New Release Round-Up 05-28-21

Blackberry Smoke - You Hear Georgia - 3 Legged Records
Throughout their career, Blackberry Smoke has embodied Georgia’s rich musical legacy, honoring the people, places and sounds of their home state. As the band celebrates their 20th anniversary this year, their reverence for Georgia has only deepened. On their latest album, You Hear Georgia, the follow-up to 2018’s critically acclaimed Find a Light, Blackberry Smoke is further celebrating these roots with 10 new songs that feel like Georgia, accented by the addition of Grammy-winning producer and fellow Georgia-native, Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile). “Dave and I had spoken for the last few years about making a record,” Starr says. “Finally, it worked out, our schedule and his schedule, and we said, yes—let’s make a record.”

   

Various Artists - Get On Board The Soul Train - The Sound Of Philadelphia International Records Volume 1 - United Souls
8CD Book set with bonus 12 inch single. United Souls, in conjunction with Sony Legacy Recordings, is delighted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia International Records with the eagerly anticipated release of Get On Board The Soul Train - The Sound Of Philadelphia International Records Volume 1. This is the first volume in a limited edition series which covers the first eight studio albums released by the label from 1971-1973. The series, in which all album are re-mastered from the original tapes, will map the history of Philadelphia International Records chronologically. Housed in a stylish 48 page slipcased book, the edition is strictly limited to 2500 copies. It also includes a numbered certificate of authenticity, an exclusive 12" single and a unique poster. The detailed 48 page hard cover book, including rare photographs was compiled and curated in association with PIR artists, engineers and producers, with liner notes by Tony Cummings (Author of The Sound of Philadelphia) and a foreword by Ralph Tee. The eight classic albums included in Volume 1 comprise: Billy Paul - Going East/Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - I Miss You/The O'Jays - Back Stabbers/Billy Paul - 360 Degrees of Billy Paul/Dick Jensen - Dick Jensen/The Intruders - Save the Children/MFSB - MFSB/Billy Paul - Ebony Woman. Exclusive 12"- The O'Jays - Back Stabbers / MFSB - Back Stabbers

cleopatrick - BUMMER - Nowhere Special Recordings
"Listening to the story of Canadian duo cleopatrick is a bit like hearing the plot of the best, most righteously validating coming-of-age film never made. Two friends meet aged four in Hicksville, Nowheretown (real name: Cobourg, Ontario, population 19,000), grow up completely inseparable, form a band and, against numerous obstacles, blossom into a genuine, global underground sensation. There are heroes and villains, highs and lows and, crucially, some of the most poetic plot twists that could seem almost too perfect, were they not completely true.

Take the story of 2017 breakthrough track ‘hometown’ for example. “It’s one of the craziest, most ironic things that’s ever happened,” begins vocalist and guitarist Luke Gruntz. “I was going to college because I was too scared to put all my chips in the band pile, and that’s what ‘hometown’ is about: it’s a song about feeling like we’re doing all this stuff and we’re working so hard and we’re just never going to be heard. It’s literally a song about people probably never hearing our songs. And then by some act of the universe, that song ended up unlocking all the doors for us.”

Today, cleopatrick has logged 77 million streams and counting - all from an increasingly dedicated fanbase who’ve found the duo, completed by drummer Ian Fraser, their own way: no major label, no big budget, just two best pals knuckling down, cementing a unique sonic alchemy and filling a space of honest, empathetic yet undeniably heavy-hitting rock music that they’d been searching for themselves for years. Between multiple sold out tours in Canada, the US and the UK/EU and appearances at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and Reading/Leeds, the pair have been crafting BUMMER: a debut album that sees cleopatrick harness all the magic they’ve been brewing over their two-decade friendship and funnel it into a record that aims to reinvigorate the rock landscape from the ground up. Taking the ethos of their New Rock Mafia collective - a group of friends and fellow bands, united in making a more inclusive, equality-driven space in rock music - and imbuing it with the sonic ambition and ferocity of a record designed to be played hard and loud, it’s an album about two friends, who’ve been with each other since the formative first steps that adorn ‘BUMMER’’s heartwarming cover image and made something that’s a testament to the power of sticking to your guns."

   

Rostam - Changephobia - Mastor Projects
Changephobia is the 2nd full-length solo record from Grammy Award-winning songwriter, producer, and composer Rostam Batmanglij. An adventurous new direction for Rostam, the songs collected on Changephobia are deeply personal, yet universal for anyone who has ever experienced doubt. In addition to being a founding member of the seminal New York Indie Rock Band, Vampire Weekend, Rostam has been described as "one of the great pop and indie-rock producers of his generation." Rostam has produced & co-written critically heralded recent albums by Clairo and Haim, as well as singles from Maggie Rogers, Solange, Charli XCX, Frank Ocean, Santigold and others