This year’s springtime Record Store Day reissue resurgence continues with two solid ones from the Liberation Hall label, a performance collection from San Francisco-based new wavers Romeo Void, Live ’81-’85, and an odds-and-ends set from the Los Angelino kings of Americana, The Blasters, Rare Blasts: Studio Outtakes and Movie Music 1979-1985. Both albums are worthy additions to any shelf documenting rock music’s transitions in the early 1980s. Both records are hitting the bins on vinyl in limited editions, but are also available on compact disc and digital.

It seems fair to say that when considering the edgier, sturdier side of the new wave spectrum, Romeo Void, if not wholly overlooked, haven’t received enough retrospective acclaim for the tough smarts of their sound. Extant from 1979–’85, the band cut three full-length albums, an EP, and a handful of singles during that stretch. Starting on indie 415 Records, Romeo Void made the move to Columbia and stands as one of the few instances where the switch to a major label wasn’t a botch job.

Back in 2023, Liberation Hall unveiled Romeo Void’s Live from Mabuhay Gardens, a very cool set that caught the band at an early stage, specifically on November 14, 1980. Eight of Mabuhay Gardens’ eleven tracks were recut in the studio for the debut album, It’s a Condition, but neither of Romeo Void’s best-known songs was part of the setlist on that evening.

That makes Live ’81–’85 very necessary. It holds not only “Never Say Never” and “A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing),” their most celebrated tunes (the latter even climbed into the Billboard Top 40), but also a cross-section of material from their discography. What’s sweet is that the band is in sharp form throughout, from vocalist Deborah Iyall to guitarist Peter Woods to the rhythm section of bassist Frank Zincavage and drummers Frank Carter (on the ’81–’82 material) and Aaron Smith (on the stuff cut in Europe in ’85).

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Touché Amoré marks a decade of their groundbreaking album Stage Four with a digital deluxe anniversary reissue available today. The expanded edition features eleven new tracks, including unreleased demos and remixes with artists Cody Votolato (The Blood Brothers), Youth Code, and Kerry McCoy (Deafheaven).

On Wednesday, the band dropped a new Youth Code remix of “Palm Dreams,” recasting the original fragile ache in a storm of industrial pulse and shadowy electronics, pushing the emotional core into darker, club-lit terrain. It’s a striking reimagining—one that honors the album’s enduring weight while proving its songs can still evolve, haunt, and resonate.

Additionally, available May 15 is a limited-edition vinyl release consisting of 4 LPs pressed on square records: each on exclusive colorways. The albums are housed in a clear pink slipcase with new artwork, die-cut sleeves and labels, and a large double-sided poster.

Bolm shares, “Stage Four was a mandatory album for my journey with grief, and the impact it’s had on the band as well as our audience—however heavy or light—feels worth celebrating.”

Recorded in early 2016 with producer Brad Wood, Stage Four is Touché Amoré’s most unflinching and artistic statement, earning praise from Pitchfork as a “harrowing and unrelenting record.” The cathartic, sentimental, and sonically triumphant album marked a pivotal moment in the band’s career, balancing dreams and loss as singer Jeremy Bolm navigated personal tragedy. Four records in, it solidified Touché Amoré’s reputation as one of rock music’s most talented, relatable, and visceral acts.

Read More »

Remembering Lowell George, born on this day in 1945. —Ed.

Little Feat was one of America’s foremost pre-punk-era bands, perhaps even its best. Little Feat boasted musicians with mad skills, the best of them the brilliant vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Lowell George. And like a great junkball pitcher, they could throw all manner of bedazzling shit your way. They played fastball rock, curveball boogie, knuckleball blues, and a dangerous forkball funk, and with a runner of third and one out they might even send some screwball country past you, and make you look like a fool, boy. No wonder none other than Jimmy Page hailed them as his favorite American band.

In short, Little Feat cooked. But lots of bands can cook—all you need is a frying pan and some grease. What truly separated Little Feat from the pack was its brilliant songwriting. The band bequeathed us a whole shitload of timeless songs—including “Easy to Slip,” “Willin’,” “Spanish Moon,” “Hamburger Midnight,” “Dixie Chicken,” and plenty more besides—not one of which I have ever heard played on my car radio. There is no justice in this world, boyo.

In addition to being a great band, Little Feat remains an enduring medical enigma. To wit: When did Little Feat, or Patient X as the band is referred to in the copious medical literature on the subject, actually die? Some would argue that Little Feat is very much alive, and it’s true that a band by that name continues to make the rounds of the concert circuit. But I would argue that said band is little more than an animated corpse, dragging its desiccated carcass and reek of putrefaction from town to town and playing by means of jolts of electricity carefully administered by technicians hiding backstage.

