vicious than charming.

The picture he paints is stark and at times harsh, and he does so matter-of-factly and without apology.

No more a mole in the ground or a bear in the winter
Let it be broken glass and bones
Let it be scratches and stitches and splinters.

Yet, it isn’t without a sense of redemption.

Its a long difficult dance
but I think maybe it’s still good
Even though we all dance sometimes
to a song we don’t love like we should.

The story is almost cinematic in scope – as the song ends and the music fades out it feels a little like watching the credits of a film. It had me wondering if all the avant-garde trappings and electronic indulgences up to that point were really necessary. Perhaps they’re really a kind of subconscious diversion to give Raposa’s soul-bearing something to hide behind.

Texas Rose, The Thaw, and the Beasts isn’t going to be for everyone. But that’s alright. It may be the most accessible Castanets album to date, but in the end I don’t think ‘everyone’ isn’t who it’s made for.

Listen to Worn From the Fight (With Fireworks)

Castanets: Texas Rose, The Thaw, and the Beasts is scheduled to be released Sept. 29, 2009 on Asthmatic Kitty Records.

This week brings us an interesting mix of new music. We have the always interesting mewithoutyou with It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright. The first time I saw these guys do their thing live they performed wearing wool sweaters and down parkas. It was 105 degrees.

To those who have children I highly recommend Here Comes Science from They Might be Giants [pictured top]. The Giants have been producing great, non-annoying kids music for a few years now that even the pickiest parent’s won’t mind playing in the car with the windows open.

David Bazan - formerly recording under the moniker Pedro the Lion – releases Curse Your Branches. PTL was for years hugely influential on my musical development. I think he’s lost something in the recordings his done under his own name. His songs have always dealt personal struggles of faith, relationships and alcohol. Yet, In the Pedro days there was always an undercurrent of hope. Since Achilles Heel that hope has been replaced by bitterness and defeat. I do know, however, that many have been anxiously awaiting his newest effort.

Last but not least, I recommend that you pick up the infectious new collection from Apples in Stereo #1 Hits Explosion.

The complete list is below with affiliate links to purchase straight from iTunes or Amazon (depending on whether it’s physical or digital.) You’ll notice that this list only includes major label acts – this is simply because I don’t have the time to track down each and every new independent release. If you are an independent artist or record label and would like your upcoming releases included on this weekly list please contact me.

September 1st 2009

A.A. Bondy – When the Devil’s Loose
Alice Cooper – Killer (reissue)
Allen Toussaint – Saint of New Orleans
Amon Amarth – The Crusher
Andrew W.K. – 55 Cadillac
Apples In Stereo – #1 Hits Explosion
The Black Crowes – Before the Frost…Until the Freeze
The Black Crowes – The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (vinyl)
Brandi Shearer – Love Don’t Make You Juliet
The Chieftains – Live at Montreux 1997 (DVD)
Datarock – Red
David Bazan – Curse Your Branches
Dizzee Rascal – Holiday
Dr. Dre – The Chronic (remastered with bonus CD)
Drive-By Truckers – Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities 2003-2008 (vinyl)
The Entrance Band – The Entrance Band
Farmer Dave Scher – Flash Forward to the Good Times (vinyl)
George Usher – Yours & Not Yours
Juliette Lewis – Terra Ingognita
Lady Gaga – Hit Mixes
Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke
Liam Finn – Champagne in Seashells EP
Little Boots – Remedy
The Lost Fingers - Lost in the 80′s
Lovvers – OCD Go Go Go Girls
Lullabye Arkestra – Threats/Worship (vinyl)
Madlove – White with Foam
mewithoutYou – It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright (vinyl)
Pete Yorn/Scarlett Johansson – Break Up (vinyl)
Peter Broderick – 4 Track Songs (vinyl)
Prodigy – Take Me to the Hospital Remixes
Reverend Horton Heat – Laughin’ and Cryin’ with Reverend Horton Heat (vinyl)
Richard Lloyd -The Jamie Neverts Story
Robin Guthrie – Carousel
Sam Baker – Cotton
Sleepthief – Labyrinthine Heart
Street Sweeper Social Club – Street Sweeper Social Club (vinyl)
Susanna and the Magical Orchestra - 3
Theoretical Girl – Divided
These United States – Everything Touches Everything
They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science (CD & DVD)
Those Bastard Souls – Twentieth Century Chemical (remastered with 7 bonus tracks)
The Used – Artwork (vinyl)
Wale – Chillin (single feat. Lady Gaga)
Willard Grant Conspiracy – Paper Covers Stone

Lot’s of new releases this week including Blizten Trapper’s highly engaging Black River Killer, and Mew’s excessively titled No More Stories Are Told Today I’m Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories the World is Grey I’m Tired Let’s Wash Away.

