Record Rack: A round-up of the week’s new albums, expanded reissues and/or box sets, appearing each Monday on Slicing Up Eyeballs.
ARTIST : Thomas Dolby
RELEASE: A Map of the Floating City
BACKSTORY: The ’80s synthpop master returns this week with his first album in 20 years, an 11-track concept album — “a travelogue across three imaginary continents” — that features guest appearances by Mark Knopfler, Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap and more. A deluxe edition features a second CD with instrumentals and bonus tracks.
BUY: Amazon.com (CD, digital
ARTIST : Magazine
RELEASE: No Thyself
BACKSTORY: Howard Devoto’s post-Buzzocks band returns this week, in the U.K., with its first new album in 30 years (the record doesn’t arrive in the U.S. until Nov. 22), a 10-track collection featuring songs such as “Holy Dotage,” “Hello Mister Curtis (With Apologies)” and “Of Course Howard (1979)” (see full tracklist and hear samples here).
BUY: Amazon.co.uk (CD
ARTIST : Skinny Puppy
RELEASE: hanDover
BACKSTORY: The electro-industrial icons this week release their long-delayed 11th studio album and first in more than four years. The 11-track record originally was expected two years ago around its extensive fall 2009 tour of North America, but solvency issues with the band’s label prevented that (see full tracklist here).
BUY: Amazon.com (CD, digital)
ARTIST : The Smiths
RELEASE: Complete: Deluxe Boxset
BACKSTORY: The multi-week roll-out of Rhino’s much-anticipated new box set wraps up this week with the arrival of the U.S. version of the Deluxe Edition, which features all eight of the band’s albums on both CD and vinyl, plus the group’s 25 singles on 7-inch, a DVD of music videos, and much, much more (see full details here).
BUY: Rhino.com (Complete: Deluxe Boxset)
ARTIST : Peter Gabriel
RELEASES: “New Blood: Live in London”
BACKSTORY: Following the release earlier this month of his new studio album, Gabriel issues a new live concert film on both DVD and Blu-ray that captures a London orchestral concert earlier this year, featuring tracks such as “Don’t Give Up,” “In Your Eyes,” “Digging in the Dirt,” “Intruder” and many more (see full setlist here).
BUY: Amazon.com (DVD, Blu-ray)
ARTIST : Various
RELEASE: Fac. Dance: Factory Records 12″ Mixes & Rarities, 1980-1987
BACKSTORY: Strut Records this week releases a double-disc compilation of Factory Records single mixes and rarities, including selections from New Order, A Certain Ratio, Section 25, The Durutti Column, Quando Quango and many more.
BUY: Amazon.co.uk (CD, vinyl
The new Tom Waits comes out this week, too.