Release Day Picks: February 19th 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 Animal Collective, Mavis Staples, Ra Ra Riot and Lake Street Dive. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.

Animal Collective – Painting With

The Scoop: Animal Collective’s 11th LP features contributions from Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) and Geologist (Brian Weitz) – Deakin (Josh Dibb) did not contribute just as he sat out 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. The follow-up to 2012’s Centipede Hz was recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California. Three album covers designed by Brian DeGraw depicting each of the contribution Animal Collective members were released with the record. Follow this link to our recent interview with Avey Tare in which he discusses the new album and more. Stream the single “FloriDada” below:

https://youtu.be/Iw2ssNnA_Es

Label: Domino

Producer: [self produced]

Number Of Tracks: 12

Running Time: 41:02

Guest Musicians: Saxophonist Colin Stetson and The Velvet Underground’s John Cale

Tracklist:

1. FloriDada
2. Hocus Pocus
3. Vertical
4. Lying in the Grass
5. The Burglars
6. Natural Selection
7. Bagels in Kiev
8. On Delay
9. Spilling Guts
10. Summing the Wretch
11. Golden Gal
12. Recycling

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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Ra Ra Riot – Need Your Light

The Scoop: Recording for Brooklyn-based Ra Ra Riot’s fourth album commenced quickly on the heels of 2013’s Beta Love. Vocalist Wes Miles, guitarist Milo Bonacci, bassist Mathieu Santos, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard again teamed up with producer Ryan Hadlock for the majority of the album, with longtime collaborator Rostam Batmanglij – formerly of Vampire Weekend – producing two of the LP’s songs. Watch the official video for the Batmanglij collaboration “Water,” which serves as the lead single and opening track:

Label: Barsuk Records

Producer: Ryan Hadlock and Rostam Batmanglij

Number Of Tracks: 10

Running Time: 35:48

Guest Musicians: Rostam Batmanglij

Tracklist:

1. Water
2. Absolutely
3. Foreign Lovers
4. I Need Your Light
5. Bad Times
6. Call Me Out
7. Instant Breakup
8. Every Time I’m Ready To Hug
9. Bouncy Castle
10. Suckers

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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Mavis Staples – Livin’ On A High Note

The Scoop: The legendary 76-year-old vocalist enlisted producer M. Ward and several other well-known musicians to pen new compositions for the album. Songwriters include Ward, Neko Case, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Nick Cave, Ben Harper, tUnE-yArDs, Aloe Blacc, Benjamin Booker, Valerie June, John Baptiste and The Head And The Heart. The new album follows-up Staples’ EP, Your Good Fortune, issued by ANTI- last April. Give the LP track “High Note” a spin:

Label: ANTI-

Producer: M. Ward

Number Of Tracks: 12

Running Time: 37:43

Guest Musicians: N/A

Tracklist (with songwriting credits):

1. Take Us Back (Benjamin Booker)
2. Love And Trust (Ben Harper)
3. If It’s A Light (The Head And The Heart)
4. Action (tUnE-yArDs)
5. High Note (Valerie June)
6. Don’t Cry (M. Ward)
7. Tomorrow (Aloe Blacc/John Batiste)
8. Dedicated (Justin Vernon/M. Ward)
9. History Now (Neko Case)
10. One Love (Son Little)
11. Jesus Lay Down Beside Me (Nick Cave)
12. MLK Song (M Ward/ Martin Luther King)

Stream / Download / CD/LP

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Lake Street Dive – Side Pony

The Scoop: The quartet enlisted heavily in-demand producer Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton) to assist on their Nonesuch Records debut album. The quartet featuring vocalist Rachael Price, drummer Michael Calabrese, bassist Bridget Kearney and guitarist/trumpeter Michael “McDuck” Olson utilized Cobb’s suggestion “to scour the dollar bins at used record shops, and then spin their finds in the studio, dropping the needle at random in search of inspiration.” Preview “I Don’t Care About You” and “Call Off Your Dogs” below:

Label: Nonesuch

Producer: Dave Cobb

Number Of Tracks: 10

Running Time: 37:58

Guest Musicians: N/A

Tracklist:

1. Godawful Things
2. Close to Me
3. Call Off Your Dogs
4. Spectacular Failure
5. I Don’t Care About You
6. So Long
7. How Good It Feels
8. Side Pony
9. Hell Yeah
10. Mistakes
11. Can’t Stop
12. Saving All My Sinning

Download / CD/LP