Record Time is Paste’s monthly column that takes a glimpse into the wide array of new vinyl releases currently flooding record stores around the world, and all the gear that is part of the ongoing surge in vinyl culture. Rather than run down every fresh bit of wax in the marketplace, we’ll home in on special editions, reissues and unusual titles that come across our desk with an interest in discussing both the music and how it is pressed and presented. This month, that includes one-step vinyl reissues from the Boss and Monk, new dream pop releases, a jazz album released in tribute to a late mentor and a look at a revamped vinyl storage solution.
Toneoptic rpm
Regular readers of Record Time may remember our column from way back in January of 2022 when we included a mention of the Toneoptic rpm, a tastefully designed storage solution for vinyl records that, while inviting, was a little difficult for the layperson to obtain due to its sizable price tag ($4,000 MSRP / each). Fast forward to today and the good people at Toneoptic are back with a new product at a much more easy to swallow price point. These simple squares made of powder-coated aluminum allows collectors to keep their LPs available in the typical spine out fashion, but with the added bonus of a small turntable that lets you rotate the stack of wax so you can flip through them like you’re in your favorite record shop. Each one holds around 60-75 records and comes with dividers so you can keep 12”s and 45s in the same spot. There’s also a sturdy wall mount so you can either have them at eye level or keep a small stack of regular rotation vinyl sitting beside your record player. To be fair, these little beauties are still not cheap as they retail for $325 – 375, but they are entirely worth the expense if your library is small or you want a place to really show off your rarest wax. The new Toneoptic rpm will be available for purchase starting this Friday through the company’s website.
Blind Willie: Blind Willie (Out-Sider Music)
As writer Ryan J. Prado puts it so succinctly in the liner notes for this release, Spokane-born blues-rockers Blind Willie were one of the “countless groups all over the U.S. and beyond who were going someplace until they weren’t.” This band, grown from the ashes of a psych group called Sleepy John, stayed plenty busy during their short time together in the early ’70s. They toured around the Northwest regularly, landing gigs opening for Bachman Turner Overdrive and Billy Joel and playing plenty of bars and ballrooms on their own. What they never did was get a proper recording contract, only managing to get a few demo sessions done before splitting up. Those rough recordings are finally seeing the light of day through Guerssen offshoot Out-Sider Music, and they are a welcome addition to any vinyl library rich in the work of the Doobie Brothers and Loggins & Messina. They had a blue chip guitarist in Frank Trowbridge, a stylist in the mode of Chicago’s Terry Kath and, by 1974, a flexible and dynamic rhythm section that give “I Might Be The One” and “California Woman” rubbery grooves perfect for dancefloor freakouts or road trip playlists.
The Cinematic Orchestra: Man With A Movie Camera (Ninja Tune)
Following the release of their debut album Motion, British modern jazz ensemble the Cinematic Orchestra were given a fascinating commission from the government of Portugal: write a new score for Dziga Vertov’s landmark 1929 film Man With A Movie Camera, to be performed at a ceremony honoring Porto’s 2001 designation as the European Capital of Culture. What the group created was well within their aesthetic of deep downtempo grooves augmented by lush strings — a sound that builds to become more frantic in response to the often frenetic action and editing of the original film. In and out of print over the years since its initial release in 2003, this new reissue, dropped to honor the album’s 20th birthday, sounds as good as it always has, pushing well beyond the slightly muted qualities of the colored wax to bring the full ensemble’s many musical moods, particularly drummer Luke Flowers’ dynamic and splashy playing, right to the fore.
The Cranberries: To The Faithful Departed (Island / UMC)
By their third album, the Cranberries were being pulled between the twin poles of their musical interests: the dream-pop that introduced them to the world and the heavier grunge sound that made them superstars. To The Faithful Departed, released in 1996 and reissued this month on vinyl with five bonus tracks, finds the quartet in near-perfect balance. The more shoegaze-inspired numbers have the downswinging punch of a rock band and the heavier material is lightened nicely by Noel Hogan’s glimmery tone and the sweetness that trickles around the edges of late Dolores O’Riordan’s voice. The new pressing lets that push-pull come through but also bears the unfortunate muddiness that befalls most vinyl sourced from digital masters. The true delights of this reissue can be found on the fourth side with three demo versions of material from the original LP and the band’s faithful rendition of “Go Your Own Way,” originally issued on a 1998 tribute to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.