Imogen Heap’s Ellipse officially launched this week with a deluxe edition that includes a bonus CD of instrumental tracks. If you want to try that one before you buy it, we’ve got it streaming here.

A few notable reissues were released this week as well, including Wilco’s Being There and Summerteeth, and Radiohead’s Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief and Kid A.

The complete list is below with affiliate links to purchase straight from iTunes or Amazon (depending on whether it’s physical or digital.) You’ll notice that this list only includes major label acts – this is simply because I don’t have the time to track down each and every new independent release. If you are an independent artist or record label and would like your upcoming releases included on this weekly list please contact me.

August 25th 2009

Alan Singley & Pants Machine – Feelin’ Citrus
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug (vinyl)
Asobi Seksu – Transparance (vinyl)
Beach Boys – Christmas Harmonies
Bela Fleck – Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto and Music for Trio
Biffy Clyro – That Golden Rule
Blitzen Trapper – Black River Killer
The Bloody Beetroots – Romborama (vinyl)
Bob Dylan – The Best of Bob Dylan (Limited Edition “Collector’s Crate” with CD and T-shirt)
Bob Dylan – The Essential Bob Dylan (3 Disc set)
Cheap Trick – Sgt. Pepper Live (DVD)
Collective Soul – Collective Soul
Datarock – Red (vinyl)
David Mead – Almost and Always
Dolores O’Riordan – No Baggage
Felix Da Housecat – He Was King
Fun. – Aim and Ignite (vinyl)
Gospel Gossip – Dreamland (vinyl)
Hank Williams – The Unreleased Recordings (vinyl)
Imogen Heap – Ellipse (Limited Edition Bonus CD)
Jeff Healey – Songs from the Road
JET Shaka Rock
Kitty Daisy & Lewis – Kitty Daisy & Lewis
Matisyahu – Light (vinyl)
Ingrid Michaelson – Everybody
Merrimack – Grey Rigorism
Merzbow – 13 Japanese Birds, Vol. 8
Mew – No More Stories…
Patton Oswalt – My Weakness is Strong
The Postmarks – Memoirs at the End of the World (vinyl)
Radiohead – Amnesiac (collectors edition)
Radiohead – Hail to the Thief (collectors edition)
Radiohead – Kid A (collectors edition)
Reigning Sound – Love and Curses (vinyl)
Sally Shapiro – My Guilty Pleasure
Sadra Bernhard – Whatever it Takes
Science Fiction Corporation – Science Fiction Dance Party: Dance with Action (vinyl)
Sic Alps – L Mansion
Soulsavers – Broken
The Spider Bags – Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueller World (vinyl)
Still Life Still – Girls Come Too (vinyl)
Tim Buckley – Live at the Folklore Center, NYC – March 6th 1967
Vandaveer – Divide and Conquer
Various Artists – Taking Woodstock (soundtrack)
Wilco – Being There (2 LP, 1 CD reissue)
Wilco – Summerteeth (2 LP, 1 CD reissue)
Will Hoge – The Wreckage (vinyl)
YACHT – See Mystery Lights (vinyl)

There are a few solid new releases this week. Australia’s Temper Trap is one that I can definitely recommend that you check out (I think Australia may be taking over the world – or at least this blog recently!) The vinyl edition of The Cave Singers Welcome Joyis a solid offering, boasting melodic guitar-driven folk rock and Dylan-esque vocals. The Flaming Lips, Muse, Mew and Destroyer release vinyls today as well.

That’s just a small sampling, but the full list is certainly worth browsing. I’ve included it below with associate links taking you straight to iTunes or Amazon if you’d like to take a closer look or download. As always, please let me know your feedback. What quality new releases am I missing?

Not included on this list but worth mentioning is the new Radiohead track These Are My Twisted Words that’s been floating around the web. It was finally claimed and ‘released’ by the band yesterday. Imogen Heap offered up her much-anticipated new album Ellipse for free streaming from her website yesterday. She, of course, made the announcement on Twitter.

