Each week Release Day Picks profiles new LPs and EPs Team JamBase will be checking out on release day Friday. This week we highlight new albums by Gov’t Mule, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Queens of the Stone Age, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Deer Tick, Sigur Rós, Hand Habits, Bettye LaVette, Papadosio, TAUK & Kanika Moore, Drive-By Truckers and Son Volt. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.
Gov’t Mule – Peace…Like A River
In 2021 Gov’t Mule entered The Power Station New England and after weeks with days spent working on originals and nights spent recording blues material the band came away with two albums. Heavy Load Blues arrived last year and Peace…Like A River is out today on Fantasy Records. Peace…Like A River contains 12 songs penned by frontman Warren Haynes during lockdown that he wrote without each being COVID-centric while still addressing all the major changes going on around him. The band’s 12th studio album, and last with bassist Jorgen Carlsson, features guest appearances from Ivan Neville, Ruthie Foster, Celisse, Billy F Gibbons and Billy Bob Thornton. John Paterno co-produced both albums with Warren Haynes, who shared the following about Peace…Like A River:
“Peace…Like A River is very ambitious from a musical arrangement standpoint in the way that a lot of the songs take twists and turns that is not common in today’s pop music world. At the same time, it’s very much a song record and covers a lot of ground, stylistically speaking. Song for song maybe my favorite one.”
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s promised “heavy as fuck” new album with the gargantuan title, PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation, was released today. PetroDragonic Apocalypse is the Australian rock band’s 24th studio album and finds the group revisiting the thrash-metal sounds prominent on their 2019 concept album, Infest The Rats’ Nest. King Gizz’s metal-loving members, guitarist Stu Mackenzie, bassist Joey Walker and drummer Michael “Cavs” Cavanagh, were tasked with writing the bulk of the new album. Mackenzie relayed the following about the process of making PetroDragonic Apocalypse:
“When we made Rats’ Nest, it felt experimental. Like, ‘Here’s this music that some of us grew up on but we’d never had the guts or confidence to really play before, so let’s give it a go and see what happens’. And when we made that album we were like, ‘Fuck, why did it take us so long to do this?’ It’s just so much fun to play that music, and those songs work so well when we play them live. So we always had it in our minds to make another metal record.
“We worked on [PetroDragonic Apocalypse] the same way we started our Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms And Lava album last year. We wrote a song a day, and we came into the practice space with no riffs, no tunes, no ideas, and started from scratch. And we jammed, and recorded everything, and pieced the songs together from that. I’d sketched out the story the songs would tell, and I’d portioned it out into seven song titles, with a short paragraph of what would happen in the song. I guess we kind of made the record backwards.”
Queens Of The Stone Age – In Times New Roman…
The long wait for the eighth Queens Of The Stone Age album finally ends today with the release of In Times New Roman… through Matador Records. The 10-song follow-up to 2017’s Villains was recorded at frontman Josh Homme‘s Pink Duck facility as well as at Rick Rubin’s famed Shangri-La studio in Malibu. Homme, who recently underwent successful surgery for cancer, co-produced the album with bandmates Troy Van Leeuwen, Dean Fertita, Michael Shuman and Jon Theodore produced In Times New Roman…. According to press materials:
“In Times New Roman… is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme’s most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With In Times New Roman… we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty.”
Yusuf / Cat Stevens – King Of A Land
Legendary singer-songwriter Yusuf / Cat Stevens released King Of Land, which is his 17th studio album, first LP with new original music since 2017’s The Laughing Apple and his first album of all new original music since 2009’s Roadsinger. Issued by BMG and George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records, King Of Land was produced by longtime Yusuf / Cat Stevens collaborator and ex-Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith. Sessions were held with bassist Bruce Lynch (who first worked with Yusuf on 1974’s Buddha and the Chocolate Box), keyboardist Peter Vettese and legendary session drummer Russ Kunkel. Additionally, the album contains contributions from frequent collaborators Kwame Yeboah and Eric Appapoulay. Additional sessions for King Of A Land took place at at Berlin’s Hansa Studios, ICP Studios in Brussels and La Fabrique in Provence, France as well as at Air and Angel studios in London. The final mixdown went down at George Harrison’s private studio in his former home, Friar Park.
“We were very privileged to be in Friar Park and to be one of the first outsiders to enter that control room and mix an album,” Yusuf said, “George Harrison has been an immense influence on me spiritually, from the very beginning … Looking at the jagged journey of my music, beginning as I did in the ’60s, I would say this new record is a mosaic. A very clearly defined description of where I’ve been and who I am.”
