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 : Pet Shop Boys
RELEASE: Elysium
BACKSTORY: The classic synthpop duo this week releases its 11th studio album, and first since 2009′s Yes. The 12-track album was produced by Andrew Dawson, who has worked with Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Beyonce. The set features backing vocals by singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy (stream the full album).
BUY: Amazon.com (CD, vinyl, digital)
ARTIST : David Byrne and St. Vincent
RELEASE: Love This Giant
BACKSTORY: The former Talking Heads leader teams up with the artist otherwise known as Annie Clark this week to release, via 4AD/Todo Mundo, a brand new album that features 10 songs they wrote and performed together and one individually written song from each musician (stream the full album).
BUY: Amazon.com (CD, vinyl, digital)
ARTIST : Tom Tom Club
RELEASE: Downtown Rockers
BACKSTORY: The Talking Heads offshoot — husband-and-wife rhythm section Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz — this week release their first new music in a dozen years in the form of a 6-track EP that only will be available digitally (supplemented with bonus instrumental versions) and on vinyl (stream the full EP).
BUY: Amazon.com (Vinyl, digital)
ARTIST : Aztec Camera
RELEASE: Love, Stray
BACKSTORY: Demon Music Group this week, in the U.K., releases reissues of the first two of six albums from the Roddy Frame-led Scottish indie-pop act, 2CD expanded editions of the 1987 and 1990 albums, each featuring an assortment of bonus cuts including non-album singles, B-sides, remixes (see full tracklists).
BUY: Amazon.co,uk (Love, Stray)
ARTIST : The English Beat
RELEASE: Live! At the US Festival
BACKSTORY: Shout! Factory this week releases a new CD/DVD set featuring the beloved ska band’s complete Sept. 3, 1982, and May 28, 1983, appearances at the US Festival on DVD — 26 songs in total — plus a CD featuring nine songs from the ’82 festival and seven songs from the band’s ’83 appearance (see tracklist).
BUY: Amazon.com (CD/DVD, digital)
ARTIST : Duran Duran
RELEASE: The Biggest and the Best
BACKSTORY: Demon Music Group’s Music Club Deluxe imprint this week releases, in the U.K., the New Wave heroes’ first-ever double-disc best-of, a 34-track collection that covers the years 1981 through 1989, assembling 20 of the band’s Top 40 hits as well as some “key album tracks” — but nothing from the ’90s or beyond (see tracklist).
BUY: Amazon.co.uk (CD)
ARTIST : Propaganda
RELEASE: Noise and Girls Come Out to Play: A Compact Introduction To…
BACKSTORY: ZTT Records this week releases, in the U.K., a new compilation featuring “classics and rarities” from the synthpop group spanning the years 1983 to 1986, including mixes of “Dr. Mabuse,” “p:Machinery,” “Femme Fatale” and much more.
BUY: Amazon.com (CD, digital)
ARTIST : The Stone Roses
RELEASE: Turns Into Stone
BACKSTORY: Sony Music this week reissues, in the U.K., the Roses’ Slivertone-era compilation of non-album singles and B-sides, featuring tracks remastered in 2009 by producer John Leckie. The set includes “Fools Gold,” “Elephant Stone,” “One Love,” “What the World Is Waiting For,” “Something’s Burning” and more.
BUY: Amazon.co.uk (CD, digital)
1st half of PSBs is great! Check out their b-side on Winner, A Certain [insert French words here].