Every Friday, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf and Lilliput Records co-owner Tanner Musgrove tell you about the new albums you can’t miss on a new episode of On Vinyl. Check out their top picks and a list of this week’s other releases, and listen to their full conversation using the player on this page or on the 88Nine airwaves at 1 p.m. every Friday.
This Friday, we get a little weird, a little jangly and blazingly honest (tbh, that’s a typical day for us).
On the weirder side of the spectrum, Animal Collective makes a semi-return via member Brian Weitz’ project Geologist and a new album that’s an enjoyable, hurdy gurdy-fueled sonic adventure. The U.K. gives us two nostalgia-laden, jangle-rockers in Lande Hekt and Tulpa, and we finally (finally!) get a vinyl version of that new Lilly Allen album everyone is still talking about.
Happy New Music Friday!
Best new albums out Jan. 30
Geologist, Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights
If you’re a fan of punk-ish indie art-pop group Animal Collective, this one from Geologist will get you at least part of the way to the full A.C. experience. Weitz called in his Collective mate Dave Portner (aka Avey Tare) to play bass, and gets similarly high-quality help from Alianna Kalaba of FACS and Chan Marshall of Cat Power on drums.
Lead single “Tonic” centers on an instrument called a hurdy gurdy, a transformative performance of which Weitz saw from by Keiji Haino at NYC venue Tonic in the late ’90s. This album is a tribute to that occasion and includes a double-LP version on classic black via Drag City Records at any record shop near you.
Lande Hekt, Lucky Now
If you’re looking to revel in swirling shoegaze, twee and a good dose of nostalgia, Hekt’s first new music in three years is a good place to turn your gaze (and ears). She shared of her influences that “I was listening to a lot of The Bats and The Chills. It probably sounds nothing like any of that Flying Nun stuff, but that was what was inspiring me at the time.”
If you’re also into that Flying Nun stuff, we bet you’ll love this album. Lucky Now comes in cherry red vinyl, but only if you get one of the first 300 copies. After the limited edition runs out, there’ll be a basic black version via Tapete Records.
Tulpa, Monster Of The Week
Leeds-based Tulpa’s debut album Monster Of The Week (we adore that title) got on Tanner’s radar thanks to Bandcamp’s “New & Notable” badge, as well as album art that’s as great as the title. Tulpa create a delightful version of jangle-pop, which feels vintage yet very now — so shall we say it sounds timeless? Monster Of The Week is available on indie exclusive vinyl via Skep Wax Records at any local record shop near you.
Lily Allen, West End Girl
In October, Allen released her fifth studio album — her first in the last seven years — and finally it’s officially available on vinyl. She’s been blazingly honest about her private life in these songs, sharing the unraveling of her marriage and the emotional turmoil she went through. After the initial release of the album a couple months back, fans (and the world in general) really responded and respected that difficult assignment she gave herself.
For those who want to see her live, she’ll be swinging through Chicago for two nights at the Auditorium Theatre on April 3-4. You can grab West End Girl on indie exclusive clear vinyl or classic black via BMG Records.
More of our picks
- Buzzcocks, Attitude Adjustment
- GUV, Warmer Than Gold
- JOSEPH, Closer to Happy
- Joyce Manor, I Used To Go To This Bar
- Kula Shaker, Wormslayer
- Labrinth, Cosmic Opera Act I
- Sick Joy, More Forever
- Yumi Zouma, No Love Lost to Kindness