New Music Releases

65daysofstatic - Escape from New York
Accused - Curse of Martha Splatterhead
Adam Marsland - Go West
The Antlers - Hospice (vinyl reissue)
As Tall As Lions - You Can’t Take It With You (vinyl)
Blind Man’s Colour - Season’s Dreaming
Brendan Benson - My Old, Familiar Friend (vinyl)
Calvin Harris - Ready for the Weekend (bonus edition)
The Cave Singers - Welcome Joy (vinyl)
Choir of Young Believers - This Is For The White In Your Eyes
Christopher O’Riley - Out of My Hands
Church - Song Force Crystal
Delbert McClinton - Acquired Taste
Depedro: Depedro
Destroyer - Bay of Pigs EP (vinyl)
The Dimes - New England EP
Division Day - Visitation
Eric Copeland - Alien in a Garbage Dump
Farmer Dave Scher - Flash Forward to the Good Times
Fell - Incoherent Lullabies
Final - Reading All the Right Signals Wrong
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (2-LP vinyl with bonus CD)
GWAR - Lust in Space
Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh - Overloaded Ark
Hidden Cameras - Origin: Orphan
Jack Penate - Everything is New (vinyl)
Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
Jeff Merchant - City Makes No Sound
Jeniferever - Choose a Bright Morning (reissue)
Jim Lauderdale - Could We Get Any Closer?
Joe Henry - Blood from Stars
Joey Degraw - Say Something Strong
Kasabian - Where Did All the Love Go?
Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke (vinyl)
Little Dragon - Machine Dreams
The Lovely Feathers - Fantasy of the Lot
Lynam - Tragic City Symphony
Mark Mallman - Invincible Criminal
Mew - No More Stories EP (vinyl)
Modest Mouse - No One’s First and You’re Next EP (vinyl)
Mount Eerie - Wind’s Poem
Mungolian Jetset - We Gave It All Away… Now We Are Taking It Back
Muse - Absolution (vinyl reissue)
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (vinyl reissue)
Muse - Origin of Symmetry (vinyl reissue)
Muse - Showbiz (vinyl reissue)
Old Crow Medicine Show – Live at the Orange Peel and Tennessee Theatre(dvd)
Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans (vinyl)
Ramona Falls - Intuit
Richard Thompson - Walking on a Wire: Richard Thompson (1968-2009) (4-CD box set)
The Rolling Stones - Jump Back: The Best of the Rolling Stones 1971-1993
Sic Alps – A Long Way Around To a Short Cut (2-LP vinyl)
Sister Hazel - Release
Six Organs of Admittance - Luminous Night (vinyl)
The Temper Trap - Conditions
Various Artists - Inglourious Basterds (soundtrack)
Various Artists - Mad Men: Music From The Series Vol. 2
Various Artists - Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music (5-LP box set)
Wonderwheel - Safe and Sorry
ZAZA - Cameo

Summer is the season of reissues, and this week we have no shortage of them. The Cure, Fleetwood Mac, Ween – even the Flying Burrito Brothers. The big Woodstock: 40 Years On box set drops today as well, along with a live Jimi Hendrix that comes complete with a t-shirt.

As for new stuff, we’ve got Box Elders with Alice and Friends, Anna Ternheim with Leaving On a Mayday, and vinyl editions of last week’s Jets Overhead and Leamonheads releases. Believe it or not there’s also a new one from Rush called Grace Under Pressure.

The full list of new releases is below, with associate links to download the albums straight from iTunes, or purchase from Amazon in the case of box-sets and vinyl. Let me know what would make this list more complete, or more helpful for finding new music.

Have you been anticipating any of these new albums? Have I missed anything you think should be included here? Leave your comments and let me know what you think.

