Week two of June brings some much-anticipated releases. Info and links for the ones you want to know about most below, plus some other ones you may not have heard of (but should know), with audio & video for your listening and viewing pleasure. Click here to check out releases that dropped over the past few months.
Action Bronson, Saab Stories EP (Vice/Atlantic)
The Queens rapper presents his first release on a major label; guest appearances by Big Body Bes, Wiz Khalifa, Prodigy and Raekwon.
Airhead, For Years (R&S Records)
Alex Burkat, Tarot 12" (100% Silk)
The Almost, Fear Inside Our Bones (Tooth & Nail Records)
Joseph Arthur, The Ballad of Boogie Christ (Lonely Astronaut Records)
Dan Black, Hearts (Ultra Music)
Black Sabbath, 13 (Vertigo/Republic)
The first new album in 18 years from the behemoths of classic heavy metal, and 19th overall. The original lineup first started working on a new studio LP a dozen years ago with producer Rick Rubin. But it never came to fruition until after Black Sabbath announced they'd be reuniting in November of 2011 and returning to the studio with Rubin. Original members Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi are joined by drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave). AllMusiccalled 13 it "unexpectedly brilliant, apocalyptic, and essential for any die-hard metal fan." Listen to "God Is Dead" below.
Beans On Toast, Fishing For A Thank You (Xtra Mile Recordings)
The British singer-songwriter with the hilarious handle (real name 'Jay') dubs his music as 'drunk folk'; this is his fourth full-length, which was issued in 2012 in the UK. Check out the "Beer and a Burger" video below.
Boards of Canada, Tomorrow’s Harvest (Warp)
The seminal ambient indietronica duo from Scotland (brothers Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin) present their first new full-length recording since 2005's The Campfire Headphase. All the media outlets are gushing all over it, including Spin magazine; Andy Beta gave the LP 9 out of 10 stars, saying "the record draws more from cinema than contemporaneous electronic music … it captures Terence Malick's magic-hour light; there's also David Lynch's sense of dread coursing beneath the mundane; the arpeggio-heavy synths that underpin early-'80s horror-movie soundtracks; the Hammer Films catalog; and The Wicker Man itself." Check out "Reach for the Dead" after the jump along with the rest of this week's new releases…
This article appears in Jun 6-12, 2013.