PRESS PLAY: New Albums out May 23rd

The unofficial start of summer has its official soundtrack in this week’s batch of new albums. Following their gradual return to the stage, Stereolab present their first new album in 15 years; Instant Holograms on Metal Film is hotwired with plenty of the band’s trademark circuitry. The road to Boys These Days, the third LP from Sports Team, has been paved with tribulations, but the young London band remains sharp and resilient. Hot on the heels of their headlining NonComm performance, art-rock heroes Sparks remain defiantly themselves on their 28^th studio album, MAD!. Philly’s country-leaning collective Florry recorded Sounds Like… in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, channeling the region’s burgeoning roots-rock energy.

For Room on the Porch, their second collaborative release, blues legends Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ exhibit effortless chemistry with one another. Celebrated for his inventive guitar work with Tom Waits and John Zorn, Map of a Blue City is perhaps Marc Ribot’s most daring release yet; a tender album centered around his warm voice. Currently a member of Sharon Van Etten’s Attachment Theory, Teeny Lieberson reinvents her solo persona as Lou Tides on her thunderous, Bartees Strange-produced debut, Autostatic!. A modern master of reggae and dub production, Pachy García continues to expand his stylized sound on his latest as Pachyman, Another Place.

Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

CDSM – Convertible Hearse, Cindytalk – Camouflage Heart (Reissue), Home is Where – Hunting Season, Julia Wolf – Pressure, Martha Wainwright – Martha Wainwright (Reissue), Marumari – Hidden Tracks and Rarities 2001-2005, Resavoir & Matt Gold – Horizon, Sedona – Getting into Heaven, 7SECONDS – New Wind (Reissue) / Change in My Head, Shamir – Ten, Sophia Kennedy – Squeeze Me, These New Puritans – Crooked Wings