Deer Tick – Emotional Contracts
Providence, Rhode Island rockers Deer Tick return with their new album, Emotional Contracts, which arrived today via ATO Records. Renowned producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Spoon, Sleater-Kinney) helmed Deer Tick’s new LP, which also features backing vocals by Courtney Marie Andrews, Vanessa Carlton, Angela Miller (Black Pumas), Sheree Smith and Kam Franklin. A press release further detailed the album:
Emotional Contracts catalogs all the existential casualties that accompany the passing of time, instilling each song with the irresistibly reckless spirit that’s defined Deer Tick for nearly two decades. Before heading into the studio with Fridmann, the four-piece spent months working on demos in a perpetually flooded warehouse space in their hometown, enduring the busted heating system and massive holes in the roof as they carved out the album’s 10 raggedly eloquent tracks. Emotional Contracts fully echoes the unruly energy of its creation, ultimately making for a heavy-hearted yet wildly life-affirming portrait of growing older without losing heart.
Sigur Rós – ÁTTA
Icelandic art-rock band Sigur Rós have released their first new album in 10 years with today’s arrival of ÁTTA. The 10-track album was confirmed only yesterday, with its surprise release coming just days after the 10-minute lead single “Blóðberg” was issued. ÁTTA sees the return of multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson, who left the group in 2012, accompanying frontman Jónsi and bassist Georg Holm on the follow-up to 2013’s Kveikur. ÁTTA was recorded at the band’s Sundlaugin studio in Iceland, Abbey Road in London and at several studios in the United States. The album was mixed and co-produced by regular collaborator Paul Corley and “prominently features the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Robert Ames, alongside brass performed by longtime Icelandic collaborators Brassgat í bala.”
“[The three musicians found themselves] just wanting to have minimal drums and for the music to be really sparse, floaty and beautiful,” Jónsi said. “We’re getting older and more cynical so I just wanted to move us so that we felt something! When we do this, we always talk about each album as if it might be the last. We’re always thinking about climate change, doom-scrolling and going to hell. The world felt a bit bleak making this album, but maybe there is hope. When there is darkness, there is light.”
Hand Habits – Sugar The Bruise
Hand Habits, the project of Los Angeles-based musician Meg Duffy, issued their new album, Sugar The Bruise today via Fat Possum Records. Sugar The Bruise was recorded by Duffy with co-producers Luke Temple, Philip Weinrobe and Jeremy Harris. The six-song Sugar The Bruise was galvanized by Duffy’s experience in August 2021 leading a month-long songwriting workshop. Regarding their month teaching at the School Of Song and its influence on the album, Duffy stated:
“It was both inspiring and terrifying. I hesitated to consider myself a Songwriter, despite having released three records, let alone enough to teach others how to do it my way. In preparing for this course I examined my own approach with a close eye (at times too close for comfort). I realized how vital improvisation and collaboration are to me; in life and in songwriting. I was asked to design writing prompts, and although this was not typically how I would write left to my own devices, I found it to be a wonderful way to get the wheels of inspiration turning. I also cherished how special it was to see all of these other musicians, some new, some contemporaries, rising to the occasion and following themselves into the unknown …
“For Sugar the Bruise, I had no plan other than to let my mind go blank, and lean into the playful side of things. To laugh a little, to lighten up, to shift the focus off of my own experience a bit. What if making a song didn’t mean dredging up the abyss? Of course, at baseline I am pulled towards nourishing the unfolding of memory into something beautiful, something archetypal/universal, and sharing it with you. And like all good muses, it’s easy to project whatever narrative you are carrying onto them.
“So I hope you enjoy this collection of songs. I like to think of them akin to a novella or short film. My wish is that these songs provide a mirror to those who can’t find their own ways to explain the knots of twisted emotions we all deal with.”
Bettye LaVette – LaVette!
Beloved singer Bettye LaVette is back with a new album today, simply titled LaVette!. Steve Jordan produced the LP arriving on his Jay-Vee Records. Jordan also plays drums on the album and put together an ace band of seasoned players on the record including Larry Campbell and Chris Bruce on guitar, Pino Palladino on bass and Leon Pendarvis on keyboards. LaVette! also boasts an impressive list of guests including John Mayer, Jon Batiste, Steve Winwood and more.
“Bettye LaVette is like a combination of Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Miles Davis,” Jordan noted. “When I prepare a band for her, I make sure we have it together. When she joins us, we’re only gonna get one or two takes, because she puts her heart and soul into each performance.”
For LaVette!, Bettye chose to record songs penned by renowned musician and songwriter Randall Bramblett. “When Bettye gets a hold of a song, it becomes her song,” Jordan stated. “It’s like she wrote it. She’s a great messenger, a communicator, an interpreter.”
“I’m very happy with what we’ve done,” Bettye added. “It is very, very difficult to please an old woman, but I’m nearly excited.”