The Darkness: Permission To Land… Again! (Atlantic)
Considering how brazenly over-the-top the music and personae of The Darkness remains, it’s a wonder that the British rock band didn’t already release a boxed set for their debut album. It’s the type of ridiculous cocksure move befitting a group that strutted off the starting line as if they were already arena-filling headliners. Alas, we had to wait two decades for Permission To Land to get the beefed up treatment it deserves with this hefty five-LP set. Joining the still-ridiculously entertaining original album is a disc of demos, a collection of singles and b-sides and two live recordings that find the group very much in their element in front of audiences at Knebworth and the Astoria. The hype surrounding the band was huge and the crowds at these shows responded in kind, even if their response to their eventual smash hit “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” was muted at the Knebworth gig where they were opening for Robbie Williams. This set is the complete package with a thick booklet telling the long tale of the group’s rise and explosive success bolstered by five well-mastered slabs of vinyl that is proof positive of how well-earned it all was.
Disclosure: Settle (Island / PMR)
While I’m of the opinion that Guy and Howard Lawrence, the British brothers who make music as Disclosure, have maintained a fine track record in the decade since their splashy debut Settle was released, it feels very much like I’m in the minority. Their first album was such a welcome cudgel against a dance music scene that was already celebrating big bass drops and over-the-top spectacle rather than solid songs. Maybe this vinyl reissue, released to honor the record’s 10th anniversary, will open up the gates for a re-evaluation of Disclosure’s later work. Pressed to two translucent orange pieces of wax, this material still has a spark well beyond their surprise Sam Smith-led hit “Latch.” Their use of live percussion augmented their garage-house productions nicely and they demonstrated a well-attuned ear for exciting vocalists like Eliza Doolittle, AlunaGeorge and Hannah Reid of London Grammar. To fill out the double album, this reissue tacks on a quintet of tracks previously only available as b-sides or the expanded edition of the album released on CD in 2014.
Everyone Asked About You: Paper Airplanes, Paper Heart (Numero Group)
Reissue imprint Numero Group continues to move well beyond the rare soul and R&B material that made their name early on, opting to dive deeper and deeper into the world of underground rock and emo. That work has taken the label to Little Rock, Arkansas, which was the home of Everyone Asked About You, a group that leavened their blustery sound with the syrupy sweet vocals of Hannah Vogan, blushing romanticism and elements of power pop that crept quietly into their discography. Every last song the group recorded — one full-length and a handful of singles — is included in this double LP set, as well as some wonderful liner notes from writer Ken Shipley. I just sorely wish this sounded better. My copy is pressed on lavender vinyl that had a slight warp in it and between that and what were probably roughly recorded master tapes, there’s a muddiness that never lets up over four sides of music.
The Feelies: Some Kinda Love: Performing the Music of the Velvet Underground (Bar/None)
Five years ago, New Jersey alt-pop paragons The Feelies were asked by the curators of the multimedia exhibition The Velvet Underground Experience to perform a set of that band’s songs at a special event. It was the canniest of choices as the New Jersey band, which burst onto the scene in the early ’80s, have the music of VU sewn into their collective DNA, having used it as a leaping off point for their long career. This live recording of that set, captured at the White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, is proof of how comfortable the quintet is with this classic material. Their set feels like a family reunion, with each song coming on like a big embrace and an adrenalized thrill of recognition. Guitarists Glenn Mercer and Bill Million especially have a ball throughout whether its chugging through “White Light / White Heat” with alacrity or giving an electric sting like laying a 9-volt battery on your tongue to each one of their solos. A pure joy from beginning to end.
