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Music Releases 09-22-23

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Doja Cat's fourth studio album Scarlet introduces a new era for the Grammy award-winning global superstar that represents a rebirth in her career sonically and creatively.Scarlet shows the artist's versatility as a rapper, with this album being completely written by Doja Cat throughout. This 15 track collection includes the worldwide hit "Paint The Town Red."

New CD: $11.96
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My favorite moments in the human experience are ones that you don’t even realize have started, but feel so deeply when you realize they’ve ended. I refer to these as ‘Ultrapure’ moments. This album was my humble, unqualified, and earnest as hell attempt at sitting in those feelings until they had no choice but to burst out of my head. These songs are about a type of pain I hate and love, but mostly have a deep appreciation for.

We made this album during a particularly beautiful season in Nashville, TN. Working with Daniel Tashian and Konrad Snyder felt like being guided by two wise and empathetic souls – who also happen to be undeniable goofballs – to do nothing but be myself. They pushed me to trust myself, even to the point of me playing every instrument on this record so that it felt as personal as I wanted it to! (My first time playing drums or piano in front of anyone else! Horrifying!!!)
Making this album was a perfect combination of effortlessness and a struggle. It was very clear from the start it was going to be something I would never forget. The thesis formed when I wrote the title track, “Ultrapure,” which was the second song I wrote for the album, after “Body.” It was one of those rare artist’s dream songs that took just 15 minutes to spill out after weeks of writing what were, essentially, a lot of shitty songs. It was the kind of song that laughed at me when I finished it, mockingly saying “I’ve been here all along dumbass!!!” So began a meditative cycle of me practicing getting out of my own way and letting these songs present themselves.
Throughout the record I wanted to open a lot of doors, peek my head in, and reflect for a bit. For the first time I’m addressing both the pains of my childhood, and the love I have for my mother. Honoring this duality, “Delaware,” “Sunshine,” and “Ultrapure” all touch on the defining moments of travel, danger, and uncertainty I felt in my early life, while their titles reference some of the most beautiful memories I have. Writing about all of this was totally new for me, but these songs guided me so kindly to the moments like “Breathe,” “Chaos Party,” and “Body,” where I was able to celebrate the lessons those early pains taught me.
My proudest moments on this album occur in “Sunburn Fades,” “Skyline,” and “Sink;Swim.” I’m not quick to pat myself on the back, it’s actually really hard for me to do. But these songs allowed me to remember what it felt like to say exactly what I was feeling, and I’m proud of and grateful for that experience.
There is so much beauty in this world – heart wrenching, belly laughing, breathtaking beauty. I’ve seen it up close, and I’ve seen it fade away. How are we supposed to keep up with this infinite beautiful cycle of being alive? This album helped me discover my answer to that question I’m perpetually asking. To strive to be ULTRAPURE. To strive to be fearless, open-hearted, and unconcerned with the pain that loving the world and everyone in it can cause. To take the leap, laugh at yourself, and want nothing but that beauty to be.
I hope this album reflects that pursuit, and eases anyone’s fears about needing to know everything. It certainly helped me. This album experience began and ended in what felt like an effortless blink of an eye, like a true ULTRAPURE moment would. I’m hoping it’s the beginning of many more to come.
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Chai

Chai [LP]

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The Japanese band Chai cast a spell on the world in 2017 with their debut album, PINK, a collection of songs that introduced their singular brand of playful pop. The enthusiastically feminist follow-up, PUNK, raked in accolades from the music press and fellow artists. That led to WINK, which Chai made via remote Zoom sessions, a limitation that became a strength by allowing MANA (lead vocals and keys), KANA (guitar), YUNA (drums), and YUUKI (bassist-lyricist) to collaborate with artists abroad to create a work that found catharsis in their international community. Unlike WINK, the band's new self-titled album finds Chai returning to their roots, drawing inspiration from city pop, J-pop, and their Japanese heritage. The album might be the perfect distillation of Chai's ethic: it urges listeners to keep moving through this life with joy and passion. Per MANA: "It's not about winning or losing as competition, but about what you need to do, personally, to feel you've won."
New Vinyl: $24.98 Video
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SOUTHALL

Southall

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Read Southall can sure turn a phrase. "This record is the gasoline for the love machine," he says of the band's new album, the exhilarating and self-titled Southall. The record sparks and burns with 11 crank-it-up songs that expertly combine country, rock & roll, and the dust and grit of the band's native Red Dirt scene. Produced by Eddie Spear, Southall manifests the true band album that singer Read Southall first envisioned, a band's album that roars with raw and loud collaborative power with glimpses of hard rock and metal, along with easygoing back-porch vibes. The group formerly known as the Read Southall Band now makes music where every member of Southall brings lyrics, melodies, and full songs to the table. "It's the colors of different people with different influences making music," Southall says. That's why we changed our name to Southall."
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Bleach Lab proudly call themselves perfectionists. The South London formed in 2017 as a duo of bassist Josh Longman and guitarist Frank Wates, they then recruited vocalist Jenna Kyle before reaching their final form at the start of 2021 with the recruitment of drummer Kieran Weston. After releasing three EPs, they are now gearing up for their debut album Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness, where the band felt free to experiment, always keeping true to their alternative nature. The songs on it are packed with widescreen, dreamy soundscapes that pushed their aesthetics forwards and continued the experimentation that exists at the heart of the project.
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"Foreign Land" is the opening track on Teenage Fanclub's 2023 studio album, Nothing Lasts Forever. That track-and the rest of this beautifully rich and melodic album-is the sound of a season's end, of the last warm days of the year while nights begin to draw in and thoughts become reflective and more than a little melancholy. While the vocals and the finishing touches on Nothing Lasts Forever were recorded at Raymond McGinley's place in Glasgow, the music was recorded in an intense 10-day period in the bucolic Welsh countryside at Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth, in August 2022. You can hear the effect of that environment on the record-it's full of soft breeze, wide skies, beauty, and space.
        
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