Indie Exclusive Releases

Massey Fucking Hall, the upcoming live album from Japandroids, captures the power and intensity that have made the band one of indie rock’s most beloved live acts. The Canadian duo on guitar and drums, bring a wall of sound that delivers a full dose of raw and un¬hinged emotion to sixteen fan favorites that span the band’s storied career. sonically this is Japandroids perfection, capturing the energy that has long made their live shows so electrifying; performed at the legendary Massey Hall in Toronto.

Indiana’s Hoops released their critically-acclaimed debut album Routines in 2017, and, soon after, announced an indefinite hiatus. The trio - friends, singers, and multi-instrumentalists Drew Auscherman, Kevin Krauter and Keagan Beresford - had been making music together for almost half of their lives, but the band had begun to feel more like a burden than an outlet, so they decided to call it quits. “I think we had lost a lot of steam,” explains Krauter. “Hoops wasn’t moving forward organically. It was being dragged along.” Following a short but necessary break, during which the band had the opportunity to explore their own creative endeavors, Hoops have reunited and announce their incredible sophomore album today. Recorded at Bloomington’s Russian Studio, the studio that had been home to L’il Bub (RIP), and produced by the band’s friend Ben Lumsdaine, Halo is an album defined by musical exuberance, full of gratitude and generosity, and, simply, sounds like a lively conversation amongst close friends.

Single LP pressed on white, black, blue 3-color stripes color vinyl in same packaging as standard LP. Includes coupon for full download

An explosive album of pain, rage and fear with some of the most direct and confrontational lyrics of his four-decade career. According to Bob, “This is the catchiest batch of protest songs I’ve ever written in one sitting.”

Bright Light Bright Light is singer, songwriter, producer and DJ born in Wales, living in NYC and obsessed with pop culture, particularly from the 80s and 90s. Over the course of his 3 commercially released albums he's toured with Cher, Ellie Goulding and John Grant, and toured AND recorded with Sir Elton John, Scissor Sisters and Erasure. He's an avid record collector, DJing pop obscurities he finds on his vinyl treasure hunts at his weekly DJ sets (online on Twitch.tv/brightlightx2 at the moment) that have been praised by Time Out NY. Equally inspired by 80s/90s movies and artists like Kate Bush, Björk, Ace Of Base, Max Richter and Pointer Sisters, he's a music geek at heart, and a renowned artist on stage, currently the first and only unsigned (he runs his own label) artist to perform on Graham Norton's BBC One TV Show.  

The whole story could’ve been written in the stars…

Astrology tells us a “Saturn Return” happens when the planet Saturn revolves back to the same position it held upon our birth. It typically takes almost thirty years. However, in the case of Delta Spirit, it took a little less than fifteen. The enduring California rock quintet—Matthew Logan Vasquez [vocals], Kelly Winrich [multi-instrumentalist, vocals], Will McLaren [guitar], Jon Jameson [bass], and Brandon Young [drums]—realign on their fifth full-length and first album since 2014, What Is There. As much as it reflects their journey thus far, it also ushers them into new territory as both musicians and, most importantly, friends. In the end, Delta Spirit not only return, but move forward together on What Is There.

ALL THEM WITCHES have built a career out of playing music that can not be pigeonholed into one specific genre. NOTHING AS THE IDEAL was recorded in Studio 2 at the world famous Abbey Road with the help of longtime mixing engineer Mikey Allred. The history and vibe of that setting laid the groundwork for what was to come. The band’s signature psychedelic blues riffs, relentless drums, melodic bass lines and non-linear lyrics are all present. The resulting album is a thought provoking head banger that is the band’s most cohesive album to date.

“I dug myself out from the well to make Closeness a record about love”, professes Devin Tuel. “When I sat down to begin what would become Closeness I felt that above all, I wanted to make it clear that, while the clock is moving, we can hold onto one another and maybe there will be tears but there will also be laughter.”

Closeness, the fourth LP from Pennsylvania’s Native Harrow, elaborates on the duo’s radiant warmth and timeless nostalgia with the inclusion of new sounds and experiences. The combustible fuzz-driven opener “Shake” gives way to slices of 70s FM groove (“The Dying of Ages” and the desert funk of “If I Could”), 60s art pop (“Even Peace” and the expansive orchestral “Sun Queen”), and the kind of graceful folk (“Smoke Burns”) and folk soul (the compassionate conviction of “Carry On”) the band is best known for. The intricate polyrhythms and grinding Moog synthesizer (“Same Every Time”), the fully realized vintage jazz combo (“Turn Turn”), and the exquisite piano ballad (the penultimate “Feeling Blue”) provide glimpses down previously unexplored streets and find the band stretching out and confidently illuminating their expansive aspirations.

