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Temporary Residence
Explosions In The Sky 'How Strange, Innocence'
£11.99
Temporary Residence
Explosions In The Sky 'How Strange, Innocence'
£11.99
Containing the very first transmitions from Explosions In The Sky to the world, the songs on How Strange Innocence were freshly written painstakingly rehearsed, and anxiously put to tape during a whirlwind two-day recording session with Stephen T. Hall (Sixteen Deluxe) at The Bubble in Austin, TX. But the group evolved quickly, and recorded what would be their breakthrough, the stunning Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever, less than one year later.
How Strange Innocence was pushed aside in favor of the more accomplished Those Who Tell The Truth as the band's introduction to the rest of the world, seeing no official release beyond 300 CDRs the band produced to sell on the road.
Original CDRs fetch over $200 on eBay, the scarce vinyl version nearing $500!
This phenomenon was disconcerting to the band and their growing number of fans, which makes us all the more proud to announce this official How Strange Innocence reissue, beautifully remastered with all new artwork.
How Strange Innocence was pushed aside in favor of the more accomplished Those Who Tell The Truth as the band's introduction to the rest of the world, seeing no official release beyond 300 CDRs the band produced to sell on the road.
Original CDRs fetch over $200 on eBay, the scarce vinyl version nearing $500!
This phenomenon was disconcerting to the band and their growing number of fans, which makes us all the more proud to announce this official How Strange Innocence reissue, beautifully remastered with all new artwork.
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Visit product page →Release Date: 28/02/2025
Initial LP pressing on black and white coloured vinyl.
Nothing is ever easy for Black Spiders, never straightforward, there’s always a plethora of circumstances, bad luck and karma. Their last album, released in 2023, was titled ‘Can’t Die, Won’t Die’ and here we are at the dawn of 2025 and they’re still not fucking dead. Back with a brand-new album of high-voltage smashers, the Sheffield righteous rockers are set to release new album ‘Cvrses’ this coming February 28th on Dark Riders via Cargo Distribution.
Featuring twelve new tracks of exactly the kind of soaring rock ‘n roll action we’ve all come to expect, love and demand from Black Spiders, their intentions are the same now as they were from the very the moment they started back in 2008 – be true to yourself, no compromise.
“Stick to that formula and everything will be alright is what we hope and then with a little bit of luck life might surprise you,” says guitarist Pete Spiby. “It’s our fifth album, from the point of view of myself and Irwin. It’s our best. Our statement of intent has not changed from day one.”
Recorded once again at Axis Studios in Doncaster with producer Matt Ellis behind the wheel, ‘Cvrses’ is, and of course all bands say this, very possibly their best album yet. It successfully distils everything that is thrilling and life-affirming about Black Spiders unique brand of thumping heaviness. Massive riffs, massive hooks, massive beats. It’s all massive.
Opening song ‘Never Enough’ is as good a statement of intent as you’re ever going to get, crashing in with three cracks on the snare from drummer Wyatt Wendels, before a strutting garage rock riff pumps the album into immediate action.
“Never Enough is where the initial idea for the album title ‘Cvrses’ came from,” explains Pete. “It‘s the reality of how you can be relentless in the pursuit of something, but once you get over the crest of that hill, there’s another hill in the distance. More obstacles in life. So, everything is always just out of reach, but the positive side of that is you’re still striving, living.”And from that moment on, ‘Cvrses’ steams through a rollercoaster ride of rock emotions, from the hand-clapping ramalama of ‘Cool Reaper’, to the soaring balladry of ‘Dia De Muertos’, it’s all there, fully intact and in your face, right where proper rock should be.
And why is the album called ‘Cvrses’? Well, ‘Cvrses’ has double meanings, on one hand it’s a supernatural punishment, invoked to do harm, and it’s also a very old English swear word. Both of these meanings ring true in every sense of the word in relation to Black Spiders.
“As long as that drive is in the tank, we will keep going, because that’s what we need to do,” summarises Pete and Cvrses to anyone that tries to stop them.Black Spiders will tour the UK in April 2025.
Black Spiders are:
Adam Irwin - bass
James Evans - guitar
Nate Digby - guitar
Wyatt Wendels - drums
Pete Spiby - vocals + guitarTracklisting:
Side A
1. Never Enough
2. Cool Reaper
3. Sorry Not Sorry
4. Idol Hands
5. Tom Petty’s Lips
6. Castile De La Roja (skit)
7. Dia De MuertosSide B
1. No Superman
2. Go!
3. Up All Night
4. Curses (skit)
5. Obey
6. The Mofo Sauce
7. Rotten To The Core
Lil Death (hidden track) -
Visit product page →Pull the Rope, the new record by Ibibio Sound Machine, casts the Eno Williams and Max Grunhard–led outfit in a new light. The hope, joy, and sexiness of their music remain, but, further honing the edge of their acclaimed 2022 album Electricity, the connection they aim to foster has shifted venues from the sunny buoyancy of a sunlit festival to a sweat-soaked, all-night dance club.
