The Melvins’ King Buzzo has a new solo acoustic record called Gift of Sacrifice. This is exciting news!

What makes this news even more exciting is that King Buzzo has recorded this record with the fabulously talented bass player Trevor Dunn. Trevor was a founding member of Mr. Bungle and also plays bass in the psycho metal/spaghetti western band Fantômas, as well as recording and touring with the Melvins (as Melvins Lite).

The addition of Trevor’s stand-up bass makes Gift of Sacrifice a step up from King Buzzo’s last acoustic record, This Machine Kills Artists. It gives this new record a haunted quality which drives the songs to a new level. Another new element is the addition of modular synth, which adds its own angular sounds to the acoustic guitar and bass. This is an odd combination of sounds not heard before on an all acoustic record. 

Vinyl LP pressing. 2018 release. Refrigerator's eleventh full length record High Desert Lows was recorded over a week in Omaha, Nebraska. Produced by Simon Joyner (who plays and sings on a number of songs on the record, along with members of his Ghosts band), this album calls out to the more pastoral sounds of their Comedy Minus One album, with viola, cello, vibes, slide guitar and wurlitzer dotting the edges of nearly every song, a stark contrast to the loud squall of preceding record Temple City. The album begins with a song penned by drummer Chris Jones, bending to Barstow, and then bleeds into songs that skirt a number of counties from Apple Valley to Victorville before closing with a minor chamber orchestra and a vocalist shutting down the town. Twenty-seven years on, with all the original members (plus Daniel Brodo who joined in 1995), the band is still improvising and communicating without bowing to commerce.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2020 release. Chuck Prophet, San Francisco's savior-songwriter, has returned with The Land That Time Forgot. Varying from the rich heartland rock of songs like 'Best Shirt On' to the building drum machine of 'Marathon' and all the way back to stripped back words and guitar of 'Nixonland'; and 'Get Off the Stage'Prophet's work defies classification. Chuck Prophet is a rock and roll star in a country that has forgotten that it needs rock and roll stars. America turns it's popular musicians into celebrities (as if that's what we need more of). Meanwhile, the true grit, write it like you live it and live it 'til it kills you musical artist exists in obscurity, kicking ass and taking names in small clubs every night while sweating blood over making records. Thankfully, we live in the same timeline as Chuck Prophet.

Vinyl LP pressing. Live release from former frontman of indie rock band The Walkmen. Live! At Cafe Carlyle collects 10 recordings made during Leithauser's annual residency at the iconic New York City Cafe Carlyle. It includes covers of Lana Del Rey's "The greatest," Big Thief's "Not," and Randy Newman's "Miami."

'Janis Joplin wouldn't be denied on Pearl. The powerhouse vocalist had kicked her addictions, teamed with a crack band, and partnered with a producer who knew how to best showcase her voice on record. She came to the sessions with an armload of astonishing songs, and a burst of creative energy that mirrored her rejuvenated emotional state and undeniable spirit. You can hear it on every note of the 1971 record.

While Joplin's electrifying vocal prowess is universally lauded, her mix of compassion, confidence, and charm play as large a role. And on Pearl, she burrows into deeper stylistic veins, teasing out sides of her persona and craft she'd never previously displayed. Her signature desperation, sadness, and vulnerability remain, yet Joplin also reveals a sense of humor and beatnik innocence.

Strictly limited to 7,500 numbered copies, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and released in celebration of the album's 50th anniversary, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box set takes Joplin and Co.'s stupendous performance to newly transcendent levels. Boasting a fidelity that further magnifies the singer's passion and Paul A. Rothchild's clear production, it benefits from increased spaciousness, dynamics, and openness-and a practically nonexistent noise floor. Joplin's strong, penetrating singing has never sounded so vibrant or made more intense connections. Warm, organic, and free of artificial ceilings, this collectible UD1S set let's you step into Sunset Sound Recorders with the musicians. Get it while you can.

Ten million albums sold worldwide, countless top-notch chart positions and a hit that seems as fresh as ever: when newcomers Hoobastank released their second album / smash hit The Reason in 2003, the rock world held its breath in awe. Nowadays, Hoobastank are still going strong as one of the biggest American rock acts of our time, and are set to release their most varied and thrilling effort so far: their sixth full length "Push Pull", lovingly fine-tuned by legendary producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Maroon 5). The feather-light hooks of ‘More Beautiful‘ will have you enamored in seconds, whilst the compelling chorus of ‘True Believer‘ pulls you in for a tight embrace. The title track is brimming with pop goodness and displays the band`s versatility, while ‘We Don`t Need The World’, with its balladesque undertones, plays Hoobastank`s iconic trump card and rounds off an album that easily is one of the strongest of this much-praised hit factory!

