New Albums - Page 154

For some reason, it just doesn’t feel surprising that Primus leader/bassist Les Claypool loves the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory so much that he, the rest of the original Primus lineup (that hasn’t played together since 1995) and the 2-member Fungi Ensemble, would create a take on iconic film’s music. is as unique as you’d expect, while...

Seeking out some new jazz propelled by a bass player’s sensibilities? Check out Théo Zipper Quartet’s album, . Led by French bassist and composer, Théo Zipper, the quartet also includes tenor/soprano sax player Max Fortin, Yannick Jacquet on piano, Fender Rhodes, and cello, and Lucas Vanderputten on drums. Zipper says his, and the quartet’s, goal, is to create osmosis between...

The Melvins have not one, but two members of the Butthole Surfers appearing on the group’s latest album . The Surfers’ Jeff Pinkus, who has also toured with The Melvins, is sitting in for regular bassist Jared Warren, who is on paternity leave from the band. The Sufers’ guitarist Paul Leary is also on the record. The Melvins’ Buzz Osborne...

Don’t call the Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy a jazz big band. Instead, the San Francisco-based 15-piece band led by Igoe is something else. “We’re a rock band in a jazz band’s body,” said Igoe, a distinguished drummer. And it’s definitely a group with plenty of low end. Dewayne Pate serves as the band’s primary bassist, but on the group’s ,...

Double bassist Dave Holland and pianist Kenny Barron started performing live together as a duo in 2012, and now they’ve committed the sound they’ve been creating on stages to album. isn’t the first time they’ve recorded together — that occurred back in 1985 on Barron’s trio LP Scratch. However, this new record features the pair just working as a duo....

Iron Maiden, the classic heavy metal band founded by bassist Steve Harris (also the group’s chief songwriter), wants you to experience its 1980s music in the way it was first released — on black vinyl. The band has started reissuing its first eight albums on 180-gram black vinyl (it has also previously reissued albums in picture-disc editions), and each black...

It’s been 20 years since Weezer released its debut self-titled “Blue” album, recorded with producer Rik Ocasek of The Cars. Now, all these years later, the group returned to working with Ocasek (who also produced Weezer’s third effort, also self-titled and known as the “Green” album) on its ninth record, . For bassist Scott Shriner, who joined the band after...

Flying Lotus’ fifth studio album, , started out as a record just for him and bassist Thundercat (Suicidal Tendencies, Erykah Badu). Flying Lotus (real name: Steven Ellison) tells Clash Music that the pair intended to make a double album, but decided to release the Flying Lotus songs first because they were completed earlier. His comments also mean Thundercat (real name:...

Cristian Tisselli was the No Treble Reader Spotlight back in May 2012 and now his band, Contusion, has released its self-titled debut album. The Argentinian progressive fusion band cites Allan Holdsworth and Tribal Tech as influences, Tisselli said in that Spotlight piece two years ago. Contusion’s songs have been percolating for a while and live versions of several tunes have...

Italian bassist and composer Alberto Rigoni has released his fourth album, . The album’s title refers to the prog-rock composer’s belief that the contemporary world is overloaded — with information/misinformation, hyper-fast communications and more. The record, which features a range of styles, from prog metal to ambient music, is also dedicated to bassist Randy Coven, who died earlier this year,...

Only Prince drops two totally different albums in one day. The first, a solo record called , is a return to classic, ’80’s-style Prince funk. The stuff is unmistakable. Prince produced, arranged, composed and performed the music on the album, along with Joshua Welton, according to the Sacramento Bee. Welton is a young producer and husband of drummer Hanna Ford...

During his long career as a bassist and producer Bill Laswell has always defied expectation, working in almost every genre, from funk and jazz to world and ambient music. And he continues to do so with his latest collaborative project. The Dream Membrane features David Chaim Smith reading selections from his work, “The Awakening Ground”, over dark ambient music from...