It’s Friday and we’ve got some new vinyl releases for you!

Hey Backbeaters! It’s Friday and we’ve got a bunch of new releases to feature today, including Neil Young’s “Homegrown” that many of you have been excited for. Head over to our eShop – shop.backbeatperth.com to grab a copy now or send us a message so we can put one aside for you.

What else has come out recently that is now in stock? How about these great albums…

Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

The arrival of “Punisher” cements Phoebe Bridgers as one of the most clever, tender and prolific songwriters of our era. Bridgers is the rare artist with enough humor to deconstruct her own meteoric rise. She doesn’t write love songs as much as songs about the impact love can have on our lives, personalities, and priorities. “Punisher”, her fourth release and second solo album, is concerned with that subject. To say she writes about heartbreak is to undersell her blue wisdom, to say she writes about pain erases all the strange joy her music emanates. Repeatedly praised by publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Pitchfork, The Fader, The Los Angeles Times and countless others. On “Punisher”, Bridgers pulls together a formidable crew of guests, including the Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Christian Lee Hutson and Conor Oberst as well as Nathaniel Walcott (of Bright Eyes), Nick Zinner (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Jenny Lee Lindberg (of Warpaint), Blake Mills and Jim Keltner as well as her longtime bandmates Marshall Vore (drums), Harrison Whitford (guitar), Emily Retsas (bass) and Nick White (keys).

Ron Sexsmith – Hermitage

One of Canada’s most accomplished singer-songwriters, Ron Sexsmith has returned with HERMITAGE, his first album since his move from his longtime home of Toronto to a more bucolic life in Stratford, Ontario. Ron partnered with producer Don Kerr to create HERMITAGE; the two set up in Ron’s living room to record the album, with Ron playing all the instruments except the drums. This album marks Ron’s 25th year as a recording artist.

Ron has collaborated with the likes of Daniel Lanois, Mitchell Froom, Ane Brun, Tchad Blake, and Bob Rock. His songwriting appears on albums from Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé, k.d. lang, Emmylou Harris and Feist. He has been awarded 3 Juno Awards, having been nominated 15 times including 8 nods for Songwriter of the Year.

Lamb Of God – Lamb of God

A true collaboration between all members of the band, LAMB OF GOD’s eighth studio album is an amalgam of each individual’s contributions, blended to create a singular style. Guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler fuel the album with a mountain of riffs, taking what LAMB OF GOD are known for, and unbelievably, upping the ante to new levels. The rhythm section of John Campbell, looming large as a rhythmic shadow, and drummer Art Cruz, who makes his studio debut with LAMB OF GOD here on this record, underpin the proceedings with passion, sweat and expansive dynamics. Vocalist D. Randall Blythe is as angry, insightful, and informed as ever. Never one to shrink from facing the darker aspects of our nature head-on, Blythe delivers with no punches pulled, and as only he and LAMB OF GOD can in 2020.

Neil Young – Homegrown

CELEBRATE NEIL YOUNG’S LEGENDARY LOST ALBUM, HOMEGROWN.
Neil Young puts it best: “This album is the unheard bridge between Harvest and Comes a Time”.
Recorded between June 1974 and January 1975, Homegrown was intended to come out in 1975 before Neil cancelled the release. The album has remained unreleased until now, achieving a legendary status among Neil Young fans in the process.
The album is made up of twelve Neil Young songs, of which seven are previously unreleased – “Separate Ways,” “Try,” “Mexico,” “Kansas,” We Don’t Smoke It No More,” “Vacancy” and “Florida” (a spoken word narration). Also included are the first recordings of “Love Is A Rose,” “Homegrown,” “White Line, “Little Wing,” and “Star Of Bethlehem” – different versions of which would all later appear on other Neil Young albums.
Neil plays solo on some tracks (guitar, piano and harmonica), and is joined by a band of friends on other tracks, including Levon Helm, Ben Keith, Karl T Himmel, Tim Drummond, Emmylou Harris and Robbie Robertson. Recorded in analog, and mastered from the original master tapes, this long-lost album is a wonderful addition to Neil’s incomparable catalog.

Porridge Radio – Every Bad

When The Guardian proclaimed Porridge Radio as one of their top musical newcomers of last year, the Brighton quartet were gaining a reputation for bowling over audiences on small stages around the seaside city – with Dana Margolin’s repetitive, direct lyrics fast becoming mantras for a fervent and steadily-growing fan base.

‘Lilac’ is the final in a trio of singles the band have released this year, propelling them from a word-of-mouth gem of Brighton’s DIY scene to a wider audience – landing them their first-ever 6 Music playlist spot, a live session on Marc Riley’s show and recent sold-out UK headline shows.

Other Lives – For Their Love

Other Lives have just released their long-awaited new album For Their Love. Following 2015’s Rituals, For Their Love is a ten-track collection that finds frontman Jesse Tabish displaying a more candid narrative both in general and on a more personal level. It’s Other Lives most evocative, awestruck, and intimate record yet, invested with a new vein of poetic thought addressing the individual and society in these turbulent times.

The album takes its name from one of the earlier tracks written for the album. “Something about the title feels both inclusive and also of a larger scene,” explains Other Lives’ creative lynchpin and frontman, Jesse Tabish. “The song also embodied the direction we wanted to take.”

Norah Jones – Pick Me Up Off The Floor

Norah Jones’ seventh solo studio album grew out of her acclaimed singles series, as the unreleased songs unexpectedly congealed into an album of tremendous depth and beauty. Featuring a range of collaborators from Brian Blade to Jeff Tweedy, Pick Me Up Off The Floor is connected by the sly groove of her piano trios, lyrics that confront loss and portend hope, and a mood that leans into darkness before ultimately finding the light.

GoGo Penguin – GoGo Penguin

GoGo Penguin the instrumental trio from Manchester, England consisting of Chris Illingworth (piano), Rob Turner (drums) and Nick Blacka (bass) have fielded plaudits and rave reviews for inspiration and originality at every turn since 2013. Now back with their self-titled album out on June 5th, which signifies their conviction that they’ve struck upon the motherlode, hit the jackpot, stepped up and generally arrived at a point they’ve always striven for but never quite attained before.

Lady Gaga – Chromatica

See you soon!