What happens when slowcore visionary Alan Sparhawk of Low turns his amp up and shakes loose the timbers? In stores this week, his head-shaking trio Retribution Gospel Choir answers that call with its self-titled debut on the Caldo Verde Records imprint. Sinisterly bluesy with a guitar-tone distortion that would make Neil Young lick his lips, producer Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters wrestles the guitar, bass, and drums into a controlled frenzy. Keeping it in the family, Sparhawk's wife and partner in Low, Mimi Parker, adds her vocals to the track "Breather."
Also new in stores this week (well, one store that is) is an audio fix for fans of NBC 's hit television series Heroes. Forcing fans to slog into Best Buy, or download the soundtrack through the Zune marketplace, the CD features exclusive new music from The Jesus & Mary Chain, Wilco, Panic at the Disco, and Brighton Port Authority with special guest Iggy Pop. Specific characters from the show are aligned with their "own" song, linking those that can fly with Nada Surf's "Weightless," and the villain Sylar with Bob Dylan's "Man in the Long Black Coat." Other artists included in the 18-track set include Death Cab for Cutie, New Pornographers, My Morning Jacket, Wendy & Lisa, and The Chemical Brothers featuring Spank Rock.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Nada Surf on Thursday and The Black Crowes on Friday; The Late Show with David Letterman unfurls The Gutter Twins tonight, Counting Crows on Monday, and The Raveonettes on Tuesday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien presents Paul Thorn this evening overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson features Ringo Starr and Dave Stewart on Thursday, Lupe Fiasco on Friday, and Bell X1 on Tuesday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live has Panic at the Disco on Tuesday overnight; The Ellen DeGeneres Show gets chatty with Erykah Badu on Friday, and The View invites Natasha Bedingfield to the couch on Friday.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, March 25:
Bryan Adams - 11 (Universal) import only
Astral - Sleepwalker (Vibraphone) with a spinning whirl reminiscent of early The Cure, this is the sixth album from the shoe-gazing San Francisco trio
The B-52's - Funplex (Astralwerks) joining Cyndi Lauper in May on the True Colors tour with Tegan & Sara, the Indigo Girls, Joan Jett, Joan Armatrading, and Nona Hendryx
Lindsey Buckingham - Live at the Bass Performance Hall (Reprise) recorded last year in Ft. Worth, Texas, this CD and DVD set boasts solo and Fleetwood Mac material
The Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted (Roadrunner) new from former Sepultura bandmates - and brothers - Max and Igor Cavalera, with Logan Mader of Machine Head and Dirty Icon fs Lucas Banker
Continental Crawler - The Anthology 1977-79: Cars, Cards, & Questionable Women (Not-Aloud) basement tapes, rarities and remastered tracks
Counting Crows - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (Geffen) featuring the single "You Can't Count on Me"
Jeff Dernlan - Cobblestone (Jeff Dernlan) mentally engaging and spiritually inspiring collection of smart songwriting from this multi-instrumentalist and award-winning short-story writer
Justin Townes Earle - The Good Life (Bloodshot) formerly of Nashville's The Swindlers and The Distributors, and named for Townes Van Zandt, this little shaver of Steve Earle possesses an ol' country warmth and maturity
Elf Power - In a Cave (Rykodisc) ninth album from the branch of the Elephant 6 Collective family tree, with members of Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control
John Ellis & Double Wide - Dance Like There's No Tomorrow (Hyena) sneaky, smoky deep groove from the tasty saxophonist
Rick Fowler - Back on My Good Foot (Jammates) featuring a 10-minute ride through Savoy Brown' "Hellbound Train," and founding R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry guesting on "Road to Nowhere"
Gnarls Barkley - "Run" (Downtown/Atlantic) the first single from the upcoming Odd Couple album, fueled by a hyper-kinetic video
Head of Femur - Great Plains (Greyday) third album from former Bright Eyes drummer Matt Focht
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy, Darklands, Automatic, Honey's Dead, and Stoned & Dethroned (Rhino) remastered reissues from 1985, 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1994
Junior Revolution - It's a Process (Junior Revolution) smart, harmonic emo-pop
Paul Lawler & Mark Holland - Planting the Seed (Gemini Sun) debut release in the label's Earth Series from the electronic healing soundtrack composer and the flutist, housed in a garden-friendly slipcase that's meant to be planted, watered, and enjoyed as wildflowers bloom from the paper outer shell
The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray (Rhino) collector's edition CD with nine bonus demos and a DVD of the 1993 music video collection Two Weeks in Australia
Lionel Loueke - Karibu (Blue Note) west African jazz vocalist and guitarist with guests Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, taking a spin through John Coltrane's "Naima"
Morrissey - Greatest Hits (Decca) domestic issue featuring two new songs and a bonus CD recorded this past June at the Hollywood Bowl
Mike Oldfield - Music of the Spheres (Decca) classical release from the Tubular Bells composer, with New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra
Panic at the Disco - Pretty Odd (Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen) also available in a deluxe numbered-edition featuring the CD, 12-inch vinyl LP, bonus DVD on the making of the album, a jigsaw puzzle, and a 56-page triangular fold-out booklet in multi-paneled gatefold sleeve
Pennywise - Reason to Believe (MySpace Records) also available on two-LP vinyl with bonus tracks
Plants & Animals - Parc Avenue (SecretCity) beautifully sweet with a delicious trippy mellowness, these Montreal daydreamers serve up a Sunday-morning soundtrack to meet the dawn and shake loose the cobwebs
Robert Pollard - "When We Were Slaves" (Happy Jack Rock Records) the next installment in his monthly seven-inch single series, backed with the exclusive B side "Battle for Mankind 2"
RPWL - The RPWL Experience(Inside Out) taking prog-rock flight through a unique cover of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War"
Simon & Garfunkel - Live 1969 (Columbia Legacy) 17 songs culled from six concerts preceding the release of Bridge Over Troubled Water
Singer - Unhistories (Drag City) touring last year with Battles, this droopy Chicago quartet's debut is like getting happily tangled in an enormous ball of twine
Temposhark - The Invisible Line (Paper & Glue) art, fashion, and electronica collide with guest vocalists Imogen Heap and Killing Joke's Youth
We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery (Virgin) import only
The White Stripes - "Conquista" (Warner Bros) limited-edition import-only CD and seven-inch single in Spanish, backed by an acoustic "Mariachi" B side