Williams and Grunhard attribute this shift to a matter of collaborators, recording Pull the Rope with Sheffield-based producer Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A.) over the course of two weeks. The way the pair wrote songs changed significantly rather than Eno penning lyrics to music generated by Max and company’s jamming, Orton started with Eno and Max writing together before adding the band.
With less time in the studio and a new way of considering how they built songs, the duo found making decisions about Pull the Rope’s sound quicker and more instinctual than before. “Ross is from Sheffield, which has an edgier, more industrial vibe than London,” Grunhard explains. “He hears things differently than us, is more grounded in rave and grungier sounds, and knew when to add drums or push the instrumentation more. It was very different for us, but it lends itself to where Ibibio Sound Machine is going.”
In melding their songwriting process, Grunhard and Williams have, impossibly, pulled the trick of making Ibibio Sound Machine a tighter band than ever before, building out from their core in a way that highlights the electrifying group of musicians they play with. Rather than recording with the full band in the room, Pull the Rope was sculpted, elements added and shaped by Grunhard, Williams, and Orton along the way.
As a result, Pull the Rope is a nimble, sleek machine that’s thrilling from the first note of the opening title track, Eno’s otherworldly voice and PK Ambrose’s throbbing bass driving through a kaleidoscopic array of house, post-punk, funk, Afrobeat and disco, bangers and ballads, making an argument for unity that begins on the dancefloor. “We are the places we grew up, the places we’ve been, and the people we’ve met along the way,” Williams says. “Hopping around the globe, we’ve found that people are fundamentally the same they’re people. Opposing sides push and pull, but there is an alternative to war, violence, and suffering.” Lead single “Got to Be Who U Are” literally globetrots, name checking locales across the world that would feel disparate were it not for how well-traveled they are.
Eno growing up in the musical melting pot of the Ibibio region of Nigeria and Max being a conservatory-trained musician from Australia, one could call their meeting in London and formation of Ibibio Sound Machine predestined. “Mama Say” and “Let My Yes Be Yes” touch themes of female empowerment. They’re indicative of the band’s depth as they push further into the electronic; “Mama Say” hits notes of electropop while “Let My Yes Be Yes” fuses electro to Afrobeat. Ibibio Sound Machine have always imbued their music with political consciousness, and the light that shines through in Williams’ vocals and voice has never felt more necessary.
The sound of Pull the Rope, then, is hope in darkness, bliss in spite of bleakness. Once again, Ibibio Sound Machine are here to provide the soundtrack to the best night of your life, and the better world to come.Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Pull the Rope
2. Got to Be Who U Are
3. Fire
4. Them Say
5. Political IncorrectSide B
6. Mama Say
7. Let My Yes Be Yes
8. Touch the Ceiling
9. Far Away
10. Dance in the Rain -
Visit product page →Black LP contains poster + download. CD digipak.
What do we hold on to from our past? What must we let go of to truly move forward? Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield spent much of 2018 reckoning with these questions and revisiting her roots for answers.
The result is Saint Cloud, an intimate journey through the places she’s been, filled with the people she’s loved. Written immediately in the period following her decision to get sober, the album is an unflinching self-examination. This raw, exposed narrative terrain is aided by a shift in sonic arrangements as well. While her last two records featured the kind of big guitars, well-honed noise, and battering sounds that characterized her Philadelphia scene and strongly influenced a burgeoning new class of singer-songwriters, Saint Cloud strips back those layers to create space for Crutchfield’s voice and lyrics.
The result is a classic Americana sound with modern touches befitting an artist who has emerged as one of the signature storytellers of her time. Many of the narratives on Saint Cloud concern addiction and the havoc it wreaks on ourselves and our loved ones, as Crutchfield comes to a deeper understanding of love not only for those around her but for herself.
This coalesces most clearly on “Fire,” which she says was literally written in transit, during a drive over the Mississippi River into West Memphis, and serves as a love song to herself, a paean to moving past shame into a place of unconditional self-acceptance.
Over the course of Saint Cloud, which was recorded the summer of 2019 and produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver), Crutchfield peels back the distortion of electric guitars to create a wider sonic palette than on any previous Waxahatchee album. It is a record filled with nods to classic country, folk-inspired tones, and distinctly modern touches.
To bolster her vision, Crutchfield enlisted Bobby Colombo and Bill Lennox, both of the Detroit band Bonny Doon, to serve as backing band on the record, along with Josh Kaufman (Hiss Golden Messenger, Bon Iver) on guitar and keyboards and Nick Kinsey (Kevin Morby) on drums and percussion.