Papadosio – To Live A Making
Still going strong after more than 17 years of constant touring, Papadosio today unveiled their ninth studio album, To Live A Making. The 17-song collection follows 2020’s Microdosio and is their first LP to include vocals since 2018’s Content Coma. Dosio explores new soundscapes on To Live A Making while still holding true to their livetronica roots. A note from the band announcing the album reads:
“To Live A Making is a story about life: a timely commentary at a pivotal moment in human history that is dedicated to pondering prevailing mainstream cultural narratives. The music aims to inspire notions that life itself is creative, that love is real, and that together we could thrive if only we could tell ourselves the right stories and ask ourselves the right questions.”
TAUK Moore – TAUK Moore
Today, Long Island-based progessive-jam quartet TAUK and Doom Flamingo vocalist Kanika Moore unveiled TAUK Moore, a full-length collaborative album consisting of eight originals and a cover of Björk‘s “Army of Me.” Moore joined TAUK at their How Now Studios in Oyster Bay, New York early last year to dip their collective toes into creating music together. The five musicians hit it off and wound up extending Kanika’s stay with an eye towards eventually releasing the record that arrived today. They took the material on the road last fall and continue to collaborate live throughout 2023 for their TAUK Moore Tours. Now, the fruits of their time in the studio are out in one collection for all to enjoy. TAUK shared the following in regards to working with Moore:
“It became very apparent that Kanika’s ability to tell a story through her lyrics is definitely one of her many skill sets. Her lyrical prowess seemed to be switched on in an instant and the fluidity of ideas flowed like water. It was rather impressive to see how observant and how quickly ideas took shape from her perspective. This flow of energy only heightened the collective studio experience for everyone involved.”
Drive-By Truckers – The Complete Dirty South
The Complete Dirty South is a reworked and expanded version of Drive-By Truckers’ 2004 album, The Dirty South. Resequenced and expanded to the band’s initial 17-song tracklist, The Complete Dirty South arrives today via New West Records and features three bonus tracks, four remixed songs and two with updated vocals. The revamped reissue comes with a 32-page booklet presenting both original and new liner notes written by the Drive-By Truckers’ co-founder Patterson Hood. Also included are track-by-track descriptions written by Hood, Mike Cooley and former member Jason Isbell. The updated version of the album, which was originally recorded by Hood, Cooley, Isbell, drummer Brad Morgan and former bassist Shonna Tucker, also features new signature artwork by the late Wes Freed. An excerpt of Hood’s new liner notes states:
“The period from 2002, a few months after we self-released our breakthrough album Southern Rock Opera, through the end of 2005, when we wrapped up The Dirty South Tour, is widely considered to be our band’s glory days. It was certainly exciting… In January of 2004, the label realized that we had a new completed album and were hoping to release it that summer. Not only that, it was to be another double album. They weren’t too happy about any of this. We took their unhappiness as an insult and so it went. In the end, a sort of compromise was reached and New West agreed to release the album and we agreed to shorten it to fit on one CD. The Dirty South came out in August of 2004 to wide acclaim and went on to be the best selling of our albums at the time.
“A lot has happened in the nearly 20 years since The Dirty South was released. All of these years later, it is still considered one of our best albums… Shortly after we left (New West), they restructured the label and the source of our turmoil moved on to other things. We are on excellent terms with the powers that be now and we were happy when they reached out to us about the idea of reissuing The Dirty South, enabling us to put out the album the way we had originally intended it to be. We have reconstructed the original sequence and concept as it was conceived. Where possible we preserved the original John Agnello mixes but remixed the bonus tracks and also fixed a couple of vocal issues that I have always regretted about the original version (for purists, those versions still exist out there, but this gave us a chance to present it the way I’ve always wished it could be)… This version finally allows it to be heard and seen the way we had always hoped and intended.”
Son Volt – Day Of The Doug
Alt-country stalwarts Son Volt pay tribute to Texas-born singer-songwriter Doug Sahm on the newly released covers album, Day Of The Doug. Son Volt frontman Jay Farrar worked with the late Sahm on the final Uncle Tupelo album, 1993’s Anodyne. A message Sahm left on Farrar’s answering machine serves as the source of the opening and closing tracks on Day Of The Doug. The rest of the album is made up of covers of Sahm songs, including from his work with the Sir Douglas Quintet. The record focuses on some of Sahm’s lesser-known songs rather than his popular hits. Regarding the project, Farrar stated:
“[Sahm is] kind of a musical shapeshifter. From Tex-Mex to country to blues to San Antonio rhythm and blues to ‘60s pop to Cajun fiddle music. He’s always mostly following the inspiration – and then, occasionally, follows the money enough to find inspiration. He’s kind of a role model in that respect … He’s a larger than life character. He reminds me of Neal Cassady from On the Road. His life was epic.
“It was time for Son Volt to do a project where we could be more at ease. Doug’s songs gave us that. Doing original songs is working with a lot of unknowns. You’re trying different approaches to see what works. Doing Doug’s music was more like a blueprint with the foundation already there. It was just a matter of: ‘How do we want to add to it?’”
Compiled by Scott Bernstein, Nate Todd and Andy Kahn.
