Release Day Picks: August 5th 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 Gov’t Mule, Dinosaur Jr., Nels Cline, O.A.R. and Russian Circles. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.

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Gov’t Mule – The Tel-Star Sessions

The Scoop: The original trio lineup of Gov’t Mule assembled at Tel-Star Studios in Bradenton, Florida with ABB sound engineer Bud Snyder shortly after forming to record what was intended to be their debut album in 1994. While Mule instead released their self-titled debut album in 1995 featuring sessions recorded with Michael Barbiero at Woodstock’s Bearsville Recording Studios, the band has finally issued their Tel-Star sessions. The 10-track effort includes many songs that have remained staples of Gov’t Mule’s live sets through today. One such live staple is “Blind Man In The Dark,” listen to the Tel-Star Sessions version:

Label: Evil Teen

Producer: Bud Snyder

Number Of Tracks: 10

Running Time: 1:01:20

Guest Musicians: None

Tracklist:

1. Blind Man In The Dark
2. Rocking Horse
3. Monkey Hill
4. Mr. Big
5. The Same Thing
6. Mother Earth
7. Just Got Paid
8. Left Coast Groovies
9. World Of Difference
10. Bonus Track: World Of Difference (Alternate Version/Original Mix)

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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Dinosuar Jr. – Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not

The Scoop: A decade now into Dinosaur Jr. 3.0, the near universal consensus is that the band has done nothing but make good, if not great, albums since their triumphant return to the original lineup in 2007. Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not by most accounts follows suit. It’s garnered a Metacritic score of 76 with virtually all reviews proclaiming the new record to be full of well-trodden Dino Jr. pathways, which is a good thing as they are sounding better than ever. The band feels light in their older incarnation: drama free and more gratuitous with the hooks, which if we’re being honest, is ideal for most listeners. Plus, who doesn’t love sitting around listening to new J. Mascis guitar solos? Watch the official video for the lead single “Tiny” off the new record:

Label: Jagjaguwar

Producer: J. Mascis

Number Of Tracks: 11

Running Time: 46:16

Guest Musicians: N/A

Tracklist:

1. Goin Down
2. Tiny
3. Be a Part
4. I Told Everyone
5. Love Is…
6. Good To Know
7. I Walk For Miles
8. Lost All Day
9. Knocked Down
10. Mirror
11. Left/Right

Stream / Download / CD, Vinyl, and Digital

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Nels Cline – Lovers



The Scoop: Wilco guitarist Nels Cline has been working on his new double-album Lovers for more than 25 years. The album features songs penned by Cline along with several written by legendary composers such as Rodgers & Hart, Henry Mancini, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Jerome Kern and one originally recorded by Sonic Youth. “It is meant to be as personal in its sound and in its song selection as it is universal in its endeavor to assay or map the parameters of ‘mood’ as it once pertained, and currently pertains, to the peculiar and powerful connection between sound/song and intimacy/romance,” said Cline. An orchestra was employed for several of the tracks that was arranged and conducted by Michael Leonhart. Cline also worked with frequent collaborators such as his twin brother, drummer Alex Cline and guitarist Julian Lage. Here’s Nels’ original “The Bond”:

Label: Blue Note Records

Producer: David Breskin

Number Of Tracks: 18

Running Time: 1:29:15

Guest Musicians: Devin Hoff (contrabass, bass guitar), Alex Cline (drumset, percussion), Steven Bernstein (trumpet, slide trumpet, flugelhorn, alto horn), Taylor Haskins (trumpet, flugelhorn, valve trombone), Michael Leonhart (trumpet, flugelhorn, cymbalon, celeste), Alan Ferber (trombone, bass trombone), Charles Pillow (C, alto, & bass flutes, oboe, English horn, alto saxophone, Bb clarinet), JD Parran (C, alto, & bass flutes, Bb clarinet, alto clarinet, baritone & bass saxophones), Ben Goldberg (contra-alto clarinet, Bb clarinet), Douglas Wieselman (bass clarinet, Bb clarinet, tenor saxophone), Gavin Templeton (Bb clarinet, alto saxophone), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Julian Lage (acoustic & electric guitars), Kenny Wollesen (vibraphone, marimba, percussion), Zeena Parkins (harp), Yuka C. Honda (celeste, Juno 60), Antoine Silverman (violin), Jeff Gauthier (violin), Amy Kimball (viola & violin), Stephanie Griffin (viola), Erik Friedlander (cello), Maggie Parkins (cello)