Saint Cloud marks the beginning of a journey for Crutchfield, one that sees her leaving behind past vices and the comfortable environs of her Philadelphia scene to head south in search of something new. If on her previous work Crutchfield was out in the storm, she’s now firmly in the eye of it, taking stock of her past with a clear perspective and gathering the strength to carry onward.Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Oxbow
2. Can’t Do Much
3. Fire
4. Lilacs
5. The Eye
6. Hell..Side B
7. Witches
8. War
9. Arkadelphia
10. Ruby Falls
11. St. Cloud -
Visit product page →Black Eyed Sons - A New Rock 'n' Roll Collective - Members of The Quireboys and Down n' Outz are joined by an amazing collection of fellow musicians for a joyous collaboration of mutual admiration and musical celebration. Enjoy the debut album 'Cowboys In Pinstriped Suits" released via Off Yer Rocka recordings 31st January 2025.
Since the band announced they were working on their highly anticipated new album, "The Band Rolls On", what was already becoming a chance for a musical rebirth metamorphosized into something far bigger and more ambitious.
The final cuts feature distinguished collaborations from a multitude of Rock Royalty. The band, their management and close friends within the industry all agreed that this should be treated as a stand-alone new project, a Rock 'n' Roll Collective going under the name "Black Eyed Sons", a nod to a previous album from their extensive back catalogue.
The revised album title, "Cowboys in Pinstriped Suits” is named after one of the eleven tracks and features none other than Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott alongside Alice Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie and bass grooves from Chip Z’Nuff.
Guy Griffin commented "It's been nice to take a break and focus on the writing. Working with our own band as well as so many friends within the industry has done nothing but inspire us to write and create this exciting new project. We've done the hard work getting the tracks laid down, we're now looking forward to going back out on the road as Black Eyed Sons and delivering something entirely new from five musicians who've been playing together for over twenty years.
Relationships break down sometimes, that’s Rock 'n' Roll, everyone does their thing, but we want to make sure there's no confusion as to what this is. Whilst we're proud of our musical history, that was then, this is now. It's onwards and upwards.. so let the music do the talking.
Joe Elliott added, "Having worked with these guys since 2009 in the greatest “other” band I could ever hope to work with, The Down ’n’ Outz, it just felt totally natural for me to reciprocate the love these guys have shown me by contributing to what is essentially a new beginning for them. So welcome to the mad world of Rock ’n’ Roll, you Black Eyed Sons.." - Joe Elliott (Cowboys in Pinstriped Suits).
Other collaborators had this to say:
“This song feels so real and natural. Like a hug from an old friend. I’m proud to be a part of it.” - Charlie Starr (Autumn Reigns)
‘’My friendship with the Quireboys started a long time ago and each time our paths have crossed, the bond has grown stronger. Therefore, I would lie if I didn’t say that in the back of my mind there always was a wish to do something together. So, I am more than thrilled when I was invited to sing on the Black Eyed Sons new album and that they also gave me a song where I could be who I am’’ ⁃ Mike Tramp (Your True Colours)
“I go back 30 years with these guys. A band that I’ve always loved and respected. To be asked to be part of this project was a great thrill, and proud moment as a guitarist.” - Scotti Hill (Dig Me out of this Hole)
“I’ve known Griff since the beginning of our respective careers…we are both from the old school baby, and Griff has always been the embodiment of rock n’ roll - genuine, classy, trashy, and an attitude that exemplifies what it is to be a rock n’ roll troubadour“ ⁃ Ryan Roxie (Cowboys in Pinstriped Suits/Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory)
“Since you graced us with your presence on the Wolves’ debut album, it’s only fair we should be a part of your debut as Black Eyed Sons. All the best!” - Kyf Brewer / Company Of Wolves(Foolin’ Yourself)
“Not only was it a pleasure to play guitar & sing on this record but it was also an honour to have Griff & the band record one of our songs! - Steve Conte / Company Of Wolves/Michael Monroe/NY Dolls (Foolin’ Yourself)
Band: Guy Griffin (lead vocals/guitar); Paul Guerin (guitar); Keith Weir (keyboards); Nick Mailing (bass); Pip Mailing (drums)Tracklisting:
1. Lie To Me
2. Medicine w/ Josh Todd, Stevie D (Buckcherry)
3. Foolin' Yourself w/ Steve Conte (NY Dolls, Mike Monroe) Kyf Brewer (Company Of Wolves/Barley Juice)
4. Autumn Reigns w/ Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke)
5. Cowboys In Pinstriped Suits w/ Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) Ryan Roxie (Alice Cooper) Chip Z’Nuff (Enuff Z’Nuff)
6. Don't Throw Me In The Corner w/ Chip Z’Nuff ( Enuff Z’Nuff)
7. Your True colours w/ Mike Tramp (White Lion)
8. Savoir Faire w/ Alan Clayton (Dirty Strangers) Steve Conte(NY Dolls, Mike Monroe) Chris Johnstone (Quireboys)
9. Dig Me Out Of This Hole w/ Scotti Hill (Skid Row)
10. So Glorious w/ Dan Reed (Dan Reed Network)
11. Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory w/ Ryan Roxie (Alice Cooper)
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