Beers, Books and Beats

New this week:

13th Floor Elevators - Complete Singles Collection CD (Snapper)
For the first time the original 45 RPM mono mixes of the 13th Floor Elevators’ seven singles (A and B-sides) have been compiled on a single CD. Completing this brand new package are the four tracks from the ultra rare French Riviera EP -- three of which are unique stereo mixes.

Autechre - Oversteps CD (Warp)
"Their latest work, still very much an Autechre record, shows an oft-overlooked playfulness and a rarely mentioned musicality that comes to the forefront, in what could be described as their most accessible work to date. Between the layers of cold digital pings and fuzzed out tones, there are true chord changes and warm soundscapes being built from the ground up."

The Bird And The Bee - Interpreting The Masters Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates CD (Angel)
"The Bird And The Bee pay homage to one of the greatest duo's of the ‘80s: Darryl Hall And John Oates. Classic material is reinvented through the band’s sleek production and sweet lyrical delivery."

Joe Bonamassa - Black Rock CD (Premier Artists)
"New album includes a duet with BB King, along with renditions of Jeff Beck’s “Spanish Boots,” Leonard Cohen’s poetic “Bird On A Wire,” Otis Rush's “Three Times A Fool,” Bobby Parker's “Steal Your Heart Away,” Blind Boy Fuller's “Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind,” John Hiatt's “I Know A Place,” and James Clark's “Look Over Yonder’s Wall,” as well as several originals."

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & The Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show Of The World CD/LP (Drag City)***
***Not in stock yet! Exepcted this afternoon (03/23)
"For this new album of songs, Bonny Billy & The Cairo Gang together have built a bridge forward, assembled with riffs and bits from Emmett Kelly's guitar and the lyricism of Bonny's heart. But mostly, The Wonder Show Of The World was, in its making, about trust. It's a record made eye-to-eye in a room, close and careful, by and for a few men who wanted to be together, who wanted to make music that sounds as good to listen to as it did to make, and who in doing so forged something new in space, the wonder of you and of them."

Drink Up Buttercup - Born And Thrown On A Hook CD (Yep Roc)
"Exists in a world touched upon previously by Tom Waits, Hans Christian Anderson and Lloyd Kaufman while musically it follows the direct lineage of classic songwriting: Bowie, The Beatles and The Beach Boys' late-‘60s lysergia, early Roxy Music, Sabbath's bass heavy pulse and the crescendos of Arcade Fire."

Goldfrapp - Head First CD (Mute)
"Head First is a speedy rush of synth optimism, euphoria, fantasy and romance."

Let’s Wrestle - In The Court Of The Wrestling Let’s CD (Merge)
"Originally intended as a punk record, In the Court Of The Wrestling Let's developed into more than that, with songs influenced by rock & roll ballads by Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly ("In Dreams," "My Schedule") and the psychedelic rock of Barrett-era Pink Floyd ("In The Court Of The Wrestling Let's"), but overall it still remains a punk rock record."

Love Is All - Two Thousand And Ten Injuries CD (Polyvinyl)
"An eclectic collection of pop melodies, anchored by new wave and punk rock rhythms that are as refined as they are unpredictable."

Radar Brothers - Illustrated Garden CD (Merge)
"The punchiest, most lyrically direct set of songs the band has released to date."

Serena-Maneesh - No. 2: Abyss In B Minor CD (4AD)
"In this age, given the ease of bedroom recording, records like this one aren't made very often. But this is no distended double-album; it may open with the eight-minute groove of “Ayisha Abyss,” which sounds like a caffeinated Can or something from Funkadelic's Maggot Brain."

She & Him - Volume Two CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)
"What began as a fascinating, no-strings-attached collaboration on 2008's Volume One has evolved into a bona fide, touring band, and She & Him are here to stay. Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward are a comfortable and complementary musical pair; hearing them again on Volume Two feels like getting together with two old friends."

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars - Rise & Shine CD (Cumbancha)
"Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars were introduced to the world in 2006 by a moving film that documented the band's formation in West African refugee camps and the challenges they faced returning to a homeland racked by years of bloody warfare. For the follow up to their acclaimed debut album Living Like A Refugee, the band began recording back home in Freetown, Sierra Leone, then traveled to New Orleans to work with renowned producer Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Angelique Kidjo, Michelle Shocked, Rickie Lee Jones, Ozomatli)."

The Unthanks - Here’s The Tender Coming CD (Rough Trade)
"It's hard to imagine a British folk outfit with fans like Radiohead, Portishead, Robert Wyatt, Ben Folds, Ewan McGregor and Nick Hornby, but The Unthanks occupy a unique place in music. It's influenced as much by the minimalist eccentricity of Steve Reich, Antony & The Johnsons, Robert Wyatt and Miles Davis, as they are by the traditional music of the North East of England where sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank grew up."


DVDs:

The T.A.M.I. Show - DVD (Shout! Factory)
"Filmed just eight months after The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The T.A.M.I. Show introduced rock n soul youth culture to America in the first concert movie of the rock era. One of the rarest and most sought-after performance films from its time, the 1964 concert event featured The Rolling Stones, James Brown, Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Supremes and many other American and British Invasion hitmakers in their prime."