1. Auctioneers 2. Wayward Son 3. Big Bad Wolf 4. The Lost Coast 5. Who Do You Think You Are? 6. You Remind Me 7. When The Morning Comes 8. Jerry 9. Wine Wine Wine 10. Nacare 11. Spreading The News 12. Time Beyond Reason

“My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James returns with Tribute To 2, a collection of cover songs that reverberate with hope and blur the boundaries of time and genre.  James interprets songs made famous by a wide variety of artists including songs from from The Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher, Dianne Izzo, Ray Noble and Al Bowlly, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Abey Lincoln. Record Store Day Vinyl Club edition will come on gold colored vinyl and is exclusive to indie record stores”

The first release of new Alarm material since 2013 comes in the form of this Where The Two Rivers Meet EP, which is being released exclusively on RSD 2018. Featuring eight tracks (five exclusive to the EP), almost 40 mins of new music, as a prelude to an album scheduled for May 2018. Also featuring a special guest appearance from The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy. The EP reflects Alarm tradition with the use of both Electric & Acoustic sides.

Side A (Electric Side) 1. Two Rivers 2. Transatlantic 3. Blood Red Viral Black 4. The White Count
Side B (Acoustic Side) 1. Armageddon In The Morning 2. Thirteen Dead Reindeers 3. Crowd Trouble 4. Year One

Complete, previously unreleased performance by the Grateful Dead on 180-Gram Vinyl with 10th Side Custom Etching, Limited Edition of 12,000. Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction, with mastering by Jeffrey Norman, Produced for release by David Lemieux.

One of the shortest-lived iterations of the Grateful Dead was the band that existed December 1971 through March 1972. Jerry, Bob, Phil, Bill, Pigpen, and Keith formed a formidable version of the Dead that only played a few shows together before Donna Jean joined as vocalist, and before Pigpen would depart the stage for good in June 1972. What this sextet lacked in quantity of shows it made up for with creativeness, power, and inspiration. When Pigpen rejoined the Dead on December 1, 1971, after a few months off during which Keith had joined as piano player, the band was now an unstoppably powerful live juggernaut it hadn't been since the height of the Primal Dead era in late 1968-1969. Widely considered one of the best shows from the Pigpen-Keith era of the Grateful Dead, December 10, 1971 in St. Louis has it all: Pigpen singing lead on four songs including an 18 minute version of Good Lovin' and a very rare performance of Run Rudolph Run; a deep dive into the Dead's psychedelic recent past with a monster version of The Other One; plus plenty of the new material from earlier in 1971 like Bertha, Loser, Sugaree, and Playing In The Band. They also hit upon much of the music that would appear the following year on Europe '72, such as Jack Straw, Tennessee Jed, Mr. Charlie, and One More Saturday Night. And no Dead show of this vintage would be complete without the "hits": Truckin', Sugar Magnolia, and Casey Jones all make appearances. This is truly one of the deepest, most dynamic, exciting, and accessible live shows in the entire Grateful Dead canon.

Grateful Dead/Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO (12/10/71) [Live](5LP)

Archival release of the legendary Atlanta punk band. Features William Duvall who is now the singer of Alice In Chains. Extensive booklet with photos and liner notes. Stoughton gatefold jacket.

1. PARENTAL SUPPRESSION
2. THE DRAFT SONG
3. WINDING
4. BAD INFLUENCE
5. NEON CHRIST
6. WE MEAN BUSINESS
7. YOOF
8. IT’S MINE
9. DOOM
10. AFTER
11. THE KNIFE THAT CUTS SO DEEP
12. ASHES TO ASHES
13. BLIND PATRIOT
14. THE DEATH THEY’LL GIVE YOU

Bon Jovi’s new album 2020 is the 15th studio album from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band. The album, due out Oct 2nd, features the new single “Limitless” as well as “Unbroken,” which was featured in the documentary “To Be Of Service”. 2LP pressed on 180-gram gold vinyl.