Limited to 3,000 copies (Merlot-Wave vinyl)

The Waterfall II completes The Waterfall, My Morning Jacket’s acclaimed 2015 record. Originally intended to be a sprawling triple album, the band were advised to hold back and keep some of it on the shelf. Until now! Frontman Jim James says, "this is simply the second half of a long snapshot of life for me as a writer in the years leading up to 2014, and the life of us as a band as we lived and worked in the epic country in and around Stinson Beach, CA during these recording sessions."

52 page hardbound foil stamped coffee table book with 2 LPs (pressed on electric blue vinyl), handwritten lyrics and over 20 previously unseen photographs.

When Elliott Smith's self-titled second album came out in 1995, it was ignored by the press but championed by artists from the Beastie Boys to Fugazi. To commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Elliott Smith, the Kill Rock Stars label is releasing a special deluxe package, which includes a new remastering of the original record; a coffee table book of previously unseen photographs by JJ Gonson with handwritten lyrics, reminiscences from Smith's friends and colleagues, and previously unseen photographs; and a bonus disc documenting the earliest known recording of Smith performing as a solo act. The set is a revelatory look at an under-appreciated work by an artist whose influence continues to expand seventeen years after his death.

A celebration of the glam rock androgynous wizardry of Marc Bolan and T. Rex, featuring contributions from an all-star line-up including U2 and Elton John, Kesha, Nick Cave, Joan Jett, Father John Misty, Devendra Banhart, Lucinda Williams, Beth Orton, and many others, AngelHeaded Hipster was lovingly created by the late Hal Willner, who passed away April 7 from COVID-19. The acclaimed music producer, who “for nearly four decades bent and shaped the dimensions of almost-popular music” (New York Times), produced albums for artists including Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull and William S. Burroughs, and concept albums drawing upon the music of Thelonious Monk, Kurt Weill, vintage Disney films and others.

Singer-songwriters have been tackling existential questions about life and death since time immemorial' or at least the 1960s. But when it came to Blitzen Trapper's newest album, Holy Smokes Future Jokes, front man Eric Earley looked beyond mere existence - or even the end of it - to contend with grander cosmic explorations: namely, the intermediate period between a person's separate lives on earth, "and what it means to escape the cycle of birth and rebirth," he explains. Inspired by George Saunders' 2017 experimental tome, Lincoln in the Bardo and the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Earley's lyrics take the listener on a wild and dramatic journey through rivers of waist-high water in the aftermath of a tragic car wreck and the hazy morning before a murderous moment, and from getting blitzed to the point of extinction inside a masonic temple to a stop for chips and dip before the apocalypse.

The Third Gleam marks a return to the Avett Brothers’ roots, both sonically and with Seth & Scott playing as a trio with longtime bassist Bob Crawford. The eight tracks capture their personal experiences and perspectives on undeniably timely, universal themes: isolation, gun violence, incarceration, historical prejudice, mortality, resilience, love, hope, redemption. 12 years in the making, this is the third installment of the brothers’ ongoing Gleam series.

With his sophomore album Shape & Destroy, Nashville-based artist Ruston Kelly now documents his experience in maintaining sobriety, and finally facing the demons that led him to drug abuse in the first place. But while Kelly recounts that journey with an unvarnished honesty, his grace and conviction as an artist ultimately turn Shape & Destroy into a work of unlikely transcendence. Indie LP includes an exclusive 8x10 glossy photo Insert; die-cut outer jacket, mirror board with gold print inner sleeve.