The Garment District: Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World (HHBTM Records)
The artwork on the insert for the second full-length by the Garment District features lovely line drawings of what I assume are the two creative forces behind this project: Jennifer Baron and Lucy Blehar. Below them are pictures of an assortment of outmoded bits of technology — a small transistor radio, a landline phone — and older musical equipment like a fuzz pedal and a melodica. While it doesn’t offer up a complete picture of what you’ll hear when dropping the needle on this LP, it does put the listener in a headspace that prepares them for vintage sounds and atmosphere. Baron, who wrote almost every song on this album, sets the tone with her array of vintage synths and keyboards, which she floats between songs that connect the earthy psychedelia of her other group the Ladybug Transistor and a more space age approach worthy of pioneers like Delia Derbyshire and Mort Garson.
Darrell Grant’s MJ New: Our Mr. Jackson (Lair Hill)
The name Carlton Jackson likely means very little to the folks who aren’t intimately familiar with the jazz community of Portland, Oregon. Within that small but mighty scene, however, Jackson, who passed away in 2021, was an incredible force for good, mentoring young players and, as a drummer, providing the backbone for a countless number of live and studio sessions. Celebrated pianist Darrell Grant has been doing everything he can to keep Jackson’s legacy alive both in Portland and beyond — efforts that include the release of this session that the two men, along with vibraphonist Mike Horsfall and bassist Marcus Shelby, recorded in 2018. In comparison to much of the modern work Grant has done in recent years, the album feels like a throwback. The bulk of the tunes are standards (“Bags’ Groove,” “Autumn In New York”) played as straight as can be, with a couple of Grant’s originals bringing additional flavor to the proceedings. But there’s a great comfort in an album like this. These players are so well-versed in the long history of their chosen artform and let that knowledge inform their seemingly straitlaced playing. Listen closely enough and you’ll spot the influences of classical, free jazz, Latin and funk working their way into this group’s performances in subtle and bold fashion.
Iration: Daytrippin (Three Prong)
Whatever your feelings about white folks deciding to commit themselves to playing a traditionally Black artform, you have to give some props to Iration, the Cali band that has been making sunshine reggae for nearly two decades now. They don’t try to be anything more than what they are. They respect the music enough to not dare to try to sing in any kind of patois and do a nice job working elements of rock and pop into their rootsy sound. It’s earned them the respect of their peers like Collie Buddz and Maxi Priest, the latter of which makes an appearance on Daytrippin, the group’s latest album. On this new LP, the group sticks to their chosen groove with no fuss songs about mellow parties, the steady rise of their career and simple entreaties for themselves and others to slow down and enjoy the ride. Only a group that has spent much of their lives warmed by a constant sun (many of the members came from Hawaii before moving to the mainland) and with few cares in the world could make a record this cozy and unhurried.
The Maine: Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (Craft Recordings / Fearless)
From the jump, Arizona quintet The Maine leaned hard in the pop half of the pop-punk equation. The songs on the group’s debut album — reissued this month on vinyl to honor the 15th anniversary of its release — were unapologetically geared for Warped Tour audience singalongs with enough romantic yearning in their lyrics to feed the MySpace bios of thousands of young sensitive boys and girls for years. Nothing about this album feels left to chance, with every guitar chug and drum splash dialed in with the help of Pro Tools 7. The digital production does, unfortunately, lead to a decidedly muted sound on previous vinyl iterations and this new pressing. The edges of the music sound shaved and smoothed and covered in a layer of varnish. The bite has been taken out of these songs leaving only toothless sentiments and overdriven bass drops.
Meat Joy: Meat Joy (Flesh & Blood Music)
The Austin, Texas collective Meat Joy wasn’t entirely without precedent with likeminded groups such as Crass and Rudimentary Peni making a similar freeform anarcho-punk racket. But there was something revelatory about this ensemble arriving as they did amid the blinkered hardcore scene in the U.S. and, being led by proudly queer women, the rising tide of conservative politics in their home state and beyond. In their short existence, they eked out a lone self-titled album in 1984 before splitting up and its members finding greater success in other bands or, in the case of John Perkins, Hollywood (he’s now known as John Hawkes). The LP has been blessedly rescued from obscurity — and the exorbitant prices of used copies of the original — with this reissue that has been gently cleaned up without losing an iota of its ramshackle, cut-and-paste charm nor the fearless punch of their lyrics that take the meatheaded punk community to task and put a glaring spotlight on concerns about body dysmorphia and sexual abuse. The joy and anger that pours out of this record still carries a mighty sting.
Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners (Craft Recordings)
Mobile Fidelity has long established themselves as the gold standard of vinyl pressings, but the competition in this market has gotten plenty fierce. One humble contender arrived in the world via the ever-wonderful Craft Recordings. Last year, the reissue label created the Small Batch series — limited run re-releases of great albums using a similar one-step pressing process. So far, they’ve stuck to their vast archive of jazz titles from Miles Davis and John Coltrane with startling, sparkling results. The fifth edition of this series is pianist Thelonious Monk’s 1957 album Brilliant Corners, a classic hard bop session that he and a stunning collection of musicians including saxophonist Sonny Rollins, percussionist Max Roach and trumpeter Clark Terry. When the music is in full flower, the effect of this new pressing is astonishing. Roach’s drumming on “Bemsha Swing” is almost assaultive in its presence and dynamism, and the notoriously challenging title track seems to be jutting through the speakers like angular megaliths. I will confess that my copy did reveal a couple of small pressing flaws, including a short drop out on the solo piano piece “I Surrender, Dear,” but that’s not nearly enough to keep this out of heavy rotation on my turntable.
Nihiloxica: Source of Denial (Crammed Discs)
Ugandan-British ensemble Nihiloxica were already responsible for some of the more intense music to come across the Record Time desk in the past few years, but they’ve somehow managed to twist their sound into even tighter knots on their second album Source of Denial. The introduction of a black metal influence is key to that feeling as the group is musically responding to the terrible issues concerning the migration of people from one country to another. The instrumentals reflect the trudging movement of bodies seeking refuge and the feelings of resistance and fury that they face when reaching what they hope is safe territory. The mood of the album is, then, an oppressive one with heavily processed beats overwhelming the stereo field and a mix that pushes the songs on either side of this LP together into long suites that offer up little relief from the noise and clamor. Background music this is not.
Ohio Players: Pleasure (ORG Music)
Collectors of R&B and funk were rightfully celebrating the recent announcement that ORG Music had entered into an agreement to reissue some titles from the catalog of Westbound Records, the Detroit label that released work from artists like Funkadelic, Denise LaSalle and Ohio Players. The possibilities of that relationship, like a remastered version of Maggot Brain are enticing, but don’t sleep on classics like this album from Ohio Players. The collection of driving, sensual songs from 1972 has been mined by hip-hop producers for samples (just listen to “Funky Worm” and you’ll lose count of the number of songs that have utilized some or all of it) is sounding better than ever thanks to meticulous remastering work by Dave Gardner and Catherine Vericolli. The rhythm section springs out of the grooves of this reissue like the pistons in a combustion engine.
PAWS: PAWS (Ernest Jenning Record Co)
The press notes for the fifth LP by Scottish duo PAWS uses terms like “deafening assault” and “the dark underbelly of ’90s alternative rock.” Even amid PR copy that tends to lean toward hyperbole, the descriptors don’t really fit. What I hear is a great band landing some solid punches but otherwise settling comfortably into their proper adulthood with families to raise and day jobs to maintain. They have some very real concerns to address on this album as they sing of the horrors of capitalism and our dying planet, but they express them with no small measure of restraint. Perhaps that’s something to do with the two members of PAWS working almost entirely on their own rather than leaning on a producer like former collaborator Mark Hoppus or Andy Monaghan of Frightened Rabbit. Much easier to lock into a mindset of comfort and control with no other voices cluttering up the slipstream.