Like many important bands, Seattle quartet Versing got their start in college radio—Tacoma's KUPS. The group's main songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Daniel Salas served as alternative music director there, where he met guitarist Graham Baker, drummer Max Keyes, and bassist Kirby Lochner. Now Versing are poised to spread their coolly combustible brand of rock on those said airwaves...and beyond if the world knows what's good for it. Baker, Keyes, Lochner, and Salas have risen through Seattle's competitive rock ecosphere with nonchalant élan. They cheekily titled a previous album Nirvana, but never mind the bleach: Versing isn't emulating Sub Pop's most famous artist. Rather, these four twentysomething aesthetes are forging an exciting sound that finds a golden mean between lustrous noise and ebullient melody. With Versing, songwriting is obviously crucial, but much of the pleasure in 10000 comes from its guitar textures. They're swarming, yet also spiky and agile. Gently chiding the Seattle music scene's self-seriousness while acknowledging Versing's playfulness and irony, Salas says, “There's a 'let's just fuck around and see what comes out,' aspect of what we do, which I think is uncommon for Seattle bands.” Versing's freewheeling attitude has paradoxically resulted in 10000, an engrossing album that's impossible to feel ambivalent about.

Collaboration of Harry Dean Stanton with members of The Kingbees, Stray Cats, The Doobie Brothers, and Tin Machine.

Harry Dean Stanton, the beloved actor with an over six-decade long career, also loved to sing and play music. His trusted musical partner for over 15 years was Jamie James (The Kingbees, Dennis Quaid And The Sharks), as evidenced in the acclaimed documentary and soundtrack Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction.

From Jamie's liner notes to Harry Dean Stanton With The Cheap Dates' October, 1993: "Together, Harry and I had been doing some dates around Los Angeles as a duo and I remember suggesting to Harry to have Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats) come over and play drums with us. In doing so, he brought along Jeff `Skunk' Baxter (The Doobie Brothers) to play pedal steel, which then led to Slim and I asking Tony Sales (Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Todd Rundgren) to play bass, and that's how we became The Cheap Dates."

October, 1993 documents that collaboration with four studio tracks, and five cut live a Doug Weston's Troubadour. Featuring classic covers of Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Ben E. King, Jimmy Reed, and more, October, 1993 is a celebration of friendship, music, and love.

October 1993 - Harry Dean Stanton With The Cheap Dates

At various points along the trajectory between then and now, Travis have sold millions of albums (just under three million of The Man Who in the UK alone); they’ve been the subject of an award-winning feature length documentary (Almost Fashionable) and Fran has elicited acclaim from Paul McCartney, Elton John and Graham Nash – all songwriters whose ability to divine a timeless melody out of thin air has sustained them through the decades. ’10 Songs’ is an album that holds you in its own emotional microclimate at the outset and keeps you there. It’s also a grown-up record. ’10 Songs’ is a record about the way life comes at love and what love does to weather those challenges. “This is no rehearsal/This is the take,” sings Fran at the beginning of Waving At The Window, over an insistent piano hook, “Promises you once kept/Are going to break Every track on this album carries an even load. No passengers here. Nowhere to hide. “I write songs in an antiquated way,” explains their creator, “Sitting at the bottom of the bed, ‘pouring my simple sorrow to the sound hole and my knee’, as Joni Mitchell put it.” As a songwriter based in L.A., Fran Healy doesn’t need anyone to tell him this is no longer how it’s done. It’s far from uncommon for the credits on successful modern pop songs to feature upwards of ten writers. Hits by committee. “It’s fine,” notes Fran, “Personally though, I’ll take ten songs written by one person over one song written by ten people. And if I feel that way, then surely someone else must do too.”

For the past ten years, San Francisco rock / post-metal luminaries Deafheaven have built one of the most compelling discographies in metal, one that has challenged both the modus operandi and perceptions of the genre. Each critically acclaimed release widened the scope of their particular views of what rock and metal can be. Set to embark on a world tour earlier this year to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Deafheaven had to switch gears when COVID canceled all gatherings across the world, instead teaming with longtime producer Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden studios to bring the show they planned to perform in a studio sessions format. 10 Years Gone includes the first song they ever wrote in "Daedalus" from Demo, which also serves as the first single released from this album, along with fan favorites like 'Dream House' and 'Vertigo' that have an added power in this setting.