GRAMMY®-nominated U.K. duo Disclosure will release their new album, ENERGY on the August 28th. A spectrum of talented artists are featured; Common, Kelis, Kehlani & Syd, Aminé, slowthai and more. The duo has worked diligently to use environmentally responsible products by focusing on recycled and sustainable materials across all formats. Indie Limited-Edition 2LP on clear 180-gram vinyl. Recycled/FSC packaging mix with printed inner bag, sugarcane wrap. Includes download card.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada and recently seen on Austin City Limits, Colter Wall sings songs of the great West. Heralded by icon Steve Earle and touted as a favorite of celebrity Jason Mamoa, the music of Colter Wall has graced the silver screen many times, in films such as Peanut Butter Falcon, Hell or High Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO and Deadwood. Characterized by his distinct, gritty baritone, Colter Wall’s career has been marked with critical praise from his breakout EP, Imaginary Appalachia to his debut and sophomore records produced by Dave Cobb. Whether headlining music festivals in Norway, or playing legendary stages like Newport Folk Festival, Colter Wall continues to garner attention from the world. On his third full-length release, fans will hear Colter Wall in the producer’s chair.

While everyone is social distancing, closing ranks and donning masks while they shop, life can seem somewhat surreal to the senses. Yet, through all of the chaos, one thing is constant, music brings us together. Now, on the 40th Anniversary of the landmark, Los Angeles, and 35 years since the original band have released an album – X, one of the greatest Punk Rock bands in music history, releases ALPHABETLAND today via Bandcamp. The original foursome - Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake have now made the album available for fans to purchase and by adapting to this moment, X continues to embody the same spirit they did when they began in 1977.

“When your heart is broken you think every song is about that. These songs were written in the last 18 months & it blows my mind how timely they are,” explained John Doe. “We all want our family, friends & fans to hear our records as soon as it's finished. This time we could do that. Thanks to Fat Possum & our audience.”

Sometimes it feels like you hear a Bright Eyes song with your whole body. From Conor Oberst’s early recordings in an Omaha basement in 1995 all the way up to 2020, Bright Eyes’ music tries to unravel the impossible tangles of dissent: personal and political, external and internal. It’s a study of the beauty in unsteadiness in all its forms – in a voice, beliefs, love, identity, and what fills up the spaces in-between. And in so many ways, it’s just about searching for a way through.
 
The year 2020 is full of significant anniversaries for Bright Eyes. Fevers and Mirrors was released 20 years ago this May, while Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning both turned 15 in January. The latter, a singer-songwriter tour-de-force released amidst the Bush presidency and Iraq war, wades through incisive anti-war rhetoric and micro, intimate calamities. On the title track and throughout the record, Oberst sings about body counts in the newspaper, televised wars, the bottomless pit of American greed, struggling to understand the world alongside one’s own turmoil. In its own way, I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning carved out its place in the canon of great anti-war albums by being both present and prophetic, its urgency enduring 15 years later.
 
In 2011 the release of The People’s Key, Bright Eyes’ ninth and most recent album, ushered in an unofficial hiatus for the beloved project. In the time since, the work of the band’s core members – Oberst, multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis, and multi-instrumentalist Nathaniel Walcott – has remained omnipresent, through both the members’ original work and collaboration.
 
In recent years, Mogis produced records for beloved folk acts First Aid Kit and Joseph, among others, as well as mixed the fine-spun ennui of Phoebe Bridgers’ breakthrough 2017 debut, Stranger in the Alps. Mogis and bandmate Walcott also teamed up to write the original scores for The Fault in Our Stars, Stuck in Love, and Lovely Still, and Walcott worked as a solo composer scoring number of independent feature-length films. Walcott spent extensive time on collaboration; in addition to his arrangement work for Mavis Staples, First Aid Kit, and M. Ward, he contributed studio work to artists ranging from U2 to jazz guitarist Jeff Parker, and also toured heavily as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 
 
Oberst, who’s nearly 30 years into a prolific musical career, spent the last decade in similarly productive fashion. Across three years he released a string of solo albums: Salutations (2017), Ruminations (2016), and Upside Down Mountain (2014), as well as guested on records by First Aid Kit, Phoebe Bridgers, and Alt-J. His punk band, Desaparecidos, emerged from a 13-year hiatus in 2015 with the thunderous sophomore LP, Payola, a white-knuckled disarray of hollered political fury. And at the top of 2019, Oberst and Bridgers debuted their new band, Better Oblivion Community Center, digitally dropping the critically-lauded eponymous debut LP alongside a surprise performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
 
The heart at Bright Eyes’ songwriting still looms culturally, in films and TV shows and through re-imaginings by other artists. Mac Miller covered both “Lua” and “First Day of My Life”; Lorde’s version of the penultimate The People’s Key track, the funereal-waltz “Ladder Song,” was a focal point of The Hunger Games’ soundtrack; The Killers covered “Four Winds” for their Spaceman EP; and Lil Peep’s “Worlds Away” samples “Something Vague” while Young Thug’s “Me Or Us” samples “First Day of My Life.”
 