Still others would pronounce the time of death as June 1979, when George died of a heart attack in a hotel room in Arlington, Virginia at age 34. But in my expert medical opinion, and I will go into this in more detail later, Little Feat expired well before that, in 1975 to be precise, a victim of Lowell’s diminishing role in the band and a creeping case of Steely Dan Disease.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Wewantsounds continues its Middle East reissue series with Assa’d Khoury’s 1978 rarity, Electronic Touches Belly Dance.

Reissued for the first time in nearly 50 years in partnership with Byblos Records founder Mozart Chahine, the album features Oriental classics reimagined through Khoury’s pioneering funky, electronic keyboards together with the monster breakbeat of cult track “Al Ghaba.” This definitive edition includes original artwork, remastered audio, a new introduction by Ahmed Khalil (Dikraphone), and an exclusive interview with Chahine conducted by Mario Choueiry (IMA)

Long a highly coveted find for DJs and vinyl collectors worldwide, Assa’d Khoury’s 1978 album Electronic Touches Belly Dance has earned its cult status as one of the most sought-after instrumental LPs from the region. This release marks the very first reissue of the album, which has remained virtually impossible to find since its original pressing.

Khoury (1953–2020), a Syrian virtuoso pianist, violinist, and leader of the “Spring Band,” bridged Levantine tradition with the cosmic, psychedelic textures of the late 1970s. As Dikraphone’s Ahmed Khalil notes in his introduction, the music serves as “a sensory portal to a bygone Damascus, where a psychedelic Farfisa and mesmerizing rhythms create a unique groove” that remains remarkably fresh today.

Read More »

Almost as beloved as their legendarily loud and crude 1968 debut, Vincebus Eruptum—a testament to inept genius if there ever was one—San Francisco trio Blue Cheer’s 1968 follow-up Outsideinside got its title because, at least according to legend, several of its tracks were deemed too loud to be recorded in the confines of an actual recording studio. The record company was worried the band’s proclivity for living solely in the red would melt the equipment and incinerate everybody in the place.

Only trouble is—and this really gets my goat—I’ve been unable to figure out which songs were recorded outside, at places like Gate Five in lovely Sausalito, Muir Beach in Marin County, and Pier 57 in New York City. I would love to know—if the trio (Leigh Stephens, guitar; Dickie Peterson, lead vocals and bass; and Paul Whalely, drums) managed to record their barbarically high-volume debut in a studio, just how loud could this shit have been?

And were the outdoor tracks recorded before actual audiences, or were they kept at a safe distance to prevent mass hearing loss?

Expert types will tell you Outsideinside is Blue Cheer tamed, that they’d learned how to play their instruments (well, a little) and were more interested in actual song structure, but fortunately, the experts are wrong. The first couple of songs sound a mite more civilized than anything off Blue Cheer’s debut, but it’s obvious the threesome weren’t taking lessons or anything.

Read More »

Challenging times give rise to a musical response from artists of conscience. They realize their place in society at a critical time requires some cultural response, declaration, or call to action. Bruce Springsteen has been consistent about that throughout his half-century career, playing rallies and the occasional campaign event, crafting songs that subtly or very specifically reflect our era, urging action while providing uplift.

Springsteen did so, reacting to the ICE aggression and murders in Minneapolis with an obviously quickly written song that mentioned the specific headlines in a way that Woody Guthrie might have done 80 years ago. With a title that suggested his much more subtle “Streets of Philadelphia” from the AIDs era, “Streets of Minneapolis” was a more direct, almost a weary wail mourning the murders of good people while excoriating the corrupt powers behind it all.

It was telling that Springsteen chose to open his terrific tour at the Target Center with that site-specific anthem. Because of the head-spinning blur of bad news and misguided decisions from what’s left of the White House, there was a current war on Iran to address.

So, when choosing which two songs to start, which were also streamed live to his social media channels and YouTube, he began with an exclamation point: Edwin Starr’s version of “War,” which he and the E Street Band slammed through during the Gulf War, just as effectively, followed by “Born in the U.S.A,” referring perhaps to the outrageous Supreme Court challenge to birthright citizenship (the song was lent to the defending ACLU for TV ads).

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | In celebration of what would have been influential bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice’s 75th birthday, Craft Recordings announces the return of his 1977 self-titled album.

The foundational recording captured a shift in bluegrass toward a more expansive, ensemble-driven sound. Out of print for more than 40 years, Tony Rice features a who’s who of bluegrass legends—including David Grisman, J.D. Crowe, and Jerry Douglas—and remains a cornerstone of the “new acoustic” genre, blending bluegrass standards with contemporary outings.

Cut from the original tapes with all-analog (AAA) mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, the album returns to vinyl on June 5, with packaging replicating the original 1977 jacket design.

The remastered album will also be available across digital platforms in standard and hi-res audio. Rice’s take on the traditional folk ballad “Banks of the Ohio” is available to stream and download now. The album is available to pre-save and pre-order today.

