Release Day Picks: April 29th New Album Highlights

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 Brian Eno, Mike Dillon, Snarky Puppy and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.

Brian Eno – The Ship

The Scoop: Legendary recording artist Brian Eno returns with his first solo album since 2012’s LUX, initially developed out of experiments with 3-D recording techniques. Composed of a 20+ minute opening title track inspired by the sinking of the Titanic and a three-part suite that includes his interpretation of The Velvet Underground’s “I’m Set Free,” the record is laid out in just two songs. During the early stages of recording “The Ship,” Eno discovered his aged voice could now allow him to sing a low C, which was also the root note of the piece, and can be heard in the single below:

Label: Warp Records

Producer: Brian Eno

Number Of Tracks: 2

Running Time: 47:31

Guest Musicians: Leo Abrahams (guitar), Nell Catchpole (viola/violin), Peter Chilvers (keyboards/production), Nuria Homs (vocals), Jon Hopkins (keyboards), Peter Serafinowicz (vocals)

Tracklist:

1. The Ship
2. Fickle Sun (i) Fickle Sun (ii) The Hour Is Thin (iii) I’m Set Free

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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Mike Dillon – Functioning Broke

The Scoop: Mike Dillon goes the solo route on his latest studio album, Functioning Broke. The 12-track effort finds Dillon re-imagining six Elliott Smith compositions, including “Behind The Bars,” “Christian Brothers” and “Independence Day,” Neil Young’s “The Needle & The Damage Done,” Martin Denny’s “The Enchanted Sea” as well as four originals. Mike uses vibraphone, mallet instruments and other percussive devices to create minimalist, yet multi-dimensional auditory soundscapes. Stream the album’s first single, “Half Right”:

Label: Royal Potato Family

Producer: Mike Dillon

Number Of Tracks: 12

Running Time: 33:58

Guest Musicians: N/A

Tracklist:

1. Half Right
2. The Enchanted Sea
3. Alameda
4. Christian Brothers
5. Single File
6. Needle & The Damage Done
7. Independence Day
8. Between The Bars
9. Friendship
10. Bachelor Pad
11. Chimp & Flower
12. Tabla Goodnight

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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Snarky Puppy – Culcha Vulcha

The Scoop: Culcha Vulcha brings Snarky Puppy – the world’s tightest super jam – back to the studio for their first non-live album in 8 years. This, their 11th full length, presents 10 all-instrumental compositions that span a wide variety of sounds and genres with a common thread of funk and jazz grooves. The band isn’t shy about stretching out as the album comes in at a whopping 65 minutes. As a band, Snarky Puppy harkens back to the days when groups like Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire gained notoriety by appealing to critical ears for musicianship, virtuosity, varied styles and improvisation. Unlike a lot of mainstream music today, this band does not set its sight on the lowest common denominator. Rather, this is music for musicians. With this latest release fresh on the heels of a second Grammy nod, Snarky Puppy, led by Michael League, is well on their way in transitioning from critical darling to household name. Have a look at the promo video for Culcha Vulcha below:

Label: GroundUP

Producer: Michael League

Number Of Tracks: 10

Running Time: 65:34

Musicians: Michael League (bass, Moog bass, ukulele bass, handclaps, keyboards, & nylon-string guitar), Justin Stanton (keyboards), Bill Laurance (keyboards), Cory Henry (keyboards), Bobby Sparks (keyboards), Shaun Martin (vocoder & talkbox), Bob Lanzetti (guitars), Mark Lettieri (guitars), Chris McQueen (guitars), Jay Jennings (trumpet & flugelhorn), Mike “Maz” Maher (trumpet, flugelhorn, & vocals), Chris Bullock (tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute, & keyboards), Bob Reynolds (tenor sax), Zach Brock (violin), Nate Werth (percussion), Keita Ogawa (percussion), Marcelo Woloski (percussion), Robert “Sput” Searight (drums), Larnell Lewis (drums), Jason “JT” Thomas (drums), David Crosby (vocals), Charlie Hunter (Guitar), Salif Keita (volcals), Susana Baca (volcas), Vasen (vocals)

Tracklist:

1. Tarova
2. Semente
3. Gemini
4. Grown Folks
5. Beep Box
6. GØ
7. The Simple Life
8. Palermo
9. Big Ugly
10. Jefe

Stream / Download / CD, Vinyl, Digital

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King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity

The Scoop: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard isn’t the latest Dungeons & Dragon module, but a rather prodigious Australian psychedelic rock band, who have been releasing albums at a pace that would make Ryan Adams jealous. After dabbling in acoustic psych-folk with 2015’s Paper Mâché Dream Balloon, the band’s latest Nonagon Infinity (which happens to be their eighth full-length album in four years), takes a distinctive sharp left turn from their previous work. The nine-track effort, which is designed to be “world’s first infinitely looping album,” is a straight up head-banging burner melding elements of proto-punk, krautrock and prog all wrapped in the prism psychedelia. Give a listen to “Gamma Knife”:

Label: ATO Records/Flightless Records

Producer: ???

Number Of Tracks: 9

Running Time: 41:48

Musicians: Stu Mackenzie (guitar, lead vocals), Cook Craig (guitar), Michael Cavanagh (drums), Joe Walker (guitar, vocals), Eric Moore (drums), Ambrose Kenny-Smith (harmonica, vocals) and Lucas Skinner (bass)

Tracklist:

1. Robot Stop
2. Big Fig Wasp
3. Gamma Knife
4. People-Vultures
5. Mr. Beat
6. Evil Death Roll
7. Invisible Face
8. Wah Wah
9. Road Train

Stream / Download / CD/LP

Compiled by Ryan Dembinsky, Jeffrey Greenblatt, Andy Kahn and Scott Bernstein