Bright Eyes’ expansive catalog has traversed genre, sound, and countless players; unpolished demos or fuzzy folk, electrified rock or country twang. The sharp songwriting and musicianship is all anchored in Bright Eyes’ singular ability to flip deep intimacy into something universal. For so many, for so long, listening to Bright Eyes has been like hearing yourself in someone else’s song – a moment of understanding or illumination, knowing you’re on the same team looking for a way to move through of all this shit.
 
And while 2020 is a year of milestones for the band, it’s also the year Bright Eyes returns, newly signed to indie label Dead Oceans. Amidst the current overwhelming uncertainty and upheaval of global and personal worlds, Oberst, Mogis, and Walcott reunited under the moniker as both an escape from, and a confrontation of, trying times. Getting the band back together felt right, and necessary, and the friendship at the core of the band has been a longtime pillar of Bright Eyes’ output. For Bright Eyes, this long-awaited re-emergence feels like coming home.

Zeros is the second studio album from Declan McKenna. Produced by Jay Joyce, the album features "Beautiful Faces."

Fresh off their 30th Anniversary & World Tour in 2019, the genre-bending, multi-platinum selling Mavericks are changing the game once again with the release of their first-ever Latin format album En Español. Produced by the band's longtime creative partner Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Prince, Sheryl Crow) and Mavericks lead singer & principal songwriter Raul Malo, En Español features a compelling mix of standards and Spanish-language originals in signature Mavericks style.

Narratively, H.C. McEntire’s Eno Axis is about finding direction in the natural world, and following love. Sonically, it’s an album shaped enormously by the atmosphere it was recorded in—the crew’s synergy and positivity, the proximity and presence of a band in a room playing with intention. Structurally, it’s a group of songs inspired by the colors and tones of open tunings, by the sacrality of space and instinct. Stylistically, it’s folk-rock leaning into its curious experimental side and moved by the spiritual rawness of classic soul and the simplicity of earnest pop. Eno Axis feels like a confident and mature step forward from her debut album LIONHEART—in tone, arrangement, production, and spirit.

Freeze, Melt, the sixth album from the Grammy-nominated Australian electronic/synth-pop band Cut Copy. Lead single 'Love Is All We Share' earned praise from Rolling Stone ["meditative and immersive"], Stereogum ["hypnotic"], Consequence Of Sound ["a fitting mood for the current state of the world"], Pitchfork, The Line Of Best Fit, and numerous other outlets. Their 2011 album Zonoscope won two ARIA Awards, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronica Album, and reached #2 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart, #3 on Australia's ARIA Albums chart, and #8 on the UK's Independent Albums chart. Their most recent album Haiku From Zero [2017] earned praise from NPR ["their finest album in years"], Stereogum [“a rush of infectious grooves and melodies"], Exclaim! ["another strong effort by a band that continue to celebrate the power of dance music"], and DIY. If Haiku From Zero was the party, Freeze, Melt is the Sunday morning comedown. Released independently via their own label imprint, Cutters Records.  

EVEN IN EXILE is the second album by Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield “It’s a record that draws you in, first with its story, and then with its songs. A wonderful break from the day-job.” An ultra-vivid eulogy to a brilliant life cut short, EVEN IN EXILE is a beautiful collection of songs that loosely trace to story of the life and death of Chilean poet-singer-activist Victor Jara. At points pure and biographical, at others dreamlike and opaque, Bradfield sets words written specifically for the album by poet/playwright Patrick Jones to some of the most addictive and affecting melodies he’s ever composed. 

