NEW ARRIVALS: CDs - Antony & The Johnsons, Belle & Sebastian, Salem, Sufjan Stevens, Zola Jesus

ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS Swanlights LP / CD
*** "Antony and the Johnsons' new album, containing a duet with Bjork and exploring environmental issues and his connection to the natural world."

ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS Thank You For Your Love 12" / CD
*** First EP in anticipation of the new Antony album featuring 4 additional non-album tracks including covers of Dylan and Lennon (Basinski collabo! HEY-O)."

ATMOSPHERE To All My Friends Blood Makes... CD
*** "Originally conceived as EP's for sale only on the Fall tour, Atmosphere has decided to make a limited edition physical CD available to retail."

BELLE & SEBASTIAN Write About Love LP+7" / CD+7"
*** "Back after a 5-year hiatus doing solo projects, soundtracks and more, Glasgow's beloved Belle and Sebastian have returned with one of their finest albums, marrying the intimacy of early works like Sinister and Tigermilk with the production values of their more recent work."

BLACK HEART PROCESSION Blood Bunny/Black Rabbit CD
*** "Befitting of The Black Heart Procession, Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit takes the experimentation hinted at on Six and expands upon it in bizarre and brilliant ways, sounding every bit like an LSD-influenced DJ set."

RHYS CHATHAM An Angel Moves Too Fast... CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Chatham composed a masterpiece for one hundred electric guitars, electric bass and drum -- one of the most extraordinary works in the minimalist canon demonstrating the majesty inherent in Chatham's amplified imagination. Raucous and ecstatic, this sound prefigured the No Wave movement."

DIE ANTWOORD $O$ CD
*** "2010 release from the Cape Town, South Africa Rap trio (Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek). The band mixes several different cultures and styles into one unique whole."

ENVY Recitation 2xLP / CD
*** "It's no surprise that Envy have increasingly found inspiration in instrumental rock and experimental ambient music - genres that historically circumvent cultural trappings. Ergo, a new album!"

HALF-HANDED CLOUD As Stowaways in Cabinets of Surf, We Live-out in Our Members a Kind of Rebirth LP+MP3 / CD
*** "Connected with the lyrical tradition of 19th Century American hymns, these tunes splash about in cavernous spaces opened up by irregularly measured rhythms and pocket-orchestra arrangements integrated with creaky pianos, sound-loops, a tugboat of a church organ, guitars and billowing banjos."

MEGAFAUN Heretofore CD
*** "Heretofore is another articulation of the bands evolved Americana vernacular pairing concise, communicative, challenging, compelling experiments w/ a radiant and redemptive 13-minute instrumental called 'Comprovisation for Connor Pass.'"

SALEM King Night CD+7"
*** "The debut album from Michigan/Chicago-based trio Salem, who's been pegged as the creators of their own genre of music, drag (aka witch house) -- elements of ethereal shoegaze, withdrawn Houston Screw and production qualities akin to the frenetic delivery of contemporary Southern rap and Chicago footwork."

SUFJAN STEVENS The Age Of Adz CD
*** "The Age of Adz (pronounced Odds) is Sufjan Stevens' first full-length of original songs since Illinois. While the sounds on this record are distinctly 'artificial' (drum machines and analog synths reign supreme), the proclamations of the songs are unabashedly visceral, sung loudly, with a backdrop of insistent orchestration."

THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH The Tallest Man On Earth EP CD
*** Reissue of The Tallest Man on Earth's early Swedish-only EP.

THREE MILE PILOT The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten CD
*** "The first new Three Mile Pilot album since the 1997 release of what was thought to be their swan song, the enormously influential Another Desert, Another Sea."

ZOLA JESUS Valusia LP / CD
*** "Gone are the morose, gothic lo-vibes and in their place is an airy almost dance track that still sounds as true to form as other endeavor Danilova has ever undertaken. Old hits & recent show-stoppers included!"