Tracklist:

1. Introduction / Diaphanous (music by Nels Cline)
2. Glad To Be Unhappy (music by Richard Rodgers / lyrics by Lorenz Hart)
3. Beautiful Love (music by Wayne King, Victor Young & Egbert Van Alstyne / lyrics by Haven Gillespie)
4. Hairpin & Hatbox (music by Nels Cline)
5. Cry, Want (music by Jimmy Giuffre)
6. Lady Gabor (music by Gabor Szabo)
7. The Bed We Made (music by Nels Cline)
8. You Noticed (music by Nels Cline)
9. Secret Love (music by Sammy Fain / lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
10. I Have Dreamed (music by Richard Rodgers / lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II)
11. Why Was I Born? (music by Jerome Kern / lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II)
12. Invitation (music by Bronislaw Kaper / lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)
13. It Only Has To Happen Once (music and lyrics by Arto Lindsay & Peter Scherer)
14. The Night Porter / Max, Mon Amour (music by Daniele Paris (The Night Porter) / music by Michel Portal (Max, Mon Amour)
15. Snare, Girl (music & lyrics by Sonic Youth)
16. So Hard It Hurts / Touching (music by Annette Peacock)
17. The Search For Cat (music by Henry Mancini)
18. The Bond (music by Nels Cline)

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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O.A.R. – XX



The Scoop: Maryland pop-jam act O.A.R. celebrates 20 years as a band with the release of the career-spanning collection XX. The 2-CD set includes some of the group’s biggest hits and beloved favorites as well as new studio material. Disc One focuses on fan favorites and classics, while the Disc Two puts the spotlight on live performances. The set also features two versions of one of the band’s earliest hits, 1997’s “That Was A Crazy Game Of Poker,” both a studio cut and a live take. Listen to the first single from XX, “I Go Through”:

Label: Vanguard Records

Number Of Tracks: 22

Running Time: 2:24:37

Guest Musicians: Junior Marvin

Tracklist:

Disc One:

1. Follow Me, Follow You
2. I Go Through
3. Peace
4. Two Hands Up
5. Heaven
6. This Town (XX Version)
7. Love and Memories (XX Version)
8. Shattered (Turn The Car Around) (XX Version)
9. Heard The World
10. Lay Down
11. Hey Girl
12. That Was a Crazy Game of Poker

Disc Two:

1. City On Down (live)
2. Dareh Meyod (live)
3. Black Rock (live)
4. About An Hour Ago (live)
5. Night Shift?Stir It Up (live) featuring Junior Marvin
6. Untitled (live)
7. About Mr. Brown (live)
8. I Feel Home (live)
9. Delicate Few (live)
10. War Song (live)

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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Russian Circles – Guidance



The Scoop: The sixth studio album by the Chicago-based instrumental post-rock outfit Russian Circles once again finds the group developing swirling, dark soundscapes. The cover to the follow-up to 2013’s Memorial features a photo given to a spouse of one of the band members by a military veteran seemingly depicting the execution of a man.The trio of guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz and bassist Brian Cook teamed with producer Kurt Ballou to record the album at God City Studios in Salem, Massachusetts in November 2015. Below stream “Vorel” from the new LP:

Label: Sargent House

Producer: Russian Circles, Kurt Ballou

Number Of Tracks: 7

Running Time: 40:57

Guest Musicians: N/A

Tracklist:

1. Asa
2. Vorel
3. Mota
4. Afrika
5. Overboard
6. Calla
7. Lisboa

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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Compiled by Ryan Dembinsky, Andy Kahn and Scott Bernstein

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