2020 marks the tenth anniversary of the release of LA post- hardcore maestros letlive.’s seminal album ‘Fake History’. The band released some early demos from the process of writing ‘Fake History’ a couple months back and now they’ve revealed a physical release via frontman Jason Aalon Butler’s 333 Wreckords Crew in conjunction with Tragic Hero Records, who first released the record back in 2010. ‘Fake History’ was reissued by legendary indie punk label Epitaph in 2011 and the album received high praise from media and fans alike, ranking highly in end of year lists by esteemed publications such as Kerrang! and Rock Sound. The momentum propelled letlive. to high profile festival slots and sold out shows across the globe. The LA band’s live show was unparalleled with Butler’s visceral energy an all-consuming force to be reckoned with, and inspired by, at each and every gig. The collection of demos is available on three different coloured vinyl – clear, cobalt translucent and a blue whirlpool – and is released alongside a letlive. merch capsule. 10 Years of Fake History has been pressed to vinyl for the first time with retail seeing an limited 1000 Units Only!

What does teen spirit smell like, anyway? It might smell something like Noise Addict. Like the real life stars of some sort of choose-your-own-adventure book about pursuing rock stardom, few bands ever led a more charmed existence, springing from the Sydney suburb of Bondi into seemingly overnight international fame as friends and collaborators of Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and the Beastie Boys. Through a combination of relentless drive, luck, and an admirable lack of self-doubt, Noise Addict spanned puberty to surpass the haters and join Radio Birdman and Nick Cave as a strange but permanent piece of Australian punk history. Cover art doubles as a working chalk board (chalk not included).

SIDE A: Waves Of Love,   I Wish I Was Him (7” Version), Baby Shoes, Phone Remedy, Back In Your Life, Mouthwash
SIDE B: Pop Queen, My Sarong, Meat, Loner, She Said, My Reasoning
SIDE C: Wish I Was Him, Body Scrabs & Bizzos, Blemish, 16, The Frail Girl, Jerk, Exorcism Babe
SIDE D: Filthy, Cuts So Deep, Scared, Girlfriend, Know You Too Well, Let's Lynch The Landlord

2 Ravens is by Roger O'Donnell, who plays keys in The Cure. It's a collaboration in part with vocalist and lyricist Jennifer Pague of Vita And The Woolf. It was recorded at Air Edel studios in London and features musicians Alisa Liubarskaya, Miriam Wakeling, Aled Jones, Nadine Sagan and Daniel Degada."

Relapse Records proudly presents ZOMBI's new album, 2020. Their first new album in 5 years, 2020, showcases the songwriting prowess that has pushed the duo of Steve Moore (synthesizers, guitars, bass) and A.E. Paterra (drums) to evolve throughout their storied, 20 year career. ZOMBI has strived to build upon and expand their sound with every release. From the pulse-pounding, dramatic opener "Breakthrough & Conquer", to the melodic bass whirls found in "XYZT", 2020 proves to be ZOMBI's most riff-intensive album. At first a soundtrack of driving musical euphoria, 2020 takes a sharp turn into uncharted waters - "Earthscraper" is reminiscent of a space where sounds of sludge and doomlike-riff crushers dominate the soundscapes. Synthwave and neon crescendos are furloughed in favor of Blue Oyster Cult inspired progressive epics. A truly therapeutic loop of immersive instrumental rock, 2020 might just be ZOMBI's most ambitious album yet.

50th anniversary reissue of the psychedelic rock rarity featuring a pre-Allman Brothers Band Butch Trucks. This Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive is cut from the original stereo tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180g vinyl at MRP, and housed in a Stoughton old style tip-on jacket.

Sandcastles/Porcelain Mirrors/Broken Day/Wrong/The Greener Isle/Cod'ine/A Different Kind of Head/Pedestals/Free/A Nickel's Worth of Benny's Help/Pick a Gripe/Cries of Treason

It’s been a decade since SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS released their debut album together, and since then have been on one of the more impressive and unrelenting tears in rock ‘n’ roll, issuing two more hard-hitting, highly acclaimed records, and rocking stages all over the world. Enter 4, the Dave Cobb-produced highly anticipated studio effort from SMKC. True to the band’s expanding legacy, it’s everything you’ve come to expect from SLASH, MYLES KENNEDY, TODD KERNS (bass), BRENT FITZ (drums) and FRANK SIDORIS (rhythm guitar)… but also unlike anything you’ve heard from them yet. This time out, SLASH says, they captured a certain “magic” – the sound of five musicians and band mates listening to and playing off one another in the spirit of live, in-the-moment collaboration. “It has a very spontaneous, fun kind of thing to it, and I love that,” SLASH says of 4. “It’s the sound of the five of us just jamming together in one room.”

