Eels, Atmosphere, Sam Roberts and more

It’s Friday and of course we’ve got some new and recent releases to highlight. The latest from Eels “Earth to Dora” is out today! You know we’ve already cracked open a copy here and have really been diggin’ it. It’s 2020 so some Eels bummer rock fits right in.
Also the latest Atmosphere, Sam Roberts Band and a Grateful Dead American Beauty 50th anniversary picture disc round out the recent releases for today.
Let’s dig into the new stuff!

Atmosphere – The Day Before Halloween
For over two decades, Atmosphere have built a legacy out of bringing honesty, humility and vulnerability to the forefront of their music, continually challenging themselves to evolve without straying too far from their roots. Slug has proven masterful at storytelling and writing compelling narratives, leaving a trail of his own influence while paying homage to the rappers and songwriters that shaped him. Ant has skillfully molded the soundtracks with inspiration from soul, funk, rock, reggae, and the wizardry of hip-hop’s pioneering producers, creating his own trademark sounds while providing the pulse for songs about life, love, stress and setbacks. At its essence, Atmosphere has been a musical shepherd, and with each new album comes a new journey as they guide generations of listeners through this thing called life. Much like everything else in 2020 though, Atmosphere’s new album, “The Day Before Halloween”, is something of a detour from the anticipated path. Cutting loose and eschewing their established norms, Slug and Ant have delivered the anti-pop answer to the content and compositions of previous albums. Over razor-sharp drums and distorted synths, “The Day Before Halloween” explores the life of a visual artist living in an antiquated surveillance state. If you’ve entertained any theories that we’ve slipped into an alternate reality, you may find further evidence in this dark and brooding release of future’s past.

Eels – Earth to Dora
Eels have had one of the most consistently acclaimed careers in music. The ever-changing project of principal singer/songwriter E (Mark Oliver Everett), Eels have released twelve studio albums since their 1996 debut, “Beautiful Freak”. “Earth To Dora”, recorded at Eels’ Los Feliz, California studio, makes thirteen. Speaking about the new record, E says “these songs came about just before the pandemic hit and changed everything. I’m hoping they can be, maybe kind of soothing or something. To hear songs dealing with things we are dreaming about getting back to. Or maybe people are dealing with some of the topics right now as well. Just one song was done in the thick of the early pandemic days, ‘Are We Alright Again,’ which is kind of a quarantine daydream I desperately needed to have”.

Sam Roberts Band – All Of Us
Sam Roberts Band’s new album All of Us was born in a flame. Completed just before the spring lockdown, the new record calls for love and hope in a time when it would be easy to despair.

This is the band’s 6th studio album and first since 2016’s TerraForm. The album was preceded by the two singles ‘Ascension’ and ‘I Like The Way You Talk About The Future’.

Grateful Dead – American Beauty (50th Anniversary Picture Disc)
Rock’s longest, strangest trip, Grateful Dead, was the psychedelic era’s most beloved musical ambassadors as well as its most enduring survivors. They spread their message of peace, love, and mind-expansion across the globe throughout three decades. The group had popular music’s most fervent and celebrated fan following – the Dead Heads, whose numbers and devotion were legendary in their own right. Grateful Dead was the ultimate cult band, creating a self-styled universe all their own. The Dead became superstars solely on their own terms as tie-dyed pied pipers whose epic, free-form live shows were rites of passage for an extended family of listeners who knew no cultural boundaries.
American Beauty is the crown jewel of the Dead’s studio output! Featuring the 50th anniversary remastered audio, now on picture disc.

See you soon!