Indie Record Shop Exclusive, Only 150 Exist, Color-In-Color Vinyl [Clear with Teal], Single Pocket Jacket, Inner Sleeve, 1 LP, Includes Download Card, Indie Record Shop Exclusive Callout Sticker. Tanya Donelly and the Parkington Sisters cover some of Tanya's favorite songs by The Go Go's, Leonard Cohen, Kirsty MacColl, Split Enz, Linda Ronstadt, The Pretenders, Wings, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Mary Margaret O'Hara on this outstanding new album. "When Joe from American Laundromat asked if I'd be interested in doing a covers album, I was hesitant, mainly because most of the songs I truly love are already perfect in their original form. But then I had the idea to ask the brilliant Parkington Sisters to be the band for this project, to bring their gorgeous sound and spirit, and make it something cohesive and centered. Happily, they said Yes. So I chose a handful of songs that have been on heavy rotation in my head and heart from the first time I heard them, and the Sisters took over. They charted and plotted and arranged, and I joined Rose and Sarah and Ariel recording at Jon Evans' Brick Hill Studio in Orleans MA, with guest players Matthias Bossi and Jon Evans (who also engineered). Lydia P put down some cello later, and I recorded additional vocals at Q Division Studios in Somerville MA, with James Bridges engineering. These are some of the most honest, moving, beautiful, unfiltered, true and cool songs that have ever been written, in my opinion. And those same adjectives apply to the Parkington Sisters as well." -Tanya

The story of Biffy Clyro is as romantic as it is archetypal. Three childhood friends from Ayrshire formed a band, delivered three albums of abrasive youthful exuberance and finally cracked the big time when their fourth - 2007's Puzzle - hit the charts at #2. By the time the promotion of their fifth album Only Revolutions had ceased, they were bona fide stars who could headline festivals, fill arenas and deliver hit singles in an era in which rock bands rarely trouble the charts. With well over a million album sales to their name, no-one would've been too surprised to see complacency set in.

Their most ambitious and powerful record to date- feat artwork by the legendary Dan Seagrave and production by Christian Donaldson. 'Where Only Gods May Tread', is the follow up to the critically acclaimed 'The Level Above Human.' Ten tracks, the like of which you have never witnessed, this is a turning point in the Ingested's career. Blistering speed, crushing hooks, dark melodies and of course the signature ten ton slams, Throw in some incredible guest appearances from the Crowbar/Down Riff Lord himself, Kirk Windstein + The Acacia Strain's Vincent Bennett and Kublai Khan's Matt Honeycutt...'Where Only Gods May Tread' is the quintessential album for any fan of extreme music.

6-track EP of stripped down versions of four brand new songs as well as two fan-favorite tracks from their "Living Proof" release.

Wu Hen is the sophomore album from Peckham visionary Kamaal Williams -- an invitation to elevate to a higher state. Cinematic strings from Miguel-Atwood Ferguson and virtuoso saxophone from Quinn Mason are textural additions that make for a deeper, multi-layered experience than previous releases. Bringing groove back to the forefront, Wu Hen oscillates between celestial jazz, funk, rap and r&b reinforced with the rugged beat-heavy attitude of grime, jungle, house and garage a self-styled fusion Kamaal describes as Wu Funk. New players on this record include LA s Greg Paul on drums (of Kalayst Collective), Rick Leon James on bass, Quinn Mason on saxophone alongside vocal features from cult rapper Mach-Hommy and Kaytranada collaborator Lauren Faith. Multi-talented renaissance musician Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (who has worked with Ray Charles, Flying Lotus, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, and Seu Jorge) contributes signature strings, which add vivid colour and rich depth, evoking vintage David Axelrod.

“Whoosh!” sees Deep Purple for the third time joining forces with producer Bob Ezrin, who invited the band to Nashville to write and record new songs. Together they created the most versatile album in their collaboration.

Deep Purple “stretched out in all directions” without any limitation, letting their creativity go. “Deep Purple is putting the Deep back into Purple” was the half-joking motto in the studio after the first songs made it clear that Ezrin and Purple were on their path to creating an album pushing the boundaries of time, while voicing their resentment about the current situation of the world and addressing all generations.

In recent years, Deep Purple has progressively moved into new areas, piquing the interest of fans who were not born when the mighty Purple machine ruled the music world. Their holy grail of “In Rock” (1970), “Machine Head” (1972) and “Made In Japan” (1973) catapulted Deep Purple to the top in concert grosses and album sales around the world, with tracks such as “Smoke On The Water” ascending them to mega-status.

The band’s 20th studio album “inFinite” has become one of their most successful albums ever, braking chart records accumulated by the hard rock legends over an impressive 50-year history.

Third Man Records is excited to announce The Stooges' Live At Goose Lake: August 8, 1970. This previously-unheard, high-quality soundboard recording of the original Stooges lineup's final performance -- recorded just before the release of their earthshaking 1970 album Fun House -- will be available on vinyl, CD and digital on August 7, 2020, nearly 50 years to the day after the performance.