With the release of his new record, 99 Cent Dreams, Eli Paperboy Reed begins his second decade as an artist much in the same way he began his first: in love with soul music. Reed is ten years wiser this time around, writing with the kind of freewheeling confidence. The result is the finest of his career. Cut at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, TN, and produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price), 99 Cent Dreams is exuberant, a celebration of life delivered by an ecstatic messenger. Reeds arrangements on the album are lean, filtering vintage R&B, soul, and gospel through the heart of a modern songwriter. His stunning voice remains front and center but his performances have matured, a sign perhaps of the newfound perspective hes gained with fatherhood. Fueled by love and hope, this is a collection that, despite its moments of loneliness and pain, ultimately insists on seeing the bigger picture, on recognizing each and every day for the gift that it is.

Following the release of `'A Box of Dreams'' across all digital platforms, we are now releasing `'A Box of Dreams'' on vinyl. `'A Box of Dreams'' was original released in 1997 as a 3-disc boxed set and contains tracks from Enya's 1987 debut album `'Enya'' to `'Paint the Sky with Stars'' across three discs, each thematically arranged

• Oceans containing Enya's upbeat tracks
• Clouds is a collection of her piano instrumentals
• Stars containing slow ballads and atmospheric tracks

ENYA / BOX OF DREAMS

Loney dear, aka singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Emil Svan„ngen, will release his second album, 'A Lantern and A Bell,' for Real World Records. Heralded by outlets such as Stereogum, Sunday Times UK, Rolling Stone and Uncut, Loney Dear's music is sensitive yet uplifting. PR teams will be engaged in multiple territories, in addition to videos for key tracks and social media marketing across Real World and Six Degrees channels. Peter Gabriel calls it "the work of a master."

Single LP on black vinyl in single sleeve with printed inner sleeve. Includes coupon for full download.

Since debuting in 2008, Titus Andronicus has been conditioning faithful listeners to always expect only the unexpected, consistently zigging where others would zag and maintaining a steadfast dedication to fearless ambition. With the March 2 release of the new studio album A Productive Cough on Merge Records, Titus Andronicus has executed the most shocking departure yet—but only if, as ever mercurial singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles insists, “you haven’t been paying attention.”

Poté (Sylvern Mathurin) is St. Lucian-born, London-bred and Paris based, electronic artist, due to release his forthcoming album “A Tenacious Tale Of Her” on Bonobo’s label OUTLIER this summer.

With an impressive, unique sound, his new album is written as a theatrical play, a theme which also leans into the creative direction behind his record. The first single ‘Young Lies’, features musician and singer, songwriter, Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz.

Poté has formally created remixes for the likes of Gorillaz’ ‘Trans’ and Little Dragon’s ‘Hold On’. His previous releases include debut digital album “Spiral, My Love” released in 2018 on Benji B’'s Deviation Music imprint followed by “Waters of Praslin” EP in 2019. This year he put out EP “Rose” in January along with latest single ‘Pearls’ in August on his own label Versicolor.

Playing live, he has supported Bonobo on tour in Europe as well as singer and drummer Georgia for six dates in the UK.

Poté has seen support across many different outlets from Clash album review (8/10), Clash Track of The Day, Mixmag album review (print edition), Mixmag All Points East streamed solo live show from in London, Mixmag The Lab LDN, DJ Mag mix, XLR8R, Dummy single premiere, Beat Culture and more.

Mouse on Mars, duo Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma, approach electronic music with an inexhaustible curiosity and unparalleled ingenuity. AAI (Anarchic Artificial Intelligence) takes their fascination with technology and exploration a quantum leap further. Working with AI tech collective Birds on Mars and former Soundcloud programmers Ranny Keddo and Derrek Kindle, the duo collaborated on the creation of software capable of modeling speech. Text and voice from writer/scholar Louis Chude-Sokei, and DJ/producer Ya'mur Uçkunkaya were fed into the software as a model, allowing Toma and Werner to control parameters like speed or mood, thereby creating a kind of speech instrument they could control and play like a synthesizer. The album's narrative is mirrored in the sound of artificial intelligence growing, learning and speaking. This exploration of artificial intelligence as both a narrative framework and compositional tool, allowing them to summon their most explicitly science-fiction work to date.

Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and Reigning Sound frontman Greg Cartwright, Abdication... For Your Love was originally available solely as a promotional giveaway. This 2019 reissue marks the first wide release of the record. In a 2011 review of the album, the A.V. Club wrote, "Reigning Sound's allegiance is to producing great songs that move feet and rip out hearts, not to any particular scene or fashionable pose." Paste also described it as a collection of "nicely recorded songs that sometimes rock, sometimes don't, but are always well put together."

After releasing their outstanding 17th album 'Abolition of The Royal Familia' earlier this year, The Orb are back with further guest appearances on their remix album 'Abolition Of The Royal Familia - Guillotine Mixes' (April 2021). Including mixes from David Harrow, Moody Boyz, Youth, Violeta Vicci, Andy Falconer and more.

Ace Of Cups, the beloved all-women rock group from the late 60s Haight-Ashbury psychedelic scene, will release their self-titled, debut studio album on November 9th via High Moon Records. Produced by Dan Shea (Santana, Jennifer Lopez), this album includes both newly recorded songs written between 1965 and 1969 and new originals written over the past decade. The record features contributions from friends like Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna), Taj Mahal, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and many more. During their original run from 1967 to 1972, Ace of Cups - Mary Gannon (bass), Marla Hunt (organ, piano), Denise Kaufman (guitar, harmonica), Mary Ellen Simpson (guitar), and Diane Vitalich (drums) - wrote and sang together as one of the area's first all-women bands, and they were known throughout the Bay Area for their instrumental mastery and social commentary-driven rock n roll; Jimi Hendrix even gave them a shout out in Melody Maker after they opened for him at Golden Gate Park. The band never officially recorded any music, and their only release was a 2003 compilation of informal recordings. Ace Of Cups is the first proper showcase of the band's freewheeling spirit that blends multi-colored rock with elements of roots and folk.

Here are 4 new tracks from A Certain Ratio for the first of 3 EPs ACR:EPA, which will be followed by ACR:EPC and ACR:EPR. This first EP is the last session that ACR recorded with Denise Johnson before she passed and was recorded just before lockdown 1 in 2020. There is a real sense of joy in the recordings and what has materialized from what was basically a jam session to use up the studio time they had left.

• The final recordings from the last Game Theory line-up featuring Michael Quercio (The Three O’Clock). • LP contains 14 commercially unissued tracks (one previously included on a fan club only release). • CD/Digital adds 10 more previously unissued tracks. • The last recordings made by Game Theory. • Packaging contains photos, liner notes & remembrances from members of Wilco and Guided By Voices Throughout the 1980s, the California based Game Theory was ONE OF THE MOST original (and critically acclaimed) indie-rock bands. Their blend of ’60s and ’70s pop influences such as Todd Rundgren and Big Star coupled with a post-punk energy led to a string of diverse albums—nearly all produced by Mitch Easter of Let’s Active. For the past several years, Omnivore has painstakingly reissued each and every one of their original albums with the addition of a slew of unreleased bonus tracks. Their final album, 1988’s Two Steps From The Middle Ages was reissued in June 2017. That appeared to be the final chapter of their story, or was it? Hardcore Game Theory fans still talk about the band’s final line-up that toured the West Coast, but never released an album. Circa 1989–90, the band was rejuvenated with leader Scott Miller being joined by the legendary Michael Quercio from The Three O’Clock (who had recently broken up). Other interesting line-up changes included longtime Game Theory drummer Gil Ray moving over to guitar and keyboards, while Scott Miller’s former Alternate Learning bandmate (the original template of Game Theory) Jozef Becker, formerly of True West and Thin White Rope, joined as the drummer. Jozef is the brother of Game Theory’s original keyboardist, Nan Becker. Across The Barrier Of Sound: PostScript is the album that might have been at the time. There’s a blend of home and studio and live recordings. Songs that many fans haven’t heard unless they were lucky enough to catch a live show at the time—and some songs which reappeared in significantly different form on the debut album from Scott Miller and Jozef Becker’s post-Game Theory band The Loud Family, Plants And Birds And Rocks And Things. Miller uniquely blended classic pop songwriting with groundbreaking art-rock influences, which is reflected in home recordings of Brian Eno’s “Needle In The Camel’s Eye” and The Nazz’s “Forget All About It”. There’s a feast of Scott Miller penned delights on the 14-song vinyl LP, and the CD includes an additional 10 unissued bonus tracks with Game Theory originals and songs originally recorded by artists such as Big Star and The Three O’Clock. Journey Across The Barrier Of Sound and enjoy this PostScript to a great band’s career, but also as a wonderful album in its own right.