Soft Science: Lines (Shelflife)
It feels as though we are reaching the tail end of the cycle of albums that were recorded during COVID lockdowns — many of which were made with the various members of the group in isolation from one another. That was the case with the latest from California dream pop outfit Soft Science. Much of this material was crafted and honed with the six artists involved working alone and sharing tracks and ideas remotely. And, as the story continues to go, they managed to make all these disparate parts cohere into a wonderful whole. This new album is a prime example of this group’s brilliance at synthesizing the sounds and aesthetic of 40-odd years of shoegaze, post-punk and power pop. The passkey to that world for this sextet is the synth and electronics wielded with care by Hans Munz and Ross Levine, as well as the honeyed vocals of front woman Katie Haley. The core is still a solid guitar-bass-drums triumvirate, but it’s the other details that give this music a lift and a stomach-flipping beauty akin to a hot air balloon ride. Stick around, too, for the closing instrumental “Polar” that takes a trippy turn in the mode of the Stone Roses’ “Don’t Stop.”
Bruce Springsteen: Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (MoFi / Columbia / Sony Music)
Mobile Fidelity rolls along with their series of Ultradisc One-Step Pressings with a stop in the Garden State where they picked up the original master tapes for the debut album by Bruce Springsteen — just in time to celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary. This was, of course, well before The Boss was a household name and just ahead of him assembling the E. Street Band, his longtime backing group. At this point he was the heir apparent to Bob Dylan and beloved by artists across the pond for his songwriting acumen (Manfred Mann took “Blinded By The Light” to #1 in the U.S. and David Bowie had his way with “It’s Hard To Be A Saint in the City”). The blueprint for his future stardom was right here for all to hear. And it sounds better than ever on this new pressing. The music is crisp and even with a lovely balance between Springsteen’s rough hewn voice and the bar band ramble of his cohorts, which at this point already included Gary Tallent and Clarence Clemons. As with the best of these MoFi reissues, it sounds as present and full as being battered joyously at one of Springsteen’s legendary shows at the Stone Pony.
V/A: The Secret Museum of Mankind — Atlas of Instruments: Fiddles Vol. 1 (Jalopy)
Pat Conte’s Secret Museum of Mankind compilations first came to life in the ’90s as a series of CDs culled from his vast collection of 78s, tracking the evolution of musical styles and instruments in Asia, Africa and beyond. The importance of the vital background information about each recording included in each edition proved incalculable for scholars and fellow diggers. Though the series lay dormant for a stretch, Jalopy Records has more recently picked up the baton. After dropping a wonderful collection of material focused on the guitar, they’ve come back with this set that explores how the fiddle has been used in music from across the globe. The reach of this set is wide, with early 20th century recordings from as close by as Brooklyn and Mississippi and as far away as Peking and India. Just as the instrument of focus here physically changed as it was developed by players around the world, so too does the music shift in tone and spirit from song-to-song. An invaluable overview of the rarely heard corners of the sonic universe that is well worth your attention and time.
Steven Wilson: The Harmony Codex (Virgin)
One wonders how Steven Wilson has the time. He’s an in demand mixing and mastering engineer and plays in a couple of musical projects. Somewhere in there, he finds the space and energy to make new music of his own, like this new album, released in late September. It’s a record that falls well within the zone that Wilson has cultivated for nigh on four decades now with angular art rock slipping gently into the waters of ambient and drone. It doesn’t hurt that he has a deep Rolodex of musicians he can call on to help flesh out his vision, which here meant phoning Sam Fogarino of Interpol, Meat Beat Manifesto’s Jack Dangers and session bassist extraordinaire Guy Pratt. Wilson maintains a firm grip on the wheel no matter who is adding their $0.02. In that, the album seems to be about the uncertainty of a world that barely survived a pandemic and has many other troubles to face down now and in the immediate future. That doesn’t make the music relentlessly bleak, however, as much of it is entirely beautiful with “Economies of Scale” using a madrigal of multi-tracked voices over a lovely skittering programmed beat, and vocalist Ninet Tayeb bringing a shock of color to the gray overtones of “Rock Bottom.”