One of the most revered names in modern bluegrass, Tony Rice (1951–2020) was an innovative force who shaped the sound of the genre throughout his career, and whose distinctive touch on the guitar influenced countless others. Born in Virginia and raised in Los Angeles, Rice launched his career in Louisville, KY, where he rose to prominence as the lead vocalist and guitarist of J.D. Crowe’s legendary group, The New South.

Read More »

Remembering Eddie Hazel, born on this day in 1950. —Ed.

The late guitarist Eddie Hazel remains highly esteemed for his role in shaping the funk rock juggernaut that is Parliament-Funkadelic. With beaucoup assistance from the P-Funk All-Stars including George Clinton himself, Hazel released Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs, his solo debut, in 1977, an absolute fiesta of string bending that quickly fell out of print, grew to be highly sought after, and therefore became rather expensive. 

I suppose it’s possible to review Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs without mentioning Hazel’s role in Parliament-Funkadelic, but I’m not sure what purpose that would serve, particularly as so many of his bandmates contribute to it, specifically bassists Bootsy Collins and William “Billy Bass” Nelson, drummer Tiki Fulwood, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, guitarists Michael Hampton, Gary Shider, Glenn Goins, and those Brides of Funkenstein, Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry. Additionally, George Clinton had a hand in writing all four of the record’s originals, with Hazel a co-writer on two of them.

It’s the original stuff, which is very much in the sonic ballpark of P-Funk, that made Hazel’s only non-posthumous solo album such a pricey item for such a long time. And even after being reissued on CD and vinyl on a handful of occasions in the 21st century, copies of the first pressing (in good condition, natch) still changed hands for roughly 200 smackers.

Lending Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs fresh ears on the occasion of Real Gone’s new vinyl edition (the label issued it on CD back in 2012 featuring notes by P-Funk Minister of Information Tom Vickers, with copies still available) reestablishes the most important factor in the record’s enduring stature, which is a baseline standard of quality. It is an eminently listenable record, providing that one is amenable to the P-Funk sensibility of course, and to Hazel’s playing in particular.

Read More »

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Few bands captured the scale, precision, and uplift of arena rock quite like Triumph—and now, as the Canadian trio steps back into the spotlight, their most defining songs return in one essential collection.

The Best of Triumph arrives June 12th, offering a focused retrospective of the band’s most enduring work at a moment of renewed momentum. Featuring powerhouse anthems such as “Lay It on the Line,” “Magic Power,” “Fight the Good Fight,” and “Hold On,” the collection traces Triumph’s ascent from a Canadian breakout act to an international force in rock. Available on LP, CD, and digital formats, the release coincides with Triumph’s long-awaited return to the stage for their first major tour in more than three decades.

Alongside today’s announcement, “Lay It on the Line (Single Edit)” is available now on streaming platforms for the first time. Newly mastered from the original analog tapes—part of a full-album remaster—the track presents the concise, radio-ready version that first introduced Triumph to a broad audience in the late 1970s. Many of the single edits featured in this collection have not previously been available on digital platforms, offering listeners a rare opportunity to experience these original versions.

In addition to standard black vinyl, The Best of Triumph will be available in exclusive color variants, including a “Spellbound Purple” pressing at Barnes & Noble, a “Blue Smoke” edition at Sunrise Records (Canada), and a “Silver Lightning” pressing available via CraftRecordings.com. Meanwhile, an exclusive CD edition featuring a commemorative tour pass can be found at Walmart (US) and Sunrise Records (Canada).

Read More »

The Black Angels have exuded menace via drone, squalls of guitar feedback, and dark subject matter since they first blew me away with the War Is Hell tracks “The First Vietnamese War” and “Young Men Dead” and the doom-laden “The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven” way back in (has it really been that long?) 2006.

They swiped their name from the Velvet Underground’s “The Black Angel’s Death Song,” and it’s appropriate. Theirs is not your hippie uncle’s idea of psychedelic music.

Over the course of six full-length LPs from 2006 to 2022, The Black Angels have transmogrified dread into ecstasy, utilizing the sitar in a manner that would not get Ravi Shankar’s Seal of Spiritual Approval and in general recording music that is all Altamont and no Woodstock.

I’m talking dark, darker, darkest, and when that massive drone kicks in, you won’t relax, but you’ll float downstream, straight into the Heart of Darkness.

The Black Angels hail from Austin, Texas, and have played festival after festival with such kindred spirits as the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Japan’s Acid Mothers Temple, the Flaming Lips, Spiritualized, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Dandy Warhols—even The Zombies! And they did a several-day stint as Roky Erickson’s backing band.

The liner notes of their 2006 debut LP Passover included a quote from Edvard Munch: “Illness, insanity, and death are the black angels that kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life.” Very appropriate, that.

Read More »