Anna Ternheim – Leaving On a Mayday
Balmorhea – All is Wild, All is Silent: Remixes (vinyl)
Bombay Bicycle Club – I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose
AmazonThe Bottle Rockets – Lean Forward
Box Elders – Alice and Friends
Buffy Sainte-Marie – Running for the Drum
AmazonChris Isaak – Greatest Hits Live (DVD)
Cobra Starship – Hot Mess
AmazonThe Cure – Into the Dark: The Early Cure 1979-1982 (4-LP vinyl box set)
Current 93 – Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain (vinyl)
Dark Meat – When the Shelter Came (vinyl)
Eilen Jewell – Sea of Tears (vinyl)
AmazonEmiliana Torrini – Rarities
Emmy the Great – First Love
AmazonFela Kuti – Fela Kuti and His Koola Lobitos (vinyl)
AmazonFleetwood Mac – Live at the Boston Tea party (4 LP vinyl reissue)
AmazonThe Flying Burrito Brothers – Relix Collection (reissue)
Herbaliser – Session 1&2 (2-Disc set)
AmazonHousemartins – London 0 Hull 4 (remastered)
Imelda May – Love Tattoo
Iron Age – The Sleeping Eye (vinyl)
Jets Overhead – No Nations (vinyl)
AmazonJimi Hendrix – Live 1968 Paris/Ottowa (2-Disc box set + t-shirt)
AmazonJohn Coltrane – Lush Life (vinyl reissue)
AmazonKings of Leon – The Interview Sessions
Kites With Lights – The Weight of Your Heart
Lemonheads – Varshons (vinyl)
AmazonMichael Jackson – The Document Unauthorized
AmazonMichael Jackson – Moonwalking – The True Story of Michael Jackson (DVD)
Mindy Smith – Stupid Love
Nisennenmondai – Destination Tokyo
Ozric Tentacles – Strangeitude (vinyl reissue)
Passion Pit – Manners (vinyl)
Patrick Wolf – The Bachelor (vinyl)
Peter Mulvey – Letters from a Flying Machine
Pink Floyd – A Saucerful of Secrets (DVD)
AmazonThe Proclaimers – Notes & Rhymes
Reigning Sound – Love and Curses
Robben Ford – Soul on Ten
Robert Cray – This Time
Robert Pollard – Elephant Jokes (vinyl)
The Rumble Strips – Welcome to the Walk Alone
Rush – Grace Under Pressure
Sam & Ruby – The Here and Now
Slaraffenland – Meet and Greet (vinyl)
Slaughterhouse – Slaughterhouse
AmazonTV Ghost – Cold Fish (vinyl)
The Used – The Used (vinyl reissue)
AmazonVarious Artists – Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm (6-Disc box set)
The Wailin’ Jenny’s – Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House
AmazonWeen – Painin’ the Town Brown: Ween Live ’90-’98 (reissue)

It’s been four years this month since Sufjan Stevens released his last full record Come on Feel the Illinoise. For a man who once declared that he would release an album for each of America’s 50 states – and for the uniquely dedicated fans who follow the indie-rock wunderkind – four years is an awfully long delay.

Fans don’t have much longer to wait, however, although Stevens’ next release may not be quite what they expected. The BQE is a multimedia set based on a live performance Stevens’ put on back in November of ’07 of the same name. Inspired by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in New York The BQE was, at least in the words of Pitchfork, “an over-the-top affair with an orchestra, artsy footage of the highway, and hula hoops.”

Pitchfork may not have been impressed (when are they, really?) but the show was a success, selling out all three nights of it’s run at the Howard Gilman Opera House in downtown Brooklyn. So why has it taken two years to release the BQE set? Stevens’ Asthmatic Kitty Records explains:

One week following the performances, Sufjan and his orchestra went into the studio to record the soundtrack, but afterwards, feeling disenfranchised by the magnitude of the universe, Sufjan decided to shelve the project. Until now. Two years later, Sufjan found inspiration to mix the music, edit the video and expand the project to include photographs, liner notes, a comic book, and a stereoscopic image reel—a multi-media package that attempts to render this much-loathed urban expressway into a conscionable work of art.

According to the press release, the two-disc album will include the original film on DVD, the original soundtrack on CD, 40 pages of photos and liner notes, and a View-Master reel, created by illustrator Stephen Halker. Oddly, the set does not appear to include footage of the original live performance.

A limited-edition vinyl version will be available as well, and will include the soundtrack on 180-gram vinyl, a large-scale 32-page booklet with liner notes and photographs, and a 40-page Hooper Heroes comic book. All this will be kicked off on October 24th at 92YTribeca where they will show the film and feature a string quartet performance of selections from the upcoming “re-imagining” of Stevens’ Enjoy Your Rabbit album.

Sufjan Stevens certainly has his skeptics, but you’ve got to hand it to the man for consistently pushing the envelope. His deliberate and borderline reclusive nature in many ways contradicts the direction the rest of the industry has been heading in recent years. Yet, he has managed come up with an impressive string of innovative ideas to keep his fans engaged. Melodrama aside, the BQE should be a great example of an artist providing extra value to give fans plenty of reason to buy an album.

Here’s a preview to hold you over until October: