Our Favorite Vinyl Releases This Week (6/29/15)

Fraser A. Gorman - Slow Gum

||Purchase LP here||

So you know our March '14 VMP artist Courtney Barnett? Of course you do, that question was kind of written in a joke-y tone that might not have translated over the internet.  Anyway, she has a label called Milk Records back in Australia and on that label is a young man named Fraser A. Gorman who probably wasn't born as much as magically transported from an East Village club in the late 70s to Australia much to the surprise of his mother and neighbors.  Well, this is his second album and the folks at Milk describe the sound as, "...steeped in Americana, but this time it’s somewhere between Transformer-era Lou and the joyous romp of early Big Star." That was enough for us to hit "Go" - if it isn't for you than take a listen via NME who is streaming it below.

Stream via NME

Refused - Freedom

||Purchase in the Member Store||

The first two notes on the Swedish hardcore band's long-awaited (most probably assumed it wouldn't happen since they broke up twice in the interim) follow-up to 1998 classic, Shape of Punk to Come (if you haven't heard this stop what you're doing right now, and go here then come back when you've changed your underwear)...wait, where were we? Oh yeah, the first two notes of this album make you realize that the great bands possess something that the passing of years can never fully extinguish, the "have it" factor that record executives pay a lot of money to young A&R folks to go find, but seldom pans out.  If we were being 100% honest this is not as good as Shape of Punk to Come, but that's like saying that your painting isn't quite as good as van Gogh's 'The Starry Night'...it's not a let down as much as it is an acknowledgement the air up on Mount Olympus is thin.  This album is really good and it's going to be spinning on our

office turntable a lot in the coming months...because it's Refused...it's Refused and they have it.

Stream via Pandora

Lady Bones - Dying

||Purchase LP||

"Before further review, the self-described “Blargh” Ugly-Poppers are juvenile in spirit. Their photos portray a group of young Bostonians with a deep connection to house cats and pizza dinners. Sense of humor? Yeah, we’re talking piss filled toilet bowls, casual poop references, and a trolling visual of John Travolta circa 1978. Sometimes, they take aisle-side naps on top of stacks of bathroom tissue. When in Illinois, do as the….?

But the photos we’ve perused also represent much more than some chuckle-hungry tricksters. These are three guys embarking on a long journey of van breakdowns and the little-thing-luxuries they hold near and dear on the road. Ah, those Georgia peaches.

The tunes of their debut full length record, Dying, fully support this notion. The album makes it clear that their musical tone has already surpassed their maturity level. With tracks of varying temperament, the bluesy bass lines complement the wide variety of subdued yet raspy vocals to make for a grungy underground album that their city should be proud of." - Derek Scancarelli, Noisey

Stream via Noisey Music